I cant seem to stay away from you.
The admission stunned her, although Anna wasnt sure why. She felt the same way, had from the moment shed first laid eyes on him.
But things had changed between them now. She could sense it. Ben had risked his life to save her, and Anna knew if the situation were reversed, she would have done the same for him. The bond between them was no longer merely a physical attraction, if it had ever been only that. The connection now was deeper, more spiritual and much more complex.
Love at first sight? Anna wasnt convinced she believed in the concept still, but whatever she and Ben had, it wasnt going away. Not in a day. Not in a year. Maybe not ever.
Dear Harlequin Intrigue Reader,
Happy Valentines Day! We are so pleased youve come back to Harlequin Intrigue for another exciting month of breathtaking romantic suspense.
And our February lineup is sure to please, starting with another installment in Debra Webbs trilogy about the most covert agents around: THE SPECIALISTS. Her Hidden Truth is a truly innovative story about what could happen if an undercover agent had a little help from a memory device to ensure her cover. But what if said implant malfunctioned and past, present and future were all mixed up? Fortunately this lucky lady has a very sexy recovery Specialist to extract her from the clutches of a group of dangerous terrorists.
Next we have another title in our TOP SECRET BABIES promotion by Mallory Kane, called Heir to Secret Memories. Though a bachelor heir to a family fortune is stricken with amnesia, he cant forget one very beautiful woman. And when she comes to him in desperation to locate her child, hes doubly astonished to find out he is the missing girls father.
Julie Miller returns to her ongoing series THE TAYLOR CLAN with The Rookie. If you go for those younger guys, well, hold on to your hats, because Josh Taylor is one dynamite lawman.
Finally, Amanda Stevens takes up the holiday baton with Confessions of the Heart. In this unique story, a woman receives a heart transplant and is inexorably drawn to the original owners husband. Find out why in this exceptional story.
Enjoy all four!
Sincerely,
Denise OSullivan
Associate Senior Editor
Harlequin Intrigue
Confessions of the Heart
Amanda Stevens
www.millsandboon.co.uk
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Born and raised in a small Southern town, Amanda Stevens frequently draws on memories of her birthplace to create atmospheric settings and casts of eccentric characters. She is the author of over twenty-five novels, the recipient of a Career Achievement award for Romantic/Mystery, and a 1999 RITA® award finalist in the Gothic/Romantic Suspense category. She now resides in Texas with her husband, teenage twins and her cat, Jesse, who also makes frequent appearances in her books.
CAST OF CHARACTERS
Anna Sebastian Lured to San Miguel by someone from her heart donors past, Anna finds a new life, a new loveand an evil she could never have imagined.
Ben Porter Can he protect the woman he loves from the evil that nearly destroyed him?
Katherine Sprague Her heart gave Anna a new life. Will her memory destroy Annas happiness?
Gwen Draven She had a love/hate relationship with her sister, Katherine.
Gabriella Sprague She is the one who found her mothers body. Is she also the one who lured Anna to San Miguel?
Acacia Cortina An exotic beauty who claims to be descended from Mayan royalty.
Margarete Cortina An eccentric woman whose strange beliefs have made her an outcast in San Miguel.
Hays Devereaux Annas ex-husband and a man with a grudge.
Emily Winsome Her determination to prove Katherine was murdered could be the death of her.
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 One
Someone knows about me.
Dr. English glanced up from Anna Sebastians lab reports and gave her a wink. Not my wife, I hope.
You arent married, she reminded him. And despite what his teasing tone seemed to suggest, Anna was not now, nor would she ever be, involved in a torrid love affair with her doctor.
Not that he wasnt torrid love affair material. He was a real heartthrob, in fact, with his dark hair, smoldering eyes and a slow, sexy smile that had sent Anna into a tailspin the first time shed seen it.
But that was before hed reached inside her chest and literally ripped out her heart.
Since then shed become immune to that smile. Nowadays she valued Michael Englishs expertise as a heart surgeon far more highly than his skills as a lover, although she suspected those skills were considerable.
Arent you even the least bit curious about what I said? she persisted.
First things first. He gathered up the lab reports and gave her a look that was now all business. Howve you been feeling?
At the moment, like I had a run-in with a vampire. She put a hand to her neck where a bandage covered the small incision made several hours earlier for her heart biopsy.
Michael scribbled something in her file. Have the mood swings improved since we eliminated the prednisone?
What mood swings?
Laurel said
Laurel is a born worrier, Anna scoffed. She thinks if I feel the least bit tired or cranky or if I shouldGod forbidcough, Im experiencing rejection.
He gave her a stern appraisal. Have you experienced any of those symptoms?
No. Anna shrugged. I was just trying to make the point that my stepmother worries too much.
Any fever?
No.
Diarrhea?
No. It seemed a shame to have to discuss something so unpleasant with a man like Michael, but Anna was used to it by now. Hed seen her at her worst and then some.
Shortness of breath, dizziness, irregular heartbeat?
No, no and no. She sighed. You would think after nearly a year and no major complications, Laurel could relax a bit. She slanted him a glance. So could you, for that matter.
Anna. His voice took on the note she didnt like, the doctor to patient one that told her she was in for another lecture. You cant afford to get complacent just because youve only had one mild episode of rejection. It could still happen. You have to check your vitals on a daily basis. That doesnt change. Thats forever. So is taking your medication. Non-compliance is the third-leading cause of rejection.
I am taking my meds, she insisted.
You never forget?
Not once. The various medications had, thankfully, decreased to a more manageable number from the fifteen in the morning and another fifteen at night shed been prescribed when she first left the hospital. She still sometimes felt as if she were running a pharmacy out of her medicine cabinet, but she took the pills and the liquids like clockwork every single day. No forgetting. No doubling up on the dosage. Even skipping one time could invite rejection.
