Secrets of His Own

Secrets of His Own
Amanda Stevens

HARBORING DESIREHaunted by a traumatic past, Carrie Bishop exiled herself on the shadowy Cape Diablo island in search of the truth. She never expected to cross paths with a steely-eyed stranger as she combed a crumbling Spanish villa for clues. Nick Draco was as primitive and dangerous as the land he inhabited…and yet his magnetic presence awakened a breathless yearning inside her. An intense premonition of evil on the island left her chilled to the bone, but when they unearthed a menacing thirty-year-old mystery lurking within the estate's dilapidated walls, it was in Nick's arms where Carrie sought protection…and succumbed to seduction. Now, nothing could prepare either of them for the sinister revelations that were about to engulf Cape Diablo….

Cape Diablo shimmered on the horizon, a lush emerald-green gilded by the dying light. For a moment, as the sun hung suspended in a painted sky, the island seemed bathed in gold. A glowing sanctuary that beckoned to the weary traveler.

As they approached the island, the sky deepened and the water turned dark, as if a giant shadow had crept over the whole area. It was a strange phenomenon, a trick of the light that seemed too much like an omen.

Carrie couldn’t seem to shake off a gnawing fear. The place seemed so wild and primitive. As the boat drifted silently toward the pier, she became aware of a dozen sounds. Water lapping at the hull…the startled flight of an egret…an insect buzzing near her ear.

And, in the distance, a scream.

Secrets of His Own

Amanda Stevens

www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)

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 BOOKclub. 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

Carrie Bishop—Searching for her friend on Cape Diablo resurrects an old demon…and awakens a long-dormant passion.

Nick Draco—His secret threatens Carrie’s search for her childhood friend.

Tia Falcon—A runaway bride who escaped to Cape Diablo after leaving her fiancé at the altar. Now she’s disappeared.

Trey Hollinger—A jilted groom with an explosive temper.

Nathaniel Glover—The monster who abducted Carrie and Tia when they were adolescents. He was never apprehended.

Ethan Stone—A mysterious stranger who lives in the upstairs apartment…and never shows his face.

Alma Garcia—She has lived in isolation on Cape Diablo for thirty years.

Robert Cochburn—An ambitious attorney with a taste for the finer things in life.

Zeke Trawick—His supply boat is the only way on and off the island.

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

Prologue

The body would start to smell soon.

I should have dumped it in the swamp right after it happened, but I was too afraid of being seen. Even on Cape Diablo, eyes were everywhere. I could feel them on me now as I lay naked in the dark. Grabbing a blanket, I pulled it over my feverish skin and tried to ignore the trickles of sweat that slid down my temples and ran back into my hair.

I hadn’t slept in days. Squeezing my eyes closed, I willed myself to succumb to the exhaustion, but it was no use. My mind raced with fragmented images. I’d killed someone, but I hardly remembered the act at all. Rage had blinded me and by the time I emerged from that terrible haze, the body lay at my feet.

I could still smell the blood even though I’d scrubbed the walls and floors until my hands grew raw. It had taken me a long time to get everything cleaned up, and then I wrapped the body in several layers of plastic and tried to forget what I’d done. Told myself I wouldn’t dwell on it.

And I hadn’t until now. But tomorrow was Tuesday.

The supply boat ran on Tuesdays. Any visitors to the island would likely come then.

The driver would drop off provisions and passengers and wouldn’t return until Friday. That would give me three whole days. Three days in which there would be no way off the island. No communication with the outside world. No one to stop me from doing what had to be done.

That was why Cape Diablo was so perfect for someone like me. A person could disappear out here and never be heard from again.

Chapter One

Carrie Bishop clung to her cap as the supply boat headed due west, into the sunset. Just minutes from Everglades City, civilization ended and the topography became a vast no-man’s-land of sparkling channels that wound for miles through dense mangrove forests and swampy grass flats.

Once the refuge of pirates, the area had now become a sanctuary for modern-day smugglers bringing drugs, guns and humans across the border. Lawless and primal, it was the perfect place for a runaway bride to disappear.

Which was undoubtedly why Tia had fled to the islands after leaving her soon-to-be groom at the altar, Carrie decided as a wave bounced her up off the seat. Tia hadn’t wanted anyone to find her, especially her ex-fiancé, a handsome executive with an explosive temper.