Undercover Fiancee Read online

  Praise

  Title Page

  CHAPTER ONE

  CHAPTER TWO

  CHAPTER THREE

  CHAPTER FOUR

  CHAPTER FIVE

  CHAPTER SIX

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  CHAPTER NINE

  CHAPTER TEN

  Copyright

  Welcome to the first of Rebecca Winters’s brand-new trilogy LOVE UNDERCOVER.

  Meet Annabelle, Gerard and Diana. Annabelle and Gerard are private investigators, Diana their hardworking assistant. Each of them is about to face a rather different assignment—falling in love!

  Their mission was marriage!

  Books in this series are:

  MARCH #3545 UNDERCOVER FIANCÉE

  APRIL #3549 UNDERCOVER BACHELOR

  Gerard Roch had given up on love since he had lost his first wife. He never expected to find himself attracted to an eighteen-year-old temptress. But was Whitney Lawrence really what she seemed...?

  MAY #3553 UNDERCOVER BABY

  Diana Rawlins had turned up at the hospital with amnesia and a baby in her arms! She didn’t remember how either of them happened. Her husband, Cal, was determined to get to the bottom of the mystery—especially as that seemed to be the only way he could save his marriage!

  Rebecca Winters, a mother of four, is a graduate of the University of Utah. She has won the National Readers’ Choice Award, the Romantic Times Reviewer’s Choice Award and been named Utah Writer of the Year.

  What others have said about Rebecca Winters:

  Of Undercover Husband*

  “Once again Rebecca Winters delivers a topnotch reading experience as she expertly adds a little suspense to a wonderful romance...”

  —Romantic Times

  [*Linked to LOVE UNDERCOVER trilogy]

  Of Second-Best Wife

  “A rare gem with a stand-out premise, memorable characters, and an emotionally gripping story of forbidden love.”

  —Romantic Times

  Of Three Little Miracles

  “Featuring splendid characters and heart-tugging scenes, Ms. Winters spins a delightful tale in which love conquers all.”

  —Romantic Times

  “The first lady of Utah romance novels.”

  —Affaire de Coeur

  “Winters weaves a magic spell that is unforgettable.”

  —Affaire de Coeur

  Undercover Fiancée

  Rebecca Winters

  TORONTO • NEW YORK • LONDON

  AMSTERDAM • PARIS • SYDNEY • HAMBURG

  STOCKHOLM • ATHENS • TOKYO • MILAN • MADRID •

  PRAGUE • WARSAW • BUDAPEST • AUCKLAND

  CHAPTER ONE

  “ANNABELLE? Don’t leave yet. Roman wants to see you.”

  Annabelle Forrester had been headed for the back door of the LFK Associates International, Roman Lufka’s detective agency when she heard Diana call her back.

  “Do you know what it’s about? I need to get down to the police station.” Today was a black day. The busier she stayed, the better.

  Diana Rawlins, the receptionist who was one of Annabelle’s good friends, was finishing up a telephone call. She shook her head, then covered the mouthpiece and whispered, “All I know is that it sounded important.”

  Annabelle loved her boss, Roman Lufka. If it were anyone but him asking her to stick around, she would have said she was sorry and left anyway because she didn’t want to inflict her pain on other people. But she admired him too much and owed him too much to ignore his request.

  Needing something physical to do, she went in the kitchen and brought Diana a fresh cup of coffee. Not only was Roman’s receptionist the nicest person Annabelle had ever met, she was a real beauty with golden blond hair to die for.

  As a little girl, Annabelle had always wanted to look like the princesses in the fairy tales her dad read to her.

  He had chuckled, patted her head and told her to be thankful for the lovely brown hair with which God had blessed her.

  Not satisfied with that answer, she’d asked him what kind of brown. He’d responded that the color reminded him of the smooth horse chestnuts that fell from the tree outside their house.

  At that comment she’d run out the door to examine one closely. They looked kind of reddish brown in the sunlight. There was nothing she disliked more than red hair. From that point on she had worn it short.

  Now that she was older, she’d come to accept what she considered her crowning flaw, and had allowed a stylist to make the most of it. But she could be forgiven for wishing she’d been endowed like her friend.

  “Finally,” Diana sighed after hanging up the receiver. “Any news yet on Mr. Vanderhoof’s missing Honda?”

  “Yes. I found it yesterday morning, but the paperwork hasn’t caught up with it yet. Last night the police got a positive ID on the gang member who had stolen it for a drive-by shooting.”

  “You’re kidding! That was fast work. Roman’s going to be impressed.”

  “I hope so. Sometimes things fall into place like that.”

  “Where did you find the car?”

  “At D and G Body and Paint.”

  “How did you know to go there?”

  “I didn’t. I just started with A and A Paint, and worked my way down the list. The boy who stole it knew it was hot. I figured he would go in for a paint job. I was right. He had it done in fire engine red.”

  “But how did you know it was the right car?”

  “For one thing, red is that gang’s favorite color. For another, Mr. Vanderhoof lost the cap to his oil a long time ago. All I had to do was look under the hoods until I found one covered in tinfoil and held in place with an elastic band.”

