Before Nightfall
Kat Martin is back with another thrilling Maximum Security novella filled with danger, suspense and one smoldering road trip to the mountains of Mexico!
When her best friend’s son is kidnapped, private detective Lissa Blayne drops everything to focus on the missing boy. Julie and Lissa have been close for years, so when Julie’s friend Colt Wheeler joins the investigation, Lissa bristles at the former ranger’s take-charge attitude. Lissa doesn’t need a man calling the shots, even if there is something about Colt’s protective side that has her tough exterior melting away. As Lissa and Colt take their search on the road, the tension between them slowly morphs into trust and understanding--and they’ll need both in order to outsmart the dangerous abductor they’re tracking. The only thing hotter than their attraction is the heat of the Mexican sun, but this road trip is no vacation...
“[A] master of suspenseful romance...Martin doesn’t hold back on the page-turning thrills or steamy love scenes.”
—Publishers Weekly
“Kat Martin is a fast gun when it comes to storytelling, and I love her books.”
—#1 New York Times bestselling author Linda Lael Miller
“Drugs, lies, corruption, and long-held secrets are at the core of this hard-hitting romance and well-done series opener.”
—Library Journal on The Conspiracy
“An un-put-downable page-turner…sure to satisfy fans of romance and thrillers alike.”
—Kirkus Reviews on The Deception
“Martin is a terrific storyteller.”
—Booklist
“It doesn’t matter what Martin’s characters are up against—she dishes up romantic suspense, sizzling sex and international intrigue.”
—RT Book Reviews
“Martin revs the power from page one.... Fans of romantic suspense won’t be able to put [The Deception] down until the final page is turned.”
—Publishers Weekly
Also available from
Kat Martin
Maximum Security
The Conspiracy
Wait Until Dark (prequel novella)
The Deception
Shadows at Dawn (novella)
The Raines of Wind Canyon
Against the Mark
Against the Edge
Against the Odds
Against the Sun
Against the Night
Against the Storm
Against the Law
Against the Fire
Against the Wind
Don’t miss The Ultimate Betrayal, Kat Martin’s next book in the Maximum Security series from HQN, in stores August 2020.
To see the complete list of titles available from Kat Martin, please visit www.katmartin.com.
Before Nightfall
Kat Martin
Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Epilogue
Excerpt from The Ultimate Betrayal by Kat Martin
CHAPTER ONE
“LISSA? LISSA, IT—it’s Julie. I’m really sorry to bother you, but Raymond... Ray’s in town. I haven’t seen him in years and now he’s here. He’s on his way over—right now! I’m scared, Liss. He says he wants to see his kids. I don’t know what to do.”
With the phone gripped tightly in her hand, Lissa Blayne, a private detective at the Dallas branch of Maximum Security, rose behind her desk.
“I’m on my way,” she said. “Just hang on until I get there. Where are the kids?”
“They’re still in school. They’ll be home any minute.”
“Okay, just try to stay calm and I’ll be there as fast as I can.”
Julie Douglas was Lissa’s best friend, had been since their freshman year at Pleasant View High School. They were an odd match, Julie born into an upper-middle-class family, while Lissa lived with her single mom, who had barely been able to keep a roof over their heads and food on the table.
Then Julie’s family had moved to Houston in her senior year and the two of them had lost touch. They hadn’t seen each other until Julie moved back to Dallas three years ago, where their friendship resumed as if they’d never been apart.
Lissa thought of Julie’s frantic phone call. They had talked about her friend’s disastrous first marriage and her abusive husband, Ray Spearman. He’d been out of her life for eight years. A month ago Julie had started receiving text messages, then a phone call demanding to see the children he had abandoned.
Julie believed he was dangerous.
Lissa believed in being prepared.
Opening the bottom drawer of her desk, she took her SIG Sauer P226 out of the metal gun safe and clipped the holster to the belt on her black stretch jeans. The SIG was Dallas PD standard issue, the same type of weapon she had used when she’d been a detective in the vice division. She’d only pulled it when absolutely necessary, but it always felt like an old friend in her hand.
She headed for the rear of the office, which was done in a Western theme, with lots of oak and burgundy leather, a perfect match for the rugged individuals who worked at The Max.
She detoured by the front desk to speak to the receptionist, Mindy Stewart.
“A friend of mine’s in trouble, Min. Can you call Mack Handley at Dallas PD and cancel my three o’clock appointment?”
Being former DPD, Lissa got a lot of cooperation from the department. She was currently working with the mother of an overdose victim who had hired her to find the person who had sold her daughter the drugs.
“Don’t worry,” Mindy said, pushing her round tortoiseshell glasses up on her nose. “I’ll take care of it. Just do whatever you need to.”
They were close friends, as Lissa was with the rest of The Max crew—a mix of PIs, bounty hunters, and bodyguards. Most of them were former military or law enforcement, including Chase Garrett, the owner, and his brother, Brandon. Reese Garrett ran the oil and gas company the brothers owned that made them multi-millionaires.
