Tangled Passions (Task Force Hawaii Book 4) Page 20
“Good lord, no wonder none of us saw it. She must have been a teenager when she started.”
“Sixteen from what Charity found. It all boiled down to a cheating father who abandoned them.”
“Damn. Daddy issues.”
He nodded and raised her hand to his mouth and kissed it. Then he closed his eyes and held their joined hands against his forehead. “Don’t ever get shot again.”
“It was just a flesh wound.”
He opened his eyes. “Still, not again. I can’t lose you.”
She opened her mouth, but nothing came out. The emotion she heard in his voice shimmered through her as her vision wavered.
“Don’t cry,” he said, wiping her tears away.
“I don’t want anything to happen to you, Drew. I’m trained for this, but you aren’t. You’re supposed to hang out with Elle and be safe. You’ve been injured twice on the job now.”
“We are in complete agreement. We don’t want anything to happen to each other.” Then he kissed her hand again. “I love you.”
She smiled through the tears. “I love you too.”
He released a breath. “Oh, good, I thought you were going to tell me that one declaration you made didn’t count.”
She shook her head, then groaned. “Damn.”
“They’ll bring you some pain meds soon.”
“Good.” She sighed then looked at him. “I don’t know when I realized it. Maybe it was today, or maybe it was last week. But somewhere along the way, you became part of me. Losing you would be too much. I…” she wiped fresh tears away. “I was scared for so long after you were shot. And that fear drove me away from you. I knew that if I stayed with you, I would be hurt.”
“I wouldn’t hurt you on purpose.”
“No. Just the thought of losing you hurt, and when you were shot, well, I let my fears take over. If I stayed away, then I wouldn’t get hurt. But I was hurting. Every damned day I saw you.”
“Yeah, that was stupid.”
“Drew.”
“What? It was stupid. Think of all the fun we could have had over the last year.”
She smiled. “Better late than never.”
He leaned down and brushed his mouth over hers. “I guess proposing marriage right now would be tacky?”
She waited for the panic to set in, but instead, she felt a small jolt of joy. “Well, not right now. I think we need to get used to each other first. Just be us.”
He smiled. “I like that idea. Just being us.”
She raised her head slowly and kissed him. “Thank you, Drew.”
“For what? You saved me.”
“No. You saved me from myself. I love you.”
He rolled his eyes. “Really, after you say that, I can’t propose?”
She laughed. “No. But you can sit here and tell me you love me, then tell me more about what’s happened with the case overnight.”
Drew smiled. “I do love you, Catherine Kalakau.”
With the morning sun peeking through the blinds, he sat there, holding her hand, he told her what she wanted to know.
Thank You
Thank you so much for reading Tangled Passions. I hope you enjoyed Drew and Cat’s story. If you enjoyed the book, please think about leaving a review on your favorite online book retailer and tell your friends about the book.
Mel
About Melissa Schroeder
From an early age, USA Today Bestselling author Melissa Schroeder loved to read. First, it was the books her mother read to her including her two favorites, Winnie the Pooh and the Beatrix Potter books. She cut her preteen teeth on Trixie Belden and read and reviewed To Kill a Mockingbird in middle school. It wasn’t until she was in college that she tried to write her first stories, which were full of angst and pain, and really not that fun to read or write. After trying several different genres, she found romance in a Linda Howard book.
Since the publication of her first book in 2004, Melissa has had over sixty romances published. She writes in genres from historical suspense to modern day erotic romance to futuristics and paranormals. Included in those releases is the bestselling Harmless series. In 2011, Melissa branched out into self-publishing with A Little Harmless Submission and the popular military spinoff, Infatuation: A Little Harmless Military Romance. Along the way she has garnered an epic nomination, a multitude of reviewer’s recommended reads, over five Capa nods from TRS, three nominations for AAD Bookies and regularly tops the bestseller lists on Amazon and Barnes & Noble. She made the USA Today Bestseller list for the first time with her anthology The Santinis.
Since she was a military brat, she vowed never to marry military. Alas, fate always has her way with mortals. Her husband just retired from the AF after 20 years, and together they have their own military brats, two girls, and two adopted dog daughters, and is happy she picks where they live now.
Keep up with Mel, her releases, and her appearances by subscribing to her NEWSLETTER or join in the fun with her Harmless Addicts!