  Diana shook her head. “You’re amazing. Have you told Mr. Vanderhoof his car has been found?”

  “Yes. He’s pretty happy it got stolen. He always did want to buy a red car but never had the courage. When the police told him he could pick it up this morning, I hear he called in for a substitute teacher. No doubt he’s out cruising around in it right now. Before the day is over, the police will probably have to bring him in on a speeding charge.”

  Diana laughed. “By the way, I have a message from Gerard.”

  “Really.”

  There was only one man who had ever broken Annabelle’s heart and he lived in Phoenix, Arizona, which might as well be on another planet. Since that awful night a year ago when everything had fallen apart, Annabelle hadn’t been able to get emotionally involved with another man. But she had to admit Roman’s top PI, Eric-Gerard, whom she always called Gerard rather than Eric, had come closest to breaking down a few barriers.

  “He says he wants to start over again and wonders if you would have dinner with him tonight.”

  “I have other plans this evening.”

  “That’s what he was afraid you would say. I’m supposed to give him your answer when he calls in later because Roman assigned him to work with Chief Gregory on that Utah Steel bombing case this morning and he had to leave here over an hour ago.”

  “Gerard’s not serious about us, Diana. You and I both know he’s never gotten over his wife’s death.”

  “The same way you’ve never stopped thinking about your ex-fiancé?”

  Diana was too perceptive for her own good.

  “Annie? I’m sorry if I said something wrong.”

  The constricting band around her chest tightened. “You didn’t. I’m just being extra sensitive because it was a year ago today I broke off my engagement to him.”

  Diana’s eyes filled with compassion. She reached out and patted her arm. “I didn’t realize.”

  “It’s okay. It should be okay. I should have gotten over him a lo
ng time ago.”

  “You mean the way Gerard should have gotten over Simone.”

  Annabelle nodded.

  “Apparently you both fell in love with people who were unforgettable.”

  “I wish to heaven I’d never met him.”

  “Annie? If you’re this broken up after twelve months’ separation, maybe you ought to contact him and find out if he feels the same way.”

  Annabelle’s head flew back. “I know for a fact he’s involved with someone else. But even if he weren’t, I would never try to call or see him again. When we said goodbye, it was final.”

  Diana’s brows lifted. “It doesn’t sound final to me.”

  “I don’t want to talk about it.” She didn’t want to think about what it felt like to be entwined in his arms, but certain memories continued to flash through her mind without her permission. Memories that sent a wave of suffocating heat through her body.

  “Annie?”

  Annabelle’s face felt hot.

  “Roman just buzzed me. You can go in. Since you found the Honda, maybe he’s already heard about it and is assigning you a new case.”

  “Maybe.” But I’m working on one for Trina Martin right now. “Thanks, Diana.”

  She headed for Roman’s inner sanctum. As she approached the doorway, she could hear another male voice talking. Her boss wasn’t alone.

  “Roman?” She tapped on the door which was ajar. Through the opening she glimpsed the back of a tall, dark-haired man in a conservative blue suit who looked like the number one lineman for the Green Bay Packers.

  Her eyelids fluttered closed because there was only one man in the universe who looked like that, who had broad shoulders and powerful thighs like that.

  But it couldn’t be. He didn’t know where she worked, and he had no reason to be in Salt Lake.

  “Come on in.”

  She opened her eyes again, but she couldn’t do Roman’s bidding because the other man had turned around, freezing her in place with his brilliant blue gaze which was as familiar to her as her own face.

  “Hello, Annabelle,” came the deep, vibrant voice she’d loved so well. “It’s been a long time.”

  Dear God. It was Rand.

  Her eyes darted back to Roman in absolute panic. He knew she’d once been engaged to Rand Dunbarton and how shattered she’d felt after the breakup. So how could her boss, how could Diana, be so cruel as to spring him on her like this without warning? She’d never known either of them to hurt anyone.

  The shock was so great, Annabelle felt her body go from burning heat to icy cold. There was a strange buzzing in her ears. She wondered if she was going to faint even though she’d never passed out before in her entire life.

  Rand must have seen the blood drain from her face because she heard an unintelligible epithet escape his lips before he was at her side, helping her into the nearest chair. His large hand slid to the back of her neck with the ease of long accustomed habit.

  “Put your head down for a moment and keep it there till the dizziness passes.”

  The voice of command. Rand had no idea how he came across to other people. He took charge without even thinking about it. For once she followed his suggestion because she was too weak and lethargic to do anything else.

  With his fingers brushing intimately against her skin, his body so close she could feel his warmth, there was an air of unreality about the whole situation.

  It didn’t seem possible that Rand was really here, or that he was touching her in an old familiar way, as if he had every right and was truly concerned.

  The last time they’d been together, they’d said unforgivable things to each other and she’d given him back her engagement ring.

  Rand had been so forbidding in his anger, she hadn’t known he could get like that. It had been a devastating experience, one she’d never been able to erase from her mind. Since then there’d been no contact Nothing.

