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nowhere to hidebyJasmine CresswellDear Reader:We are delighted to bring you this daring series from Silhouette.Intrigue--where resourceful, beautiful women flirt with danger and riskeverything for irresistible, often treacherous men.Intrigue--where the stories are full of heart-stopping suspense andmystery lurks around every corner.You won't be able to resist Intrigue's exciting mix of danger,deception. and desire.Please write and let us know what you think of our selection ofintrigue novels. We'd like to hear from you.Jane Nicholls Silhouette Books PO Box 236 Thornton RoadCroydonSurreyCR9 3RU~,~ILIIOUFTTI~Intrigue'DID YOU PURCHASE THIS BOOK WITHOUT A COVER?If you did, you should be aware it is stolen property as it wasreported unsold and destroyed by a retailer. Neither the author northe publisher has received any payment for this book.All the characters in this book have no existence outside theimagination of the author, and have no relation whatsoever to anyonebearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspiredby any individual known or unknown to the author, and all the incidentsare pure invention.All Rights Reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or inpart in any form. This edition is published by arrangement withHarlequin Enterprises H B. V. The text of this publication or any partthereof may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by anymeans, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording,storage in an information retrieval system, or otherwise, without thewritten permission of the publisher.This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way oftrade or otherwise, be lent, resold, hired out or otherwise circulatedwithout the prior consent of the publisher in any form of binding orcover other than that in which it is published and without a similarcondition including this condition being imposed on the subsequentpurchaser.Silhouette and Colophon are registered trademarks of Harlequin Books S.A. " used under licence.First published in Great Britain 1996Silhouette Books, Eton House, 18-24 Paradise Road, Richmond, SurreyTW9 1SRISBN 0 373 22194 0Printed and bound in Great Britain by Mackays of Chatham PLC, ChathamTo Malcolm,even though he moved me to ClevelandPrologue"What you need," said Rex Clancey, "is a wife. Damn it, Matthew, I'mtired of giving you the same advice over and over again."Matthew Bradford, junior senator from lliinois, yawned. "Good grief,doesn't the wife I already have cause us enough problems?""Marisa's an ex-wife," Rex said wearily. "Eight years into yourpast."Variations on this conversation had been played every week for the pastmonth, and Matthew Bradford was heartily sick of it. Damn it, hedidn't want a wife; he was perfectly content with the collection ofmistresses he already had. Sipping his wine, he listened with haft anear as"Ex-wives don't count, Matthew. The great American public likes tothink its political leaders are safely married. Makes them feelsecure.""Makes them feel we're sharing their own misery is more like it.""Maybe. But you're not going to get elected unless you'reMatthew poured himself another glass of white wine. He would havepreferred a stiff bourbon, but nobody could accuse him of beingunwilling to make sacrifices for the cause. The presidency of theUnited States was worth a few months of semi abstinence Maybe it waseven worth takingon the burden of another wife. He could tolerate the right woman, onewho knew her place and kept to it without complaint. Because Rex wasright, damn him. Even if Mr. and Mrs. Joe Average had more sensethan the political hacks assumed, the party insiders would never riskpolitical suicide by putting a single man at the head of thepresidential ticket.Matthew sipped his drinks Rex's advice churning sourly in his stomach.He scowled into his glass. "Hell, what I need is three or four milliondollars that can't be traced back to me. Then we could cut Van Platout of the race, and I wouldn't need to cluC~ up my life with anotherstupid wife. Marisa was enough for a lifetime."Dick Humphrey, the third man in the cosy, oak-paneled study, spoke forthe first tine. "If you mar fled my sister, maybe you could have themoney and a wife who's no trouble. My father left Alyssa a I~a-mi!ion-dollar trust fund."Matthew jerked around in his armchair. "Your sister?" he murmured."Would she be willing to get married again?""She could be persuaded," Dick said. "She's ambitious and she's feltbored these past few months. She spends all her time organizingcharity balls and looking for in the society columns. If she's goingto use her ting her picture in the papers, she might as well do it forl useful cause."Matthew thought fast. Dick Humphrey was a