Undercover Holiday Fiancée

THE ENGAGEMENT ASSIGNMENT

While investigating a dangerous drug ring, Detective Chloe Brant witnesses a hostage situation...and gets pulled into a case that could make her career. But to bring down rival drug-dealing gangs, she has to pose as the fiancée of Detective Trent Henry—the man who broke her heart the last time they were undercover together. Trent’s been undercover so long, he can’t let anything blow this case...even his growing feelings for his temporary fiancée. But when Trent comes face-to-face with his past, a killer makes Chloe a target. And for the first time, the danger of his job is personal...because if Trent wants his pretend romance to become real, he and Chloe must stay alive.

They had targets on their backs.

And there was no way he’d let her come with him straight into the gang’s den.

“We’re partners, Trent,” Chloe said.

“Not anymore.”

She opened the door and stood there in full motorcycle gear. “You think I’ve never walked into a room full of criminals who’d kill me as soon as look at me?”

He shook his head. “My plan—”

“Your plan is going to get you killed,” she said, cutting him off. “You think they’ll really believe you’re so irresistible that you charmed a dedicated detective into spilling classified information without her knowledge?”

“I don’t have any choice.”

“Yes, you do.” Her hands snapped to her hips. “Here’s my plan. I walk in there and do what I don’t believe you can. Convince a room full of killers that I sold out my badge for you. That I’m your fiancée and that I’ve fallen head over heels for you.” She stepped closer and trailed a finger down his cheek. “Because if I don’t, we’re both dead.”

Dear Reader,

I can’t believe this is the tenth book I’ve written for Love Inspired Suspense. Did you know that Chloe was in my very first one, Killer Assignment? She’s the detective who interviews Katie.

I’m not sure which book is my favorite but I do know which book was the hardest: Headline: Murder. I was on my final draft when suddenly Trent and Chloe walked onto the page. They’re definitely two of my very favorite characters. Headline: Murder would go on to inspire both the True North Bodyguard and True North Hero series.

While I got a lot of ideas for this book from the Citizen’s Police Academy, I definitely took some liberties with police procedure to speed the story along. The hockey teams, colleges and sports center are fictional. But Bobcaygeon and Haliburton are both real and very beautiful small towns. The gangs and drugs are made up, too, and get their names from a very dangerous fish and mammal, and a rather harmless spider.

Thank you again to all my amazing readers who’ve gotten in touch with your thoughts and suggestions. The best place to reach me is on Twitter @MaggieKBlack or at www.maggiekblack.com.

I’m so thankful you’re sharing this journey with me,

Maggie

MAGGIE K. BLACK is an award-winning journalist and romantic suspense author with an insatiable love of traveling the world. She has lived in the American South, Europe and the Middle East. She now makes her home in Canada with her history-teacher husband, their two beautiful girls and a small but mighty dog. Maggie enjoys connecting with her readers at maggiekblack.com.

Undercover Holiday Fiancée

Maggie K. Black

www.millsandboon.co.uk

“Come now, let us settle the matter,” says the Lord. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow.”

—Isaiah 1:18

In memory of my grandfather, who taught me how to tell stories, and my grandmother, who taught me how to laugh. I miss you and I hope I made you proud.

Thanks as always to my agent, Melissa Jeglinski, my editor, Emily Rodmell, and the rest of the Love Inspired team, who encourage authors like me and bring stories like these to life.

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

Introduction

Dear Reader

About the Author

Title Page

Bible Verse

Dedication

ONE

TWO

THREE

FOUR

FIVE

SIX

SEVEN

EIGHT

NINE

TEN

ELEVEN

TWELVE

THIRTEEN

FOURTEEN

FIFTEEN

Extract

Copyright

ONE

The crash of exploding glass echoed up through the empty halls of the Bobcaygeon Sports Center, shattering the early morning peace and drowning out the melody of Christmas carols. Moments earlier, Ontario Provincial Police Detective Chloe Brant had been running in place as a treadmill cycled endlessly beneath her. Now she heard shouting. She yanked the treadmill’s emergency cord and grabbed the handles for stability as the belt shuddered to a stop beneath her feet. Her steady green eyes looked through the interior window of the sports center’s second-floor exercise room down at the lobby below, just in time to see a skinny figure in a rubber elf mask knock over the Christmas tree with the wild swing of a baseball bat.

What’s happening, Lord? What do I do to help?

The large window that had encased the front desk had been bashed in and was now a cobweb of shards held together by nothing but safety-glass coating. The first elf was joined by a second, who was holding a knife and seemed equally intent on mindless destruction, stomping on tree ornaments as they rolled across the floor.