  Roman handed her a glass of water and told her to drink. “If you’re still feeling light-headed, you need to lie down. We can put this meeting off until another time.”

  What meeting?

  She drank thirstily and handed him back the glass. Rand’s palm was still molded to her neck.

  “I’m all right.” She sat straight up so he would break the contact. “I—I went off without breakfast this morning and should have known better.”

  For an infinitesimal moment her eyes met Rand’s. His said he knew why she’d almost fainted, but if it made her feel better to pretend otherwise in front of Roman, so be it.

  Nothing got past him. He made a formidable adversary. That’s why he was the owner of Dunbarton Electronics, one of the top computer companies in the nation. Even more impressive, he’d been the cover man on the March issue of Today’s Fortune, the computer industry’s vaunted magazine.

  It had taken Annabelle a week before she’d broken down enough to read the accompanying article. To her consternation she’d devoured every word, every photograph, hungry for any news of him after such a long time. The bio on him made mention of a special woman in his life who was destined to be his wife in the near future, but it didn’t give a name. The news couldn’t have wounded her more if she’d been stabbed in the heart.

  “Annabelle?” Roman interjected. “Since no introduction is necessary, I’ll get straight to the point. Rand has come to us for help with a problem that is right up your alley.”

  She sucked in her breath. “I moved back to Salt Lake from Phoenix a year ago...I can’t imagine what any of this has to do with me.”

  Annabelle had never been rude to her boss. He was the greatest guy on earth, but he couldn’t possibly know what this unexpected meeting with Rand was costing her.

  She didn’t honestly think Roman had engineered it. Which meant it was Rand’s doing. Why?

  When they’d parted company a year ago, enough pain had been inflicted to last a lifetime. She’d had to pick up the pieces and start over again. When she returned home to Salt Lake and Roman took her on as one of his PI’s, a certain amount of healing had begun to take place. She’d been making progress.

  How dare Rand trespass on her territory after all this time and destroy the world she’d been creating for herself without him!

  “The Salt Lake customer service department of my company is in serious trouble.”

  She folded her arms in the hope of looking more confident than she felt. “I’m sorry to hear it, but I still don’t know what your problems have to do with me.”

  Rand’s jaw hardened perceptibly. For a fleeting moment she derived pleasure because he wasn’t as in control as she’d first assumed.

  “It appears a hacker has broken in on the lines and is wreaking havoc with the clientele by giving them false information and causing their hard drives to crash.”

  A hacker?

  Just last week Trina Martin had called the agency because her eighteen-year-old boyfriend, Bryan Ludlow, a computer genius who didn’t get along with his family, had disappeared from his home and had been missing a week. The police assumed it was a kidnapping case and they were looking for him.

  Trina believed he’d vanished on purpose. She wanted Annabelle to find him before he did something bad to embarrass his father, millionaire Daniel Ludlow, a prominent businessman who was going to run in Utah’s next race for the governor of the state. Bryan’s disappearance had made national headlines and now the FBI was involved.

  When Annabelle asked what Trina meant about him embarrassing his father, the younger girl said that Bryan bragged a lot about being a hacker. Apparently he’d obtained the password to a major computer company in the Salt Lake area and had already done some things that would make his dad mad with rage if he were ever found out. He sounded too happy about it. That’s what worried Trina.

  Since Trina’s call, Annabelle had run an investigation and she’d turned up some interesting evidence. After listening to Rand, she wondered if there might just be a connection between the two cases.

>   “The patrons are justifiably angry at what’s been going on.” Rand’s explanation mingled with her own hectic thoughts. “Several dozen people have returned equipment, demanding their money back.

  “I’ve put some of my best people to work on the problem, but so far we don’t have any leads. It could be the work of an amateur. But there’s the possibility it might be a group of professional saboteurs out to ruin my company and they’ve picked Salt Lake as their first target.

  “I don’t know if my enemy is an employee or not. I intend to find out because as of now, I’m going to be personally involved in solving this case. What I need is an expert to work as a partner with me. It has to be someone no employee of mine knows anything about.”

  Annabelle could see where this conversation was headed, and another pain splintered what was left of her heart. If ever she needed proof that the love he’d once felt for her was dead in the water, his appearance in Roman’s office said it all.

  They’d broken up because he couldn’t handle her career in law enforcement. Being a PI was tantamount to the same thing. Yet here he was at the Lufka agency for the express purpose of availing himself of the very services he’d once asked her to give up for the sake of her safety and their love!

  Obviously it hadn’t been love that he’d felt for her, otherwise he couldn’t do anything this callous and cold-blooded. Crushed by the revelation, Annabelle rubbed her palms against the charcoal fabric of the slim-fit pants covering her hips.

  Dear God, what a fool she’d been. All this time she’d secretly nursed the hope that he still cared. Nothing could be further from the truth!

  He’d flown to Salt Lake to find out what was going on in his company. For expedience sake he’d sought her out because she was the nearest person available who knew how to deal with this kind of computer fraud.