Buried Secrets (Men of Valor Book #1) , livre ebook

Baker Publishing Group - Irene Hannon

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208 pages

English

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Description

After seven years as a Chicago homicide detective, Lisa Grant has hit a wall. Ready for a kinder, gentler life, she takes a job as a small-town police chief. But the discovery of a human skeleton by a construction crew at the edge of town taxes the resources of her department. A call for assistance brings detective Mac McGregor, an ex-Navy SEAL, to her doorstep. As they work to solve the mystery behind the unmarked grave, danger begins to shadow them. Someone doesn't want this dead person telling any tales--and will stop at nothing to make certain a life-shattering secret stays buried.Master storyteller Irene Hannon is back with an exciting new series featuring former special forces operatives now in the thick of the action in civilian life. Hannon is at the top of her game in this can't-put-it-down thriller that will have readers up until the wee hours devouring every page.

Informations

Publié par	Baker Publishing Group
Date de parution	31 mars 2015
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781441223043
Langue	English
Poids de l'ouvrage	1 Mo

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0432€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

Extrait

© 2015 by Irene Hannon
Published by Revell
a division of Baker Publishing Group
P.O. Box 6287, Grand Rapids, MI 49516-6287
www . revellbooks .com
Printed in the United States of America
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—for example, electronic, photocopy, recording—without the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC.
ISBN 978-0-8007-2126-8
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
Praise for Irene Hannon’s Novels
Heroes of Quantico Series
“I found someone who writes romantic suspense better than I do.”
Dee Henderson on Against All Odds
“Characters that are engrossing, a plot filled with unexpected twists, and a love story that will melt your heart.”
RT Book Reviews on An Eye for an Eye
“An ever-climactic mystery . . . engagingly sure-footed.”
Publishers Weekly on In Harm’s Way
Guardians of Justice Series
“Excellent character development and intriguing suspense.”
Relz Reviewz on Fatal Judgment
“Compelling characters and an emotionally engaging plot powered by a surfeit of nail-biting suspense.”
Booklist on Deadly Pursuit
“If you’re looking for a keeper, this is it!’”
Suspense Magazine on Lethal Legacy
Private Justice Series
“A riveting storyline . . . one of those addictive books that, once started, compels you to shut out the world till you reach the very last page.”
New York Journal of Books on Vanished
“The queen of inspirational romantic suspense hits a home run.”
Library Journal on Trapped
“An intriguing thrill ride from start to finish.”
RT Book Reviews on Deceived
To Kay Schumert and Martha Roux, with happy memories of our days at the BPL. Thank you for the gift of your friendship. It is one of my treasures.
Contents
Cover
Title Page
Copyright Page
Endorsements
Dedication
Prologue
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
Epilogue
Acknowledgments
An Excerpt from Book 2
Books by Irene Hannon
Back Ads
Back Cover
Prologue
I t was meant to be a joyride.
No one was supposed to die.
“She’s not breathing!” Erika’s shrill, hysteria-laced whisper pierced the humidity-laden air.
Heart pounding, I fisted my hands. “I can see that.”
The clammy smell of panic overpowered the scent of fresh-cut hay in the adjacent field as we huddled on our knees over the motionless figure in the ditch.
“What should we do?” Joe’s voice cracked on the last word.
They both looked at me like I had the answer. Like I knew how to make this nightmare go away.
I didn’t.
Not yet, anyway.
I was still trying to wrap my mind around what had happened. To figure out how my well-planned life could careen out of control in the space of a few heartbeats.
The answer eluded me.
But I did know one thing. Any whiff of scandal could deep-six the coveted job I was a breath away from getting after acing the final interview.
I couldn’t let that happen.
When I didn’t respond, Joe leaned across the crumpled body and grasped my shoulders, his fingers digging into my flesh like talons. “What should we do?”
I shook him off. “I heard you the first time! Give me a minute!”
I straightened up and checked out the rural Missouri road, with its undulating dips that provided high-speed thrills.
Empty.
But headlights could appear at any moment, illuminating us in twin spotlights.
If they did, we were hosed.
My fingers began to prickle.
We had to make a decision.
Fast.
“Should we try CPR?” Joe’s voice was shaking now.
I surveyed the broken body. Every twisted angle said it was too late for lifesaving measures, but I pressed my fingers to her carotid artery anyway. Just in case.
Nothing.
“She’s dead.”
“Oh, God!” Erika began to hyperventilate, her breath coming in ragged, shallow gasps.
I gave her a hard shake. “Stop it! If you keep that up, you’re going to pass out!”
“But w-what are we going to do?” Her question came out in a whimpering blubber.
Disgust soured my mouth.
I hate weak women.
If Erika’s father hadn’t had the kind of connections I needed, I would never have befriended her—and I wouldn’t be in the middle of this mess.
