Meet the first of The Battling McGuire Boys from New York Times bestselling author Cynthia Eden!
Desperate to prove she’s being framed for murder, Scarlett Stone entrusts her reputation—and her life—to the man who once broke her heart. Grant McGuire, a sexy former army ranger turned detective, has never been the same since military action. But behind his cold demeanor, he still burns for Scarlett.
Taking her case is an easy but dangerous decision for Grant. Together they must race against the clock to find the real killer, who now wants them both dead. More dangerous, however, is their sudden, reignited passion. Grant will do anything for a second chance with Scarlett…while she’ll do everything to keep the secret she never wants him to know…
“Is that what you’re thinking? That I’ve been following you? Stalking you? You’re the one who came to me, Scarlett. The one who needed me, and I helped you, no questions asked.”
He had. He’d been there when she needed a friend most. But…he wasn’t a friend.
He’d always been more.
He leaned nearer. Their bodies brushed. Their mouths were so close. The anger that had been between them was changing. Shifting. Becoming something else entirely.
“I knew for years…” His words were a rumble. “Knew I should stay away from you. If I ever got close again, I understood what would happen.”
She didn’t understand. “What would happen?”
His eyes were on her mouth. “This.”
He lowered his head more, closed that last bit of precious distance between them and kissed her.
There were a million reasons why she should back away from him right then.
But her hands just rose up and curled around his shoulders to hold him tightly.
CONFESSIONS
New York Times Bestselling Author
Cynthia Eden
Cynthia Eden, a New York Times bestselling author, writes tales of romantic suspense and paranormal romance. Her books have received starred reviews from Publishers Weekly, and she has received a RITA® Award nomination for best romantic suspense novel. Cynthia lives in the Deep South, loves horror movies and has an addiction to chocolate. More information about Cynthia may be found at cynthiaeden.com, or you can follow her on Twitter, @cynthiaeden.
Books by Cynthia Eden
Harlequin Intrigue
The Battling McGuire Boys series
Confessions
Shadow Agents series
Alpha One
Guardian Ranger
Sharpshooter
Glitter and Gunfire
Shadow Agents: Guts and Glory series
Undercover Captor
The Girl Next Door
Evidence of Passion
Way of the Shadows
Visit the Author Profile page at
Harlequin.com for more titles.
CAST OF CHARACTERS
Grant McGuire—A ghost from Grant’s past has just walked through his door. Former army ranger Grant is used to facing danger, but as he stares into the eyes of the only woman he ever loved—the woman he lost years ago—he knows that he may just be facing the toughest battle of his life.
Scarlett Stone—Scarlett didn’t head into McGuire Securities because she wanted to relive the past. She’s a desperate woman, and a desperate woman will do anything—even turn to the lover who broke her heart (or splintered it beneath his army boots). She is being framed for murder, and if Grant can’t prove her innocence, she may just lose her freedom…and her life.
Justin Turner—Justin is convinced that Scarlett murdered his brother, and he won’t rest until she gets the punishment she deserves. And if the law won’t punish her, then he will. There is no way that Justin will let Scarlett get away from him…no matter what he has to do…
Shayne Townsend—Detective Townsend knows that there is more to Scarlett’s case than meets the eye, but he has to follow orders and do his job. If he and Grant can’t find evidence to clear Scarlett, then he will have to be the one to lock her away.
Sullivan McGuire—Sullivan knows all of Scarlett’s secrets…secrets that even his brother Grant doesn’t know. But when someone starts targeting Scarlett with a series of dangerous attacks, this ex-marine will stand by his brother’s side in order to protect Scarlett. The McGuires always stand together…no matter how deadly the situation may be.
This book is for all of the wonderful readers who’ve written to me about my Harlequin Intrigue books. Thank you for your support! I hope you keep enjoying the stories!
Contents
Prologue
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
Epilogue
Excerpt
Prologue
“You’re...leaving?” Scarlett Stone stared up at the man before her, aware that her heart was aching. Not aching...breaking.
“I have a new mission,” Grant McGuire told her, his deep voice strangely devoid of its usual warmth. “I head out tomorrow and I don’t know when I’ll be back.” The setting sun glinted off his blond hair. Grant... Tall, handsome, perfect Grant.
She’d graduated high school a few months ago. College awaited her. These days were supposed to be the start of a great new life. A new life she’d wanted to spend with him.
Grant was four years older than she was. Popular, confident, strong. He’d been in the army for the past few years, but he’d come to see her. Every time that he came home, he made certain he spent his days with her.
But he’s leaving again now.
His hand lifted and his calloused fingertips slid over her cheek. His touch chased some of the chill from her skin. Strange. An August evening in Texas shouldn’t have been cold...so why did she have goose bumps on her arms?
