Im worried about your safetyThea.
Her name on his lips sent a thrill of excitement rolling through Thea. A shiver of something she didnt want to name eased up her backbone and made her stomach flutter in awareness. She hadnt been attracted to a man in years. And now, at the worst possible time, with the worst possible man, Thea was feeling things she had no business feeling.
Why cant you just go away and leave us alone? she whispered.
His gaze softened, touched her lips, and Thea trembled, clutching her daughters hand as if Nikki were her lifeline.
Therere some things about this case you may not be aware of. Have dinner with me and well talk about them.
Theas heart started to pound. That she was even momentarily tempted by his invitation proved how dangerous he was to her.
She glanced down at Nikki. Nikki looked back up at her, her expression hopeful. The fact that Nikki showed a reaction at all was a positive sign. A small miracle.
With Nikki on his side, how on earth could Thea continue to do what she knew she mustresist John Gallagher?
Dear Intrigue Reader,
A brand-new year, the launch of a new millennium, a new cover lookand another exciting lineup of pulse-pounding romance and exhilarating suspense from Harlequin Intrigue!
This month, Amanda Stevens gives new meaning to the phrase men in uniform with her new trilogy, GALLAGHER JUSTICE, about a family of Chicago cops. Theyre tough, tender and totally to die for. Detective John Gallagher draws first blood in The Littlest Witness (#549).
If youve never been Captured by a Sheikh (#550), you dont know what youre missing! Veteran romance novelist Jacqueline Diamond takes you on a magic carpet ride youll never forget, when a sheikh comes to claim his son, a baby hes never even seen.
Wouldnt you just love to wake up and have the sexiest man youve ever seen take you and your unborn child into his protection? Well, Harlequin Intrigue author Dani Sinclair does just that when she revisits FOOLS POINT. My Baby, My Love (#551) is the second story set in the Maryland town Dani created in her Harlequin Intrigue book For His Daughter (#539).
Susan Kearney rounds out the month with a trip to the wildest American frontierAlaska. A Night Without End (#552) is another installment in the Harlequin Intrigue bestselling amnesia promotion A MEMORY AWAY. This time a woman wakes to find herself in a remote land in the arms of a sexy stranger who claims to be her husband.
And this is just the beginning! We at Harlequin Intrigue are committed to keeping you on the edge of your seat. Thank you for your enthusiastic support.
Sincerely,
Denise OSullivan
Associate Senior Editor, Harlequin Intrigue
The Littlest Witness
Amanda Stevens
www.millsandboon.co.uk
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Amanda Stevens has written over twenty novels of romantic suspense. Her books have appeared on several bestseller lists, and she has won Reviewers Choice and Career Achievement in Romantic/ Mystery awards from Romantic Times Magazine. She resides in Cypress, Texas, with her husband, her son and daughter, and their two cats.
Books by Amanda Stevens
HARLEQUIN INTRIGUE
373STRANGER IN PARADISE
388A BABYS CRY
397A MAN OF SECRETS
430THE SECOND MRS. MALONE
453THE HEROS SON*
458THE BROTHERS WIFE*
462THE LONG-LOST HEIR*
489SOMEBODYS BABY
511LOVER, STRANGER
549THE LITTLEST WITNESS**
HARLEQUIN BOOKS
2-in-1 Harlequin 50th Anniversary Collection
HER SECRET PAST
CAST OF CHARACTERS
John GallagherHis only witness to murder is a little girl who cant speak.
Thea LockhartShes given up everything for her daughter. Has she finally found a man she can trust?
Nikki LockhartThe four-year-old silent witness.
Gail WatersHer death is as mysterious as the missing people she hunted down.
Morris DalrimpleThe building manager would like to know Thea much better.
Superintendent Ed DawsonHow well did he know Ms. Waters?
Annette DawsonEds bitter wife.
Eddie DawsonEds estranged son is nowhere to be found.
