Part 46 (2/2)
”I agree,” Griff replied as he put his arm around Yvette's slender shoulders. ”But he's been seen more than once by those who knew York, and they swear the man is his twin.”
Yvette grasped the lapels of Griff's sport coat. ”You have to find him, whoever he is. Use whatever means necessary. Take Meredith with you. Go back to France. I cannot relive that nightmare. Do you hear me, Griffin? I will not!”
Griff shook her gently, then wrapped her in his arms and held her. ”I have to be totally honest with Nic.”
Yvette jerked her head up and stared at Griff. ”You cannot. She will not understand. If she knows...She will never forgive you. You will lose her.”
”If I continue lying to her, I'll lose her anyway.”
”Then tell her, but not yet. Wait as long as possible. Buy yourself some time.” Yvette caressed Griff's cheek. ”Without Nicole, you cannot be happy, and you deserve to be happy always.”
Maleah heard the hum of Barbara Jean's wheelchair. She eased away from the wall and walked across the room, all the while wondering if she should tell Nic about what she'd heard.
How could she tell her best friend, who was just now getting her marriage back on track, that her husband was still keeping secrets from her?
Cathy stood in front of the cheval mirror and studied her reflection. She had chosen a simple, white silk and satin dress with a rounded neckline, a fitted waist and a billowing skirt that skimmed the floor. Today was the happiest day of her life. The early springtime weather had cooperated by giving her a warm, sunny day with the trees budding, flowers blooming and birds singing.
Lorie knocked on the door and stuck her head in. ”Ready?”
”Ready.” Cathy held up her bouquet of white roses.
Lorie disappeared, and the door opened wide. Seth stood there in his black tuxedo, looking every inch the handsome young man he was. She walked over to him and took his arm. They smiled at each other.
”Nervous?” he asked.
”A little,” she admitted. ”I've waited a lifetime for this day.” She reached out and caressed Seth's cheek. ”I love Jack with all my heart.”
”He feels the same way about you.” Seth grinned. ”I know because he told me he did. And I told him he'd better take good care of you or he'd have to answer to me.”
Cathy laughed. ”What did he say to that?”
”He made me a promise. He said that he'd spend the rest of his life doing everything possible to make you happy.”
The organ music began, signaling them that it was time for the wedding to start. Seth led her down the hall and to the doors opening into the Methodist church sanctuary. She watched as Lorie, wearing a spring green silk dress and carrying a yellow rose bouquet, walked down the aisle right behind Jack's sister, Maleah, who wore a spring pink dress and carried pink roses.
When the wedding march sounded, everyone in the church rose to their feet as Seth led her down the aisle. Jack waited at the altar, Mike Birkett at his side. Jack stepped forward and took Cathy's hand.
Seth gave Jack a pat on the back and then kissed Cathy's cheek. ”I'm really glad my parents are finally getting married,” he whispered so softly that only the three of them could hear. ”I love you guys, you know.”
”We love you,” Cathy told him.
Seth took his place on the first-row pew, and during the ceremony, when Patsy Floyd asked, ”Who gives this woman to be married?” Seth replied, ”I do.”
Dear Reader,
Now that you've finished reading SILENT KILLER, I'm sure you're wondering about some loose ends that were not tied up, some relations.h.i.+ps that were left in limbo. I hope you're asking yourself what's going on with Nic and Griff, what's going to happen between Maleah and Derek and will Lorie ever get a second chance with Mike? I asked myself these questions and knew immediately that they had to be answered. So I'm now at work on a new romantic suspense, DEAD BY MIDNIGHT (coming in February 2010), that will tie up a few of those loose ends.