“You’ll enjoy college,” Grant told her in that low, rumbling voice that always made her stomach twist. “You’ll have the time of your life there.” His hand fell away from her. “But I need to head out again.”
He was always leaving. “Why?”
“The ranch...this place isn’t for me, Scarlett. I need more.”
The place wasn’t for him, but what about her? “Am I for you?” They’d started dating when she’d been a freshman in high school.
She’d been in love with him from the first moment she glanced up and saw him walking down the hallway. The senior...the quarterback...who’d shown interest in her.
When no one else ever had.
She was the nerd, the girl with her head always shoved in a book, too nervous to talk to boys. Someone most boys didn’t notice.
But Grant had been different. Grant was always...different.
He was also not answering her.
“Grant?” Her hands lifted and pressed against his chest. “You know...I love you.” It was the first time she’d ever confessed her true feelings to him, but surely he knew how she felt.
His muscles were hard beneath her palms. His green eyes stared down at her, but his gaze was shadowed, his emotions carefully hidden.
“I can wait for you to come back,” she told him, and she knew her voice sounded desperate. “I don’t mind waiting. I mean, my college br
eak might happen right at the same time you get back, and I can wait—”
“Scarlett...”
Forever.
“I don’t know when I’ll be back.” He brushed back her hair, strands that the light breeze had shifted against her cheek. “And I don’t want you to wait for me.”
Pain knifed through her. “Grant?”
He leaned over her. His head bent, and his lips brushed against hers. She loved Grant’s kiss. Loved the way he tasted. The way he made her feel.
Desired. Special.
A low moan built in her throat as he kissed her.
“You deserve to be happy,” he whispered against her mouth. “I can’t...I can’t make you happy. I can’t be who you want me to be.”
What did that even mean? “I love you just as you are.” She didn’t want him to be anyone else.
But he shook his head. “Baby, you don’t even know who I really am.”
There had always been secrets in his eyes. A darkness that shadowed him. He’d been in the military for the past three years...and every time he’d come home, there had been a new hardness to him. A sharpening edge of danger.
“I can’t tell you where I’m going, and I don’t know when I’ll be back. I won’t ask you to wait for me.” His forehead leaned against hers. “I can’t.”
Tears stung her eyes. She’d been dreaming of a new life—so many plans and dreams for the two of them. She wanted a new life with Grant, but...
“You have your scholarship,” he continued, his voice sounding ragged, as emotion finally seemed to break through for him. “Take it. Take the life that’s waiting for you.”
Her hands lifted and curled around his shoulders. She knew a good-bye when she heard one. After all, she’d heard plenty of them in her life.
He kissed her again. There was desire and need in that kiss. She rose onto her toes, trying to get even closer to him. Scarlett wanted to be as close to him as she could get—
“I won’t forget you,” Grant told her.
He’d pulled away.
He always did.
She wrapped her arms around her stomach and blinked away the tears that wanted to fall.
“If you...if you ever need me...” His voice was gruff, shaking. Strange. He never sounded uncertain, but he did in that moment. “I’ll be there for you, Scarlett.”
She almost called him a liar. Because he was leaving. There was no way he could be there for her when he’d be gone.
But it hurt too much to talk anymore. She’d finally realized a painful truth.
I love him...but he doesn’t love me.
Story of her life.
Scarlett stiffened her spine. She wouldn’t reach out to him again. “Goodbye,” she whispered, because there was no more to say. He hadn’t invited her out here, to their spot by the lake, because he wanted to make plans about their future. He’d brought her out here to break up with her.
To leave her behind.
She turned away so he wouldn’t see her crying. She took one step. Another.
Scarlett wouldn’t let herself glance back. Grant McGuire was done with her. And she...she would be fine without him.
If you ever need me...
She straightened her shoulders and kept walking.
I need you now.
But needing did no good.
* * *
GRANT’S HANDS CLENCHED into fists as he watched Scarlett Stone walk away. I love you. She’d never told him that before, but he’d known...he’d known how she felt. With Scarlett, there were never any games. No pretending. Her emotions shone in her deep, warm chocolate eyes.
So he’d known exactly how much he was hurting her as he’d told her that he was leaving.
Grant took a step forward, almost called out to her.
But...
He couldn’t tell her where he was going. What he was doing. The next mission was black ops. The mission he’d been fighting to take. He loved the adrenaline. He loved the rush. He loved protecting his country and doing his damn best to make the world a better place.
He also...
“I love you, Scarlett,” he whispered. But she didn’t hear him.
Scarlett was already gone.
Funny...he hadn’t realized how cold the summer night felt. Not until that moment.
