Lullabies and Lies

In self-defense, Griff reached for her again, pinning her flailing arms to her sides.

“Let go of me!”

“Shh,” he whispered. “Shh. We’ll find her. We’ll save your baby. I swear.”

He pulled her closer, his heart pounding at the feel of her supple body in his arms. He was bound by his badge to find her child, and he knew the best way to do that….

“Emily needs me,” she whispered against his neck, her breath warm, her tears at first hot, then quickly cooling against his sensitized skin.

Clenching his jaw, he gripped her upper arms and set her away from him.

She eyed him suspiciously. “Are you letting me go?”

He shook his head in defeat. “Sunny, I’ll help you… We’ll go together.”

For Denise Zaza

With gratitude and respect

Mallory Kane took early retirement from her position as assistant chief of pharmacy at a large metropolitan medical center to pursue her other loves, writing and art. She has published and won awards for science fiction and fantasy as well as romance. Mallory credits her love of books to her mother, who taught her that books are a precious resource and should be treated with loving respect. Her grandfather and her father were both steeped in the Southern tradition of oral history, and could hold an audience spellbound with their storytelling skills. Mallory aspires to be as good a storyteller as her father. She loves romantic suspense with dangerous heroes and dauntless heroines. She is also fascinated by story ideas that explore the infinite capacity of the brain to adapt and develop higher skills.

Mallory lives in Mississippi with her husband and their cat. She would be delighted to hear from readers. You can write to her c/o Harlequin Books, 233 Broadway, Suite 1001, New York, NY 10279.

Sunny Loveless—This lovely private investigator believes in happy endings, until her six-month-old daughter is kidnapped. Now her baby’s life hangs on her ability to keep the kidnapper’s identity a secret.

Griffin Stone—This FBI agent specializes in missing-child cases. He will die to save Sunny’s baby, with or without her help, but in his broken heart he knows there are no happy endings.

Janie Gross—This plain Jane successfully operated a baby-selling ring for years, until Sunny started digging into her past.

Bess Raymond—Jane’s old nanny has a secret, one she’d give her life to protect. Will she sacrifice Sunny’s baby rather than lose her own daughter?

Hiram Cogburn—The down-on-his-luck ambulance chaser didn’t know what he was getting into when he agreed to help his former college buddy deflect Sunny’s investigation.

Burt Means—Sunny’s testimony put her adopted baby’s biological father in prison, and Means is the type to hold a grudge. But how far will he go for revenge?

Prologue

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

0 hour

Sunny Loveless laughed as Emily reached for the silver rattle. “Not now, sweet Emily Rose,” she said. “We’ll play Drop the Rattle when we get home. I have to pay the nice lady for the groceries.”

Emily gurgled happily.

The grocery clerk grinned. “So you get pureed peaches tonight, Emily? You are growing so much. Sunny, I swear she’s bigger every time I see her.”

“Six months old last week,” Sunny said proudly.

“It doesn’t seem that long since you brought her home.”

Sunny smiled, remembering the day Emily became her daughter. “I know. She was so tiny. Not even a week old. My lawyer had everything arranged for the adoption by the time she was born.” She looked down at her happy baby. “Isn’t that right, Emily? Every little thing.”

Sunny’s heart took flight when Emily smiled and waved her arms. Six months ago, she’d never have believed she could love so much. Her heart felt full to bursting.

“Here you go.” The clerk handed Sunny her purchase. “I double bagged it for you. Be careful out there. That rain’s really coming down.”

“I will. Thank you, Callie.”

Sunny rolled the grocery cart to the rear door, slung the bag over her arm and unbuckled the infant safety seat from the grocery cart. Then she fished out her car keys and looked out at the dark wet parking lot. The streetlights were nothing more than pale circles through the downpour.

“Okay, Emily. Let’s make a run for it.” She took a good grip on the infant seat and smiled at Emily before pulling the hood up to protect her from the rain.

Shouldering the door open, she lowered her head and hurried toward her car, pressing the remote key lock. She threw open the rear door and tossed the grocery bag inside. Then she set Emily’s infant seat into the waiting car carrier and buckled the straps.

Water dripped down her daughter’s face. She wiped it away. “Oh Emily, you’re soaked. We’ll have to take a bath when we get home, won’t we?”