Liam GallagherJohns uncle is in a hurry to close the case. Why?
Miles GallagherA cop with a faulty memory.
Bliss KylerWhere did Nikkis baby-sitter take her to play?
Mrs. LewellynDoes Theas neighbor suspect her secrets?
Rick MancusoThe man who haunts Theas worst nightmares.
This book is dedicated with much gratitude and
appreciation to my editor, Natashya Wilson.
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
Epilogue
Chapter One
Thea Lockhart hated being out so late. Every big city had its dangers, but Chicago after dark seemed particularly perilous, perhaps because she didnt yet feel at home there. Or perhaps because the weather was so cruel, even for November. The days were gray and dismal, spilling over into frigid nights that seemed to go on forever. Thea sometimes wondered if she would ever be warm again.
But the bone-deep chill came from neither the city nor the temperature. She could have gone anywherea southern city, a small town, even out of the countryand the demons would have followed, pursuing her to the ends of the earth if necessary.
Theas fateand her daughtershad been sealed four months ago, when shed fled Baltimore in the middle of the night, leaving behind her identity, her friends and family, and her ex-husband, dead on her bedroom floor.
Because of what shed done, she and Nikki would be on the run for the rest of their lives. The Mancuso family, along with the rest of the Baltimore Police Department, would never stop looking for them. Thea had violated the Brotherhood, the Blue Wall, and for that she would pay dearlyif she was caught.
Shivering in her long wool coat, she hurried down Woodlawn Avenue, away from the university. The lake was only a few blocks away, and the icy wind whistled through the alleys, in sync for an eerie moment with an ambulance siren that built to a crescendo, then faded.
It was after midnight and the empty streets spooked her. A shiver of warning feathered up her backbone, but when she glanced over her shoulder, there was no one behind her.
Through a break in the buildings, she glimpsed the smokestacks from the power plant. They rose like dark guardians in the night sky, but if anything, the sight deepened Theas chill. She felt alone and vulnerable. Exposed.
Normally she would have been home long before now, but three of the five waitresses scheduled for the evening shift at the diner had come down with the flu, and Theas boss had pressed her into working a double.
As much as she hated not being home in time to bathe her daughter and put her to bedan evening ritual that had become important to both of themThea couldnt refuse. Zelda Vanripper, owner of Zeldas Eatery in Hyde Park, had been good to her, putting her on the day shift so that she could be home with Nikki at night and asking few questions about her background.
So Thea had stayed and worked, and the extra tips would come in handy, as always. But after being on her feet since seven that morning, she couldnt wait to get home to a hot bath.
Her apartment building was only a few blocks from the diner, but the last two blocks dragged on her frazzled nerves and weary muscles. Huddling in her coat as a frigid gust tore at her, she hurried her steps, more anxious than ever to be out of the cold and the darkness.
As she crossed East Fifty-fifth Street, her apartment building finally came into view, but the sigh of relief died on her lips. Blue lights from half-a-dozen police cars bounced off the sides of buildings and reflected in long wavering beams down the wet street, capturing Thea in a frail azure glow.
She stood frozen for the longest moment, a two-word prayer rambling over and over in her mind. Oh God oh God oh God.
Theyd found her!
Her first instinct was to turn and flee, to disappear into the shadows before anyone noticed her. But her daughter was in that building, and nothing, not even her own freedom, could compel her to run. She would never let them take Nikki back to Baltimore, back to the Mancusos, who would raise her in the same corruption in which theyd raised their own son.
Dont think about that now, Thea ordered herself, burying her trembling hands in her pockets. Dont think about Rick or the gunshot or all that blood.
Now was definitely not the time to panic.
Head down, shoulders hunched against the wind, she hurried along the sidewalk. When she drew near her building, she could see the area was cordoned off with yellow tape. Several policemen, uniforms and plainclothes, clustered around something in the street, almost directly in front of the buildings entrance.
