Call After Midnight

by Tess Gerritsen

  “Will you be going back to the States? If so, I’ll see what I can do to get you a new identity—”

  “That won’t be necessary. I’ve always managed best on my own.”

  Potter couldn’t argue that point. Dance’s one brief affiliation with the Company had almost proved fatal for him.

  “I think perhaps a change in climate will suit me,” said Dance as he walked to the door. “I have never liked the dampness. Or the cold.”

  “What if I need to get hold of you?”

  “I’m afraid I won’t be available, Mr. Potter.”

  “But—but how do I find you?”

  Dance paused in the doorway. For a moment he was thoughtful. Then, with a smile, he said, “You can’t.”

  * * *

  IT WAS LATE afternoon when Sarah woke up. The first thing she saw was the white curtains, blowing gently beside the open window. Slowly her unfocused gazed took in the pots of red and yellow tulips, sitting in a row on the table. And then, in a chair beside her bed, she saw Nick clutching a tulip pot in his lap. He was fast asleep. His shirt was a map of wrinkles and sweat. His hair was streaked with more gray than she’d remembered. But he was smiling.

  She reached over and touched his hand. With a start he woke up and looked at her with bloodshot eyes.

  “Sarah,” he murmured.

  “My poor, poor Nick. I think you need this bed more than I do.”

  “How are you feeling?”

  “Strange. Safe.”

  “You are safe, Sarah.” He put the tulip pot down and took her hands. “You really are.”

  She gazed at the table. “Oh, look at all the flowers!”

  “I guess I overdid it. I didn’t know two dozen pots would go so far.”

  They both laughed then, a tentative laugh that quickly faded. Neither of them was ready to let go of the fear. Not yet. Too much had happened. In silence he watched her and waited.

  “I did see him, Nick,” she said softly. “I know I did.”

  “It doesn’t matter, Sarah….”

  “But it does matter. To me. Whether he was real or imagined—I saw him….” She sank back on the pillows and stared up at the ceiling. “And I’ll always wonder.”

  “When you’re scared, your mind can do funny things.”

  “Perhaps.”

  “I don’t believe in ghosts.”

  “Neither did I. Until today.”

  He took her hand and pressed it to his lips. “If he was a ghost, then I owe him one. For letting me keep you.” Nick looked so rumpled, so tired, as his dark head bent down to her palm. A sudden, overwhelming wave of tenderness swept through her. He raised his head and she saw, in his tired gray eyes, the love she’d never really seen in Geoffrey’s.

  “I love you, Nick,” she said. “And you’re right. Maybe, just for a moment, I was seeing things. I was so scared. And there was no one else to help me. No one but a ghost.”

  “He’s dead, Sarah. Your seeing him then—at that moment—it was just your way of saying goodbye.”

  There was a knock at the door. They looked up as Roy Potter stuck his head in the room. “Both awake, I see,” he said cheerily. “Can I come in?”

  Sarah smiled. “Of course, Mr. Potter.”

  Potter stared at the tulip pots and whistled. “Wow. What’d you do, O’Hara? Go into the flower business?”

  “Just being romantic.”

  “Romantic? A slob like you?” Potter winked at Sarah. “Better tell this guy to shave. Before he’s arrested for vagrancy.”

  She stroked the stubble on Nick’s jaw. “I think he looks just wonderful.”

  Potter shook his head in wonderment. “Just goes to prove love really is blind.” He gave Sarah a thoughtful look. “The doc says you’ll be released in the morning. You feeling up to it?”

  “I think so.” She nodded at her bandaged arm. “It’s sore. They had to put in a dozen or so stitches.” Nick’s arm came around her shoulder and she glanced up at him. “But I’m sure I’ll be all right.”

  For a few seconds, Potter regarded them in silence. “Yeah,” he said at last. “I think you’ll be all right.”

  “So your operation’s wrapped up?” asked Nick.

  “Just about. We’ve still got a few…details to clean up. A few things we hadn’t expected. But you know how it is in this business. For every gain you take a few losses. Those dead agents in Margate. Eve Fontaine.”

  “And Geoffrey,” said Sarah softly.

  Potter fell silent again. “Anyway,” he said after a pause, “what’s next for you two?”

  “Home,” said Nick, taking Sarah’s hand. “We’ve got a flight back to D.C. day after tomorrow.”

  “And then what?”

  Nick’s eyes turned to Sarah. “I’ll let you know,” he said softly.

  The room fell silent. Potter got the message, loud and clear. It was time to leave these two alone. Rising, he patted Nick on the back. “Well, good luck to both of you. I’ll put in a good word with your boss, Nick. That is, if you want your job back.”

  Nick didn’t answer. His eyes were still locked with Sarah’s.

