House Of Secrets

House Of Secrets
Tracy Montoya

SEE NO EVILThe house was impossible to stay away from, but he couldn't tell the beautiful woman inside why. For P.I. Joe Lopez didn't remember why….HEAR NO EVILThen the memories came flooding back, and if not for professor Emma Jensen Reese, Joe would have walked away…forever.SPEAK NO EVILBut once the shots rang out, connecting him and Emma in life and nearly in death, Joe was determined to learn what really happened in that house more than twenty years ago. Even as someone else was hell-bent on keeping the past buried….

Joe felt himself being sucked backward into the darkness

He hurled his weight to the right until he felt the solid connection of the wall against his shoulder. Glass-covered pictures of women holding calla lilies rattled in their frames from the impact.

Just get out. Just don’t remember. Don’t ever remember.

And then the door swung open, and Emma stood before him, haloed by the golden light of a California Indian summer afternoon.

“What are you…?” she began, taking two steps toward him with those impossibly long legs of hers. “Are you okay?”

Before he could stop himself, Joe let his forehead drop down to rest on her thin shoulder. A minute. He just needed a minute and then he could talk to her and pretend everything was normal. He breathed in the warm, peaceful scent of the shampoo she used and, just for a moment, he was himself again.

House of Secrets

Tracy Montoya

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

For Roselyn Rysavy

(the real Scrabble Champion of the World)

and Jerry Rysavy, the greatest grandparents ever. Love you.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Harlequin Intrigue author Tracy Montoya is a magazine editor for a crunchy nonprofit in Washington, D.C., though at present she’s telecommuting from her house in Seoul, Korea. She lives with a psychotic cat, a lovable yet daft Lhasa apso and a husband who’s turned their home into the Island of Lost/Broken/Strange-Looking Antiques. A member of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists and the Society of Environmental Journalists, Tracy has written about everything from Booker Prizewinning poet Martín Espada to socially responsible mutual funds to soap opera summits. Her articles have appeared in a variety of publications, such as Hope, Utne Reader, Satya, YES!, Natural Home, and New York Naturally. Prior to launching her journalism career, she taught in an under-resourced school in Louisiana through the AmeriCorps Teach for America program.

Tracy holds a master’s degree in English literature from Boston College and a B.A. in the same from St. Mary’s University. When she’s not writing, she likes to scuba dive, forget to go to kickboxing class, wallow in bed with a good book or get out her new guitar with a group of friends and pretend she’s Suzanne Vega.

She loves to hear from readers—e-mail

TracyMontoya@aol.com or visit www.tracymontoya.com.

CAST OF CHARACTERS

Joe Lopez—After witnessing his mother’s murder at age ten, his mind coped by erasing all memory of early childhood. But now, the man without a past is seeking answers—or maybe they’re seeking him.

Emma Jensen Reese—An English professor at St. Xavier University, Emma learns that the old Victorian home she so lovingly restored was the house where Joe spent his childhood.

Daniela and Ramon Lopez—Twenty-five years ago, they were murdered, leaving behind four children who are still searching for answers…and each other.

The Whistling Man—With a penchant for whistling Sinatra, he shadows Joe with an obvious intent to inflict harm.

Detective Daniel Rodriguez—A member of Homicide Special, the Los Angeles Police Department’s elite detective unit, Rodriguez manages to show up whenever trouble comes calling. Does he really want to help, or is the detective hiding something?

Senator Wade Allen—An extramarital affair made him the victim of blackmail. Did he order the Lopezes killed to save his political career?

Amelia Rosemont Allen—Married to Senator Allen, Amelia will do anything to support her husband.

Mavis Richards—The “other woman” in Senator Allen’s past has put the past behind her. Or has she?

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

Epilogue

Prologue

Twenty-five years ago

When the glass of her basement window shattered late one Sunday night, Daniela Lopez’s face barely registered surprise. Mainly because she didn’t feel any.

Daniela sat in the dark on the unforgiving hardwood staircase inside her Victorian home, only her eyes moving as they scanned the front door. Then the foyer. Then the inky blackness of her front hallway.