TROUBLE ALWAYS FINDS HER...
Wrapping up a normal day at the office, criminal psychologist Kieran Finnegan is accosted by a desperate woman who shoves an infant into her arms and then flees, only to be murdered minutes later on a busy Manhattan street.
Who was the woman? Where did the baby come from? Kieran cant stop thinking about the child and the victim, so her boyfriend, Craig Frasier, does what any good special agent boyfriend would dohe gets the FBI involved. And asks Kieran to keep out of it.
But the Finnegans have a knack for getting into trouble, and Kieran wont sit idle when a lead surfaces through her familys pub. Investigating on her own, she uncovers a dangerous group that plays fast and loose with human lives and will stop at nothing to keep their secretsand they plan to silence Kieran before she can expose their deadly enterprise.
Also by Heather Graham
WICKED DEEDS
DARK RITES
DYING BREATH
A PERFECT OBSESSION
DARKEST JOURNEY
DEADLY FATE
HAUNTED DESTINY
FLAWLESS
THE HIDDEN
THE FORGOTTEN
THE SILENCED
THE DEAD PLAY ON
THE BETRAYED
THE HEXED
THE CURSED
WAKING THE DEAD
THE NIGHT IS FOREVER
THE NIGHT IS ALIVE
THE NIGHT IS WATCHING
LET THE DEAD SLEEP
THE UNINVITED
THE UNSPOKEN
THE UNHOLY
THE UNSEEN
AN ANGEL FOR CHRISTMAS
THE EVIL INSIDE
SACRED EVIL
HEART OF EVIL
PHANTOM EVIL
NIGHT OF THE VAMPIRES
THE KEEPERS
GHOST MOON
GHOST NIGHT
GHOST SHADOW
THE KILLING EDGE
NIGHT OF THE WOLVES
HOME IN TIME FOR CHRISTMAS
UNHALLOWED GROUND
DUST TO DUST
NIGHTWALKER
DEADLY GIFT
DEADLY HARVEST
DEADLY NIGHT
THE DEATH DEALER
THE LAST NOEL
THE SÉANCE
BLOOD RED
THE DEAD ROOM
KISS OF DARKNESS
THE VISION
THE ISLAND
GHOST WALK
KILLING KELLY
THE PRESENCE
DEAD ON THE DANCE FLOOR
PICTURE ME DEAD
HAUNTED
HURRICANE BAY
A SEASON OF MIRACLES
NIGHT OF THE BLACKBIRD
NEVER SLEEP WITH STRANGERS
EYES OF FIRE
SLOW BURN
NIGHT HEAT
* * * * *
Look for Heather Grahams next novel
FADE TO BLACK
New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author HEATHER GRAHAM has written more than a hundred novels. Shes a winner of the Romance Writers of Americas Lifetime Achievement Award, an International Thriller Writers Silver Bullet Award and, in 2016, the Thriller Master Award from ITW. She is an active member of International Thriller Writers and Mystery Writers of America, and is the founder of The Slush Pile Players, an author band and theatrical group. An avid scuba diver, ballroom dancer and mother of five, she enjoys her South Florida home, but also loves to travel.
For more information, check out her website, www.theoriginalheathergraham.com. You can also find Heather on Facebook.
A Dangerous Game
Heather Graham
An imprint of HarperCollins Publishers Ltd
1 London Bridge Street
London SE1 9GF
First published in Great Britain by HQ in 2018
Copyright © Heather Graham Pozzessere 2018
Heather Graham Pozzessere asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the authors imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins.
Ebook Edition © March 2018 ISBN: 9781474077064
Version: 2018-02-26
Praise for New York Times bestselling author Heather Graham
Graham wields a deftly sexy and convincing pen.
Publishers Weekly
The vivid details throughout the story are conveyed with precision and planning.... Graham has an amazing way of bringing her worlds to life, and the inclusion of historical lore emphasizes the already exceptional writing.
RT Book Reviews on A Perfect Obsession
Intricate, fast-paced, and intense.
Library Journal on Flawless
Graham is a master at world building and her latest is a thrilling, dark, and deadly tale of romantic suspense.
Booklist, starred review, on Haunted Destiny
Graham is the queen of romantic suspense.
RT Book Reviews
An incredible storyteller.
Los Angeles Daily News
Graham stands at the top of the romantic suspense category.
Publishers Weekly
For my beautiful young cousin Ashley Westermark Stoyanov, and her husband, Alex Stoyanov, with love and best wishes for a lifetime of happiness.
Contents
Cover
Back Cover Text
Booklist
About the Author
Title Page
Copyright
Praise
Dedication
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
About the Publisher
CHAPTER ONE
Kieran? Kieran Finnegan, right? the woman asked.
