Trace of Fever - Lori Foster [0]
Trace of Fever
Praise for New York Times and USA TODAY
bestselling author
LORI FOSTER
“Foster writes smart, sexy, engaging characters.”
—New York Times bestselling author Christine Feehan
“Known for her funny, sexy writing.”
—Booklist
“Foster’s latest is pure entertainment and a joy to read.”
—RT Book Reviews on Back in Black
“Foster out writes most of her peers.”
—Library Journal
“Intense, edgy and hot. Lori Foster delivers
everything you’re looking for in a romance.”
—New York Times bestselling author Jayne Ann Krentz
on Hard to Handle
“Lori Foster delivers the goods.”
—Publishers Weekly
“Tension, temptation, hot action, and hotter romance—
Lori Foster has it all! Hard to Handle is a knockout!”
—New York Times bestselling author Elizabeth Lowell
Dear Readers,
I’m pleased to give you Trace of Fever, book two of my new series of über alpha hunks featuring private mercenaries who are big, capable, a little dangerous and (I hope) oh-so-sexy. If you read the first book, When You Dare, then you already know why I call them my men who “walk the edge of honor.”
My novella in the anthology The Guy Next Door got things started by introducing you to characters related to the heroine of When You Dare. Next out is Savor the Danger.
To see more about the books, visit my website at www.lorifoster.com. And feel free to chat with me on my Facebook fanpage—www.facebook.com/pages/Lori-Foster/233405457965.
I’m very excited about this new series, and I hope you will be, too!
LORI FOSTER
TRACE OF FEVER
To the Animal Adoption Foundation, a no-kill animal shelter in Hamilton, Ohio.
The AAF does remarkable work for animals. Liger, one of the cats that my son adopted from the shelter, is featured in the book. If it wasn’t for the AAF, a truly beautiful, lovable, BIG cat might not be a part of our family now.
The AAF will always be one of my “pet projects” whenever I do fundraising.
To learn more, visit www.AAFPETS.com.
Lori
Also available from
LORI FOSTER
and HQN Books
Men Who Walk the Edge of Honor
The Guy Next Door
“Ready, Set, Jett”
When You Dare
And coming soon
Savor the Danger
Other must-reads
Bewitched
Unbelievable
Tempted
Bodyguard
Caught!
Heartbreakers
Fallen Angels
Enticing
TRACE OF FEVER
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
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
CHAPTER NINETEEN
CHAPTER TWENTY
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
EPILOGUE
CHAPTER ONE
ARMS CROSSED AND HIS shoulder propped against the wall outside the elaborate, corner high-rise office, Trace Rivers considered his options. Having an inside source would shorten his job. As a pseudobodyguard, he hadn’t been given the opportunity to uncover shit yet, and he was getting antsy. But if he could turn someone who was privy to the info he needed, then he’d get somewhere.
Murray Coburn was dirty. Trace knew it. Hell, a lot of people knew it. But they couldn’t or wouldn’t touch the bastard without rock-solid evidence. The legal system had failed.
Trace would find the evidence eventually, though, and then he’d mete out his own form of justice.
Until then he had to contend with the odd assortment of disreputable punks and bullies working for Murray.
He also had to contend with Helene Schumer, better known as Hell—a name that suited her well. She never missed an opportunity to grope him, to boss him, to make his job more trying than necessary. But as Murray’s current paramour, Hell had privileges denied to others.
If Murray uncovered her perfidy, he’d kill her without remorse. That thought didn’t bother Trace at all, but Murray would also lose trust in him, and that couldn’t happen.
The unsavory idea of using Hell didn’t sit well with Trace, but it would be expedient, especially since the lady acted like a nymphomaniac around him.
As she approached now, her intent obvious in the