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Also by Melissa Schroeder
HARMLESS
A Little Harmless Sex
A Little Harmless Pleasure
A Little Harmless Obsession
A Little Harmless Lie
A Little Harmless Addiction
A Little Harmless Submission
A Little Harmless Fascination
A Little Harmless Fantasy
A Little Harmless Ride
A Little Harmless Secret
A Little Harmless Rumor
THE HARMLESS PRELUDES
Prelude to a Fantasy
Prelude to a Secret
Prelude to a Rumor, Part One
Prelude to a Rumor, Part Two
THE HARMLESS SHORTS
Max and Anna
Chris And Cynthia
Evan and May
A LITTLE HARMLESS MILITARY ROMANCE
Infatuation
Possession
Surrender
THE SANTINIS
Leonardo
Marco
Gianni
Vicente
A Santini Christmas
A Santini in Love
Falling for a Santini
One Night with a Santini
A Santini Takes the Fall
SEMPER FI MARINES
Tease Me
Tempt Me
Touch Me
TASK FORCE HAWAII
Seductive Reasoning
Hostile Desires
TEXAS TEMPTATIONS
Conquering India
Delilah’s Downfall-returning soon
ONCE UPON AN ACCIDENT
An Accidental Countess
Lessons in Seduction
The Spy Who Loved Her
THE CURSED CLAN
Callum
Angus
Logan
BY BLOOD
Desire by Blood
Seduction by Blood
BOUNTY HUNTER’S, INC
For Love or Honor
Sinner’s Delight
THE SWEET SHOPPE
Cowboy Up
Tempting Prudence
LONESTAR WOLF PACK
The Alpha’s Saving Grace
CONNECTED BOOKS
The Hired Hand
Hands on Training
A Calculated Seduction
Going for Eight
SINGLE TITLES
Grace Under Pressure
Telepathic Cravings
Her Mother’s Killer
The Last Detail
Operation Love
Chasi
ng Luck
The Seduction of Widow McEwan
Snowbound Seduction
COMING SOON
The Boss
A Little Harmless Temptation
DISCOVER MELISSA SCHROEDER’S MILITARY ROMANCES
THE SANTINIS
Leonardo
Marco
Gianni
Vicente
A Santini Christmas
A Santini in Love
Falling for a Santini
One Night with a Santini
A Santini Takes the Fall
and be sure to catch Semper Fi Marines, the first Santini spinoff about MJ’s brothers!
Tease Me
Tempt Me
Touch Me
A LITTLE HARMLESS MILITARY ROMANCE
Infatuation
Possession
Surrender
AND DON’T MISS OUT ON MELISSA’S FIRST MILITARY
ROMANCE!
OPERATION LOVE
TASK FORCE HAWAII
EVEN PARADISE HAS A DARK SIDE
Working with local, state, and federal agencies, the men and women of TASK FORCE HAWAII work on cases ranging from bank heists to terrorism. A diverse team filled with ex-military, law enforcement, medical, and technical support, they are Hawaii’s last defense against the worst criminals. The series will include six books total.
I
SEDUCTIVE REASONING
BOOK ONE
BUY THE BOOK
He has a killer to catch and no time for love. Fate has other plans.
Former Army Special Forces Officer Martin “Del” Delano has enough on his hands chasing a serial killer and heading up TASK FORCE HAWAII. He definitely doesn’t need the distraction of Emma Taylor. From the moment they meet, she knocks him off his feet, literally. Unfortunately, she’s the best person to have on the team to make the connections to help them catch their killer.
For Emma, it’s hard to ignore the lure of a man like him. Tats, muscles and his Harley cause her to have more than a few fantasies about Del. He’d never be interested in a geek like her, but she can’t resist toying with him. When she pushes the teasing too far, she ends up in his bed. She convinces herself she can handle it until the moment he steals her heart.
Del can’t help falling for the quirky genius. She’s smart, funny and there’s a sweet vulnerable side to her that only he can see. As Emma gets more involved with the investigation, she becomes the target of the psychopath. When the danger escalates, Del promises to do anything to save the woman who not only captured his heart but also his soul.
Martin Delano stepped out of his pickup and shut the door, as a light trade wind danced over his skin. He slipped his shoulder holster on, then looked up and down the street. Finding no traffic, he jogged over to the other side, following the lights set up by the Honolulu Police Department.
Being former military, he should be used to the early morning wakeup calls, but it didn’t mean he had to be happy about it—especially this morning. The lights burned his eyes. Damn, he was getting old when he couldn’t seem to make it up and at work without a cup of coffee. He should have grabbed one before he left his house in Hawaii Kai.
Police tape marked off the spot, and a very serious looking young officer in uniform stood by the entrance. His militant expression told Del this was his first big assignment. The kid raised his hand as if to stop him…or die trying. God save him.
He wasn’t in the mood.
“HPD only, sir,” he said, his voice stern.
Del sighed and pulled out his Task Force badge. He’d been there a year and people in the department still didn’t know who he was. Of course, the officer looked like he was straight out of the academy, so that was probably the reason. However, the department was small, and Del had been on TV enough that he thought everyone knew his face. And, as the local members of his team kept telling him, everyone knows everyone else on the island.
The officer’s face reddened. “Sorry, sir.”