Theas heart rocketed against her ribcage. Bile rose in her throat as she strained to see through the wall of policemen. Please, God, she prayed desperately. Let Nikki be all right.
If anything ever happened to her daughter, Thea wasnt sure how she would cope. Nikki was her whole life, a sweet damaged angel who had been put through hell because of her parents. Thea would do anything, anything to protect her.
But what if she was too late? What if Ricks family had somehow found them, and Nikki had tried to get away and
Almost running now, Thea saw one of the officers step out of the way, and for the first time, she glimpsed the body lying on the pavement. Relief rushed through her when she saw it was a woman and not a child who lay motionless at the officers feet. But in the next instant Thea realized with guilty compassion that the victim was someones daughter. Her next of kin would be getting that terrible phone call, probably within the hour.
Lenore Mancusos grief-stricken face flashed across Theas mind, but she quickly shoved it aside. She wouldnt think about Ricks mother now, either.
Slowing, Thea hung back from the policemen, hoping they hadnt seen her. The cold air frosted their breath as they talked and laughed and went about their grisly business with the same disconnection Thea had always found so chilling in Rick.
Teeth chattering from the cold and from nerves, she walked past them, her head still bowed. But as she approached the stoop, one of the officers called out, Hey, you!
She hesitated and looked over her shoulder.
Yeah, you. Come over here.
Her heart still pounding, Thea turned and slowly descended the steps. The officer met her at the bottom. He was one of the uniforms, middle-aged and heavyset, his face puffy and lined beneath the bill of his rain cap. His poncho billowed in the wind as he lifted his flash-light in her direction.
Automatically Thea turned her face away, but before he could switch on the beam, another car drove up and someone shouted, Gallaghers here.
The man beside her muttered, About damn time.
Thea hoped the newcomer would distract the officer so that she could slip away, but he turned to stare down at her in the rain. You live in this building?
Thea hesitated, then nodded.
Out kind of late, arent you?
I was just coming home from work. She bit her lip, trying to control the chattering of her teeth. Wh-what happened?
Someone took a dive off the roof, the officer told her dispassionately. Then, Whats your name?
Thea Lockhart.
He carefully noted the information in his book. Where do you work?
Zeldas Eatery. Its on East Fifty-seventh, near the university.
Thea expected more questions, but the officer seemed to lose interest as the lights on the unmarked car that had just driven up were killed. They both watched as a manGallagher, she presumedgot out. He was tall and his shoulders beneath the heavy overcoat looked enormous. In spite of the cold and the rain, he wasnt wearing a hat or gloves, and his coat flapped open in the wind, making him seem impervious to the brutal weather.
With grim deliberation, he surveyed the scene, his gaze raking the whole areaincluding Theabefore he walked toward the body. There was no mistaking who was in charge now. The crowd of officers parted for him, and Thea got a clearer view of the victim. She hadnt expected so much blood. It reminded her of that night
She staggered back a step and the policeman beside her caught her arm. Hey, you okay?
Im fine
But she wasnt. Violence and death hit too close to home, and as ashamed as she was to admit it, her main concern was how to disentangle herself from the police. She couldnt get involved. She felt sorry for the poor woman lying on the street, but she couldnt afford to get caught up in a police investigation.
Trembling, she watched as Gallagher knelt and examined the body. He didnt touch the victim, didnt disturb the crime scene with so much as a stray glance, but for a long moment, he remained there, studying her face as if her last thoughts might be lingering somewhere on her frozen expression.
After several minutes he stood. Who was the first officer? His tone was deep, authoritative. Not cold exactly, but a voice belonging to a man Thea had no wish to confront.
McGowan, someone told him.
Over here, the man beside her called out.
Gallagher turned and started toward them. His features stood out starkly in the streetlight. Even the rain didnt diminish the angles of his face, the broad nose, the full sensuous lips. His eyes were blue, which surprised Thea. Shed thought they would be dark, like his hair. The light color was particularly striking against his grave features.