Deceptions

Elizabeth turned to look at him. “Why am I at your house?”

“Because you’re spending the night with me.”

He easily heard her sharply indrawn breath. “Look, Mac,” Elizabeth said, “that kiss was a heat-of-the-moment thing. Adrenaline and craziness. It wasn’t me offering—offering—”

“To jump into bed with me?” Mac asked as he pulled the car into the garage. He’d moved to that home on the edge of the city just a few weeks before. He’d felt closed in and he’d wanted a new place.

“Right.” Her voice was sharp. “I wasn’t offering to jump into bed with you.”

He killed the engine. “Pity.”

“Mac—”

“You’re here for your protection.” They’d get to the jumping-in-bed and heat-of-the-moment part again later. “In case you missed it, someone is gunning for you.”

Deceptions

Cynthia Eden

www.millsandboon.co.uk

CYNTHIA EDEN, a New York Times bestselling author, writes tales of romantic suspense and paranormal romance. Her books have received starred reviews from Publishers Weekly, and she has received a RITA^>® Award nomination for best romantic suspense novel. Cynthia lives in the Deep South, loves horror movies and has an addiction to chocolate. More information about Cynthia may be found at www.cynthiaeden.com, or you can follow her on Twitter, @cynthiaeden.

Thank you, THANK YOU to all of the amazing Harlequin Intrigue readers out there! I so appreciate you taking the time to read about the McGuire family!

Contents

Cover

Introduction

Title Page

About the Author

Dedication

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

Epilogue

Extract

Copyright

Chapter One

She should have been alone.

Elizabeth Snow had the late shift at the small library nestled on the outskirts of Austin, Texas. She was the one scheduled to close and secure the facility. She should have been the only one there.

So why had she just heard the faint pad of footsteps coming from the back?

Elizabeth froze a few feet from the library’s exit. Her purse was slung over her shoulder, and her fingers had a pretty strong death grip on the strap. Shadows loomed from the heavy shelves of books, seeming to reach for her.

Normally, the library was a haven for her. So safe. So secure. But...

It was late. Those shadows were thick and—

She heard a very distinct thud. As if a book had just fallen off a shelf. Or been knocked off. Elizabeth swallowed and called out, “Is someone there? The library is closed now. You need to leave.” She tried to use her firmest voice.

Silence.

Maybe her imagination was just a little too active. She had spent the last weekend watching a horror marathon on TV. Perhaps she was—

Thud. Okay, that definitely had sounded like a book falling to the floor. Someone is playing with me.

They’d never had any kind of security issue before. Sure, sometimes folks fell asleep among the library shelves, curled up at one of the tables, and those people would miss the announcements about closing time. But when she did her final walk-through, she gently woke them up and sent them on their way.

She’d done her walk-through a few minutes before and had found no stragglers.

“The library is closed!” She took a tentative step back toward her desk.

“Elizabeth...”

It was a whisper, raspy and low and male, and it had her tensing.

“Who’s there?” Elizabeth demanded, voice rising. “This isn’t funny. I’ll call security!” A total lie. There was no security at the library. Not then, anyway.

“Been...waiting...”

His voice sounded closer.

No, this could not be happening to her. “Stop it!” Elizabeth called. “Just—”

Someone banged on the door, a hard knock that had her yelling—screaming—in surprise and whirling toward the glass doors.

A tall man stood at the main entrance. His shoulders were wide, almost ridiculously so, and his powerful chest was obviously muscled. She recognized him on sight—it was rather hard to forget a man like him—and Elizabeth normally would have just paused to admire the very fine sight of MacKenzie “Mac” McGuire, but right then—

She flew toward the door. Her breath sawed in and out of her lungs, and her heart raced as her fingers fumbled to disengage the lock.

Mac held up his book, a thriller she’d picked out for him during his last visit to the library. “Sorry to come in so late,” he said, his voice that deep, rolling rumble that she secretly adored. “But I saw the light on and I figured you’d be—”

She grabbed him. His book tumbled to the floor. “Someone is in here.”

Mac’s green eyes narrowed on her. His face—a dangerously handsome face that maybe she fantasized a bit about—hardened. “What?”

She kept one hand on him and pointed behind her with the other. “I heard him. He’s back there, calling my name! I don’t—”