Jaxon Ryker had been a navy SEAL, Jonah Wolfe was former DPD, and Jason Maddox had been Marine Special Ops.
“Thanks, kiddo,” Lissa said to Mindy. “I owe you one.”
Physically, the two women were exact opposites, Mindy petite and curvy with long dark hair and blue eyes, Lissa five-ten, lean and sinewy, with short blond hair and brown eyes.
Shoving out the back door into the summer heat, Lissa headed for her black Camaro. The color was a definite drawback this time of year, but the sexy design and powerful engine made it worth a little discomfort until the air conditioner kicked in and cooled the red leather interior.
She turned the air on full blast, fired the engine, and shot out of the parking lot, her mind returning to her friend. Julie had met her first husband in Houston, during her first year of college. Ray was handsome, the star quarterback of the Ravens football team, the hottest guy on campus.
Julie had been as impressed as the other girls. Lissa figured Ray Spearman—along with half the guys in school—had been equally impressed with Julie. With her long auburn hair and perfect figure, she had never lacked for male attention.
Ray, a born competitor, wanted to be the guy who scored—and eventually his practiced seduction worked. Julie got pregnant, upsetting both t heir plans. To make matters worse, both sets of parents had pressed for marriage, which lasted only long enough to produce a second child.
Drugs, alcohol, and Ray’s spoiled, abusive behavior finally led to divorce, and not long after, he completely disappeared. Then last month, he had contacted her. Now he was in Dallas.
Julie had been terrified of Raymond during the years they were married. She was even more afraid of him now.
Lissa stepped on the gas.
* * *
COLT WHEELER DROVE his black Mustang up in front of the house on Loganwood Street, a simple gray-brick ranch-style with freshly painted white trim.
Until last month, Colt had been a ranger stationed at Fort Benning, Georgia. But injuries from an exploding IED had cost him an eye and left him riding a desk far too long.
He was out now, on his way back to his hometown of Denver, Colorado, to start a new life. But Dallas was along his route, and at least once a year, he stopped by to see the wife of a friend who’d been killed in Iraq.
Liam Douglas had been a ranger in the 75th Regiment, same as Colt. His dying wish was for Colt to look in on Julie and their two kids, make sure his family was okay. Liam had wanted to adopt Julie’s children from her first marriage, but he needed the biological father’s permission, and the ex-husband was nowhere to be found.
According to conversations Colt had had with Julie, Ray Spearman was a real a-hole. Liam would have made a great dad, but unfortunately he was dead, gone three years, leaving Julie and her kids once more alone.
Figuring he probably should have called first instead of just showing up, Colt turned off the engine, cracked a window for ventilation, and climbed out of the Mustang.
His knock on the door went unanswered. He knocked again, and someone lifted the curtain to see who was outside, then the door swung open.
“Colt!” Julie threw her arms around his neck in an unexpected greeting that put him on alert. “Thank God you’re here. Come...come inside. Please.”
Her face was pale and he could see the fear in her eyes. “What’s happened? What’s going on?”
Julie shut the door behind him. She was trembling. “My ex-husband was just here. I haven’t seen him in almost eight years.” She blew out a shaky breath. “Ray called a little while ago. He said he wanted to see his kids and he was coming right over. There was...there was something in his voice.” She shook her head. “Something I remembered from when we were married. I—I didn’t know what to do. Oh God, Colt.”
His jaw felt tight. “He hit you?”
She took a deep breath. “Not this time, but I thought he was going to.”
Colt’s jaw tightened even more. He led her over to the beige tweed sofa in front of the TV and urged her to sit down. “Where are the kids?”
“I was afraid of what he might do, so as soon as they got home from school, I sent them over to the neighbor’s.”
“You tell them their dad was in town?”
“No. They’ve always been curious, but I’ve never told them much about him, just that we met in college, it didn’t work out, and he left.”
He nodded. “You still got that bottle of Jack Daniel’s I brought the last time I was here?”
She pressed her lips together but it didn’t stop them from trembling. “It’s in the kitchen, top shelf in the cabinet over the sink.”
“I’ll be right back.” Colt headed in that direction. He had visited Julie several times since the explosion that had taken his right eye, so the black patch and the scar along his jaw were no longer a shock. Even the kids didn’t notice them anymore.
He poured some of the whiskey into a glass and carried it back into the living room. Julie’s hand trembled as she took a swallow, then another.
“Better?”
She nodded.
“All right, then. Start at the beginning and tell me what’s going on.”
CHAPTER TWO
A CAR SAT in front of the house as Lissa approached. A shiny black Mustang. She slowed to look in the living room windows, saw the silhouette of someone too tall to be Julie. Probably Ray.
She kept driving, parked the Camaro in the alley and went in through the back gate, crossing the freshly mown lawn and quietly approaching the back door.
It was locked, so she found the key Julie hid in a planter on the patio beneath a blooming red geranium and used it to unlock the door. She could hear voices in the living room, one definitely male.
