Against the Wall

Against the Wall
Lyn Stone

One minute she was tending an injured patient. The next, her familiar world had vanished and Dr. Solange Micheaux was on the run with Special Agent Jack Mercier, his reluctant partner in a deadly race against time. But his powerful sensuality posed a far graver threat.She was in the wrong place at the wrong time–Jack had no choice but to take her with him. Now Solange was critical to the success of his mission. All he had to do was keep her safe. But as the hours ticked down, the stakes were rising. For each passion-filled moment they shared could be their last….

“This mission could be deadly if you don’t know what you’re doing, Solange. Tell me now if you aren’t sure, and I’ll get you out of here.”

Jack’s hand on her arm gripped with increased intensity. Solange realized he was afraid for her. Really afraid, to the point where he might abandon the mission if she seemed reluctant.

“I know what to do,” she assured him, putting more conviction into her answer than she truly felt.

In a surprising move, he put his arms around her and held her close. “I wish to God I had left you where you were. You’re not cut out for this.”

She pushed against his chest until she could look him straight in the eye. “Don’t underestimate me, Mercier.”

He smiled down at her, still holding her in his arms. “My mistake.” Then he lowered his head and kissed her.

Solange felt it to her soul.

Dear Reader,

Once again, Silhouette Intimate Moments has a month’s worth of fabulous reading for you. Start by picking up Wanted, the second in Ruth Langan’s suspenseful DEVIL’S COVE miniseries. This small town is full of secrets, and this top-selling author knows how to keep readers turning the pages.

We have more terrific miniseries. Kathleen Creighton continues STARRS OF THE WEST with An Order of Protection, featuring a protective hero every reader will want to have on her side. In Joint Forces, Catherine Mann continues WINGMEN WARRIORS with Tag’s long-awaited story. Seems Tag and his wife are also awaiting something: the unexpected arrival of another child. Carla Cassidy takes us back to CHEROKEE CORNERS in Manhunt. There’s a serial killer on the loose, and only the heroine’s visions can help catch him—but will she be in time to save the hero? Against the Wall is the next SPECIAL OPS title from Lyn Stone, a welcome addition to the line when she’s not also writing for Harlequin Historicals. Finally, you knew her as Anne Avery, also in Harlequin Historicals, but now she’s Anne Woodard, and in Dead Aim she proves she knows just what contemporary readers want.

Enjoy them all—and come back next month, when Silhouette Intimate Moments brings you even more of the best and most exciting romance reading around.

Yours,

Leslie J. Wainger

Executive Editor

Against the Wall

Lyn Stone

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

LYN STONE

loves creating pictures with words. Paints, too. Her love affair with writing and art began in the third grade, when she won a school-wide prize for her colorful poster for Book Week. She spent the prize money on books, one of which was Little Women.

She rewrote the ending so that Jo marries her childhood sweetheart. That’s because Lyn had a childhood sweetheart herself and wanted to marry him when she grew up. She did. And now she is living her “happily ever after” in north Alabama with the same guy. She and Allen have traveled the world, have two children, four grandchildren and experienced some wild adventures along the way.

Whether writing romantic historicals or contemporary fiction, Lyn insists on including elements of humor, mystery and danger. Perhaps because that other book she purchased all those years ago was a Nancy Drew.

This book is dedicated to

retired Special Agent Frank Hudson, Dorothy and Jim.

We miss you guys!

Contents

Prologue

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Epilogue

Prologue

“I don’t see how we’re gonna be much help to Jack fifteen clicks away,” Joe Corda said. He immediately lowered his voice when he heard the echo bounce off the old masonry walls. “That’s lethal stuff he’ll be dealing with. Not like bullets. One hit and he’s dead. If he were going in alone, I wouldn’t worry so much, but he’ll have that doctor along. And the kid.”

“He’ll need tickets and they’re it. I’d have gotten us closer, but we’d stick out like M&Ms on a sushi plate anywhere else around here,” Holly Amberson argued. “As it is, the locals won’t even blink at us. They’re used to weirdos renting this place. Artistes!” she hissed with a flourish of her fingers.

He looked around as he put down two of the suitcases. “This dump looks like something out of a really bad French novel.”

“Oh, yeah, like you’ve read so many of those,” she muttered. “But I will admit a Bela Lugosi butler wouldn’t be out of place.”

He leveled her with a look. “We are the help, remember?”