Anna knew that only too well. Michael and the rest of her transplant team had hammered it into her head before and after her surgery. Shed had to memorize all her meds, know them by sight and what they were for, before shed been allowed to leave the hospital.
Lean forward. Michael blew gently on the stethoscope before placing the warmed instrument against her back, and then he moved it around to her chest. Next he took her pulse, his brows drawing together in concentration as he counted.
He really was a handsome man. It would have been very easy to cross the line from professional to personal, Anna had to admit. He wasnt just easy on the eyes, but was charming and funny and he loved to tease her. She couldnt remember being teased that way since her mother had died of heart failure when Anna was thirteen.
Shed inherited her mothers bad heart, but not her sense of humor. Always prone to a serious disposition, Anna had become even more intense and driven as a teenager, especially after her father remarried. Shed bitterly rebelled against her stepmother and had cut herself off from her family all through college and law school. Not until Anna learned her father was battling lung cancer had she finally taken the first step toward reconciliation.
She was grateful theyd made their peace before he died, but she knew she hadnt given him the one thing hed wanted mosther acceptance of Laurel. Even in their mutual grief, Anna hadnt been able to warm up to her stepmother.
So it was ironic, she supposed, that Laurel was the one whod talked her into seeing a doctor when shed started having dizzy spells, Laurel whod insisted Anna seek a second opinion when her first cardiologist had sent her home after treating her for an irregular heartbeat.
It was Laurel who moved in and took care of Anna when, several months later, the dizzy spells turned into exhaustion, Laurel who commiserated with her when she had to cut back her caseload at Matthews, Conley and Hart and later, when she had to take an extended leave of absence.
It was Laurel whod been by Annas side when she got the news that in the year since her first diagnosis, her heart had taken a complete nosedive, and a transplant was her only hope.
It was Laurel whod driven her to the hospital when the call had come that a heart had been found for her.
A new heart. A new life. A new Anna.
At least, she was trying for the latter. Facing her own mortality had made her take a long hard look at herself, and Anna had been a little shocked by what shed found. Her whole adult life had been focused on her career to the exclusion of all else, including friendships, relationships and family.
The decisions shed made had been brought painfully home to her when Laurel had kept a lonely vigil at the hospital, when only a smattering of cards and letters from well-wishers had been delivered to her apartment. Shed been forced to accept the unpleasant truth that, except for her stepmothera woman Anna had treated badly for yearsno one much cared whether she lived or died.
Of course, the senior partners at Matthews, Conley and Hart had a financial interest in her survival, but if shed never made it off the operating table, they wouldnt have shed any tears. They would have coldly and analytically gone about the business of minimizing the impact of her demise on the firm, perhaps even finding a way to capitalize on it, just as she would have done if she were in their place.
Her ex-husband had once accused her of being a cold, heartless bitch, and she supposed in a lot of ways she had been.
Michael was taking a blood pressure reading, and Anna knew better than to say anything until he was through.
So, he said, returning the pressure cuff to the wall over her bed. What did you do?
What do you mean?
You said someone knows about you. What did you do?
I think someone from the donors family knows who I am.
He lifted his brows in surprise. Thats impossible. Both the donor and the recipients identification are kept anonymous. The surgeons dont even know who the donors are. The OPOs are designed that way.
I realize that, but I dont know how else to explain the weird things that have been happening to me lately.
He frowned. What kind of weird things?
Anna lay silent for a moment. This is going to make me sound completely paranoid, but Ive been getting these phone calls. They always come at night, after Ive gone to bed, and they usually wake me up. No one seems to be on the line, but I can hear music playing in the background. You know that tune Heart and soul, da-da, da-da, da-da Okay, Im way off key, but you know the one I mean?
He gave her a strange look. You say these phone calls always come at night and they wake you up? Are you sure youre not dreaming? Youve been through an ordeal, Anna. Both physically and mentally. Your whole life has changed in a matter of months
I know, she broke in. But thats not it. Im not dreaming. I think the phone calls have something to do with my transplant.
But even if they do that doesnt mean theyre coming from the donors family, Michael argued. It could be someone who knows you. Someone with a grudge whos trying to get under your skin a little.
Shed thought of that. Her aggressive style as a divorce attorney hadnt exactly endeared her to the spouses of her clients, or to some of her own colleagues, for that matter. Still, there was something deeply disturbing and symbolic about the phone calls.
Look, Michael said. I dont want you worrying about this. The last thing you need is added stress.
Im not stressed. God knows some days I feel as if Im almost comatose. Anna didnt exactly miss the pressure cooker environment at the law firm, but a year post-op, she knew it was time to either go back to work on a limited basis or find something else to occupy her time. She couldnt exist for the rest of her life in a world of little more than meds, naps and daily walks. She knew of other heart transplant recipients who were climbing mountains. She needed a mountain.
Youre right. Its probably nothing. She sat up and swung her legs over the side of the bed. I thought Id mention it, though, in case you want to report a possible security breach to Gift of Life.
He made a final notation in her file. A security breach is highly unlikely.
Right. Anna knew of computer experts who could hack into the offshore accounts of major banks to search for hidden assets. In the right hands, she doubted the systems at most organ procurement organizations would present much of a challenge.
Michael slipped his pen into the pocket of his lab coat and closed her file. Youre doing great, Anna. Your lab and blood work all look good. You keep this up, and I wont need to see you again for another three months.
He walked to the door, then turned and gave her a stern look. But Im serious about the stress. Dont get all worked up about these calls. Unplug your phone at night if you have to. Give it a few days, and whoever this joker is, hell get tired of his little pranks and move on to something else.