Secret Weapon Spouse. B.J. Daniels
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You are cordially invited to…
Honor thy pledge
to the
Miami Confidential Agency
Do you hereby swear to uphold the law to the best of your ability…
To maintain the level of integrity of this agency by your compassion for victims, loyalty to your brothers and sisters and courage under fire…
To hold all information and identities in the strictest confidence…
Or die before breaking the code?
Secret Weapon Spouse
B.J. Daniels
This book is for fellow writer Marty Levine who was in my thoughts all the time I was in Miami. Thanks for adding a ray of sunshine to those otherwise drab days.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
B.J. Daniels’s life dream was to write books. After a career as an award-winning newspaper journalist, she sold thirty-seven short stories before she finally wrote her first book. That book, Odd Man Out, received a 4½ star review from Romantic Times BOOKclub and went on to be nominated for Best Harlequin Intrigue of 1995. Since then she has won numerous awards, including a career achievement award for romantic suspense.
B.J. lives in Montana with her husband, Parker, two springer spaniels, Scout and Spot, and an aging, temperamental tomcat named Jeff. When she isn’t writing, she snowboards, camps, boats and plays tennis. To contact B.J., write to her at P.O. Box 183, Bozeman, MT 59771, or check out her Web site at www.bjdaniels.com.
CAST OF CHARACTERS
Samantha Peters—The wedding planner/undercover agent lived a secret life that even her closest associates didn’t know about…until she met a man who saw behind the facade.
Alex Graham—Estranged from his blue-blood family, the fireman never dreamed his sister’s wedding would lead to murder.
Caroline Graham—All she wanted was to marry the man she loved—and keep her deadly secrets until the big day.
C. B. Graham—The patriarch ruled his family with an iron fist. But not even he knew everything.
Brian Graham—Big brother would do anything to look good in his father’s eyes.
Preston Wellington III—Caroline’s fiancé was one of the few who knew the truth. But he was nowhere to be found.
Sonya Botero—The kidnapped heiress had Miami Confidential working day and night to find her and bring her home safely.
Craig Johnson—Sonya’s limo driver wound up in the hospital thanks to some very determined kidnappers. But does he know more than he’s letting on?
Victor Constantine—The contract killer had spent years doing what he did so well. Was this his last client?
Miami Confidential—No matter what it takes, the agents who make up this secret, undercover organization are prepared to fight crime and protect the innocent.
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 Seventeen
Epilogue
Chapter One
Trouble. Samantha Peters knew it the moment she saw the bride-to-be. Caroline Graham looked upset but trying hard not to show it as she stepped into Samantha’s office, followed by a man who was clearly not her fiancé.
“Thank you for making time to see me today,” Caroline said, then seemed to remember she wasn’t alone. “This is my brother, Alex.”
Samantha came around her desk to shake his hand. He was tall, broad in the shoulders with light brown hair—almost blond—and intense eyes that at first she thought were blue but on closer inspection found they changed color with the light. Right now they were more green and flecked with gold.
As her hand disappeared into his large one, she found his touch dry and warm, his grip strong, self-assured. But Samantha wouldn’t have expected anything less from one of Caroline Graham’s brothers.
Alex, she recalled from her research, was the fire-man. In her business, Samantha made a point of knowing as much as she could about her client’s family.
As she shook Alex Graham’s hand she told herself he could just as easily have been the brother who ran the Graham financial empire instead of the black sheep of the family. He looked completely at home in the expensive pin-striped gray suit that fit him perfectly.
Her eyes locked with his for just an instant. He seemed distracted, his sister Caroline nervous. Samantha couldn’t help but wonder why Caroline had called, insisting she had to see her—let alone why she’d brought her brother with her today instead of her fiancé.
“Please sit down,” Samantha said as he released her hand. She pushed her tortoiseshell-rimmed glasses up and braced herself for the worst.
She’d been in this business long enough not to jump to conclusions let alone panic. Cool under pressure. That was Samantha Peters. Some said ice water ran through her veins. They had no idea. But if there was one asset she brought to her job as a wedding planner, it was unruffled composure. The same went for her other job—the one that took place in the hidden soundproof room upstairs over the shop.
At Weddings Your Way, Samantha was the detail person. She was the one who saw that each client’s wedding came off without even the tiniest snag. It was one of the reasons she was paid the big bucks.
“Is there a problem?” Samantha asked when Caroline and Alex had taken their chairs. Normally, she would have pulled up a chair, as well, making the meeting more informal, more personal.
Today, Samantha chose to sit behind her desk. That alone should have told her something.
The thing about brides was that they often panicked for all kinds of reasons: family arguments that required a change of setting at both the wedding and reception; the loss or gain of too much weight before their final dress fitting; bridesmaids who got pregnant, broke their legs, cut their hair or dyed it a hideous color before the wedding. The list went on and on.
It was Samantha’s job to pacify all parties and solve those problems if possible before the big day. She wasn’t too worried even though the Graham-Wellington wedding would be one of the largest affairs Weddings Your Way would handle this year and that was saying a lot given their clientele. Also Samantha had been working on this wedding for more than six months and still had six months to go since Caroline wanted a Christmas wedding and it was only June.
“How can I help you?” she asked looking up from her desk at the bride-to-be. Caroline Graham was tall and willowy, blond and beautiful with a grace born of good genes and unlimited money.
“There might be a problem,” Caroline said, fiddling with