Ray. Lissa had hoped to be with Julie when her ex arrived. Now she was walking into what could be a very bad situation. From what Julie had said, Ray had hit her more than once and could be extremely violent. After the divorce, she’d gotten a restraining order against him, but with her ex-husband out of her life, it had expired years ago.
Lissa pulled out the SIG as she eased up behind a wall in the kitchen, then peered around the corner to get a look at the man in the living room. Standing with his hands on a pair of narrow hips and his long legs splayed, he was exactly as Julie had described him. Blond and blue-eyed, with the wide-muscled shoulders of the football player he had once been, though he was taller than Lissa had pictured him.
Julie must not have known about the accident that had taken out an eye and scarred his handsome face, but the black patch he wore did nothing to destroy his good looks—or the danger the man exuded. She could only catch a few muffled words, but there was no mistaking the hostile stance or the fury that oozed from every pore.
Gripping the semiauto in both hands, she stepped into the kitchen doorway, her legs braced slightly apart. “Raise your hands above your head! Do it now!”
Julie jumped to her feet. “Lissa, no! This isn’t Ray! It’s my friend, Colt Wheeler!”
With her adrenaline pumping, it took a moment for the words to sink in. Lissa waited to be sure Julie wasn’t being coerced, then holstered her weapon. She noticed Wheeler had raised his big hands only as high as his shoulders. His good eye, a striking shade of blue, crinkled at the corner, and his lips curved in what could only be amusement.
“Okay to put my hands down now?” he asked, clearly enjoying himself. She wanted to walk over and wipe the smirk off his sexy face.
Instead, she ignored him. “Where’s Ray?”
“He was here,” Julie said. “But he didn’t stay long. When he found out the kids weren’t home, he went ballistic.” She glanced pointedly at the pottery lamp that had been sitting on the table in the corner, now smashed to bits and pieces on the hardwood floor. “He left just a few minutes before Colt arrived.”
Her gaze focused on Wheeler. At least six-two, two hundred plus pounds of solid male muscle. A mustache curved down from his hard mouth to a scarred jaw. With the black patch over one eye, he looked like a total badass. She couldn’t imagine her man-shy friend having anything to do with a guy like him.
Julie made the introductions. “Colt, this is my best friend, Lissa Blayne.”
“Nice to meet you,” Colt drawled, his amused smile back in place, making her temper inch up all over again.
“Lissa’s a private detective,” Julie hurried to explain, knowing Lissa well enough to recognize her growing irritation. “I called her before Ray got here and asked her to come over.”
Colt’s amusement faded. He focused on Julie. “Any idea where I can find this guy?”
“No. But I know he’ll be back.” She sank down on the sofa. “Oh God, what am I going to do?”
“You got a restraining order on him once,” Lissa reminded her. “You can do it again.”
Julie shook her head. “It took me weeks and cost me a bundle in attorney’s fees. And the truth is, it won’t keep him away—not if coming here is what he plans to do. Oh God,” she said again.
“You don’t have to be afraid.” Colt remained standing. “I’ll stay here a few days, make sure he doesn’t give you any trouble.” He turned to Liss a. “In the meantime, you’re a detective, maybe you can track him down.”
“I’ll try to find him, but you don’t have to stay,” Lissa said, thinking the last thing her friend needed in her life right now was a hard-ass like Wheeler. “I can stay with Julie, make sure she and the kids are safe.”
“Colt’s just visiting on his way to Denver,” Julie said. “He needs a place to stay, and the kids and I love having him here.”
Somewhere in the back of her mind, Lissa remembered Julie mentioning her late husband’s friend, that he was a ranger like Liam. Julie hadn’t said their relationship was sexual. But looking at him, Lissa had no trouble believing the man could seduce a somewhat-naive, far-too-trusting woman like Julie.
“Fine,” Lissa said. “I’ll see if I can track down your ex. Any idea how long he’s been back in Dallas?”
“From what he told me, not very long.”
“What’s he look like?” she asked. “I need a description, something more than an ex-football jock with blond hair.”
“He doesn’t look anything like he used to. I almost didn’t recognize him. His hair’s darker and buzzed very short. He’s got tats on his neck and arms. I couldn’t believe it. He looks more like a criminal than the captain of the football team he was when we were dating.”
“Maybe that’s where he’s been,” Colt said. “Maybe the guy’s been in prison for the last eight years.”
Lissa flashed Colt a look, giving him silent kudos for a good idea. “I’ll check it out. Julie, I need you to think back, try to remember everything Ray said. Anything he mentioned might be helpful.”
Julie raked back her heavy auburn hair. “Why don’t we all sit down in the kitchen? I’ve got a cold pitcher of iced tea in the fridge. That’ll give me some time to think.”
“Sounds good,” Colt said.
Once they were seated at the table in Julie’s sunny yellow kitchen, a glass of iced tea in front of them, Julie went back over the conversation she’d had with her ex.