The Eyes Of Derek Archer

The Eyes Of Derek Archer
Vickie York

Derek Archer had been called a killer…He'd been hunted, stalked and pursued as a fugitive–until he'd vanished altogether. Shortly after the case against Derek Archer was closed, the man managed to escape and create a new identity. Then he set out to exact his revenge. One by one, the men who had ruined his life began to die….Susan Wade didn't know whether or not she should trust Archer–when he had come so mysteriously into her life. Whoever he really was, the man was cool under fire and hot to the touch. His eyes said he had a score to settle, though. And it wasn't long until Susan wondered if the man she was coming to love was framing her for murder.

They made quite a pair…

The murderer and the grieving widow who might have killed her own husband. Yes, she might have done it, Archer decided, eyeing Susan Wade’s tempting mouth. Incredibly, his suspicion made her seem even more attractive. Perhaps it gave them something in common….

After months on the run, Archer was good at sizing up people. As he watched Susan, an unexpected surge of pure desire washed over him. He wanted to unloosen the hair at the back of her neck so it streamed down her back. And he wanted to hold her tight.

But as Archer studied his menu, he told himself to back off. For his plan to work, he had to keep his distance. An attraction to Brian Wade’s widow would only interfere with Archer’s plans to get even with the men who’d betrayed him….

VICKIE YORK

Before becoming a writer, Vickie York served as a commissioned officer in both the U.S. Army and U.S. Air Force. After an assignment to the Defense Language Institute, she served as an intelligence officer for the rest of her military career. Vickie was awarded a Bronze Star for service during the Vietnam conflict. After traveling extensively, she now lives in Tacoma, Washington.

The Eyes of Derek Archer

Vickie York

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

TO MY CRITIQUE GROUP

Joe Contris

Ethel Flannery

Darcea Schiesl

June Summerville

Gayla Goller

Thanks for all your piercing comments

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Susan Kirkpatrick, attorney;

George Sexton, cockpit design engineer, former air force pilot;

Carolyn Williamson, attorney

Contents

Prologue (#u3bca121c-7b0d-5dae-b7d1-04a75604262a)

Chapter One (#u217b2a21-ff58-5c6e-bdd3-751d38071e22)

Chapter Two (#u57d7e8d5-081f-57c7-b5e0-b80732fb014b)

Chapter Three (#u84ddeca5-cba0-53a7-b188-e8ab33c18076)

Chapter Four (#uc644a98f-643b-5f24-ba12-4fafb5878ea9)

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)

Prologue

San Francisco

Hungry to read it again, he reached for the newspaper article describing his suicide and prior murder conviction. There it was, right where he’d put it, next to the pile of information he’d collected on the seven men who had witnessed the murder.

Over the past year, the article’s plastic jacket had become scratched from his constant handling. But his picture was still as clear as the day it was taken—a mug shot of a stone-faced man with vindictive staring eyes. The face of a killer, he thought grimly, reading the article for the third time that day, even though he knew the words by heart.

Captain Albright Missing

Police Suspect Suicide

Spokane, Washington. Air Force Captain Donald W. Albright may have leaped from the Tacoma Narrows Bridge early this morning, less than twenty-four hours after his conviction for the April 22 murder of his squadron commander, Major William F. Bradley. Bradley had commanded the C-130 squadron at Fairchild Air Force Base.

Out on bail pending appeal, the 31-year-old Air Academy graduate is believed to have jumped from the bridge’s central span at approximately 3:00 a.m. Witnesses saw a man in an air force uniform on the bridge at about that time. An hour later Albright’s Ford Explorer, containing his wallet, a note to his parents, and some personal belongings, was found by police parked on the east side of the bridge.

In spite of the note, there is some question whether Albright really committed suicide. Until the body is found, police will continue their search for the fugitive.

Go ahead. Try to find me, he thought, clenching his fists. With his appearance altered surgically, not even his own parents would recognize him now. The newspaper story went on to describe the scene at the Spokane tavern where the murder occurred. In detail it told how the lights flicked out, shots were fired, and the squadron commander was killed. Later, police found Albright’s fingerprints on the murder weapon. He knew the words as well as he knew his new identity and name: Derek Archer. Reading the article every day had become an obsession, like his dark desire for vengeance.