The Baby Scheme

The Baby Scheme
Jacqueline Diamond

Working With This Ex-Cop Was More Than She Bargained For!Fired from her job as an investigative reporter, Alli Gardner has something to prove. Finding out who's behind an illegal baby-adoption ring might just be the way to do it–her once-in-a-lifetime scoop. She can't do it alone, so for help she goes to Kevin Vickers, the crack private investigator with an unblemished reputation, who's always made it his business to rub her the wrong way.The evidence in the baby-scheme case soon points clearly to the perpetrators.That's the easy part for Alli.How should she handle the evidence of what's between her and Kevin?

“Better safe than sorry. Follow me.”

Alli dodged behind a parked truck. Keeping low, she and Kevin made their way between the rows of cars.

The van continued to prowl. Passing several vacant spaces, it came relentlessly in their direction.

When the glare of a lamp illuminated the interior, she saw two men in the front seat. Pairs of men didn’t generally cruise around swanky hotels in the middle of the evening, passing up available spaces.

Unless they were looking for someone.

Kevin kept darting in a stop-and-go pattern, homing in on his car. At last they reached the sedan and he opened the door with a key.

“The next part’s going to be tricky,” he said. “Keep your head down in case they start shooting.”

“Maybe we should call the cops….”

Dear Reader,

As a former newspaper and Associated Press reporter, I enjoy reliving the excitement—and the sometimes sharp mix of personalities—that one finds in a newsroom. I may lack Alli’s disregard for danger, and I never suffered a backstabber on the order of Payne Jacobson, but if fiction didn’t heighten our experiences, it would be dull indeed!

Kevin Vickers isn’t based on any individual police officer or detective I’ve known, but in my single days, visiting the police station was the highlight of the morning. After reading the log, I’d chat with lieutenants and sergeants in the detective, patrol and traffic bureaus. Some of them definitely fit the bill as hunks! Most proved patient and quite helpful. I’m glad to say that, unlike the stereotype of the antagonistic reporter, I sometimes managed to repay the favor in my articles by encouraging witnesses to come forward.

So there’s a bit of nostalgia for me in this tale, but Alli and Kevin ran away with the story and made everything fresh again. I hope you feel that way, too!

If you enjoy the book, please e-mail me at jdiamondfriends@aol.com and visit my Web site at www.jacquelinediamond.com.

Best wishes,

The Baby Scheme

Jacqueline Diamond

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

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

A former Associated Press reporter, Jacqueline Diamond has written more than sixty novels and received a Career Achievement Award from Romantic Times magazine. Jackie lives in Southern California with her husband, two sons and two cats.

Books by Jacqueline Diamond

HARLEQUIN AMERICAN ROMANCE

913—THE IMPROPERLY PREGNANT PRINCESS

962—DIAGNOSIS: EXPECTING BOSS’S BABY

971—PRESCRIPTION: MARRY HER IMMEDIATELY

978—PROGNOSIS: A BABY? MAYBE

1046—THE BABY’S BODYGUARD

For Kurt

Contents

Chapter One (#u8f0fb9d0-8948-5db4-9f97-726a01c152ba)

Chapter Two (#u39924671-a1b1-57ce-bf1e-7596a8ffab43)

Chapter Three (#u85a9f199-4622-5a4e-b710-25024620c519)

Chapter Four (#ufe323b76-6544-56c1-b215-1d50a9b111f7)

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 Fifteen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Sixteen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Seventeen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Eighteen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Nineteen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter One