The Agent's Secret Child

The Agent's Secret Child
B.J. Daniels

THE MISSION: FIND MOTHER AND CHILDFinding Isabella Montenegro and her young daughter and bringing them back to testify should have been easy. But one look at Isabella and Texas Confidential Agent Jake Cantrell remembered a woman he'd cherished…a woman who'd died. And one look at the child–and he saw himself in her eyes….Until she'd met Jake Cantrell, Isabella's past had been a blank. Now fragmented memories began to assault her. Who was she? If Jake had fathered her child, then her entire life was a lie. Now that false life and the life of her daughter were at stake–and there was only Jake to trust.

“Why?” Jake asked in a hoarse whisper. “Why didn’t you come back to me?”

“Because I don’t know you,” she cried.

“You believe that stuff in the envelope about me? Even after that kiss?”

“No. Jake, I don’t remember anything before waking up in a hospital six years ago.”

“You don’t still believe you’re Isabella Montenegro?”

“How can I after everything that’s happened? After—” The kiss. She unconsciously ran her tongue over her upper lip, the memory still fresh, the feeling still intoxicating.

“But you’re afraid of me because of what you found in the envelope.”

“I don’t know who or what to believe at this point,” she said, looking away.

“If you could remember what you and I had, you’d know the truth,” Jake said softly. “I loved Abby Diaz. We were going to get married. We were going to have a child.”

“We did have a child….”

The Agent’s Secret Child

B.J. Daniels

www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Born in Houston, B.J. Daniels is a former Southern girl who grew up on the smell of Gulf sea air and Southern cooking. But her home is now in Montana, not far from Big Sky, where she snowboards in the winters and boats in the summers with her husband and daughters. She does miss gumbo and Texas barbecue, though! Her first Harlequin Intrigue novel was nominated for the Romantic Times Magazine Reviewer’s Choice Award for best first book and best Harlequin Intrigue. She is a member of Romance Writers of America, Heart of Montana and Bozeman Writers Group. B.J. loves to hear from readers. Write to her at: P.O. Box 183, Bozeman, MT 59771.

The Confidential Agent’s Pledge

I hereby swear to uphold the law to the best of my ability; to maintain the level of integrity of this agency by my compassion for victims, loyalty to my brothers and courage under fire.

And above all, to hold all information and identities in the strictest confidence….

CAST OF CHARACTERS

Isabella Montenegro/Abby Diaz—Was she the former FBI agent who everyone believed was dead? Then why couldn’t she remember who’d tried to kill her? Worse, why couldn’t she remember the man she’d supposedly loved?

Jake Cantrell—His job as an agent for Texas Confidential was to find a woman and child. But he found a lot more.

Elena Montenegro—All the five-year-old had ever wanted was a father.

Julio Montenegro—He knew the truth, but he got greedy and it cost him his life.

Tomaso Calderone—The drug lord thought he’d found his chance to get Jake Cantrell.

Dell Harper—He’d been like a little brother to Abby. But how well had she known him?

Ramon Hernandez—As Calderone’s right-hand man, he had to stop Abby and Jake—or die trying.

Frank Jordan—The past had come back to haunt him. And now it was just a matter of time before the truth got out.

Tommy Barnett—He’d do anything for a friend. Even kill.

Reese Ramsey—He was the only agent from the past who Jake could trust. But was that trust misplaced?

Crystal Winfrey Jordan—She had a very good reason to be jealous of Abby Diaz. But what was that reason?

This book is dedicated to my aunt,

Lenore Collmorgen Bateman (1912-1999).

I never think of Texas without thinking of her.

Some of my fondest memories are of her making

pancakes over a Coleman, joking and laughing.

She was a great cook and one of the strong women

in my life I have tried to emulate.

Contents

Prologue

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine