Harlequin Intrigue February 2023--Box Set 2 of 2


 
 
 
 
 
 “I wanted you from the minute I spied you through my binoculars. I wanted you before you even knew I existed.”
 “I did know you existed somewhere. I felt it,” Billy said. “And when I bumped into you at the wedding, I knew I’d been waiting for you. I knew I’d see you again.”
 “That’s because I put a spell on you all those days I had you in my sights,” Mia said.
 A thrill raced down his spine. Mia said the most unexpected things. He couldn’t wait to get her in bed and discover all her other mysteries.
 Suddenly, his phone rang. He didn’t want this moment to end.
 She put a hand against his chest. “You have to see who it is. In our line of work, we have to take calls—whether we want to or not.”
 He held up one finger. “Wait. Don’t breathe.”
 Billy grabbed the intrusive device. Unknown.
 He answered. “Yeah.”
 A woman’s panting and sobbing assaulted his ears, and his heart banged against his rib cage. Could this actually be his sister?
 
 
 Malice at the Marina
 Carol Ericson
 
 
 
 Carol Ericson is a bestselling, award-winning author of more than forty books. She has an eerie fascination for true crime stories, a love of film noir and a weakness for reality TV, all of which fuel her imagination to create her own tales of murder, mayhem and mystery. To find out more about Carol and her current projects, please visit her website at www.carolericson.com, “where romance flirts with danger.”
 Books by Carol Ericson
 Harlequin Intrigue
 The Lost Girls
 Canyon Crime Scene
 Lakeside Mystery
 Dockside Danger
 Malice at the Marina
 A Kyra and Jake Investigation
 The Setup
 The Decoy
 The Bait
 The Trap
 Visit the Author Profile page at Harlequin.com.
 
 
 CAST OF CHARACTERS
 Billy Crouch—This hotshot LAPD homicide detective has been searching for his missing sister for five years, and just when he thinks the trail has gone cold, a mysterious woman shows up to give him hope...and heart.
 Mia Romano—A US marshal who has lost her protected witness, she starts surveillance on the witness’s brother, an LAPD homicide detective, and now she wants to get close to not only her witness but her witness’s sexy brother, too.
 Sabrina Crouch—She’s been in witness protection for five years, but now it’s time for her to call the shots in her own life, even if it puts her in danger.
 Bri Sparks—She shows up in Billy’s life to tell him his long-lost sister is still alive, but what is her motive?
 Nick Carlucci—A member of the Carlucci crime family, he invited Sabrina to Vegas to get to know her and wound up falling in love...at his own peril.
 Vince Carlucci—The leader of the Carlucci mob family has lost control of his brother, but he’s willing to do anything to get it back.
 Beckett—He works for the Carluccis, but his loyalty to one brother over the other just might get him killed.
 
 
 Contents
 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
 Chapter Seventeen
 Chapter Eighteen
 Epilogue
 
 
 CHAPTER ONE
 LAPD homicide detective Billy Crouch gritted his teeth as he faced the toughest job he’d had to do in a while, his heart pounding, his mouth dry. He’d never felt less like his nickname, Cool Breeze, than at this moment. He patted his jacket pocket with a sweaty palm and blew out a short breath. He had all he needed to do the job.
 When the music started, he shot a glance at his partner, Jake McAllister. J-Mac had had his back during shoot-outs, explosions and fistfights. Now it was Billy’s turn to cover his partner.
 He gave Jake a quick nod and stepped to the side as Jake’s bride, Kyra Chase, resplendent in white lace and billowing veil, joined them at the outdoor altar. The arbor that arched over the happy couple sported flowers and seashells, and for one horrifying moment, Billy’s nose tingled with an oncoming sneeze.
 He sniffed, avoiding the catastrophe, and felt for the rings in his pocket one more time as if the mere thought of a sneeze could blow them away.
 Billy listened to the vows in a blur, laughing in the right spots and swallowing hard during the tender moments. If anyone deserved happiness, these two did. He leaped to his feet on cue and fished the rings from his pocket. As he handed them to the officiant, a chaplain from the LAPD, he squeezed Jake’s shoulder.
 Soon enough, the newly married couple floated down the aisle to claps and cheers, and Billy tipped his head back and forth, cracking his neck. Mission accomplished—until his speech.
 The wedding guests bunched together as Jake and Kyra exited toward the beach for photos. As the best man, Billy would be joining them but didn’t relish the thought of clomping through dry sand to pose for group pictures. Wet sand would be much worse, and he hoped Kyra didn’t get any crazy notions about frolicking in the waves for the photo shoot.
 As he wove his way through the crowd, two forces of nature barreled into him. He hugged his two sons, James and Darius, and then straightened their jackets. “You guys look sharp. Take those jackets off if you’re going to run around.”
 Darius pointed to the waves crashing on the sand. “Can we play in the water?”
 His older brother punched him in the arm. “Don’t be an idiot.”
 Squeezing the back of James’s neck, Billy said, “Don’t call your brother names. We’re not here for the beach, Darius.”
 “Can we go see J-Mac and Kyra?” Darius wriggled out of his jacket, bunching it between his hands like a soccer ball.
 “Not yet. They need to take some pictures, but I know for a fact