Maleah Perdue will stay on in Dunmore, Alabama, her hometown, after her brother's wedding, to housesit and to keep a close eye on her nephew while Cathy and Jack are away on their honeymoon. During her mini-vacation from the Powell Agency, Maleah is inadvertently drawn into a new murder mystery when Lorie Hammonds comes to her with a secret she's kept to herself for months-a secret that threatens her life. Lorie's past as a Playboy Playboy centerfold and costar in a p.o.r.n movie puts her on a crazed killer's To-Die list. Despite Maleah's intense dislike for Derek Lawrence, the former FBI profiler who is now on retainer for the Powell Agency, she has no choice but to work with him when it becomes obvious they are dealing with a serial killer. And Sheriff Mike Birkett, Lorie's high school sweetheart and first love, is torn between his need to keep Lorie at arm's length and his desire to save her from the clutches of a madman. centerfold and costar in a p.o.r.n movie puts her on a crazed killer's To-Die list. Despite Maleah's intense dislike for Derek Lawrence, the former FBI profiler who is now on retainer for the Powell Agency, she has no choice but to work with him when it becomes obvious they are dealing with a serial killer. And Sheriff Mike Birkett, Lorie's high school sweetheart and first love, is torn between his need to keep Lorie at arm's length and his desire to save her from the clutches of a madman.
Lorie isn't the only one whose past has come back to haunt her. When Griffin Powell reveals more information about his mysterious past to his wife Nicole, one startling truth will threaten to destroy their marriage.
I always enjoy hearing from readers. You may contact me through my Web site at or by writing to me in care of Kensington Publis.h.i.+ng. While visiting my Web site, you can enter my contests, sign up for my e-mail newsletter, and check out a list of all my books and my upcoming appearances at book signings, speaking engagements and conferences. or by writing to me in care of Kensington Publis.h.i.+ng. While visiting my Web site, you can enter my contests, sign up for my e-mail newsletter, and check out a list of all my books and my upcoming appearances at book signings, speaking engagements and conferences.
Warmest regards, Beverly Barton
Prologue
There it was again, that odd sound. It must be the wind. What else could it be? Possibly a wild animal, a racc.o.o.n or possum or even a stray dog. Bears are in hibernation this time of year.
Get hold of yourself. You're imagining things. n.o.body's out there. n.o.body is going to show up here in the middle of the woods in the dead of winter just to frighten you.
Dean's bone thin hands trembled as he pulled back the gingham curtain from the dirty window and peered out into the darkness. The quarter moon winked mockingly at him through a thin veil of clouds, as if it knew something he didn't. The cold wind whispered menacingly. Was it issuing him a warning?
Releasing the curtain, he rubbed his hands together, as much to warm them as to control the quivering. He sure as h.e.l.l could use a drink about now. Or something stronger, quicker. But he had learned to settle for strong coffee. A caffeine fix was better than no fix at all. He had been clean and sober for three years and he had no intention of allowing a few stupid letters to destroy his hard won freedom from drugs and alcohol.
Forget the d.a.m.n letters. They're just somebody's idea of a sick joke.
There were things he should be doing-stoking the fire he'd built in the fireplace, checking supplies, preparing the coffeemaker for morning coffee, bringing in more firewood, putting fresh linens on the twin beds. Dean wanted everything to be in order before his brother got here. Jared, who was driving in from Knoxville where he taught biology at the University of Tennessee, would arrive sometime in the morning and if all went as planned, they'd spend the weekend here. This was the first time they'd been together at their family's cabin in the Smoky Mountains since they were teenagers.
G.o.d, that had been a lifetime ago. Jared was forty-eight now, widowed, the father to two adult sons. His brother was successful in a way he would never be. Jared lived a normal life, always had and always would. Dean was a failure. Always had been and probably always would be. He'd been married and divorced four times. But he'd done one thing right-to his knowledge he had never fathered a child.
As he lifted the poker from where it was propped against the rock wall surrounding the fireplace, he glanced at the old mantel clock that had belonged to his grandparents. Eleven forty-seven. He should be sleepy, but he wasn't. He had flown in from LA earlier today and had rented a car at the airport.
Jared had sent him the airline ticket. His brother didn't trust him enough to send him the money. In the past, he would have used the money to buy drugs. He couldn't blame Jared. Dean had done nothing to earn anybody's trust. He might be clean and sober, but even he knew that it wouldn't take much to push him over the edge. If something happened, something he couldn't handle, he just might take the easy way out. He always had in the past.
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