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“Are you trying to get yourself killed?”
A strong hand clasped my shoulder and spun me face-to-face with my favorite local law enforcer. Serras’s dark gaze came down hard on the bruised line of flesh across my throat. He shook me a little as he muttered a curse.
Before I could answer, that mouth came down on mine. The kiss was as hard as the man, without a touch of tenderness that would have had me pushing him away and sorely disappointed.
We indulged ourselves for thirty seconds, maybe a minute, his hands fisting into the length of my hair and my body meeting his, sensation for sensation. When it was over, I released him as suddenly as he’d grabbed me. I took a ragged, dissatisfied breath, knowing I would yearn for more for a long time….
Dear Harlequin Intrigue Reader,
You won’t be able to resist a single one of our May books. We have a lineup so shiver inducing that you may forget summer’s almost here!
Executive Bodyguard is the second book in Debra Webb’s exciting new trilogy, THE ENFORCERS. For the thrilling conclusion, be sure you pick up Man of Her Dreams in June.
Amanda Stevens concludes her MATCHMAKERS UNDERGROUND series with Matters of Seduction. And the Montana McCalls are back, in B.J. Daniels’s Ambushed!
We also have two special premiers for you. Kathleen Long debuts in Harlequin Intrigue with Silent Warning, a chilling thriller. And LIPSTICK LTD., our special promotion featuring sexy, sassy sleuths, kicks off with Darlene Scalera’s Straight Silver.
A few of your favorite Harlequin Intrigue authors have some special books you’ll love. Rita Herron’s A Breath Away is available this month from HQN Books. And, in June, Joanna Wayne’s The Gentlemen’s Club is being published by Signature Spotlight.
Harlequin Intrigue brings you the best in breathtaking romantic suspense with six fabulous books to enjoy. Please write to us—we love to hear from our readers.
Sincerely,
Denise O’Sullivan
Senior Editor
Harlequin Intrigue
Straight Silver
Darlene Scalera
MILLS & BOON
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Thanks to all, much too numerous to name,
that have taken me here to this tenth book.
With gratitude.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
A native New Yorker, Darlene graduated magna cum laude from Syracuse University with a degree in public communications. She worked in a variety of fields, including telecommunications and public relations, before devoting herself full-time to fiction writing.
A charter member of the Saratoga Chapter of Romance Writers of America, she served on its board for five years. She is also a member of the Capital Region Chapter of Romance Writers of America. She has presented writing workshops at national and regional writers’ conferences as well as at local universities and colleges.
She lives happily ever after in upstate New York with her husband, Jim, and their two teenage children, J.J. and Ariana. Visit her at www.darlenescalera.com.
Books by Darlene Scalera
HARLEQUIN INTRIGUE
739—UNMARKED MAN
848—STRAIGHT SILVER
CAST OF CHARACTERS
Silver LeGrande—Born with a stripper’s name and a brick-house bod to fulfill her certain destiny, she’s left the daily bump and grind to go community college coed. But when someone strangles her former colleague, and no one seems to care, Silver turns from the classroom to the only cop she knows who will give a damn.
Detective Alexi Serras—The last thing he needed was a partner. Especially a five-foot-eleven ex-stripper with a yard of crayon-red hair and attitude to match her assets.
Billie West—Owner of Memphis’s most infamous nightclub, Billie ran a clean joint, keeping the customers and the cops happy. Silver had been her top draw, and Billie had suspected it was only a matter of time before she came back to the club. But neither had imagined the reason would be murder.
Della Devine—By the time she was murdered, she was working the poles in a sleazy operation on the lower side.
Paul Chumsky—Resident pro at a country club for Memphis moneybags, Chumsky had a charm that kept him in the good graces of the club’s male members and in the firm beds of their wives. But the evening before she died he’d spent with Della Devine.
Contents
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
Chapter
