May 2017
On Sale: April 25, 2017
Featuring: Tobias Novak; Julia Vargas
ISBN: 1503943690 EAN: 9781503943698 Kindle: B01LZC3HPR Paperback / e-Book Add to Wish List
Without a word, Julia left the crime scene behind, needing to breathe in
fresh air. Outside, she stripped off her gloves and tossed them in a waste bin.
Her hands trembled slightly.
Novak appeared at the door. He jerked off his gloves, tossing them in
the same bin, and came up beside her. He didn’t speak for a few moments. “Are
you sure that’s the woman you know?” he asked.
“Yes, I’m sure.”
“Who did you tell about reopening this case?”
“The Shield people. Sharp. You. I also requested the files from the
records department. Ken. His wife, Wendy. And stop looking at me like I’m a
goddamned suspect.”
“You’re not a suspect, but you’re in the center of this, Julia. What
would you have me do?” She searched his dark eyes, seeing the steady directness
she’d come to expect from him. She shook off her frustration.
“Exactly what you’re doing.”
He looked from side to side before softening his tone. “You told enough
people for the story to get out. You know as well as I do that secrets get
around fast in police departments.”
“I thought I was careful.”
“How reliable is Ken?”
“There was a time I’d have said rock solid, but now I’m not so sure. He
wouldn’t talk about the case intentionally, but he easily gets confused.”
“And Wendy?” “Wendy is former Richmond police. She and Ken met on the
job right about the time the Hangman case broke. She’s steadier, discreet.”
“When did you request the files?”
“Eight months ago. I had them for a couple of weeks. Made copies and
returned all the originals. I was careful with the files. Kept them in a locked
closet at my place when I wasn’t reading them.”
“You are positive.”
“Very.”
“Could this Hangman be watching me?”
“It all traces back to you. Someone knows what you’re doing. Someone is
watching you.”
The idea sent a cold chill trickling down her spine. But it wasn’t fear
that made her nerve endings snap. It was anger. “I’m not a victim.”
Concern softened his gaze. “I didn’t say you were.”
“No one ever says it out loud. But they think it.”
“If I’d had any thoughts or opinions about you, you would have been the
first to know.”
“You have been direct.”
“Because I care about you, Julia.”
She raised a finger. “Well, knock it off. I’m not the kind of person you
should care about.”
He cocked his head, curious. “Why not?”
She slid her fingers into the front pockets of her jeans. “What we did
was fun. Real fun. But don’t confuse that with caring."
“Did.” He leaned closer to her. “Past tense?”
She arched a brow. “We can’t anymore.”
“Why not?”
“We’re working this case, for one.”
“We wouldn’t be the first couple who met on the job.”
“We’re now a couple? No. Not a couple. You’re nice and normal; I’m crazy
with issues. Not gonna happen.”
A smile tugged at the edges of his lips. “You’re not crazy.”
“Trust me. I’m nuts. You don’t want me long term.”
“You aren’t nuts. But maybe crazy in a good way.”
The tightness always coiling her gut eased. “Fine line between the two.”
Julia Vargas is a cop with a mission. When she’s not chasing
down bad guys, Julia dedicates her time to investigating the
Hangman serial killer…the same unsolved case that her
father, Jim Vargas, was working on when he supposedly shot
and killed himself three decades before. While rumors
continue to swirl around her father’s death, Julia attempts
to hunt down the truth.
The case once again hits dangerously close,
however, when a
woman’s bones are discovered in a historic downtown home,
together with a photograph of Jim and Julia as a young girl.
As horrifying as this discovery is, it may just be the break
Julia has waited for. Working alongside Tobias Novak, a
homicide detective with whom she shares a complicated—and
steamy—history, she’s forced to confront her own past even
as the Hangman looms in the shadows. But as the mysterious
killer circles closer, Julia can feel her own noose begin to
tighten…
Romance Suspense
[Montlake Romance, On Sale: April 25, 2017,
Paperback / e-Book, ISBN: 9781503943698 / ]