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A dead body is no way to start the
day... a fake marriage makes it a special brand of hell.
When her witness is murdered, DEA Agent
Hannah Thalberg knows she's the next target. The only way she can
stay close to the case is to lie about getting married and hope her
one-time lover goes along with the deception.
Karl 'Bart' Bartholomew's Army career
ended his first marriage before an injury ended his career. Now the
owner of a popular truck stop, he stays close to the action by
keeping local DEA and law enforcement informed of suspicious
activity.
Can Hannah and Bart break the case and
save lives before the passion between them breaks apart their
friendship?
Excerpt from The Informant
"Your witness is dead." The
statement was accompanied by the loud slap of a file hitting the
desk. Pictures of the crime scene spilled out.
Special Agent Hannah Thalberg didn't
want to look. Not at the pictures and definitely not at her boss. But
she was a professional so she straightened the paperwork and opened
the file properly.
A few days ago, she'd met with the
young woman who wanted to exchange information about a mobile meth
lab for a better life for her and the baby she was carrying. Instead,
they'd been ambushed by three gangbangers loyal to Carlos Gonzales,
the witness' boyfriend with known ties to an ambitious Mexican
cartel.
Outgunned, three to one, it was only a
matter of time before the crew sent to recover Krystal succeeded.
Hannah had taken a grazing shot across her upper arm, but they'd
taken her witness and disappeared. Considering the cartel's
established pattern of brutally silencing witnesses and then going
after the agent who'd tempted them to turn, she'd been leashed to her
desk for her own safety. For three days she'd seen nothing but the
inside of this office and been shadowed every step by the mandatory
protective detail.
Hannah was weary of the restrictions
and extra eyes watching her every move. There was no privacy and some
things she just wasn't ready to share. Not even within the parameters
of a mundane report. Especially since… but she couldn't think about
that now. She had to focus on one thing at a time.
"When and where was she found?"
"Last night in the dumpster out
back. She couldn't have been there more than a day. The garbage men
found her during their route, called it in."
Hannah looked up. "I beg your
pardon? She was dumped here at our office?"
"Sends a message, doesn't it?"
Maybe the protective detail was a good
thing after all. She forced herself to examine the pictures, willing
her stomach to settle. Having never been squeamish about these
things, it would raise too many questions if she turned green – or
worse – now.
Gruesome didn't begin to cover it. The
scene was raw and her heart dropped at the sight of Krystal's body
marred head to toe with burns, bruises, and lacerations of a lengthy,
violent interrogation. She'd done that. In her determination to break
up the mobile meth lab system, she'd gotten this girl and her baby
killed.
Hannah turned the page and skimmed the
coroner's report. The photos attached were worse. Somehow cleaning
away the dirt and gore only illuminated the terrible pain Krystal had
endured in her last hours.
She reached over for a sticky note and
wrote down two names, then pressed the note to the preliminary
report.
"What's that?" Her boss
tilted his head.
"Baby names. She deserves to have
her baby listed as a victim. By name."
Want to read more? Pick up your kindle
copy today!
-V.R. Marks
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