Body Search

Body Search
Jessica Andersen

THE PRODIGAL SON HAD RETURNEDDale Metcalf had spent fifteen years running from his past. Then a string of suspicious deaths linked to a fierce epidemic forced the outbreak specialist to return to his boyhood home on Lobster Island with Dr. Tansy Whitmore–the one woman he'd never stopped loving.But the sinister incidents that coincided with their arrival on the windswept coastal island–a mysterious plane crash, a raging fire and a near-fatal attack–proved that someone desperately wanted them dead…. And now, in a race against time, could the two stormy lovers combat danger–and desire–before it was too late?

Fire! Dale thought in a quick moment of sleep-dulled panic

Tansy. The half-formed thought dissolved in a fit of coughing as Dale lunged for the floor, instincts taking over. Tansy was down the hall. In danger. He yelled over the serpent’s hiss of smoke and the lion’s roar of fire beneath.

“Tansy, get back from the door, I’m coming in!” Dale shouted, hoping she could hear him. Hoping he wasn’t too late. There was no response over the rush of dry, burning wood and the voice of the fire. He ducked below the waist-high smoke and gulped in a breath before testing the knob. Blazing air surrounded him, and he yanked open the door and bolted inside.

Through watering eyes and the eerie red radiance that bathed the entire house, he saw that the bed was empty, and his heart stuttered. Then he saw Tansy….

She was lying on the floor. Out cold…

Dear Harlequin Intrigue Reader,

It’s the most wonderful time of the year! And we have six breathtaking books this month that will make the season even brighter….

THE LANDRY BROTHERS are back! We can’t think of a better way to kick off our December lineup than with this long-anticipated new installment in Kelsey Roberts’s popular series about seven rascally brothers, born and bred in Montana. In Bedside Manner, chaos rips through the town of Jasper when Dr. Chance Landry finds himself framed for murder…and targeted for love! Check back this April for the next title, Chasing Secrets. Also this month, watch for Protector S.O.S. by Susan Kearney. This HEROES INC. story spotlights an elite operative and his ex-lover who maneuver stormy waters—and a smoldering attraction—as they race to neutralize a dangerous hostage situation.

The adrenaline keeps on pumping with Agent-in-Charge by Leigh Riker, a fast-paced mystery. You’ll be bewitched by this month’s ECLIPSE selection—Eden’s Shadow by veteran author Jenna Ryan. This tantalizing gothic unravels a shadowy mystery and casts a magical spell over an enamored duo. And the excitement doesn’t stop there! Jessica Andersen returns to the lineup with her riveting new medical thriller, Body Search, about two hot-blooded doctors who are stranded together in a windswept coastal town and work around the clock to combat a deadly outbreak.

Finally this month, watch for Secret Defender by Debbi Rawlins—a provocative woman-in-jeopardy tale featuring an iron-willed hero who will stop at nothing to protect a headstrong heiress…even kidnap her for her own good.

Best wishes for a joyous holiday season from all of us at Harlequin Intrigue.

Sincerely,

Denise O’Sullivan

Senior Editor, Harlequin Intrigue

Body Search

Jessica Andersen

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

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Though she’s tried out professions ranging from cleaning sea lion cages to cloning glaucoma genes, from patent law to training horses, Jessica is happiest when she’s combining all these interests with her first love: writing romances. These days she’s delighted to be writing full-time on a farm in rural Connecticut that she shares with a small menagerie and a hero named Brian. She hopes you’ll visit her at www.JessicaAndersen.com for info on upcoming books, contests and to say “hi”!

CAST OF CHARACTERS

Dr. Tansy Whitmore— After this latest assignment, she plans to request a transfer away from the pain of working side by side with her ex-lover. If she lives that long.

Dr. Dale Metcalf— The outbreak specialist is a brooding loner. Will an assignment on the island of his birth break through his carefully tended walls before a deadly past catches up with him…and threatens the one woman he cares about?

Walter Churchill— Dale’s father figure helped him escape the poor island and become a doctor after Dale’s parents died at sea. He made Dale promise never to return. What will happen when that promise is broken?

Dr. Hazel Bronte— The island’s dedicated doctor is overwhelmed by the deadly outbreak, which isn’t playing by the rules.

Mickey Lowe— Dale’s distant cousin and boyhood friend is the only one with the power to call him back to the island.

Nathaniel Roberts— The real-estate developer says he wants to help the islanders, but he may have a more deadly agenda.

Trask Metcalf— Dale’s uncle drove him away fifteen years earlier. Is he looking to get rid of Dale again, this time permanently?

To Marley Gibson, for seeing this book through from beginning to end. Thanks, friend.

Contents

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

Chapter One

People were dying on Lobster Island. Again.

Dale Metcalf read the brief message for the hundredth time and told himself he should walk away. Let the islanders save themselves—they certainly hadn’t saved him fifteen years ago. They hadn’t saved his parents. His aunt.

“Can I get you something else?” The heavily made-up waitress leaned over Dale, giving him a look down her shirt and a whiff of cheap perfume. She brushed her breast against his arm when she stood, leaving no doubt as to what something else could entail. Though the strippers were off duty, the Slippery Pole still reeked of sex and anonymity.

He lifted the nearly empty bottle. “Another beer, please.”

Her pink-caked lips pursed and her tired eyes flashed, stuck-up doctor thinks he’s too good for the likes of me. Bastard. She flounced off with a twitch of her too-generous hips, and Dale leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes. He folded the paper and tucked it into his pocket without looking, but the words pounded in his brain. Lobster Island. Death.