Mary Stone - Deadly Act

When a cunning serial killer meets an inexperienced private investigator with a heart of gold...protecting others comes at a terrible price.

When quiet, unassuming Jessica Hilyard mysteriously disappears, Kylie Hatfield promises Jessicas sister shell find her. So what if shes technically just the office assistant at Starr Investigations? Its the perfect opportunity to prove to her boss she has what it takes to become a real private investigator.

But when the evidence starts to link Jessicas disappearance to a dangerous serial killer, everyone warns Kylie to back off the casethe police, her boss, and Linc Coulter, the maddeningly sexy ex-soldier whos training (or trying to train) her nutty Newfoundland dog, Vader, and making Kylie crazy in the process. But nothings going to stop Kylie from becoming a full-fledged private investigator...not even the threat of an unexpected murderer, who wants to take more than just her life.

By turns humorous, romantic, and downright chilling, Deadly Act, the first book in the Kylie Hatfield Series, will delight fans of Kendra Elliott, Melinda Leigh, and Rachel Caine.

J essica Hilyard always thought that love was supposed to make people happy. Maybe it did. For some. But her? It scared her to death.

Especially being in love with someone like Brandon. A man who lived life to the fullest. A man who took joy in nature. Who took joy in her.

She jumped when a twig broke somewhere in the forest. A squirrel darted up a tree, and she laughed at herself. She really was a fraidy cat. And if she was going to continue dating Brandon, shed have to get over it. Fast.

Jessica smiled, just thinking about the past few months with him. Shed gone kayaking and hiking, and she had even jumped off a cliff. Well, not much of a cliff. Her rock was maybe five feet above the water while Brandons had been more than twenty. Her stomach churned as she remembered the feeling of looking down into the icy depths of the river pool. Remembered how badly she wanted to turn away. How badly she just wanted to be home, in her little apartment where everything was nice and safe.

But she had jumped.

And even as the water closed over her head, and she kicked her feet to break the surface again, she had been laughing. Then shed been in Brandons arms, and he was laughing with her, telling her how proud he was of her. So very proud.

Hed made love to her then, moving her swimsuit bottoms to the side before taking her against the very rock shed jumped from.

Im crazy about you, Jessica, hed said against her mouth. Come away with me. Lets leave this town and live life to its fullest.

She hadnt said yes. But she hadnt said no, either.

Could she?

Could she simply walk away from school? Her job? Her friends?

Her comfortable little life that seemed more glamourous on Instagram than it really was?

Another twig snapped, bringing her back to the present. Bringing her back to the now.

The present.

Not the past, where she had so much to regret. Not to the future, where she had so much to fear.

The now.

To Brandon, the man waiting for her down by the river.

Waiting for her answer.

Say yes, she murmured to herself. And then tell him that you love him and will follow him anywhere.

That was her plan.

To live.

Really live.

Life to the fullest.

With him.

She was still smiling as she stepped out from the woods, her breath coming heavier now. Not from the exertion of the hike, but from true excitement. Was this what freedom felt like? Freedom from mediocrity? From the shoulds that have weighed her down for so long?

Her smile grew even wider as she stepped onto the rocktheir rock. The rock that had changed everything. Her jump into a new life with a man she truly adored.

Brandon wasnt there yet, but that was okay. She was early, always early. He, on the other hand, didnt even own a watch.

But time wouldnt matter where they were going. Time wouldnt mean a thing.

Because they were going to write travel articles, making a living visiting one exotic location after another. Jess and Bran in Wanderland, Brandon had said with a laugh when she asked him what theyd call their blog.

She had to admitit was kind of catchy in the corniest way imaginable.

To her right, she noticed a red box tied with a golden bow. On the top was a label. Jessica. Open me and follow the instructions.

She would recognize Brandons handwriting anywhere, the ragged up and down slants of each letter reminding her of a heartbeat on an EKG tape.

She opened the box. Inside was a satin blindfold, and just looking at it made her insides twist. There was another note. Put me on and wait. You wont regret it.

Regret.

Her smile faded a bit when she read that word. There was only one thing she knew shed truly regret. Disappointing her family. Especially her sister. What would Miranda say about all this? Jessica was anxious, in both a good and bad way, to find out. But even if her sister tried to dissuade her from this journey, Jessica would go anyway.

She had to.

No. She wanted to.

Surely her family, her sister, would understand. Her friends. Her co-workers. Theyd understand too.

And if they didnt?

She shook her head, shaking away any negativity.

Ill call Miranda tonight, she murmured to the water flowing beneath her perch as she smoothed the blindfold between her fingers. Before putting it on, she lifted her face to catch the last bit of light peeking over the mountains.

It was so beautiful here.

Just as it would be beautiful all the places they would go.

Another twig snapped, but she didnt jump this time. Instead, she placed the blindfold over her eyes, securing the elastic behind her head. Goose bumps raised on her arms as she felt Brandon approach her from behind.

Yes, she said to him before he could even ask. Even she could hear the joy in the word. Yes to you. Yes to everything.

Something cold pressed against her throat, the sharp edge piercing her skin.

Thats my motto too, a familiar voice said.

Before she could scream, the ability to do so was stolen from her as the knife sliced from ear to ear. It really didnt even hurt that much, she thought, as she took a last leap from her rocktheir rockand the water consumed her for the last time.

O h, this isnt good.

Kylie Hatfield squinted at her phone. Every little hair on the back of her neck stood at attention, an army of little soldiers telling her just how not-good this was.

Kylie might have only been working in a private investigators office for a month, but shed already developed quite the spidey-sense when something was off. Her boss, Greg Starr, had unceremoniously informed her that she was too green for the serious cases. Sure, she might have had a teeny bit of an attention disorder, and yeah, sometimes she was too busy talking to actually listen to people trying to impart their words of wisdom to her, but that didnt matter right then.