When No One Is Watching
The red-hot passion between them isn't exactly an open-and-shut case…To find her missing sister and an attacker she can't remember, criminal profiler Mia Perez teams up with gorgeous Boston P.D. lieutenant Gray Bartlett. Their prime suspect: a psychotic serial killer. But when Mia's prints are found on the gun used in recent murders, Gray doesn't know what to think. Is the brainy beauty he's falling for being framed? Mia finds herself incredibly attracted to the hero risking his life and career to protect her. Yet she keeps a deadly secret of her past from Gray. Now she needs more than his desire-she needs him to prove her innocence, find her sister… and keep her alive.
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The red-hot passion between them isnât exactly an open-and-shut caseâ¦
To find her missing sister and an attacker she canât remember, criminal profiler Mia Perez teams up with gorgeous Boston P.D. lieutenant Gray Bartlett. Their prime suspect: a psychotic serial killer. But when Miaâs prints are found on the gun used in recent murders, Gray doesnât know what to think. Is the brainy beauty heâs falling for being framed?
Mia finds herself incredibly attracted to the hero risking his life and career to protect her. Yet she keeps a deadly secret of her past from Gray. Now she needs more than his desireâshe needs him to prove her innocence, find her sisterâ¦and keep her alive.
He went in for another kiss, but she placed her hand squarely on his chest to stop him.
âNo. You need to go to work.â
The spell was broken, and just in time. What were either of them thinking, groping each other on the sidewalk like a couple of teenagers? Getting involved like this was a mistakeâa big one. She twisted out of his embrace and smoothed her hair.
âMia.â His voice was hoarse. âDonât do this.â
âYou should be thanking me.â The kiss left her feeling disheveled, but as she adjusted her dress, she realized there was little actually out of place. She just felt out of order. âYou canât be seen with me, and you definitely canât be seen kissing me. Thatâs a great way to end your career.â
âNo oneâs watching.â
âSomeoneâs always watching, Gray.â Miaâs gaze darted around self-consciously. She knew heâd taken a bit of a risk having dinner with her, but that could have been explained away. A kiss in front of her apartment, howeverâ¦
There are several reasons why this book is special to me. One is that I wrote it while my sweet newborn son slept cradled in my arms. Another is that itâs set in Boston, one of my favorite cities. Yet another is that it was simply fun to bring Gray and Mia to life.
The title of the book, When No One Is Watching, is a reference to former UCLA basketball coach John Wooden, who said, âThe true test of a manâs character is what he does when no one is watching.â Isnât every mystery story, at its heart, about what happens when no one is watching? Arenât they all, to a certain extent, about the character of those caught up in the middle? It seemed like the perfect quote to inspire a book about an investigator who follows a trail of clues and learns that she may not be the person she believes herself to be.
I always hope that my readers enjoy reading my books as much as I enjoyed writing them. For this one, I also hope you have someone special to snuggle up with while reading, as I did while writing.
Warmly,
Natalie
NATALIE CHARLES
is a practicing attorney whose day-job writing is more effective for treating insomnia than most sleeping pills. This may explain why her after-hours writing involves the incomparable combination of romance and suspenseâthe literary equivalent of chocolate and peanut butter. The happy sufferer of a lifelong addiction to mystery novels, Natalie has, sadly, yet to out-sleuth a detective. She lives in New England with a husband who makes her believe in Happily Ever After and two children who make her believe in miracles.
Natalie loves hearing from readers! You can contact her through her website, www.nataliecharles.net.
For Talia and Luke, with all of my love. I hope that one day you will experience the thrill of having your heart stolen the way youâve stolen mine.
Contents
Ten months after Lena Perez vanished, a womanâs body was found along the banks of the Charles River. The call woke Lieutenant Gray Bartlett an hour before his alarm was scheduled to go off.
âI donât want to speak too soon, but it looks like it could be the work of Valentine,â the sergeant said. Gray didnât need to hear anything more. Valentine meant his case, his killer. Another dead body bringing down his stats.
He rolled out of bed and staggered to his feet, sweeping his palm forehead to chin and back again before stumbling to the kitchen. One of these days he would feel as though he lived here, in this bare-walled shell of an apartment. He stood in his boxer shorts in the center of his kitchen, gulping the thick remains of yesterdayâs coffee and passing his gaze across the empty countertops and the sparse table-and-chair set. He tossed his mug into the sink.
The first forty-eight hours were crucial. After that the likelihood of solving this crime went down precipitously. Gray had set the mental timer already, wondering how many hours he was behind. Had the crime occurred two days ago? Five hours ago? He was out the door, showered and shaved, in less than ten minutes. Not quite the timing heâd been able to keep when he was in the military, but Boston P.D. wasnât the Marines.
