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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
RAZOR’S EDGE
An InterMix Book / published by arrangement with the author
PUBLISHING HISTORY
“Razor’s Edge” was previously published in the anthology
The Promise of Love
.
InterMix eBook edition / September 2013
Copyright © 2011 by Sylvia Day.
Excerpt from
Taking the Heat
copyright © 2011 by Sylvia Day.
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Cover design by Sarah Oberrender.
“Rocky morning seascape on the California Coast” © Edwin Beckenbach/Getty Images.
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eBook ISBN: 978-0-698-15407-0
INTERMIX
InterMix Books are published by The Berkley Publishing Group
and New American Library, divisions of Penguin Group (USA) LLC,
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This is for the men and women of the U.S. Marshals Service.
Thank you.
And for the children at the One Way Farm . . . “May the road rise to meet you. May the wind be always at your back. May God be with you and bless you. May you know nothing but happiness from this day forward.” (Irish blessing)
acknowledgments
My gratitude goes to Cynthia D’Alba, whose early input in this story really helped me pull it together. I send hugs to Shayla Black, whose friendship has brought me much joy and support on my writer’s journey, and to Lori Foster, whose Brava Novella contest led to the sale of my first book. What a thrill it is to share a book with you, Lori! (As well as Erin, Kathy, and Kate with whom I’ve also shared drinks, hotel rooms, and too many laughs to count.)
one
When Jack Killigrew’s phone rang, it usually meant someone’s life was on the line. Since he was on leave from the U.S. Marshals Service office in Albuquerque, the only calls he would be receiving were in his capacity as a Special Operations Group deputy. As such, he was a last resort and on call twenty-four hours a day. His twelve-man response team was activated only
after
the shit had already hit the fan.
There were a lot of emotions that filtered through Jack when he was called in, but relief wasn’t usually one them. Right now, however, he’d give just about anything for an excuse to head in the opposite direction.
His fellow deputies would laugh if they knew how edgy he was getting with every mile that passed. As a SOG deputy marshal—a Shadow Stalker—he squared off with hardened criminals and suicidal terrorists as a matter of course. He hunted and apprehended the country’s most-wanted fugitives. He did his job with mechanical precision, never breaking a sweat. The guys called him “Iron Jack,” the man who’d do anything. He faced death as
Eden Maguire
Colin Gee
Alexie Aaron
Heather Graham
Ann Marston
Ashley Hunter
Stephanie Hudson
Kathryn Shay
Lani Diane Rich
John Sandford