Stella, Get Your Gun

Stella, Get Your Gun
Nancy Bartholomew

Mills & Boon Silhouette
She's just been shot at, arrested and thrown in jailBut trust former police officer Stella Valocchi–compared to last week, things are looking up.Last week she: a) caught her cop boyfriend in bed with her best friend, b) kidnapped the boyfriend's dog and c) ran for home, only to find the man who once left her at the altar presiding over her favorite uncle's funeral.This week Stella's hunting her uncle's killer. Being arrested on bogus charges just means she's on target. But to stay there she's got to confront the past–and her former fiancé–and stick to her guns in the face of shocking family secrets….

“Kick-ass competence and comedy are a match made in heaven, when the author is Nancy Bartholomew!”

—Jill M. Smith, Romantic Times BOOKClub Magazine

“Stella! Wait!” Pete cried. “Honey, really, come inside. Let’s talk about this.”

I saw Lou Ann behind Pete, hastily pulling on her jeans and hopping around on one leg. She was panicked, and that made me perversely happy. I put the car into neutral and opened the driver’s side door. Pete looked hopeful, probably thinking that with just the right approach he could smooth the entire thing over.

“Well,” I said. “I guess you’d better pick one of us. Are you ready to start over, too?”

Pete looked puzzled, but Lloyd, the black-and-white-spotted mutt, bounded down the steps and leaped into the car.

“Pete?” I said, my voice a sweet coo of encouragement.

“Yeah, baby?”

“Bite my smooth tender ass!”

With that, Lloyd and I drove away.

Dear Reader,

We’re thrilled to bring you another exhilarating month of captivating women and explosive action! Our Bombshell heroines will take you for the ride of your life as they come under fire from all directions. With lives at stake and emotions on edge, these women stand and deliver memorable stories that will keep you riveted from cover to cover.

When the going gets tough, feisty Stella Valocchi gets going, in Stella, Get Your Gun, by Nancy Bartholomew. Her boyfriend’s a lying rat, her uncle's been murdered and her sexy ex is back in town, but trust Stella—compared to last week, things are looking up….

Loyal CIA agent Samantha St. John has been locked up—for treason! With the reluctant help of her wary partner, Sam will hunt for the real traitor—who bears an uncanny resemblance to Sam herself—in Double-Cross, by Meredith Fletcher, the latest adventure in the twelve-book ATHENA FORCE continuity series.

Don’t miss the twists and turns as a former operative is sucked back into the spy life to right the wrongs done to her family, in author Natalie Dunbar’s exciting thriller, Private Agenda.

And finally, a secret agent needs a break—but when her final mission goes wrong, she’s pushed to the limit and has to take on a rookie partner. Luckily she’s still got her deadliest weapon…it’s Killer Instinct, by Cindy Dees.

When it comes to excitement, we’re pulling no punches! Please send me your comments c/o Silhouette Books, 233 Broadway, Suite 1001, New York, NY 10279.

Sincerely,

Natashya Wilson

Associate Senior Editor, Silhouette Bombshell

Stella, Get Your Gun

Nancy Bartholomew

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

NANCY BARTHOLOMEW

didn’t seem like the Bombshell type at first. Sure, she grew up in Philadelphia, but she was a gentle minister’s daughter. Sometimes, though, true wildness simmers just below the surface. Nancy started singing country music in biker bars before she graduated from high school. (And yes, her dad was there, sitting in the front row, watching over his little girl!) She graduated from college with a degree in psychology and promptly moved into the inner city, where she found work dragging addicted inner-city teenagers into drug and alcohol rehabilitation. She then moved south to Atlanta and worked as the director of a substance abuse treatment program for court-ordered offenders. Then Nancy turned to the final frontier…parenthood. This drove her to writing. Now Nancy lives in North Carolina, rides with the police on a regular basis, raises two hooligan teenage boys, and tries to keep up with her writing, her psychotherapy practice and her garden. She hopes you’ll love her “daughter,” Stella Valocchi, and thanks you from the bottom of her heart for reading this book.

For Marti

Mentor, Midwife, True Blue Friend

Contents

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

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19