Excerpt of Alive at 5 by Linda Bond

“I don’t really expect you to help me, just give me a cover.”

The feisty reporter continued to glare at him. He groaned in a blast of disbelief. The irony of this situation was not lost on him. If he wanted to remain undercover for real, he had to provide her with a pretend cover. The woman did have balls he had to admit.

He forced a smile. “And if I don’t go along with your plan?”

“I walk right over to my detective friend and tell him my suspicions.” She stared boldly his way, hands on hips, legs slightly apart. “I’ll tell him that Maxwell was killed and you know all about it. That you’re here investigating the other suspicious deaths. I don’t know what agency you’re working for, but Stuart could find out in less than ten minutes, and I imagine you don’t want to blow your cover just yet. Am I right?”

His jaw dropped. “Blackmail? Really? Do you know the penalty for that if I really am a cop?”

She smiled. “Extortion, actually. Well?”

He snapped his jaw shut. He knew very well what would happen if the adventure vacation company knew his real identity, and what his bosses would do if they found out he was still investigating this case after they’d specifically pulled him off it. Wow. She had him. He was impressed, and a little turned on. He ground his teeth. He would agree to her plan, only because he had no choice. He was determined to find and nail the son of a bitch who had killed his uncle.

“All right, fine,” he said. She might lose her job if she didn’t come back with her investigative story. But he would definitely lose his job if she exposed his undercover activities and his family’s private life on the news. So, he would have to keep the nosy reporter under his thumb and under his control. One way or another.