Daddy With A Badge
Rafe Cardoza was a government agent, a professional who knew better than to let his emotions get in the way.But that was before duty brought him back into Daniela Fabrizio's life as suddenly as he had been forced to leave it twenty years before…. The boy she'd once been forbidden to love was now the man responsible for Daniela's safety.The single mom with a baby on the way wasn't sure what scared her more, the fact that someone wanted her dead…or that Rafe still wanted her. Was he ready to take on fatherhood, or would he walk away when his mission was accomplished?
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âYou know what I want. Iâm willing to give you time to figure out if itâs what you want, too.â
She blinked. âHow much time, exactly?â
The cagey little note in her voice had him smiling inside. He liked that in her, the determination to surrender only on her terms. Because he wanted her complete cooperation when they finally consummated this edgy chemistry they generated without even trying, he steeled himself to give her room to maneuver. But not too much room.
And not too much time. Twenty years was a long time to burn for a woman.
That decided, he allowed his private smile to show on his face. âIâm booked on the red-eye tomorrow night.â
She took a deep, shaky breath. âIn that case, youâd better stay for dinner.â
Dear Reader,
The excitement continues in Intimate Moments. First of all, this month brings the emotional and exciting conclusion of A YEAR OF LOVING DANGEROUSLY. In Familiar Stranger, Sharon Sala presents the final confrontation with the archvillain known as Simonâand youâll finally find out who he really is. Youâll also be there as Jonah revisits the woman heâs never forgotten and decides itâs finally time to make some important changes in his life.
Also this month, welcome back Candace Camp to the Intimate Moments lineup. Formerly known as Kristin James, this multitalented author offers a Hard-Headed Texan who lives in A LITTLE TOWN IN TEXAS, which will enthrall readers everywhere. Paula Detmer Riggs returns with Daddy with a Badge, another installment in her popular MATERNITY ROW miniseriesâand next month sheâs back with Born a Hero, the lead book in our new Intimate Moments continuity, FIRSTBORN SONS. Complete the month with Moonglow, Texas, by Mary McBride, Linda Castilloâs Cops andâ¦Lovers? and new author Susan Vaughanâs debut book, Dangerous Attraction.
By the way, donât forget to check out our Silhouette Makes You a Star contest on the back of every book.
We hope to see you next month, too, when not only will FIRSTBORN SONS be making its bow, but weâll also be bringing you a brand-new TALL, DARK AND DANGEROUS title from award-winning Suzanne Brockmann. For nowâ¦enjoy!
Leslie J. Wainger
Executive Senior Editor
PAULA DETMER RIGGS
discovers material for her writing in her varied life experiences. During her first five years of marriage to a naval officer, she lived in nineteen different locations on the West Coast, gaining familiarity with places as diverse as San Diego and Seattle. While working at a historical site in San Diego she wrote, directed and narrated fashion shows and became fascinated with the early history of California.
She writes romances because âI think we all need an escape from the high-tech pressures that face us every day, and I believe in happy endings. Isnât that why we keep trying, in spite of all the roadblocks and disappointments along the way?â
Contents
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Prologue
He was alive. Barely. Now it was up to the cardiac team to keep him that way.
Sweat-stained and exhausted after the frantic struggle to keep the patient from bleeding to death, the surgeon in charge of the Level-1 trauma unit at George Washington University Hospital stripped off her bloody gown and gloves before heading down the sterile corridor in search of the patientâs family.
While she and her team had been battling the almost impossible odds, a crowd had gatheredâpredominantly large, solemn-faced, broad-shouldered men with narrowed, watchful eyes.
Among the group were the two men who had ridden in the ambulance with the ashen-faced man now in surgery, their once pristine shirts bloodied while performing CPR until the medics had arrived.
All were members of the Special Investigations Branch of the Secret Service. The patient, Rafael Cardoza, was a senior agent in the same branch. His weapon as well as his badge and ID had been vouchered by the admitting clerk after theyâd cut off his blood-soaked clothing.
Falling silent as she approached, they stood stiffly the way people do when they feel helpless, hands in the pockets of conservative suit coats, their carefully unobtrusive ties loosened, the requisite dark sunglasses tucked away in breast pockets.
âExcuse me, gentlemen, is Agent Cardozaâs family here yet?â she asked, her voice reflecting her utter weariness.
In answer to her question, most looked toward a solid, massively muscled man in his mid-fifties who stood to one side of the crowded corridor, alone in a little island of deference. A pleasantly homely man, he had thick iron-gray hair, a granite jaw and steely blue eyes.
âCardozaâs parents are in Oregon. According to his wishes, theyâre to be notified only in the event of his death.â He stopped, the unspoken question hanging in the air.
âHeâs alive,â the surgeon hastened to assure him.
