Hero for Hire Read online

  A baby left on a doorstep, an heiress presumed dead…and murder? Check out this classic thrilling romance by New York Times bestselling author Jill Shalvis!

  Brazilian heiress Terry Monteverde was supposedly killed in a tragic accident. But how could a dead woman give birth to a baby? Bounty hunter Rick Singleton goes underground in Rio to find out. His only lead is Terry’s sister, Nina Monteverde. She’s sweet, shy—and not telling what she knows. Rick’s a dangerous man to cross, but Nina’s not afraid—Rick is. He’s defenseless against her innocent charm. And that scares the hell out of him.

  A contemporary romance.

  Previously published.

  “My God, it’s not you.”

  The man stared at her, his gaze measuring. “It’s close....” Once again he studied the picture, then carefully searched her face. “Really close. But no cigar. What do you know about this woman? What did you call her...Terry? Where can I find her?”

  Nina nearly let out a laugh, but it would have been half-hysterical, so she put her hand to her mouth and shook her head.

  “I need to talk to her.”

  “You...can’t,” she said, wishing for something to rescue her from this nightmare.

  “Why not?”

  “She died last September.”

  His frown deepened. “Try again, lady.”

  Nina shook off the fear and found her temper. “I don’t know who you are, but there is a guard right inside, and—”

  “Don’t call him. I just want some answers. I need to talk to her.”

  “No.” Terry was dead.

  And she needed to remain so.

  Everything depended on her remaining so.

  Jill Shalvis has been making up stories since she could hold a pencil. Now, thankfully, she gets to do it for a living, and doesn’t plan to ever stop. Jill is a bestselling, award-winning author of over two dozen novels who has hit the Waldenbooks bestsellers lists, is a 2000 RITA® Award nominee and a two-time National Readers’ Choice Award winner. Jill’s first single title, The Street Where She Lives, appeared last October and she is hard at work on a new one.

  Hero for Hire

  Jill Shalvis

  Dear Reader,

  I’ve written over two dozen novels, and this one, Hero for Hire, was my favorite. Okay, so I say that about every book I finish.

  Nina Monteverde has a few secrets, one of which is that she’s never trusted a soul to see the real Nina. Rick Singleton hates secrets. He’s a dangerous, edgy, brooding bounty hunter still paying for the one fatal mistake that changed his life. When they are forced by circumstances to work together, sparks fly.

  So does a very unwelcome heat between them, a heat that deepens quickly both in sultry Rio de Janeiro and the untamed Amazon jungle, becoming the most terrifying thing of all: love.

  I love to hear from redaers. You can write me at P.O. Box 3945, Truckee, CA 96160-3945. For a complete list of my books, please visit www.eHarlequin.com or www.jillshalvis.com.

  Thanks, and happy reading!

  Jill Shalvis

  CONTENTS

  Prologue

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  PROLOGUE

  FRUSTRATION BOILED UP inside, crawling, screaming to be let out.

  What to do?

  It should be so simple. There were only three things worth having in life—wealth, power and physical beauty.

  Yet none had been obtained, which fried the blood. Others had gotten what they wanted. Others like Terry Monteverde.... Now there was a woman who’d had it all and hadn’t even noticed. She’d lived her wild, wanton life without a single care.

  Shameless.

  She’d been punished for that, and that punishment had been quite satisfactory.

  Only that satisfaction hadn’t lasted long, not when the family reputation and success lived on through Terry’s younger sister.

  Nina Monteverde. Sweet and lovely. Beloved by all.

  Just thinking about it had the bitterness and fury burning inside all over again. The Monteverdes had everything, everything worth coveting.

  Yet they were untouchable.

  If only Terry was still alive to pay for her sins once again.

  Since she wasn’t, Nina would have to do.

  CHAPTER ONE

  MAN, THE HEAT was brutal. But then again, the weather in Rio de Janeiro was known for being brutal, even in the winter month of July.

  Winter being relative of course, especially in the tropics.

  Though the air came off the ocean and should have been cool, it wasn’t; but after four years in Brazil, Rick Singleton considered himself a Carioca—a native—and hardly felt a thing.

  In truth, he hardly felt anything anymore, and that was how he liked it. He’d definitely come to fit into the South American way of life, where everything was casual, come-what-may, and absolutely pleasure-based.

  Not many would consider their job pleasure-based, but Rick did. As a bounty hunter, he lived for the thrill of the chase—not to mention the money he got paid for finding his man.

  Or in this case, woman.

  Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out the hazy Polaroid of a couple taken two Carnivals back. The woman with her feathery mask had eyes only for the man holding her close. They looked excited, anticipatory, and given the man’s hot gaze, they were headed for a night of passion.

  Rick didn’t know the woman’s name. All he knew was that Mitch Barnes, the man in the picture, had hired him through Finders Keepers, a private investigation agency in Texas, to find her. They’d spent one night together, she and Mitch, and the man was desperate, evidenced both by the ridiculous amount of money he’d offered Rick, and the tone of his voice when he talked about his mystery woman.

  He obviously cared a great deal about her.

  Given the hordes of tourists that came to Brazil every year to partake in Carnival’s decadent celebration, Rick doubted the woman even lived in Rio, but for the money he’d do his best to find her. He had no clues other than the elaborate necklace she wore.

  Mitch, an injured and recovering FBI agent now living in San Antonio, hadn’t known anything about the hand-wrought gold-and-emerald necklace, except that the woman looked gorgeous in it. Apparently their one night together had produced more than just a wild heat and passion. It had also produced a baby, a fact Mitch hadn’t been aware of until he’d discovered the baby girl left on his neighbor’s doorstep was his.

  Now more than ever Mitch wanted to find the woman.

  That was Rick’s job. Not much to go on, but he’d worked on less. He hadn’t screwed up a case since his ultimate failure four years prior.

  Four years.

  It was hard to believe it had been so long, and if there’d been any emotion left in him, any at all, he’d ache at the memory.

  But his heart was as good as dead. Nothing got to him, not anymore.

  He’d find the missing woman, no matter what he had to do, then get paid and move on. No sweat.

  No looking back.

  To that end, he stood in the middle of a particularly seedy favela, one of Rio’s many shanty towns, where one fifth of the population crammed together, struggling daily just to scrape by. The run-down cities within a city sat precariously perched on the steep hillside on either side of Rio, seemingly poised to slide down the sharp cliffs. Contrary to Rio itself, which arguably had the most gorgeous vistas in all the world, t