Harlequin Intrigue April 2021 Box Set 2 of 2
The Setup
The Suspect
K-9 Cold Case
Carol Ericson
Nichole Severn
Elizabeth Heiter
Table of Contents
The Setup
By Carol Ericson
The Suspect
By Nichole Severn
K-9 Cold Case
By Elizabeth Heiter
Kyra spun around, her fists clenching at her sides. “Why are you snooping in my background? Do you do that for every task force member or just the ones you don’t want to work with?”
Jake clasped a hand on the back of his neck, and for the first time she noticed the weariness in his handsome face, the lines on the sides of his mouth etched deep, the hazel eyes dark and unfathomable.
“Is that what you think? That I don’t want to work with you? I invited you to survey the video footage with me today. I drove you to the murder scene last night.”
She blinked her eyes. And she might’ve just messed up.
“Besides,” he sighed, “I didn’t discover who you were by looking into your background, although I tried. Your name and ID change are pretty thorough. There is nothing online that links you to that little girl.”
“Then how’d you find out and why were you digging into my past?”
The Setup
Carol Ericson
Carol Ericson is a bestselling, award-winning author of more than forty books. She has an eerie fascination for true-crime stories, a love of film noir and a weakness for reality TV, all of which fuel her imagination to create her own tales of murder, mayhem and mystery. To find out more about Carol and her current projects, please visit her website at www.carolericson.com, “where romance flirts with danger.”
Books by Carol Ericson
Harlequin Intrigue
A Kyra and Jake Investigation
The Setup
Holding the Line
Evasive Action
Chain of Custody
Unraveling Jane Doe
Buried Secrets
Red, White and Built: Delta Force Deliverance
Enemy Infiltration
Undercover Accomplice
Code Conspiracy
Red, White and Built: Pumped Up
Delta Force Defender
Delta Force Daddy
Delta Force Die Hard
Visit the Author Profile page at Harlequin.com.
CAST OF CHARACTERS
Jake McAllister—This LAPD homicide detective is leading a task force to find a serial killer who is copying the MO of a killer from twenty years ago. As if he doesn’t have enough on his plate, Kyra Chase, a therapist and victims’ rights advocate, has been assigned to his task force, complicating not only his investigation, but his life.
Kyra Chase—A therapist with deep, dark secrets, she has her own reasons for wanting to be on McAllister’s serial killer task force, but her attraction to the sexy, no-nonsense detective is a distraction she doesn’t need.
Roger Quinn—A retired LAPD homicide detective with one failure on his record—his inability to catch the serial killer known as The Player. He’s tried to make up for it by protecting one of The Player’s victims for twenty years.
Billy Crouch—Jake’s partner is the levelheaded one of the duo, but he has his own traumas to overcome to be able to do his job.
Matt Dugan—Kyra’s foster brother knows a lot about her, maybe too much for his own safety.
The Copycat Player—A serial killer who follows all the rules of the game—except one.
Contents
Prologue
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
Chapter Eighteen
Epilogue
PROLOGUE
Rule number four. The victim should never be someone you know.
He screwed up his face and squinted at the girl curled up in the back seat of his car. He didn’t really know Kelsey. Seeing her around, knowing her name—that didn’t count, did it? He hadn’t known Shelby or Marissa, either. They didn’t know his name, had barely given him the time of day.
Through the slits of his eyes, he could almost imagine Kelsey smiling at him. That was better than the last look she gave him. He smiled back.
A rustling noise from the trailhead wiped the smile off his face and made his heart pound—not in a good way, not the way it had raced the first time he’d put his hands on Kelsey. He held his breath until he saw the flash of a squirrel’s tail as it hopped out of a tree. The animal turned its head in his direction and pierced him with its beady eyes. He stomped his foot in the squirrel’s direction, sending the creature up another tree.
He hooked his arms beneath Kelsey’s and dragged her out of the car, the heels of her boots hitting the soft ground. He’d place her off the trail but not too far off. Someone needed to discover his handiwork before the animals got to her. Seemed like he’d made that mistake with Shelby. He’d already scoped out this location, had visited it a few times.
His running shoes scuffed through the dry debris that littered the trail as he pulled her deadweight several feet. He stopped and wiped a bead of sweat from his face with his arm. Kelsey was a lot heavier in death, but he’d discovered this with the others. This wasn’t his first rodeo. It was his third rodeo. He giggled at his pun.
Another ten feet, and he located his spot—her spot now—and let Kelsey’s upper body drop with a huffing sound on the comfy cushion of leaves, twigs and berries beneath the tree, one arm crossing her body. The scent of pine and citrus tingled in his nose, and he inhaled the clean smell. Maybe he should take up hiking. Being out here made him feel good. He glanced at Kelsey—or maybe this was what made him feel good.
Now the annoying work part started. He crouched beside the body and plucked at the sleeve of her shirt to move her arm to her side. He lined up her legs, straight and together, the toes of her boots pointing skyward. He brushed some dirt from the leg of her jeans.
The bruises ringing her throat created an unfortunate purple necklace, but he didn’t have a gun, and a knife would’ve left a mess of blood in his car. He liked blood, but not if he had to get
