They want the same thing—
To bring a murderer to justice.
Major Daniel Duke doesn’t care that the Conard County sheriff’s office doesn’t want his help tracking down his brother’s killer. He refuses to be left out of the search. But Deputy Cat Jansen has her marching orders: keep the decorated army ranger from hindering their investigation. As the search heats up, Daniel and Cat discover they share more than a relentless pursuit of justice. But would they have to pay with their lives to find the truth?
New York Times Bestselling Author
“I wanted to be on this case.
It wouldn’t have been long before I’d have demanded it. Yeah, I knew Larry, but I didn’t know him well enough to lose my objectivity. Don’t blame yourself for that.”
“Then I showed up, looking like trouble. You had to run around to try to prevent me from going ballistic all over the county.”
At that, a small laugh escaped Cat. “It hasn’t been that difficult.”
“Because you were willing to work with me. But I’ll be honest, much as I hate to admit it, when I arrived here I did want to tear a few people apart. Obviously, I didn’t know who.”
She raised a brow. “Do you still want to?”
“Tear someone apart? Sometimes, but the urge isn’t as strong as when I arrived here. I think you’d be safe not worrying about that.”
She squeezed his hand again, then withdrew hers. Duke regretted the absence of her touch immediately. Damn, he was starting to get tangled up between grief, anger and the pull he felt toward Cat.
Conard County Justice
New York Times Bestselling Author
Rachel Lee
Rachel Lee was hooked on writing by the age of twelve and practiced her craft as she moved from place to place all over the United States. This New York Times bestselling author now resides in Florida and has the joy of writing full-time.
Books by Rachel Lee
Harlequin Intrigue
Conard County: The Next Generation
Cornered in Conard County
Missing in Conard County
Murdered in Conard County
Conard County Justice
Harlequin Romantic Suspense
Conard County: The Next Generation
Guardian in Disguise
The Widow’s Protector
Rancher’s Deadly Risk
What She Saw
Rocky Mountain Lawman
Killer’s Prey
Deadly Hunter
Snowstorm Confessions
Undercover Hunter
Playing with Fire
Conard County Witness
A Secret in Conard County
A Conard County Spy
Conard County Marine
Undercover in Conard County
Conard County Revenge
Conard County Watch
Stalked in Conard County
Visit the Author Profile page at Harlequin.com.
CAST OF CHARACTERS
Cat Jansen—Deputy with the Conard County sheriff’s office. She is an experienced investigator.
Major Daniel Duke—Army ranger, he is hunting his brother’s murderer.
Larry Duke—The victim. An investigative journalist who had come to Conard County to write a book.
Ben Williams—Larry’s boyfriend, former army officer, acquaintance of Daniel Duke.
Man 1, Man 2 and Man 3—Former military, Larry Duke’s killers.
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
Excerpt from What She Knew by Barb Han
Chapter One
Cat Jansen was sitting at the front desk in the Conard County Sheriff’s Office when trouble came through the door.
Rotation had brought her to this day of desk duty in the office. She wasn’t expecting to be too busy, which was one of the reasons she had decided to stay in this county after her mother’s death two years ago.
She had previously worked for a sheriff in Colorado but had left the job to come to Conard City to care for her ailing mother. Cancer was a brutal disease, and all Cat could say for the months she’d spent nursing her was that her mother hadn’t been alone. Then she’d taken a job as a deputy to the sheriff here. Today she busied herself with a day of paperwork and a few relatively minor complaints.
Until the big guy in an Army uniform walked through the door. She took a rapid inventory as best she could. Major’s oak leaves, a stack of colorful ribbons. He pulled off a tan beret as he entered.
His dark eyes reflected cold anger. More worrisome than rage, the coldness suggested a determination that wouldn’t quit. Oh heck, she thought. What had made this guy look like this?
“Are you the desk officer?” he asked in a deep voice, suggesting a rumble of thunder in the distance.
“Yes, I am.” An imposing man. And whatever had brought him so far out of his way was likely a serious problem.
“I’m Major Daniel Duke. My brother, Larry, was murdered a week ago.”
Well, that explained the steel in his dark eyes. “I’m so sorry,” she replied. “How can we help you?” But she had an idea. Definitely trouble. She could feel it brewing like a building storm.
“I want to know how the investigation is going.”
“It’s going.” She wasn’t permitted to give him confidential details of an ongoing investigation.
“Are you checking into the possibility of a hate crime? My brother was gay.”
A bald accusation phrased as a question. If she hadn’t felt so disturbed and chilled by the look in his eyes, she might have done more than sigh.
“Of course we are,” she answered. “I knew Larry. We’re not overlooking anything, believe me. But in all honesty, we’ve never had a crime of that type in this county.”
“Not yet,” he said flatly.
Which was a point she couldn’t argue. This county evidently always seemed peaceful until something blew up. It wasn’t as frequent as in heavily populated areas, but it still happened.
The major was framed against the front windows, the bright spring sunlight now casting him in silhouette. Not comfortable for her to look at.
She pointed to the metal chair beside her desk. “Sit, please. I’m having trouble seeing you.”
He came around immediately and sat. Now she had a clear view of his face. It had the chiseled appearance of someone in prime physical condition, and sun had put some slight lines at the corners of his eyes. He looked as unyielding as the concrete she suddenly imagined him walking through. She suspected he wasn’t going to hang around just to identify Larry’s body, which hadn’t yet come back from the medical examiner, and arrange a funeral. No, he had other things on his mind.
“I’m not going to
