Dani Harper
On vacation in Brazil
When her friend goes missing, she crosses paths with Will Yarnel, Private I, and does some undercover work with him to find a missing college student from the States—Tiffany Morrow.
Will enters her life at a time when her fiancé is behaving badly.
Sneak peek
Dani woke with a groan. She hadn’t drunk so much since college, and she obviously couldn’t handle it anymore. She slowly got out of bed in an over-sized nightshirt and made her way to the bathroom, tripping over her discarded dress and high-heeled pumps on the way. What was I thinking, anyway?
She’d been freaked out, that’s what. The nightmare she’d had during her short afternoon nap of Perigosa pinning her down and tearing at her clothes had sent her fleeing the feelings of helplessness and desperation her little undercover job had brought out. The expensive dress, the glam make-up, ordering the champagne had all been a way to escape the terror—to return to the safe place that Keith had made for her where women weren’t bought and sold like cattle.
The cold tile bathroom floor shocked more than her physical senses. It sent that lie right out of her. Trafficking happened everywhere, and living a high society kind of life didn’t make you safe; it just made you blind.
Once in front of the mirror, she groaned again and quickly opened a pack of makeup remover wipes. She went to work on the mascara she had neglected to remove the night before as she made her way across the room to start the shower.
She started it running, then deciding she needed something for her pounding head, turned it off again and went back out to her purse to find some ibuprofen. One eye scrubbed, she set the blackened wet wipe on the bureau to use both hands in the search. There was a light tap on the door, and a soft Aussie-accented, “Dani, are you awake?”
Dani blinked and looked around the room for a robe but didn’t see one. “Umm, just a minute.” Despite her aching head, she scurried to the bathroom, but no robe could be found there either. I guess a robe isn’t a perk of this place. She looked down at her big nightshirt and decided she didn’t really care what Will thought of it.
She undid the lock and opened the door to find him standing with a glass full of orange, fizzy liquid, looking concerned. “I thought you might need a Berocca this morning.”
She hesitantly reached out a hand. “A what?” She took it and stepped back, allowing him to come in.
“Berocca.” He closed the door behind him. “It’s a Down Under cure for what you’re feeling this morning.”
“Oh?” She squinted her eyes. “And how do you know what I’m feeling this morning?”
He lowered his voice and leaned toward her. “I know what you’re feeling this morning because I was with you last night.”
The way he said it started her brain cells firing, although the engine was still slow to start. Did we… She didn’t remember anything more than talking. But then again, she didn’t remember getting into bed.
He chuckled, easing her panic. “Nobody your size can put away that much booze without a hangover the next day.”
She stared at the glass he had handed to her, fighting for memories.
“Go on, drink it down, possum. It really will help.”
She took a tentative sip. “Mm, wow, that’s strong.”
He shook his head. “You can’t just sip it, love.” He smirked. “Drink it down like you chugged that fourth glass of champagne.”
Her eyes went wide, and his narrowed. “You don’t remember much about last night, do you?”
Her stomach picked that moment to turn over completely, and she quickly ran into the bathroom. Abandoning the Burnt Wookie, or whatever he called it, by the sink, she sank to the floor over the toilet. She tried to swallow the sick feeling down, sensing Will behind her, but it wouldn’t be tamed, and in another few seconds she was puking up her stomach’s contents along with her dignity.