Anger began to churn in my gut.
“We need to do something . Now!” Joe gave the deserted rural highway a spastic sweep.
“I know that! Shut up and let me think.”
I glared down at the contorted figure at my knees. I should never have let Erika invite her tonight. So what if they were roommates? So what if the girl didn’t have a lot of friends? So what if she was feeling depressed?
Those were her problems.
Except now she was my problem.
Despite the fury nipping at my composure, the left side of my brain began to click into gear. Logic under duress had been my father’s strong suit too—on his few good days.
But I wasn’t like my old man. There were better things in store for me. I had plans. And nothing—nothing—was going to disrupt them.
Including a dead girl.
I held the keys out to Joe. “Open the trunk.”
“What?” He stared at me, the whites of his eyes glimmering in the darkness.
“Just do it.”
“But . . . shouldn’t we call 911 or something?”
“Yeah, that’s a good idea,” Erika seconded.
What idiots.
Speaking slowly to give my words a chance to sink into their thick skulls, I explained the problem. “We’re all high as kites. Don’t think the cops won’t notice that.” I locked onto Joe. “You were driving. What do you think a charge of vehicular manslaughter would do to your Rhodes Scholarship?”
I let him mull that over while I turned to Erika. “And a squeaky-clean state senator who’s built his political career on an antidrug platform might very well disown a daughter who generates bad press that could cost him the U.S. Senate nomination. So much for that grand graduation tour of Europe you had planned for this summer, and your fancy car.” On the shoulder above us, the hot engine of the Mercedes convertible was still pinging.
Only the sound of harsh, erratic breathing and the distant wail of a train whistle broke the silence as they digested my rationale.
I gave them ten seconds to think through the ramifications.
Then I held out the keys again.
This time Joe took them.
Since Erika had collapsed into a useless, quivering lump, I waited for Joe to return to deal with the body. “I’ll take her arms. You get her feet.”
We moved into position.
“On three. One, two, three.”
We lifted together. Erika scrabbled backward as the dead girl’s head lolled forward.
I paid no attention—to either of them. I was too angry . . . at myself now as much as them.
What had possessed me to go along with their stupid joyriding scheme, anyway? I didn’t do foolish and reckless. I didn’t do anything that could interfere with my plans, with the future I’d mapped out for myself.
Tonight was the biggest mistake of my life.
And I never intended to make another one.
Joe and I hefted the girl into the trunk. The liner would have to be replaced—but we could deal with that tomorrow.
I closed the lid and retrieved a flashlight from the glove compartment. “We need to make sure nothing incriminating is left behind. Help me look around. And hurry.”
As I swept the light back and forth in a wide arc over the pavement and ground, they hovered at my shoulders like overzealous prison guards.
Talk about a distasteful image.
I shoved it from my mind.
Three minutes later, once I was confident that mashed-down grass was the only evidence of our unplanned stop, we piled back into Erika’s convertible.
This time, I took the wheel.
“Now what?” Joe spoke from the backseat as I pulled onto the pavement, gravel crunching beneath the tires.
I’d been thinking about that, my mind working through various scenarios as we’d silently searched the roadside.
“Yeah. Now what?” Erika cowered into the corner of the seat beside me, her voice small. Scared. Tear-laced.
What a loser.
“If someone finds out . . .” Joe’s words trailed off.
I clenched the wheel.
Not going to happen.
Ever.
“No one will. I’m working on a plan.”
As the minutes ticked by, a strategy began to coalesce in my brain, the pieces clicking into place one by one.
It wasn’t bad.
Not bad at all.
And we were lucky in one regard.
Making the girl in the trunk disappear would be far easier than disposing of anyone else we knew.
“Do you still have that state map in your glove compartment?” I checked the rearview mirror as I directed the question to Erika. The road stretched dark and deserted behind us. Perfect.
“Y-yes.” Her response came out in a choked whisper.
“Get it out.”
I heard her fumbling with the latch.
“Do you have an idea?” Joe leaned forward and spoke behind my ear.
Of course I did. I always had ideas. I was the only one in this bunch who ever did. Erika was a twit, and while Joe might be smart with numbers, he didn’t have one imaginative bone in his body.
“Yeah, I have an idea.”
And as the miles rolled by, I laid out my plan.
They listened in silence for the most part, especially when I reemphasized the stakes. None of us wanted to deal with the ramifications of this disaster. On that much, at least, we were in agreement.
When I finished, neither spoke.
I waited them out.
“It might work.” This from Joe, though he sounded uncertain.
“It will work—as long as we stick together. And there’s no going back once we start down this road. Understood?”
Not that we had much choice at this point. We’d already started down the road by moving the body. But I wanted their verbal buy in.
“Yeah. I’m in.” Resignation flattened Joe’s words.
“Me too . . . I guess.” Erika sniffled.
“There’s no guessing, Erika.” I used my harshest tone. These two needed to get with the progra