Buried Secrets

Buried Secrets
Evelyn Vaughn

HE TURNED HER QUIET LIFE UPSIDE DOWNZack Lorenzo was a big-city P.I. specializing in the paranormal and hell-bent on unearthing secrets Josephine James had tried too hard to forget. As he focused intently on fighting an evil he couldn't identify, his chivalry was overbearing, his kisses maddening and his questions too dangerous….Zack had promised to protect her, but Jo was no damsel in distress–she was the town sheriff! However, she was also a woman who'd been too afraid to face the past until this stranger walked into her life, took her into his arms and made her want to start living again….

“No,” Jo insisted. “No, no, no…”

This wasn’t happening again, she told herself, looking to see how badly Zack had been hit. Head wound. Oh, God. Blood was fingering down across his unshaved cheek.

One moment, Jo had been doing a perfectly fine job at taking cover, watching for a chance at opportunity fire. The next moment, Zack had wedged himself between her and danger.

Had she asked him to? Had she wanted him to? This was the exact opposite of what she wanted from him!

“No!” Every man she ever wanted, ever kissed, was not going to end up dead from protecting her, damn it.

Dear Reader,

This month we have something really special on tap for you. The Cinderella Mission, by Catherine Mann, is the first of three FAMILY SECRETS titles, all of them prequels to our upcoming anthology Broken Silence and then a twelve book stand-alone FAMILY SECRETS continuity. These books are cutting edge, combining dark doings, mysterious experiments and overwhelming passion into a mix you won’t be able to resist. Next month, the story continues with Linda Castillo’s The Phoenix Encounter.

Of course, this being Intimate Moments, the excitement doesn’t stop there. Award winner Justine Davis offers up another of her REDSTONE, INCORPORATED tales, One of These Nights. A scientist who’s as handsome as he is brilliant finds himself glad to welcome his sexy bodyguard—and looking forward to exploring just what her job description means. Wilder Days (leading to wilder nights?) is the newest from reader favorite Linda Winstead Jones. It will have you turning the pages so fast, you’ll lose track of time. Ingrid Weaver begins a new military miniseries, EAGLE SQUADRON, with Eye of the Beholder. There will be at least two follow-ups, so keep your eyes open so you don’t miss them. Evelyn Vaughn, whose miniseries THE CIRCLE was a standout in our former Shadows line, makes her Intimate Moments debut with Buried Secrets, a paranormal tale that’s as passionate as it is spooky. And Aussie writer Melissa James is back with Who Do You Trust? This is a deeply emotional “friends become lovers” reunion romance, one that will captivate you from start to finish.

Enjoy! And come back next month for more of the best and most exciting romance around—right here in Silhouette Intimate Moments.

Leslie J. Wainger

Executive Senior Editor

Buried Secrets

Evelyn Vaughn

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

EVELYN VAUGHN

believes in many magicks, particularly the magic of storytelling. She has written fiction since she could print words, first publishing a ghost story in a newspaper contest at the age of twelve. Since then, along with four Silhouette Shadows novels (recently republished as Dreamscapes), she has written four historical romances and a handful of fantasy short stories, some under the name Yvonne Jocks. She loves movies and videos, and is an unapologetic TV addict, still trying to figure out both how to time-travel and how to meet up with some of her favorite characters. Even as an English teacher at Tarrant County College SE, in Fort Worth, Texas, Evelyn believes in the magic of stories, movies, books and dreams. Luckily, her imaginary friends and her cats seem to get along.

Evelyn loves to talk about stories and characters, especially her own. Please write her at Yvaughn@aol.com or at P.O. Box 6, Euless, TX, 76039. Or check out her Web site at www.evelynvaughn.homestead.com.

This time around I owe particular thanks to:

• Kelly, for Zack, for sharing the world and for her encouragement.

• Lisa, for liking explosives better than diamonds.

• Kayli, for Ashley, and for being the flow queen.

• Sarah, for good sense, fast eyes and happy faces.

• Toni, for Cecil, and for being Cliffy.

• Matt, for plotting so well that some of it rubbed off on me.

• Deb Stover and Maureen McKade, for friendly professionalism—or professional friendship. Probably both.

• And to Leslie Wainger, my editor, and Paige Wheeler, my agent, both of whom had a hand in resurrecting me.

This book is dedicated to the memory of

Kevin Tod Smith, the best god of war ever,

1963 to 2002. I hope the time was as good for him

as for all the rest of us.

Contents

Prologue

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16