  “Okay,” muttered Potter as he walked unnoticed to the door. “Then I’ll just tell old Ambrose that Nick O’Hara says go to hell.” In the doorway he turned and glanced back one last time to see Nick pulling Sarah into his arms. They didn’t say a word, but the way they held each other said everything. Potter shook his head and grinned. Yes, Simon Dance was right. Nick and Sarah would be happy together.

  Suddenly the afternoon sun burst through the clouds and flooded the room so brightly Potter had to squint. At that instant, Nick took Sarah’s face in his hands and kissed her. And as he watched their lips meet, it seemed to Roy Potter that all the world’s shadows had suddenly vanished, taking with them forever the ghost of Geoffrey Fontaine.

  * * * * *

  Deeply Moving

  Thought Provoking

  Powerful Storytelling

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  SPECIAL EXCERPT FROM

  Noah Scott’s inherited a fortune from his biological father, who was murdered. With his best friend Rachel’s help, Nick must find the killer, but will her secrets destroy their growing attraction?

  Read on for a sneak peek at

  HEIR TO MURDER

  the latest in New York Times bestselling author Elle James’s

  The Adair Affair series
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br />   Tonight, Rachel would tell him the truth. If he couldn’t forgive her or trust her after that, well then, that was the end of the time she’d spend with him. She swallowed hard on the lump forming in her throat. She hoped and prayed it wouldn’t come to that. In the meantime, she would look her best to deliver her confession.

  In her bathroom, she touched up the curls in her hair with a curling iron, applied a light dusting of blush to her cheeks to mask their paleness and added a little gloss to her lips.

  Dressing for her confession was more difficult. What did one wear to a declaration of wrongdoing? She pulled a pretty yellow sundress out of the closet, held it up to her body and tossed it aside. Too cheerful.

  A red dress was too flamboyant and jeans were too casual. She finally settled on a short, black dress with thin straps. Though it could be construed as what she’d wear to her own funeral, it hugged her figure to perfection and made her feel a little more confident.

  As she held the dress up to her body, a knock sounded on the door.

  “Just a minute!” she called out. Grabbing the dress, she unzipped the back and stepped into the garment. “I’m coming,” she said, hurrying toward the door as she zipped the dress up.

  She opened the door and her breath caught.

  Noah’s broad shoulders filled the doorway. Wearing crisp blue jeans and a soft blue polo shirt that matched his eyes and complemented his sandy blond hair, he made her heart slam hard against her chest and then beat so fast she thought she might pass out. “I’m sorry. I was just getting dressed and I haven’t started the grill…”

  He stepped through the door and closed it behind him. “My fault. I finished my errands earlier than I expected. I could have waited at a park or stopped for coffee, but…I wanted to see you.”

  “Hey, yourself. I’m glad you came early.” And she was. The right clothes, food and shoes didn’t mean anything when he was standing in front of her, looking so handsome.

  He leaned forward, his head dropping low, his lips hovering over hers. For a moment, she thought he was going to kiss her…

  If you loved this excerpt, read all the novels from the Adair Affairs series:

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  THE MARINE’S TEMPTATION by Jennifer Morey

  SECRET AGENT BOYFRIEND by Addison Fox

  HEIR TO MURDER by Elle James

  Available now from Harlequin Romantic Suspense!

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  Copyright ©2015 by Elle James

  When there’s danger lurking, count on these men to save the day.

  The Midnight Series by Lisa Marie Rice

  MIDNIGHT VENGEANCE

  “A long-awaited return to Lisa Marie Rice’s beloved Midnight series.” —Fresh Fiction

  Morton “Jacko” Jackman isn’t afraid of anything. He’s a former Navy SEAL sniper, and he’s been in more firefights than most people have had hot meals. Lauren Dare scares him. Gorgeous, talented and refined, she’s the type of woman who could never be interested in a guy like him. So he’s loved her fiercely in secret. Until now.

  MIDNIGHT PROMISES

  “I’d highly recommend MIDNIGHT PROMISES to any romantic suspense reader. You won’t be able to put it down.” —Harlequin Junkie blog, Top Pick

  Felicity Ward is no stranger to secrets. Raised in the Witness Protection Program, her whole childhood was a lie. But she couldn’t have known that her family’s secrets—secrets she didn’t even know she was keeping—could spark a nuclear war. And nothing could have prepared her for the tough, sexy warrior who first saves her life and then vows to protect it, no matter what.

  Don’t miss the next book in The Midnight Series! Watch for MIDNIGHT SECRETS, available June 2015.

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  ISBN-13: 9781460390801

  Call After Midnight

  Copyright © 1897 by Tess Gerritsen

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  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental. This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.

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