![\"psychic](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.shilohwalker.com\/website\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/NAIS-200x300.jpg?resize=200%2C300\")
*Reissue*<\/p>\n*Reissue*<\/p>\n
Paranormal\/Psychic Suspense<\/p>\n
When a woman shares her deepest secret with the man she loves, the last thing she wants is for him to laugh at her. Or worse\u2026not believe her. But that was what happened three years ago when Chloe Perkins confided in Leo Brant.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m psychic<\/em>.<\/p>\n The words were like a bombshell, one that had a cataclysmic effect on their relationship.\u00a0 Leo\u2019s world was black and white and he didn\u2019t believe in any of that. Walking away from Chloe all but killed him, but the lies she told him would have destroyed them anyway.<\/p>\n Now she\u2019s back in his life, all but thrown into his arms.<\/p>\n He\u2019s got a new job and it\u2019s all centered around Chloe.<\/p>\n Keep her safe<\/em>. That\u2019s it.\u00a0 He isn\u2019t supposed to want her, love her, need her\u2026and yet here she is, back in his life once more and all he can do is want her, love her, need her.<\/p>\n With danger breathing down her neck, he\u2019s going to have his hands full and he needs to be smart and stay away. But his black and white world is suddenly getting rather gray and he can\u2019t seem to tell up from down, right from wrong, truth from lie\u2026<\/p>\n *<\/p>\n \u201cNo. Absolutely, no,\u201d Leo Brant growled, glaring at his boss, soon-to-be partner.<\/p>\n Soon\u2026but not soon enough.<\/p>\n If they were partners, Leo could actually argue this one. But as it was, all he could do was beg. He was just about ready to get down on his knees and do just that too.<\/p>\n Not this. Anything but this. I\u2019m just getting to the point to where I can almost think about her and not feel like punching something.<\/em><\/p>\n Staring into Dave\u2019s eyes, he decided to throw pride to the wind. \u201cMan, anything else. Please. Anything else, but not that. Do not ask me for this.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSorry, man. Beggars can\u2019t be choosers.\u201d Dave Pascall\u2019s amused eyes told Leo he was fully aware just how desperate Leo was to not do this job\u2026and how fully Dave didn\u2019t care.<\/p>\n In short, Leo was screwed.<\/p>\n \u201cClient is paying top dollar to see that\u2019s she\u2019s given round-the-clock protection for the next two weeks and we are going to provide that.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cFine. We can. Just find another part of \u2018we\u2019,\u201d Leo said.<\/p>\n Dave blinked. A lazy smile curled his lips as he leaned against the wall. \u201cI\u2019m sorry, I said that wrong. By \u2018we\u2019 I meant \u2018you\u2019. You\u2019re the only one I\u2019ve got available who handle this. You\u2019re it, man.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n Anything, anybody but Chloe Perkins. He could handle anybody but her. Conniving, con-artist little grifter. An image of her face flashed through his mind and, despite himself, he felt the same swift punch in his heart that he felt all too often when he thought of her.<\/p>\n Three years. He ought to be over her by now.<\/p>\n You are<\/em>, he reminded himself. It isn\u2019t hurt. Isn\u2019t heartache.<\/em><\/p>\n She\u2019d used him, manipulated him. If anything had gotten hurt, it was just his pride. And it wasn\u2019t pain he felt when he thought of her, it was anger.<\/p>\n That had nothing to do with why he didn\u2019t want to have anything to do with her now. She was bad news.<\/p>\n Chloe had always been bad news. He\u2019d just figured it out too late, and even as he tried to convince himself it wasn\u2019t hurt he felt, he knew better. She had hurt him\u2014she\u2019d torn his heart to shreds, the way she\u2019d lied to him, and then the way she\u2019d looked at him, right before he\u2019d walked out the door.<\/p>\n You\u2019re not being fair<\/em>, a voice whispered.<\/p>\n Out in the lobby, a door banged shut and a female voice snapped, \u201cI know you were asked to escort <\/em>me in, but that doesn\u2019t require you touching me\u2026hands off<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n Chloe.<\/p>\n He knew the sound of her voice, knew it all too well, even raised in anger. Swearing, he dropped his head on the desk. Then he lifted it and slammed it down against the banged-up metal. \u201cThis isn\u2019t happening,\u201d he muttered. \u201cIsn\u2019t happening, isn\u2019t happening.\u201d He banged his head a second time, a third.<\/p>\n \u201cKnocking yourself unconscious won\u2019t do any good. I\u2019ll just babysit until you wake up and then I\u2019ll be pissed off at the delay,\u201d Dave said. \u201cChloe needs to be out of town\u2026as in yesterday.\u201d<\/p>\n Looking up, Leo glared at the man he\u2019d always considered his best friend. \u201cWhy, damn it? What the hell did I do to deserve this?\u201d<\/p>\n An irritated look crossed Dave\u2019s face and he shut the door, muffling the irate sounds of Chloe\u2019s voice. \u201cStop being so dramatic. It\u2019s got nothing to do with you and everything to do with her.\u201d He glanced back over his shoulder, as though he wasn\u2019t certain the closed door was enough. Then he came in closer, leaned over the desk. Quietly, he said, \u201cChloe\u2019s life may be in danger, but until there\u2019s proof, there\u2019s nothing the DA can do. I\u2019m doing this as a favor to a friend, but if I hadn\u2019t been asked, I\u2019d do it anyway. She\u2019s got some nasty people after her, Leo.\u201d<\/p>\n Something that might have been fear rolled through him, but Leo shoved it aside. Chances were it was nothing more than an overactive imagination on Chloe\u2019s part.<\/p>\n \u201cYou lead the kind of life she leads, you\u2019re going to piss people off. I told her that three years ago, remember? She\u2019s a big girl. If she\u2019s in trouble, she needs to clean up her own mess.\u201d<\/p>\n Leo knew his friend well enough to recognize the look in Dave\u2019s dark eyes.<\/p>\n It was disappointment.<\/p>\n \u201cShit. Are you not hearing what I\u2019m telling you? Her life. In danger. Are you still that pissed off at her?\u201d<\/p>\n Leo scowled and shoved a hand through his hair. \u201cHell. No. You know me better than that. I\u2019ve never been pissed off at anybody I know so bad that I\u2019d want them dead of it. But this is Chloe. You know Chloe. She\u2019s the queen of dramatics. She\u2019s the queen of con artists and grifters and bullshitters and she\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n His voice trailed off as Dave leaned over his desk, placed his hands flat against it. \u201cI know who she is,\u201d Dave said, his voice low and quiet. \u201cAnd unlike you, I didn\u2019t write her off three years ago. I actually know her better than you do. Considering the fact that you wrote her off and walked away from her, you really aren\u2019t suited to be making any sort of judgment call. You don\u2019t know her, Leo. Maybe you never did, if you think you can call her a con artist. Or maybe you should listen to your gut instead of that rock-hard head of yours.\u201d<\/p>\n Then he straightened and smoothed his tie. \u201cLook, this isn\u2019t up for discussion. She\u2019s your next case and if you really want to buy into the business, you\u2019ll just suck it up and do your job. She\u2019s the job. Keep her alive.\u201d<\/p>\n Heaving out a sigh, Leo shifted his gaze to the glass windows and Chloe Perkins. Chloe. Shit. Why had fate brought her back into his life\u2026again?<\/p>\n Amazon<\/a>\u00a0| BN<\/a>\u00a0| iBooks<\/a>\u00a0| Kobo<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"