CAST OF CHARACTERS

      Dr. Claire Kos—Blinded by the accident that cost her her child, Claire Kos has nothing to live for but work. Will that very job cost her her life?

      Mark Steele—A man struggling with guilt and loss. Can he save Claire before a ruthless serial killer makes her his next victim?

      Special Agent Luke Devlin—An FBI agent with demons of his own, he offers Mark a job when Mark has nothing left. But will that job be Mark’s salvation or his downfall?

      Dr. Ian Hall—The new director of the Coastal Island Research Park wants to create positive publicity for CIRP. But is his plan a smoke screen to hide secretive research under way at the center?

      Dr. George Ferguson and Dr. Kurt Lassiter—Two of Claire’s co-workers who lust after her. Would one of them kill to have her?

      Drew Myers—The man who created the idea of the Calling Claire show. Just how far will he go to make the show a success?

      Joel Sanger—A psychotic patient of Claire’s with violent tendencies toward women. Has he become a serial killer?

      Richard Wheaton—Another patient suffering from dissociative identity disorder. Is one of his personalities a murderer?

      Al Hogan—A troubled man who attended a support group with Claire months ago and tried to befriend her. Has he resurfaced?

      To my cool aunt Nelda—

      who finally got hooked on romance!

       Love, Rita

      Contents

      Prologue

      Chapter One

      Chapter Two

      Chapter Three

      Chapter Four

      Chapter Five

      Chapter Six

      Chapter Seven

      Chapter Eight

      Chapter Nine

      Chapter Ten

      Chapter Eleven

      Chapter Twelve

      Chapter Thirteen

      Chapter Fourteen

      Chapter Fifteen

      Chapter Sixteen

      Epilogue

      Prologue

      She had to tell Mark about the baby.

      Claire Kos punched the accelerator, flipped on the windshield wipers and wove her way through the late-evening traffic. Mark couldn’t leave on some dangerous mission without knowing she planned to accept his proposal, that she’d be waiting for him when he returned.

      She understood his need to serve his country. He’d been raised by a military father, had grown up on a base himself. He’d been born and bred for the armed services, a true hero. His reasons were all very noble.

      And she knew she was being selfish. But what about her and their unborn child? What would happen to them if he didn’t return?

      Telling him won’t keep him from leaving.

      She gripped the tiny silver frame she’d bought as a going-away gift in her hand. He could take the frame with him, and if he couldn’t make it back for the birth, she’d mail him a photograph to put inside. That way she and their child would always be with him, wherever he went.

      Thunder clapped in the gray sky, the rain rushing down in a torrent, the shadows of the night closing in around her. A hurricane warning had been issued on the coast of Florida, the torrential rains already unleashing themselves on Atlanta.

      Reminding herself that she had another life to consider now, a baby to protect, she eased her foot off the accelerator, but another pair of headlights behind her, set on high beam, nearly blinded her. She blinked and righted the wheel to correct for the curve in the road, but a horn blared as an oncoming truck roared toward her. She skimmed the edge of the embankment, spotted the bridge ahead and panic slammed into her.

      Behind her another car honked, speeding up on her tail. She skidded on the wet pavement, her Jetta hurling into a tailspin. The passenger side scraped the side rails of the bridge and sparks flew from the car as it careened down the riverbank, grinding over the muddy earth. Glass exploded as she nosedived into the Chattahoochee River.

      The air bag exploded, trapping her against the seat. Spots danced before her eyes, and panic knifed through her arms as a stabbing pain shot through her temple.

      She had to save the baby.

      Water seeped into the car, the current lapping at the windows. She jiggled the seat belt to escape, pushing at the air bag, but the seat belt was stuck. Red water swirled around her.

      Blood.

      Her stomach cramped, a spasm of mind-numbing agony gripping her. She cried out, tears running from her eyes. The red faded into black. Then darkness. She reached for the tiny picture frame and clutched it in her hand.

      Dear God. No. She was losing her baby. They would both die. And Mark would leave the country without ever knowing that she’d planned to accept his proposal.

      Or that she had been pregnant with his child.

      Chapter One

      A year later

      Claire Kos lived in a world of darkness—a world she’d been trying to adjust to since the day she’d lost her child.

      Feeling her way to her desk, she slid into the chair,