Del nodded and attached the badge back onto his belt. “I’m looking for Rome Carino.”
“Of course, sir.” He turned and motioned with his hand. “He’s right over there, by the Medical Examiner.”
Del glanced over and saw where he was talking about. There was a barrier set up along the opposite side of the bridge. That would have been done probably before the ME had shown up.
“Mahalo,” Del said, as he walked past the officer towards the ME. He passed a few familiar faces. Some smiled, some frowned, and others barely acknowledged his existence.
The air was muggy from the recent rain, and the sun would start rising soon. Traffic in Honolulu was always a bitch. The influx of tourists added to the locals’ aggravation, but figure in the water main breaks and the rail construction, it could be a real pain in the ass. Being Monday made it worse, and the McCully Bridge over the Ala Wai Canal was always busy.
As he approached the group, he noticed a handful of detectives he knew. He had been there for a year now, and he still felt like an outsider. Being a haole didn’t make for easy detective work in Hawaii. Not to mention, a few of them thought he shouldn’t have been given the job. Carino had been offered the job at one time, but he declined. Now, Del was starting to understand why.
Del knew it was a bad sign when Carino called him. Del’s team only handled the major crimes, the ones that would require more than a little diplomacy working with various law enforcements. Not that he was always good with diplomacy, but in other words, Carino didn’t want the headache.
He noticed Drew Franklin, the ME assistant. Nice kid, local, tall and skinny, with a world class mind and an irritating habit of trying too hard. But he was good on the job, even if he did have an odd sense of humor, and an odd choice in clothing. He was wearing a pair of jeans today, his regular sneakers, and a T-shirt that said ‘I like big books and I cannot lie.’
“Howzit, Del, I just got here too.”
Del nodded. “Did you get the call?”
He pushed his horn-rimmed glasses back up the bridge of his nose. “Dr. Middleton called. She said I didn’t need to be here, but I thought maybe Cat would be called out.”
“Nope, I was on call last night, so I took the call.”
“Makes sense.”
“I’m glad you think so,” he said, his voice dripping with sarcasm, but it went over Drew’s head.
He just smiled as they walked together. The closer they got to the scene, Del’s worry grew. He knew it was a dead woman, but for him to be called out, it had to be huge. Maybe a celebrity or dignitary. That meant it would hit the news services soon. Damn, he hated dealing with the press.
Carino noticed him and turned to greet him. Lean and tall, with feral eyes, he’d moved to Hawaii from Seattle several years earlier. The homicide detective had been one of the most welcoming in the HPD. His wife had insisted on inviting him over for dinner several times. A lot of folks weren’t happy when they hired an outsider like him, but Carino had been a transplant also, and Del had an idea he had wanted to make everyone know that he accepted him.
“Sorry about calling you out, Del, but Dr. Middleton thought it was important. Usually, I go with her gut, and when she showed me, I was sure of it.” He nodded. “No problem.”
Carino looked at Drew. “Dr. Masterson could use some help.”
“Of course,” Drew said and hurried off, almost tripping over his larger than average feet in the process.
Carino and he watched Drew greet the doctor with as much enthusiasm as he had Del.
Del shook his head. Was he ever that young and eager? He couldn’t remember, but he was sure that he had been when he entered the military. When he turned back to Del, he offered him a grim smile.
“Man, to be that young again,” he said, voicing Del’s thoughts.
Del nodded. “Makes me tired just listening to him sometimes.”
Carino’s smile faded. “I didn’t want to say anything in front of him, not yet, but I have a bad feeling this might be
a serial.”
Del knew Carino wasn’t jumping to conclusions. When there had been a serial killer terrorizing Honolulu, and especially the BDSM club members at Rough ‘n Ready, he had been at the head of the case. He had caught the killer no one else had expected—with the help of an FBI agent, who had later become his wife. Carino did not make assumptions.
A heavy lead weight started to tighten in his stomach. This was going to be a fucking nightmare. He just knew it. And, it would put his team to the test again. He didn’t have a background in investigative work. Being an Army Ranger did give you a skill set that helped out in some things, but investigating a serial killer was different. Thank God he had a team with more experience in that department. Both Cat and Adam were in the department during Carino’s investigation. And he knew his ME had experience with that kind of thing.
“What makes you think that? Does it resemble any other killings?”
The detective shook his head. “No, but she was posed, grotesquely. There’s just something about the way she was left…” he sighed and rubbed his temples.
“Long night?”
Carino nodded. “Yeah, and I was just thinking I was getting too old for this.”
“Nothing going on with Maria?”
He knew the detective’s wife was pregnant and entering the final few months.
Flashing Del a smile, Carino shook his head. “No, just horrible insomnia for her, which means I have it because she wanders through the house constantly.” His smile faded. “It’s going to be a bitch of a day today, considering who I think is down there.”