She was there. The woman who had haunted Zacs sleep for so long.
Zac had a sense of having been injured, and her voice was like a sirens song with the power to lead him from the darkness. Or lure him more deeply into it.
Who did this to you? Who would want to kill you? I know how much is at stake, yet when I thought you were dead she whispered.
For a split second Zac could have sworn he felt her lips against his.
Why did you come? Why did it have to be you? She spoke once more.
She paused again, and Zac could hear the pounding of her heart. Or was that his own?
I cant let any of that matter, she said harshly. You cant die on me, Zac. I have a job to do. I have to find out why youre here, so I need you alive.
Dear Harlequin Intrigue Reader,
As you make travel plans for the summer, dont forget to pack along this months exciting new Harlequin Intrigue books!
The notion of being able to rewrite history has always been fascinating, so be sure to check out Secret Passage by Amanda Stevens. In this wildly innovative third installment in QUANTUM MEN, supersoldier Zac Riley must complete a vital mission, but his long-lost love is on a crucial mission of her own! Opposites combust in Wanted Woman by B.J. Daniels, which pits a beautiful daredevil on the run against a fiercely protective deputy sheriffthe next book in CASCADES CONCEALED.
Julie Miller revisits THE TAYLOR CLAN when one of Kansas Citys finest infiltrates a crime bosss compound and finds himself under the dangerous spell of an aristocratic beauty. Will he be the Last Man Standing? And in Legally Binding by Ann Voss Petersonthe second sizzling story in our female-driven in-line continuity SHOTGUN SALLYSa reformed bad boy rancher needs the help of the best female legal eagle in Texas to clear him of murder!
Who can resist those COWBOY COPS? In our latest offering in our Western-themed promotion, Adrianne Lee tantalizes with Denim Detective. This gripping family-in-jeopardy tale has a small-town sheriff riding to the rescue, but hes about to learn one doozy of a secret. And finally this month you are cordially invited to partake in Her Royal Bodyguard by Joyce Sullivan, an enchanting mystery about a commoner who discovers shes a betrothed princess and teams up with an enigmatic bodyguard who vows to protect her from evildoers.
Enjoy our fabulous lineup this month!
Sincerely,
Denise OSullivan
Senior Editor, Harlequin Intrigue
Secret Passage
Amanda Stevens
www.millsandboon.co.uk
MILLS & BOON
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Amanda Stevens is the bestselling author of over thirty novels of romantic suspense. In addition to being a Romance Writers of America RITA® Award finalist, she is also the recipient of awards in Career Achievement in Romantic/Mystery and Career Achievement in Romantic/Suspense from Romantic Times magazine. She currently resides in Texas. To find out more about past, present and future projects, please visit her Web site at www.amandastevens.com.
CAST OF CHARACTERS
Camille SomersbyShe will do anything to protect her grandfatherand the futureeven if it means deceiving the only man shes ever loved.
Zac RileyA supersoldier who will go to extraordinary lengths to carry out his mission.
Dr. Von MeterA megalomaniac who has destroyed lives for over sixty years.
Dr. KesslerThe only one standing in Von Meters way.
Roth VogelA supersoldier with his own agenda.
Alice NicholsA woman who knows how to get what she wants.
Special Agent TalbottIs the FBI agent a pawn in a deadly game or a man who is willing to betray his own country?
Betty WilsonA nurse who has more than a professional interest in Zac.
Daniel ClutterA widower who becomes all too susceptible to Alice Nicholss charms.
AdamCan the memory of his five-year-old son save Zac?
Contents
Prologue
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
Prologue
The Secret City,
1943
Her cover was blown. She had no proof, of course, only a nagging suspicion that she was being watched.
Sliding her hand inside her purse, Camille Somersby let the cool, deadly feel of the Colt .45 bolster her courage as she hurried out to her car. Climbing inside, she slammed the door, started the engine and then struggled with the gears for a moment before easing the Studebaker from the muddy parking area onto the street.
