Dead By Morning

Nic laid her hand protectively over her belly.

She heard the sound of a car door slamming. Cully Redmond must have arrived. He probably needed to stretch his legs.

With her hand still resting over the tiny life just beginning to grow inside her, Nic jerked around when she heard a noise. Sound echoed in the empty stillness of her mountain retreat, so she wasn’t surprised that she could hear footsteps on the front porch.

Damn it, she had told Griff specifically that she wanted to be left alone.

Don’t bite Cully’s head off. Just tell him you’re fine and for him to report to Griff that you arrived here safely.

Nic went back into the cabin and made it halfway across the living room when the front door opened. Great! Cully would be sure to tell Griff that she’d left the door unlocked. How could she have been so careless?

With “get out and leave me alone” on the tip of her tongue, Nic stopped dead still when a man she didn’t know walked into her cabin. This was definitely not Cully Redmond. And he wasn’t another Powell agent.

“Who are you? What do you want?”

When he simply stared at her, Nic stood her ground.

Show no fear.

“I’m expecting someone any minute now,” she told him. “I didn’t travel alone.”

“If you’re expecting the man driving the black Hummer, then you’re going to be disappointed. I’m afraid he’s been delayed. Permanently delayed.”

Fear clutched Nic’s gut. Had this man killed Cully?

“I don’t know what you want, Mr.—?”

“Where are my manners,” the man said, a bonechilling smile curving his lips. “Let me introduce myself, Mrs. Powell. I’m Anthony Linden.”

“That’s not possible. Anthony Linden is dead.”

“Yes, I know. And so is Malcolm York. And yet here I am, in the flesh, come to take you to see another dead man. Mr. York is eager to meet you.”

Dear Reader,

Dead by Morning was the second book in my Dead by trilogy and leads directly into the third and final novel, Dead by Nightfall, set for a December 2011 release. The cliffhanger ending I presented in the epilogue of Dead by Morning prepares you for what is to come in the next book, which begins where this book leaves off —with Nicole Baxter Powell in grave danger. When Griffin Powell discovers that his wife is missing and soon thereafter learns that she is in the hands of a “ghost” from his past, he moves heaven and earth to rescue her. Griff, Sanders and Yvette, the Amara triad, who suffered unbearable torture during their years as Malcolm York’s captives, must come to terms with their past lives. Secrets long buried in the depths of their tortured souls resurface and are revealed in the cold, hard light of their present realities. You will learn more about the elusive and deadly Raphael Byrne, another of York’s victims.

For those of you who love the Powell Agency books, you will be pleased to know that I hope to write more novels featuring Powell agents and others associated with the agency. If while reading Dead by Morning you found Luke Sentell and Rafe Byrne interesting alpha males, then you will probably agree that both of these hardedged, dangerous men deserve books of their own.

After I complete Dead by Nightfall, I’ll be writing the sequel to my September 2010 novel Don’t Cry, bringing back TBI agent J.D. Cass and mental health therapist Audrey Sherrod. You’ll be seeing more of several secondary characters, including J.D.’s daughter Zoe, Audrey’s best friend Tamara and Tamara’s parents, as well as J.D.’s sister Julia. Many of you contacted me asking if Tamara and Marcus will reunite and if J.D. and Audrey will get married, and wondering if J.D. and Zoe will finally bond as father and daughter. I’ll give you all the answers in Don’t Say a Word, set for release in 2012.

I always love hearing from readers. You may contact me through my Web site at www.beverlybarton.com or by writing to me in care of Kensington Publishing. While visiting my Web site, you can enter contests, sign up for my e-mail newsletter, and check out a list of all my books. You can also find information about my upcoming book signings, speaking engagements, and conferences. And be sure to take a look at the videos about me and my books. Also, go to Facebook and sign up as a friend on my Beverly Barton Official Fan page: http://www.facebook.com/beverlybartonfanpage.

Warmest regards,

Beverly Barton