Exception to the Rule

Exception to the Rule
Doranna Durgin

You can't go home again…But apparently Kimmer Reed had to. The government had hidden a young computer mastermind who held the key to the country's defense right in Kimmer's hometown. Now, if the Hunter Agency's top operative hoped to keep the government's secrets safe, she had to cozy up to the people she'd once left behind to discover just what the bad guys knew.And the good guys, too. Because mastermind Caroline Carlsen had a self-appointed bodyguard in her cousin Rio Carlsen. Ex-CIA Rio might have made a good ally–if Kimmer had been allowed to tell him they were on the same team. Instead, she had to shadow his every move, watching while he walked comfortably in a world that had been lost to her. A world of family and connection. A world Kimmer would do anything to regain.

“Be frugal—your cover persona isn’t used to having an expense account.”

“No need to remind me,” Kimmer said, voice dry. “But don’t you suppose someone might just recognize me? Why not use my own name?”

“That would virtually guarantee recognition, which would provide too much of the distraction you’re worried about.” Owen gestured to encompass her from head to toe. “You were only a girl when you left. Now…no more wild hair, no birthmark, clothes that fit…no one’s likely to connect you to Kimmer Reed.”

Did she dare go back? Was Owen right, that her habitual distance wasn’t the strength she’d always considered it? Kimmer knew, suddenly, that she was indeed headed for Mill Springs. Back to western Pennsylvania. Back where memories lurked, waiting to pounce, and where she might well even be recognized.

But they were old memories from a young girl, and she was grown now.

She would pounce back.

Dear Reader,

We’re new, we’re thrilling, and we’re back with another explosive lineup of four Silhouette Bombshell titles especially for you. This month’s stories are filled with twists and turns to keep you guessing to the end. But don’t stop there—write and tell us what you think! Our goal is to create stories with action, emotion and a touch of romance, featuring strong, sexy heroines who speak to the women of today.

Critically acclaimed author Maureen Tan’s A Perfect Cover delivers just that. Meet Lacie Reed. She’ll put her life on the line to bring down a serial killer, even though it means hiding her identity from the local police—including one determined detective.

Temperatures rise in the latest Athena Force continuity story as an up-and-coming TV reporter travels to Central America for an exclusive interview with a Navy SEAL, only to find her leads drying up almost before her arrival. That won’t deter the heroine of Katherine Garbera’s Exposed….

They say you can’t go home again, but the heroine of Doranna Durgin’s first Bombshell novel proves the Exception to the Rule. Don’t miss a moment as this P.I.’s assignment to guard government secrets clashes with the plans of one unofficial bodyguard.

Finally, truth and lies merge in Body Double, by Vicki Hinze. When a special forces captain loses three months of her memories, her search to get them back forces her to rely on a man she can’t trust to uncover a secret so shocking, you won’t believe your eyes….

We’ll leave you breathless! Please send me your comments c/o Silhouette Books, 233 Broadway, Suite 1001, New York, NY 10279.

Best wishes,

Natashya Wilson

Associate Senior Editor

Exception to the Rule

Doranna Durgin

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

DORANNA DURGIN

obtained a degree in wildlife illustration and environmental education, then spent a number of years deep in the Appalachian Mountains, riding the trails and writing science fiction and fantasy books. This award-winning author eventually moved to the Northern Arizona Mountains, where she still rides and writes, focusing on classical dressage with her Lipizzan. There’s a mountain looming outside her office window, a pack of dogs running around the house and a laptop sitting on her desk—and that’s just the way she likes it. You can contact her at dmd@doranna.net or P.O. Box 31123, Flagstaff, AZ 86003–1123 (SASE please) or visit www.doranna.net.

For Mona and Chuck Durgin, my cheerleading parents

With thanks to Matrice

And to William Sanders, Robert Brown,

Nancy Durgin, Clint C, Chase Brandon,

Tom-who-read-it-first and Judith-who-read-it-fast.

Mistakes are all mine, mine, mine!

Chapter 1

“Y ou’re going to Mill Springs.”

Owen Hunter could have reached across his desk and struck Kimmer without startling her any more deeply. She froze, stuck in a moment of pure inability to comprehend. And then she realized her hands had clenched around the curving wooden arms of the chair, and she made an effort to relax them.

It worked for about three seconds before her knuckles went white again.

She hadn’t expected that ambush. Not from Owen. He’d been on the team that had first picked her up: a runaway, caught in the middle of a Hunter operation and piquing his interest with her instant realization of—and appropriate reaction to—that fact. He knew what she’d been. How hard she’d worked to leave it behind.

This was her world, now—a world where laser surgery had taken care of her nearsighted eyes and facial birthmark, expert shears had tamed her relentlessly curly hair and experience and training had taken instinct and honed it into professional expertise.

I’m not going back.

The first time Kimmer opened her mouth in response to Owen’s pronouncement, nothing came out. The second time she unleashed biting words. “Couldn’t you find anyone else who can pronounce ‘crick’ or ‘worsh’ or ‘Pinsivania’?”

“It’s more than that, and you know it.” Owen interlaced his fingers atop the papers on his desk, understanding her outburst but not yielding before it. His craggy features remained deceptively impassive. “If we had more time, any of our people could handle this case—other than the need to blend into the environment, there’s nothing particularly challenging about it. But we don’t have time, or I wouldn’t have pulled you off the Australia assignment in the middle of the night. And we’re not asking you to return home. Mill Springs isn’t home.”

“It’s not far away.” The shock began to fade, replaced by anger. But it was a cold anger, an expectant anger. People used Kimmer Reed for their own ends—they always had, and always would. She had simply failed to anticipate that this particular man would use her in this particular way. Not when he as much as anyone in her current life knew what and where she’d come from. And not when he shifted his gaze away. Only for an instant…but long enough. “You’re up to something. Spit it out, Owen, or I walk.”

The air tightened down around them. It wasn’t a threat she’d ever made…and it wasn’t empty. He couldn’t have been ready for it—though neither had she been ready for him to withhold something so crucial.

“I’m sorry.” He ran his knuckles under his chin, gave a short shake of his head. “I should have known better. But you won’t like the answer any better than the prevarication.”

Kimmer waited.

Owen sighed. “We’re worried about you, Kimmer. We think this is a good opportunity for you to…face yourself.”

For once Kimmer found herself flummoxed. “I look in the mirror all the time.”

“Exactly,” he said dryly. “And what do you see there? Characters you become for our needs. Faces you assume so not only do the others never see who you really are, but you never really have to look at them, either. You’re not connected to the people in our work—not even to yourself.”

She very nearly sputtered. She managed to merely narrow her eyes. “That’s possibly the most arrogant thing I’ve ever heard you say.”

He shrugged with no apparent offense. “You know people in your way,” he said, “and I know them in mine. The family agrees.” As she stiffened, he gave a slight nod. “Yes, of course we’ve been discussing it. We’re worried, as I said. And when this assignment came through, we all agreed—it’s something you need to do.”

He had to be kidding. Or insane. “What if being back in that area is just so distracting that I screw up the job? What if I lose and the client loses? What if this messes with my ability to play the roles? There’s a reason you call me Chimera.”

This time he held her gaze steadily. “Those are risks.”

“And if I refuse?”