Kill Me Again
I’m not who they say I am. Trust me. But can she? Reclusive novelist Aaron Westhaven, a man she’s admired - and more - for years, has accepted Olivia Dupree’s invitation to speak at a local fundraiser. But the day he’s due to arrive, she gets a call summoning her to the bedside of a John Doe whose sole possession is her business card.Can this undeniably compelling man – survivor of an execution-style gunshot wound – really be the novelist the lonely Olivia has grown to think of as a near soulmate? If not, he can only be in ShadowFalls for one reason: to kill her. Olivia, too, has secrets.And discovering the truth about the man in the hospital bed means dredging up her own past – a past she’s been hiding from for sixteen years.
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Praise for the novels of
MAGGIE SHAYNE
âA tasty, tension-packed read.â
âPublishers Weekly on Thicker Than Water
âTenseâ¦frighteningâ¦a page-turner in the best sense.â
âRT Book Reviews on Colder Than Ice
âMystery and danger abound in Darker Than Midnight, a fast-paced, chilling thrill read that will keep readers turning the pages long after bedtimeâ¦Suspense, mystery, danger and passionâno one does them better than Maggie Shayne.â
âRomance Reviews Today on Darker Than Midnight [winner of a Perfect 10 award]
âMaggie Shayne is better than chocolate. She satisfies every wicked craving.â
âNew York Times bestselling author Suzanne Forster
âShayneâs haunting tale is intricately wovenâ¦A moving mix of high suspense and romance, this haunting Halloween thriller will propel readers to bolt their doors at night.â
âPublishers Weekly on The Gingerbread Man
âA gripping story of small-town secrets. The suspense will keep you guessing. The characters will steal your heart.â
âNew York Times bestselling author Lisa Gardner on The Gingerbread Man
â[A] crackerjack novel of romantic suspense.â
âRT Book Reviews on Kiss of the Shadow Man
Maggie Shayne
Kill Me Again
To Lance, my partner, my best friend, my inspiration. You understand my craziness, you weather all my storms and you are my constant, steady, calm harbor. I wrote you into countless novels, never ever realizing that one day you would step off the pages and out of my imagination to sweep me into your strong arms. But you did. Youâve fulfilled my heartâs desire and made my dreams come true. Thank you for loving me.
Contents
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
Chapter 19
Epilogue
1
Today was the day Olivia Dupree was going to meet the only man on the planet who saw life the way she didâas one long series of disappointments, as a perilous journey best navigated entirely soloâfor the very first time, and she didnât have a thing to wear.
Not that what she wore really mattered. She wasnât that sort of fan. Not only didnât she think he would care what she looked like, but she would also be extremely disappointed if he did.
And yet sheâd given in to the inner idiotic teenager that had never been her and stood on her bed, so she could gauge her appearance in the big mirror that was part of her dresser. She didnât own a full-length mirror. Sheâd never thought she needed one and still held that opinion. Her ordinary style was pretty basic. For work she wore skinny, knee-length pencil skirts with matching blazers when it was cool, and sensible pumps with two-inch heels. She kept her dark hair in a tight bun and applied her makeup in the same minimalist fashion every weekday. College English students didnât really care what their professor looked like, after all. And she wasnât out to capture the attention of anyone who might.
On weekends, she traded the suits for jeans, the bun for a ponytail and the makeup for sunscreen.
Now she needed something in between. Something relaxed but attractive. Not seductive, just attractive. She was not a doe-eyed, adoring fan. But sheâd never met Aaron Westhaven before, and she wanted to make a good impression.
Nothing more.
Freddy, her very best friend in the entire worldâand the only specimen of the male gender, canine or otherwise, she trusted with her heartâtipped his massive head from one side to the other as he watched her standing somewhat unsteadily on the mattress. Standing was not what the bed was for, he seemed to be thinking.
She glanced down at him. âItâs okay, boy. Iâll get down momentarily. And standing on the bed is still verboten when it comes to you, okay?â
He heaved a giant sigh and lowered his two-hundred-pound, brindle-patterned bulk to the floor. He was only average size for an adult male English mastiff, but even she had trouble believing how big he was, and sheâd had him for three years.
She hoped Mr. Westhaven didnât have an aversion to dogs. He hadnât written dogs into any of his novels, so she couldnât be sure, but she suspected he would love Freddy. Because anyone with a heart would love Freddy, and Westhaven certainly had a heart.
She felt as if she knew him well. The reclusive authorâs heartbreakingly tragic novels lined her shelves and spoke to her soul. They were her own guilty little secret. But they so reflected the way she felt about life and love. You really couldnât depend on anyone but yourself. He seemed to understand that. God knew she did.
And now she was about to meet himâright here in Shadow Falls, Vermont.
She glanced at the combination she now wore, a pair of dressy black trousers and a lavender button-down blouse with a black blazer over it. Too stiff. She unbuttoned the blazer and thought she still looked too formal. Then she took it off and thought she looked too casual.
Frustrated, she threw the blazer down by her feet. Big mistake. Freddy saw that as an invitation, sprang upright and bounded onto the bed with a giant âwoofâ that reverberated through her chest. The mattress sank, the box springs squeaking in protest.
