Strangers in the Night

Strangers in the Night
Kerry Connor

It was dark, it was late, and they were total strangersCaught in a Chicago alley crossfire, Allie Freeman was running for her life when she slammed into Gideon Ross. A hardened bounty hunter, his job was to discover why this stranger–no different than the girl next door–was so highly desired. But unraveling what made Allie so special would take more time than he had….Being drawn into this wanted woman's life had turned Ross into the hunted. Allie's hidden identity exposed them to a relentless killer–one, inexplicably, she was willing to die for. But she didn't know the lengths Ross would go to keep her unharmed. He wasn't willing to share her with anybody, and in this game of survival, whoever keeps their secret the longest, wins.

The offer was so tempting.

In that instant, she would have given anything to be able to trust him. All of a sudden, more than ever before, she realized just how tired she was. Tired of running, tired of looking over her shoulder everywhere she went. It was an infinite road with no end in sight.

She would give anything to be able to trust someone, anyone, for the first time in so long, to turn her face into that broad chest, to ease her burden onto one of those shoulders and let someone else carry the load, if only for a short time.

She didn’t say a word. There was nothing she could say, nothing Ross would understand, that wouldn’t require explanations she couldn’t give. Instead, she turned away and escaped into the bathroom, the moment over. Reality had set in, offering the cold reminder that she couldn’t trust this man, or any other.

Strangers in the Night

Kerry Connor

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

This book is dedicated with gratitude to everyone who

ever told me they enjoyed something I wrote (even when

I suspected they were just being kind) for that little bit of

encouragement I needed to keep going.

Your words meant the world to me and helped me find

my own. Thank you.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

A lifelong mystery reader, Kerry Connor first discovered romantic suspense by reading Harlequin Intrigue books and is thrilled to be writing for the line. Kerry lives and writes in Southern California.

CAST OF CHARACTERS

Allie Freeman —A witness to murder.

Gideon Ross —The bounty hunter was tracking a criminal when he found a woman running for her life.

Kathleen Mulroney —Her murder set everything in motion.

Price Chastain —The real estate mogul had gotten away with plenty of crimes—and intended to get away with this one.

Roy Taylor —Ross’s nemesis was hunting prey of his own.

Ken Newcomb —Ross’s NYPD contact.

Dominick Brancato —A man with a mission of his own.

Contents

Prologue

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 Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Prologue

The taxi rolled to a stop next to the Chastain building just after nine o’clock.

For a moment Allie sat there, listening to the raindrops patter against the roof of the cab, staring out through the liquid-smeared window into the darkness. She knew there was a light burning directly above the door she planned to use to enter the building. The veil of rain obscured it, making the alley between the Manhattan high-rise and its neighbor appear utterly black.

Naturally she’d forgotten to bring an umbrella. It had been that kind of day.

The driver twisted in his seat and shot her a skeptical glance. “You sure you don’t want me to take you around the front?”

The only thing Allie was sure about was that this was the last place she wanted to be. She was exhausted. Her back was killing her; her feet ached. All she wanted was to sink back against the cushioned seat and have him take her home.

But she’d made the mistake of doing her brother a favor and getting him tickets for tomorrow’s Mets game, then compounded the error by leaving them on her desk. That was what she got for being in such a hurry to leave work on a Friday in the first place. Of course, with her luck it had to be an early-afternoon game. For her brother and his buddies to get to the ballpark in time, she either had to come back to work tonight or make the trip early in the morning. After the week she’d had, there was no way she was getting out of bed before noon tomorrow.