As she made the first corner, she glanced in the rearview mirror. She didnt think shed picked up a tail, but she couldnt be sure. In wartime, spies were everywhere. Especially here, in a place the locals called the Secret City.
Nestled in a picturesque East Tennessee valley surrounded by tree-lined ridges, the citywhich did not exist on any mapwas isolated from the outside world, despite its proximity to Knoxville.
Complete with stores, schools, a church, hospital, newspaper and both single and multifamily dwellings, the whole community had been built practically overnight by the Army Corps of Engineers to accommodate the thousands of scientists, engineers and plant personnel employed at three top secret facilities known only by their code namesX-10, Y-12 and K-25.
Security around the perimeter of the city was tight. The borders were patrolled around the clock, and no one was allowed to enter or leave without a pass. Phone calls were monitored and mail routinely censored. In such an environment, fear and suspicion were bound to run rampant.
And maybe that was all it was, Camille decided. This feeling of being watched. It could well be nothing more than her own paranoia at work. The burden of her own secrets wearing on her nerves.
Ostensibly, she was one of hundreds of young women whod poured into the area seeking employment on the government reservation. But, in reality, Camille had been sent to observe a smaller and even more highly classified entity known as Project Rainbow. The unit was run by Dr. Nicholas Kessler, a world-renowned scientist whose research into electromagnetic fields had attracted the militarys attention at the start of the war.
He didnt know it yet, but Dr. Kesslers future was irrevocably tied to Camilles. She had been sent to protect him, but if her cover had been compromised, the whole mission could be in jeopardy. It would be difficult to insure Dr. Kesslers safety if she ended up dead in an alley somewhere.
Grimacing at the image, she shot another glance over her shoulder as she approached the gate. Flashing her pass at the guard, she waited for him to lift the barricade, then smiled and waved as she drove through.
Outside the barbed-wire fence, she relaxed a bit as she headed north toward Ashton, a small community five miles away where shed been fortunate enough to find a cottage for rent. The massive influx of workers to the area had quickly eaten up all the government housing so that newcomers were forced to seek accommodations outside the reservation. Those commuting back and forth not only had to contend with the resentment of the locals, but with gas rationing and long lines of traffic to and from the project.
Camille had been worried at first that living away from the city might hamper her ability to carry out her mission, but so far it had worked out rather well. Ashton was a small, close-knit community, and she knew that if anyone suspicious showed up in the vicinity asking the wrong questions, she was bound to hear about it.
Shed also quickly come to appreciate the tranquility of the cottage. The house was situated on a lake, and the breezes blowing in from the water at night reminded her of happier times. When Adam was still alive.
Even after all this time, the thought of her son still brought quick tears. Hed been gone for over a year, but the pain was still as sharp and deep as the day shed lost him. The only thing that had changed was her anger. It seemed to grow stronger and more consuming with each passing day. Anger at herself for not being able to protect him. Anger at the person who was ultimately responsible for his death.
And anger at the one man who might have been able to prevent it.
An image of that man slipped through the walls Camille had built around her heart, and, for a moment, she remembered too much. Dark eyes and a deep voice. Strong hands and a knowing touch.
The way hed held her in the darkness. The way hed kissed her, caressed her, moved her in ways no man had ever moved her before.
Hed been the love of her life.
And now he no longer remembered her.
But there had to be something left of his feelings for her, Camille thought bitterly. Some buried remnant of emotion that she could use to her advantage when he showed up here.
And he would come. She knew it without a doubt. That was the reason shed been sent here, after all. To find out what he was up to and then, if necessary, stop him at any cost.
At any cost.
Her hands gripped the wheel as she thought about what that might entail. Lies. Deception. Murder.
Camille began to tremble. Taking a life, even in wartime, wasnt something she contemplated lightly. Taking the life of a man shed once loved so deeply would surely earn her a very special place in hell.
