Impatiently, he rang the doorbell several times, then pounded his fist against the front door. d.a.m.n it. He had not come all the way from Indiana to Florida to miss talking with this guy. He had to be home. He desperately needed his help before another teenage girl lost her life. Sheriff Tim Brennan had written to him about how good this guy was. And if Brennan recommended him, he had to be excellent. He hammered at the door again, and then peeked in the front window. There was no one inside, but from his position he could see open sliding gla.s.s doors leading to the backyard.

From the side yard, he opened the iron gate to the back of the house. The second he entered the backyard, he noticed a woman diving into an Olympic-sized pool. Transfixed, he watched her as she swam to the far end of the pool, and then kicked off to swim to the other end, this time on her back. Her body, slick from the water, glowed in the moonlight. The tiny glittering lights surrounding the pool made her look ethereal as she sliced through the water.

He should do the gentlemanly thing and leave, but he couldn't move. His frozen legs seemed attached to the ground. He could barely breathe as she lifted herself out of the water. With long black hair as shiny as gla.s.s, she had an athletic build, with full, uplifted b.r.e.a.s.t.s, curved hips and endless legs. His jeans grew tighter as his arousal strained against the zipper.

Moving to a deck chair, she wrapped a white towel around her bodya"then picked up a serious-looking handgun that she pointed straight at his chest.

"I don't know who you are or why you're in my yard, but I've got a little secret I'd like to share with you," she began. "In the past two years, I've shot two men. Neither man is here to talk about it."

He stiffened as a wave of apprehension hit him full-force. He'd been shot before, remembered it well, and had no desire to repeat the experience. He cleared his throat and said, "I apologize if I frightened you. I pounded on the front door but no one answered."

"That doesn't tell me who you are and why you're here," she returned, a.s.suming one of the best shooting stances he'd ever seen.

He hesitated for a second, and then responded, "I'm Sheriff Brody Chase from Morel, Indiana, in Shawnee County. I'm here to see Carl Stone."

She quirked her eyebrow questioningly, and asked, "Who told you Carl Stone lived here?"

"A fellow Indiana county sheriff gave me your name and address in an email. Tim Brennan's his name," he replied.

She slowly lowered the gun. "Sounds like Sheriff Brennan made a typo. It's Carly Stone that you're looking for. Why do you want to talk to me?"

About the Authora"Alexa Grace.

Alexa Grace's journey started in March 2011 when the Sr. Director of Training & Development position she'd held for thirteen years was eliminated. A door closed but another one opened. She finally had the time to pursue her dream of writing books a" her dream since childhood. Her focus is now on writing riveting romantic suspense novels.

Alexa earned two degrees from Indiana State University and currently lives in Florida. She's a member of Romance Writers of America (national) as well as the Florida Chapter.

Alexa Grace is listed in the top ten of Amazon's Top 100 Most Popular Authors in the categories Romantic Suspense and Police Procedural. In 2012, she was named one of the top 100 Indie authors by Kindle Review. A chapter is devoted to Alexa in the book Interviews with Indie Authors by C. Ridgway and T. Ridgway.

Her books Deadly Offerings, Deadly Deception, and Deadly Relations have consistently been listed in the top ten of Amazon's Top 100 Bestselling Romantic Suspense and Police Procedural Books. All three books are available in Alexa Grace's Deadly Trilogy boxed set.

Her writing support team includes five Miniature Schnauzers, three of which are rescues. As a writer, she is fueled by Starbucks lattes, chocolate, and emails from readers.

Profile of Evil, the first book of the Profile Trilogy, will be available in spring 2013 and will feature Carly Stone, who was introduced as the sister of Blake Stone in Deadly Relations.

Contact Information:.

You can visit her at - http://www.alexa-grace.net/.

Friend her on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/AuthorAlexaGrace.

Follow her on Twitter - @AlexaGrace2.

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