Trusting a Stranger

Trusting a Stranger
Kerry Connor

“I now declare you husband and wife.”

It took a moment for the words to sink in.

“You may kiss your bride.”

Karina’s gaze flew to Luke’s. He was a stranger. And her new husband. For the first time she saw something else flickering in his steady gaze. Something that sent a jolt through her system and suddenly made her very nervous.

She somehow wasn’t prepared for the instant when his lips met hers. The first caress was brief, experimental. The second immediately deepened the kiss, his lips firm and strong and sure.

Behind their closed lids, her eyes rolled back as she let the wave of sensations carry her away, pushing aside everything she’d lived with for the past few months.

Then it was over.

She tried to calm her suddenly racing heart and understand exactly why a pretend kiss had felt so amazingly real.

KERRY CONNOR

TRUSTING A STRANGER

To Vanessa, for twenty-five years of friendship, and for

being the kind of friend who was almost happier than I

was when I finally sold a book to Harlequin Intrigue.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

A lifelong mystery reader, Kerry Connor first discovered romantic suspense by reading Harlequin Intrigue books and is thrilled to be writing for the line. Kerry lives and writes in Southern California.

CAST OF CHARACTERS

Karina Fedorova—Caught in an impossible situation, her only hope of survival is to marry a stranger.

Luke Hubbard—He has no interest in letting anyone into his life, but he can’t refuse to help Karina. Even if the only way to protect her is to marry her.

Dmitri Fedorov—Karina’s first husband crossed the wrong man, and left her to deal with the consequences.

Anton Solokov—He will stop at nothing to obtain the information he believes Karina possesses, and exact the punishment he thinks she deserves.

Sergei Yevchenko—He paid the ultimate price for trying to protect Karina.

Viktor Yevchenko—Luke’s old friend picked up the mission to protect Karina after his father’s death. Would he suffer the same fate?

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

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Prologue

A sharp gust of wind grabbed the branches of the trees outside the window, sending them crashing and scratching against the glass with a screech.

From where she stood in front of the window, the impact came mere inches from Karina’s face. She didn’t even flinch. She had too many actual threats to fear to be so easily frightened by nothing.

As she had every day since her arrival, she stared out at the street in front of the building. She watched the passing cars, she scanned the pedestrians. She didn’t know why she kept her silent vigil. There was really nothing to see. If the danger she expected did come, it would hardly approach so boldly from the front. The answers she sought deep in her soul weren’t out there. Yet she simply didn’t know what else to do.

She’d arrived in the United States just over a month ago at the beginning of February. From what she’d seen through the building’s windows, it had been gray and cold ever since. Not so unlike Russia at this time of year. She almost wished she could look at the unremarkable city scene outside and pretend she was home. But she’d never managed to forget that she was not home, nor why.

“I am going out now.”

The booming voice behind her was too familiar to startle her. Or perhaps she was simply too numb to be startled.

Forcing some semblance of a smile, Karina turned to face her godfather. He stood halfway inside the room, already wearing his overcoat, pulling on his gloves. He was a big, robust man with a ruddy face automatically eased in a smile of his own. But she sensed the strain in his expression as much as she felt it in her own. He couldn’t quite hide the worry in his eyes. Even though he’d said nothing about it, she knew how much trouble he’d gone to to bring her here. She hated that she’d brought her problems halfway around the world to his door, but she’d simply had nowhere else to go.

“You should come with me,” Sergei said. “Come see the city. You have not left this building since you arrived.”