Chapter One
Ten years later...
His building should have been empty. It was after 7:00 p.m. and McGuire Securities should have been shut down for the night.
Grant McGuire was heading out of the place, more than ready to go meet his brothers at a local bar in Austin, Texas. It had been one hell of a week, and he needed to let off some steam.
So when he opened his office door and stepped into the lobby, he thought the place would be deserted.
It wasn’t.
A woman was there. She stood just two feet away, as if she’d just entered the lobby and had been making her way directly to see him. Her blond hair was pulled away from her face, secured in a little twist at her nape. Her eyes—dark, wide, deep—flared when she saw him.
And the world seemed to stop for Grant.
Scarlett? Scarlett Stone?
Without speaking, he drank her in. His gaze swept over her face. The soft curve of her cheeks, the delicate jaw, the light sprinkling of freckles across her nose. Scarlett had always hated those freckles, but he’d loved them. Had wanted to kiss every single—
“Grant? Um, do you...do you remember me?” Her voice was halting.
As if he could ever forget her. The woman starred in pretty much every fantasy he’d ever had.
She’d changed over the years. She wasn’t wearing dusty jeans and a loose T-shirt like she’d favored back in her high school days. She was dressed in black—expensively cut pants and a close-fitting turtleneck. Her feet were encased in high heels—red heels that made him think of sex.
Sex with Scarlett.
“Uh...” Pink flashed across her cheeks as she seemed to decide that no, he didn’t remember her. “I’m Scarlett...Scarlett Stone.”
A growl built in his throat. “I damn well know who you are.” Had he really just been staring at her like a lovesick fool? But...Scarlett shouldn’t be here. She should be far away from him. Safely away.
He’d made the sacrifice before. Done the right thing by her. So why was she back? In his office?
He glanced over her shoulder, his focus shifting to the McGuire Securities entrance. “How did you get in here?” He’d thought the place was locked up.
“Your assistant met me. She was leaving when I was arriving. She told me that you were still here.” Scarlett’s hands clenched around the small black bag that she carried. “Can we...can we go inside your office to talk?”
The tremble in her voice pierced right through him. Scarlett’s voice had shaken like that before. When she was scared, it was a dead giveaway to her emotions. Grant backed into his office, holding the door open for her. When she passed by him, he caught her scent—vanilla.
Did she know that he couldn’t smell vanilla without thinking of her?
No. Don’t let her see...
He pulled in a deep breath, took in more of her delectable scent, and made sure his mask was in place. The mask he’d always tried to wear around her.
Ten years... He should have gotten over her by now.
“Have a seat,” he told her as he turned on more lights and then shut the door.
Scarlett slowly settled into a chair across from his desk. She looked so polished and perfect. Not like the young girl who’d always had her hair streaming over her shoulders and a smile on her face. A smile for him, anyway. A smile that had lit her dark eyes and made—
“Do you recall what you told me? The last time we were—were
together?” She fumbled a bit over those words.
He didn’t sit behind the desk. He leaned in front of it, positioning his body a few feet from Scarlett. “I’m afraid you’re going to have to be more specific for me.” He kept his voice controlled. “It’s been ten years.” Ten years, and wasn’t she supposed to be married? His gaze darted to her left hand. No ring.
But she’d been scheduled to get married two months ago. He knew she had. To a lawyer named Eric Turner.
Grant might not be in Scarlett’s life, but he kept tabs on her.
Like that doesn’t sound crazy.
But he’d been out of town for the past few weeks working on a case. He’d just gotten back to Austin last night, and he didn’t know if he was staring at a married woman...or a single one.
“More specific?” Her fingers were white around that black bag. “Right.” She cleared her throat. “Okay, you said that if I ever needed you, you’d be there for me.” Her gaze held his, and was full of hope. “Now do you remember?”
He’d always been afraid that her eyes could see into his soul. See straight into the darkness that lurked there. “Yes, I remember.” He remembered that he’d always been willing to do anything for her.
Scarlett’s breath whispered out. “Good. Because, Grant, I’m going to have to call you on that promise.”
He frowned at her.
“I need you,” she told him as she wet her lips. “I’m desperate, and without your help...I don’t know what’s going to happen.” She glanced over her shoulder, her nervous stare darting to the door.
“Scarlett?” Her fear was palpable, and it made his muscles tense.
“They’ll be coming for me soon. I only have a few minutes, and please, please stick to your promise. No matter what they say.”
He shot away from his desk, his relaxed pose forgotten as he realized that Scarlett wasn’t just afraid. She was terrified. “Who’s coming?”
“I didn’t do it.” She rose, too, and dropped her bag into her chair. “It will look like I did, all the evidence says so...but I didn’t do it.”