She was wrapped in a black trench coat, wore a black scarf that nearly engulfed her face, and held a dark blanketed bundle against her chest as if it were the greatest treasure in the world.
Kieran wasnt sure when the woman had come in; the offices of psychologists Fuller and Miro were closed for the day, the doctors were gone, and Kieran had just about left herself. The receptionist, Jake, usually locked the office door on his way out, but apparently tonight he had neglected to do so. Then again, Jake might have already left when Kierans last patient had exited a little while ago. Whether Jake had been gone or he had forgotten to lock up, the door had been left open.
And so this woman accosted Kieran in the reception area of the office just as she was on her way out.
I am Kieran, but Im so sorry, Im the therapist, not one of the doctors. Actually, we are closed for the day. Youll need to come back. Both the doctors are wonderful, and Im sure theyll be happy to see you another time.
And this woman certainly looked like she needed help. Her eyes were huge and as dark as the clothing she was wearing as she stared at Kieran with a look of despair.
All right, let me see what I can do. You seem distraught, Kieran said, and wincedwow. Stating the obvious. I can get you to a hospital. I can call for help
No. No. The woman suddenly thrust the bundle shed held so closely into Kierans arms. Here!
Kieran instinctively accepted it. Reflex? She wasnt sure why.
It began to cry. And writhe. Of course. The bundle was a baby.
Maam, pleaseHey! Kieran protested.
The woman had turned and was fleeing out the door. Wait! Hey! Kieran cried. She reached immediately for the phone, hoping that shed be in time to reach the buildings security desk.
Ralph Miller answered the phone at the lobby desk. Hey, pretty girl. What are you still doing at work? Ive got a few hours to go, and then I am out of here. I hear that the Danny Boys are playing at Finnegans tonight. Cant believe your brother snagged them. I would have thought that youd have gotten out early
Ralph, listen, please! Theres a woman who was just up here, and she ran out. Can you stop her from leaving the building?
The baby wailed in earnest.
What?
Theres a woman in black
In black, yeah. She just left.
Stop hercatch her! Now.
I cant hear you, Kieran. I hear a baby crying. A baby! Whose baby is it?
Ralph! Get out in the street and get that woman!
What?
Go catch that woman!
Oh! Gotcha! Im gone.
She hung up, then quickly dialed 9-1-1.
Emergency services probably couldnt move quickly enough to help, since no matter how quickly they arrived, the woman was already on the run.
She was running on the busy streets of New York City where rush hour was a swarm of humanity in which to get completely lost. But Kieran still explained the situation, where she was. The operator was efficient; cops would quickly be out. Child Services would arrive.
But no matter. The woman would get away.
Kieran tried to hold and rock and soothe the baby while dialing Craig Frasier.
If you were living with an FBI agent, it made sense to call him under such circumstances, especially since helike Ralphwould want to know why she was working so late when the Danny Boys were playing at Finnegans. To Craig, it was still a normal nightand a Friday night! A nice, normal Friday nightsomething that would be very nice to enjoy, given their chosen professions.
Hey, Kieran, Craig said. Are you already at the pub?
She apparently wasnt good at rocking and soothing and trying to talk on the phone all at the same time. The baby was still crying. Loudly.
No, I
Whose kid is that? I cant hear a word youre saying!
Im still at work. Can you come over here, now, please?
Uhyeah, sure.
Kieran hung up the phone. She didnt know what Ralph was doing; she didnt know where the police were. She glanced down at the baby as she hurried from the office, ready to hit the streets herself. How old was the tiny creature? It was so small!
Yetnice lungs!
Was the woman in black the mother?
She had looked older. Perhaps fifty. Too old for an infant.
Ralph wasnt at the desk; Kieran heard sirens, but as yet no police had arrived.
Bursting out onto the New York City rush hour sidewalk, she looked right and left. There, far down the block, she thought she saw the woman.
Hey! Kieran shouted.
Despite the pulsing throng of humanity between them, the woman heard her. She turned.
There was something different about her now.
The way she moved. The way she looked, and the expression on her face.
She didnt try to run. She just stared at Kieran, and then seemed to stagger toward her.
Kieran clutched the screaming infant close to her breast and thrust her way through the people; luckily, she was a New Yorker, and she knew how to push through a rush hour crowd when necessary.
The woman was still staggering forward. Kieran was closing the gap.
Listen, Ill help you, Ill help the baby! Its all right...
It wasnt in any way all right.
The woman lurched forward, as if she would fall into Kierans arms, if Kieran had just been close enough.