Scene of the Crime: Return to Bachelor Moon

Scene of the Crime: Return to Bachelor Moon
Carla Cassidy

It is up to FBI profiler Gabriel Blankenship to investigate the disappearance of Marlena Meyers’ family. Their instant attraction is powerful, but Gabriel, damaged by his past, doesn’t want to fall in love.Until Marlena’s life is threatened and Gabriel is forced to reconsider.

Once again she found them standing too close, facing each other in what felt like a void of time, of space. She knew she should say good-night and move away, but she was frozen in place, unable to speak, unable to move. His close proximity to her made her feel trapped, unable to escape even if she’d wanted to.

Her heart thundered as he took a step closer to her. “I’ve wanted to do this since the moment I saw you.”

Before she could draw a breath or prepare in any way for what she knew was about to happen, his mouth covered hers in a fiery kiss that was directly at odds with the dispassionate man she’d thought him to be.

He tasted of sweetened tea and hot desire, and she opened her mouth to him as his arms wrapped around her and pulled her close.

A little voice inside her head told her this shouldn’t be happening, but it was happening and it was wonderful.

Scene of the Crime:

Return to Bachelor Moon

Carla Cassidy

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

CARLA CASSIDY is an award-winning author who has written more than fifty novels for Mills & Boon. In 1995, she won Best Silhouette Romance from RT Book Reviews for Anything for Danny. In 1998, she also won a Career Achievement Award for Best Innovative Series from RT Book Reviews.

Carla believes the only thing better than curling up with a good book to read is sitting down at the computer with a good story to write. She’s looking forward to writing many more books and bringing hours of pleasure to readers.

Contents

Chapter One (#u946cc500-f780-52c3-8c96-0708bb1acaa5)

Chapter Two (#u19dddb52-3c0e-57da-96df-b709513517d2)

Chapter Three (#u35026e41-86c8-54c4-b5e3-baf2d7196517)

Chapter Four (#ub09e5d06-d471-58d2-bc68-1e4b3cdd83fb)

Chapter Five (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Six (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Seven (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Eight (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Nine (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Ten (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Eleven (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Twelve (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Thirteen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Fourteen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter One

“Tell me again what we’re doing checking out the whereabouts of an ex-FBI agent from the Kansas City field office?” FBI agent Andrew Barkin asked from the backseat of the car.

FBI special agent Gabriel Blankenship slowed the car as they approached the city limits of the small town of Bachelor Moon, Louisiana. “We’re doing this as a professional courtesy, because the Kansas City office asked us to.”

“A little over two years ago Sam Connelly was a respected FBI profiler before he came out here for a two-week vacation and fell in love with Daniella Butler, who owns the Bachelor Moon Bed-and-Breakfast,” Jackson Revannaugh drawled from the passenger seat. “Apparently true love won out over career climbing. Sam quit the agency, moved here and he and Daniella got married.”

“Sam not only became a husband but also stepfather to Daniella’s daughter, Macy. And this morning we received a call from the manager of the bed-and-breakfast that all three of them are missing,” Gabriel said.

“Unusual that we’d be sent out, since it hasn’t even been twenty-four hours,” Jackson observed.

“According to the manager, they’ve been missing since last night.” Gabriel kept his gaze focused on the road ahead, knowing that the bed-and-breakfast was ten miles outside of the small town.

His gut feeling was that this was all a wild goose chase, some sort of misunderstanding between the manager and the family she worked for. It was an hour and a half drive from their field office in Baton Rouge, and they hadn’t been dispatched to leave until past three that afternoon.

Hopefully they could get this sorted out and he would be in his own bed, back in his comfortable ranch house in Baton Rouge, before midnight.

He’d been surprised when Director Jason Miller had assigned two men to travel with him to check out this supposed disappearance, yet he had been grateful for the company of the men, who were not only good agents adept at processing crime scenes and sniffing out bad guys but were friends, as well.

“There.” Andrew pointed ahead to a sign that indicated to turn right for the Bachelor Moon Bed-and-Breakfast.

Gabriel made the turn, squinting against the bright hot sun. He drove on for three more miles and then turned again, following another sign leading into a lane that took them to their destination.

“Nice,” Jackson said as a huge two-story house with a sweeping veranda surrounded by large trees came into view. On one side of the B and B, a big pond glittered in the overhead sun, and on the other side, a giant carriage house looked inviting with large pots of multicolored flowers along its perimeter.

The employees must park in another area, and there must be no guests, Gabriel thought, for the parking lot in front of the house was empty. He pulled the car to a halt and shut off the engine. At the same time, the front door opened and a woman stepped out on the porch.

With the sun sparkling off her short, curly blond hair, creating a halo effect, she looked like a slender angel. Her long bare legs exposed by a pair of white shorts and her shoulders by a pink tank top, she looked like a very hot angel.

“Sweet,” Jackson muttered from the backseat.

“On the job, not on the prowl,” Gabriel reminded his fellow agent, who had a reputation around the office as a ladies’ man. Still, he was shocked by the quick, visceral warmth that swept through him at the sight of her. Her eyes had to be blue, he thought.

She started down the steps as if unable to wait for them to join her on the porch. As she drew closer, the men exited the vehicle.

Two things occurred at the same time: Gabriel flashed his official identification and noted that her eyes weren’t blue, as he’d expected, but rather an electric green. She was more than pretty with her slender face, wide eyes, straight nose and generous mouth, but at the moment all of her features were radiating an emotion somewhere between panic and unadulterated fear.

“Thank God you’re here,” she said after Gabriel had introduced himself and his two men. “I’m Marlena Meyers, the manager here, and I’m the one who sounded the alarm this morning. I called the sheriff first, but he was afraid to get involved in what might be federal business, so he said I should contact the FBI. I found Sam’s contact list in his bedroom and called his former director with the Kansas City field office.”

“And Assistant Director Forbes contacted our field office in Baton Rouge and here we are,” Gabriel replied. Despite the fact that the sun was slowly sinking in the west, the mid-July heat and humidity made it difficult to breathe. “Can we go inside?”

“Oh, of course.” She whirled on the heels of her white sandals to lead them back to the house. Gabriel couldn’t help but notice the shapeliness of her butt in the tight shorts as she walked ahead of him—and that irritated him.