wheeler-dealer, who wouldn'tcome across with a penny of his sis~'s millions unless Matthew Marryher. On the other hand, Alyssa was exactly the of woman he could moldto his tasks. Shallow, eager to be entertained, she was ripe formanipulation."She's a good-looking woman and she sure knows score," he commented. "Iagree, Dick, that she'd be set to the campaign.""That's debatable," Rex Clancey argued. "She's vorced, and theelectorate doesn't like divorced women.""She was the innocent party," Dick interposed "Everyone will understandshe was just a kid when she married." He hurried on before Rex could~voice any more objections. "Denver's sodety matrons love her. Mysister's raised enough money for worthy causes that our publicitypeople could write up herr,~" ,um6 so that she sounds more noble thanMother Theresa. The senator stared thoughtfully at his wing-tip shoes.He had an outstanding memory for names, faces and biographical details.It was one of the talents that made him a politician to be reckonedwith. He mentally reeled off his inventory of information about AlyssaHumphrey. A blonde. Above, average height. Gray eyes. Wore herclothes well. Married to a nobody she'd met her first year in college.Divorced before her classmates reached graduation. Wealthybackground, but her father had been a self-made man. Self-mademillionaires went over okay with the voters. All in all, marryingAlyssa Humphrey might not be a bad idea.We could have a fancy wedding right before the Iowa caucuses, Matthewthought. People magazine could be counted on for a cover spread. Hell,the publicity alone would be worth it."Well, you know, that's a real interesting idea, Dick," he said, givinghis campaign chief a warm, approving smile. "I certainly think it'sworth exploring. Let's find out how your sister feels about becomingfirst lady. When could you arrange a quiet meeting for us?""Hey, hold on a minute here." Rex jumped up and began to pace thefloor, clearly not happy. "Alyssa's not the perfect candidate by anymeans. Apart from the problem of her divorce, she's too young""Thirty-one," Dick said. "And the media grill love her. Think of thecontrast with Mrs. Van Plat. My God, Rex, have you ever taken a closelook at Van Plat's wife? My cleaning woman's got more style! Alyssawill be the most elegant woman in politics since Jackie Kennedy.""That's all very well," Rex said. "But for every male voter who lovesher, there'll be a fat wife who hates her. Tell us exactly what youmeant about her money, Dick. If thesenator married your sister, her contributions to the campaign wouldbe scrutinized more closely than ever. ""That's true," Matthew agreed. "What we desperately need is three orfour million dollars off the books. I don't see how we could get thatfrom Alyssa."Dick smiled. "I've already worked out a way to take care of that. Andhaving my sister as first lady would be worth a few million dollars tome. Of course, once you were elected, I'd expect you both to rememberwho put this whole deal together."Greedy conniver, Matthew thought, but he fixed his features into the/rbest professional smile and hoped that his eyes had taken on theirfamous sincere glow. "When I'm president, we'll have you right at thetop of our appointments list, Dick, you can count on it. How doesambassador to France sound? Or we could promise something really cushyon the White House staff, couldn't we, Rex?"Rex struggled visibly between the desire for Alyssa's millions and.dislike of the power Dick Humphrey was gathering. "Not quite chief ofstaff, but getting up there," he agreed. "However, we need somespecifies of how you would work the cash end of the deal, Dick.""My sister's trust fund. It would be a cinch. I'm the sole familyexecutor, and I could siphon off a couple of million dollars with notrouble at all. i already know exactly how I can doit."Rex looked doubtful. "Would Alyssa agree?""She never pays any attention to the details of her trust fund so longas I pay off her charge cards every month.""But the fund must have professional trusses. Wouldn't they notice ifseveral million dollars suddenly vanished?""Yes, there's a professional trusl~--Jerry Hershel. Banking friend ofmy dad's and smart as a whip. We'd never get anything illegal pasthim. But I can take care of Jerry. I'll replace him with somebodyguaranteed not to ask awkward questions.""Oot anyone special in mind?" Matthew asked."Sure have. Guy who was in college with me. Looks like he was bornwearing gray pinstripes. Earnest, hardworking, honest as the day islong. Just bright enough to make it through law school. You know thetype? The guy's too slowwitted to spot a trust-fund m~ipulafion if itstood up and... [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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