So be it. He was the enemy now.
God help herGod help them allif she forgot that fact even for a second.
Chapter One
Philadelphia,
Present Day
It was the fourth night in a row the old man had come into Blue Mondays. Zac Riley supposed he should be grateful the club had attracted a new customer. God knows thered been few enough of those, young or old, in recent months, and if traffic didnt pick up, hed soon be out of a job. Again.
Still, a guy who looked to have one foot in the grave was hardly the target clientele of a waterfront blues club. And there was something about the man, apart from his age, that gave Zac the creeps. He didnt know why, exactly, but he figured it had something to do with the dream. The sudden reoccurrence of the nightmare coincided with the old mans first appearance in the club. And Zac had had the dream every night since.
The details never varied. He was always trapped in a cold, dark, windowless place with no way out. He could hear the clanking of metal, the steady drip of water and, in the distance, screams.
But upon awakening, what Zac always recalled most vividly about the dream was his fear. A mind-numbing terror like nothing hed ever known before.
Afterward he would lie awake for hours, not daring to fall back asleep. But sometimes hed drift off in spite of himself and thats when she would come. A woman shrouded by mist. A temptress who beckoned and enticed but always remained maddeningly elusive, just out of Zacs reach.
He had no idea if she was real or not. Maybe she was someone hed known a long time agoa lifetime agobefore the accident had wiped out a good portion of his memory. Or maybe she was nothing but a fantasy, a dream lover conjured out of fear and desperation.
Whoever she was, whatever she was, shed haunted Zacs sleep for years.
And now he had the sudden, unaccountable notion that she and the old man were somehow connected.
A chill rode up his spine as he tracked the mans labored progress to the end of the bar where he perched, with no small effort, on a stool, then sat with arms folded, head bowed, waiting.
Whats your story? Zac wondered.
What was a guy like that doing in a place like this? The drinks were watery, the atmosphere gloomy, the location on the dark and sleazy fringes of hip and pricey South Street. There were hundreds of bars scattered all over the City of Brotherly Love. What had brought him to this one?
Zac didnt think the old guy was homeless. He tipped too generously to be down on his luck, but he had the look of a man that time had forgotten. His heavy wool overcoat was threadbare in places, but Zac suspected it had once been quite elegant, perhaps custom-made for the mans tall, slender physique.
Zac waited a couple of beats, then ambled to the end of the bar. Wiping off the mahogany surface, he said cheerfully, Whatll it be tonight?
Whiskey, the man muttered without looking up.
His raspy voice was like nails on a chalkboard to Zac. He poured the whiskey, then slid the drink across the bar. As the old mans skeletal fingers closed around the glass, he glanced up. His eyes were the color of night. Dark, cold, scary.
Disconcerted by the mans stare, Zac started to turn away, then paused. Do I know you? Have we met before?
The old man lifted his whiskey. Do you think weve met before?
Zac tried to laugh off his uneasiness. Now you sound like a shrink.
The old man lowered his empty glass. Im not a shrink. Im a scientist.
A scientist, huh? We dont get many of those in here. Zac scrubbed at an invisible ring on the bar. So what brings an educated man like yourself to a dump like this?
You do, Zac.
The hair at the back of Zacs neck rose. How do you know my name?
The dark eyes gleamed in the murky light. I know a lot about you. Probably more than you know about yourself.
Is that right? Zac felt the first stirrings of anger. And maybe even a touch of fear. How do you figure that?
Because Im the man who created you.
Something tightened around Zacs heart. Like a fist trying to squeeze the life out of him. What the hell is that supposed to mean? he demanded, thoroughly unnerved now by the stranger.
The man smiled slightly as he fished a card from his coat pocket and laid it on the bar. Zac glanced down in spite of himself. Dr. Joseph Von Meter. The address was in the Chestnut Hill area, a historic neighborhood about as far removed from Blue Mondays as one could imagine.