Open Season Read online

  LOOK FOR THESE HEART-POUNDING NOVELS OF ROMANTIC SUSPENSE FROM NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR

  LINDA HOWARD

  Handsome, rich, sexy, deadly....

  MR. PERFECT

  “Sexy fun.” —People

  ...and don’t miss

  ALL THE QUEEN’S MEN NOW YOU SEE HER KILL AND TELL SON OF THE MORNING HEART OF FIRE AFTER THE NIGHT

  PRAISE FOR THE SENSATIONAL NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLERS OF LINDA HOWARD

  OPEN SEASON

  “A perfect mystery for a late summer weekend. It’s part romance with a dollop of suspense.”

  —The Globe & Mail (Toronto)

  “This book is a masterpiece. Howard hooks us with a devastating opening prologue, then paints such visual pictures of her characters that they live.”

  —Rendezvous

  “The irrepressible Daisy Minor has a way of freshening everything.”

  —The Palm Beach Post

  “This lighthearted novel takes a dark turn when Daisy herself becomes prey.”

  —People

  “A modern-day version of the fairy tale about the ugly duckling that grows into a magnificent swan. . . .”

  —The Orlando Sentinel (FL)

  MR. PERFECT

  “A frolicsome mystery. . . . Jaine Bright lives up to her name: she’s as bright—and explosive—as a firecracker.”

  —People

  “Mr. Perfect really scores. . . . Part romance novel, part psychological thriller, [it] is both a frightening and funny look at the plight of the modern woman searching for an ideal mate.”

  —New York Post

  “There is nothing quite like a sexy and suspenseful story by the amazing Linda Howard! . . . Funny, exciting, gripping, and sensuous. . . . One of her all-time best!”

  —Romantic Times

  ALL THE QUEEN’S MEN

  “A high-suspense romance. . . . Howard’s trademark darkly sensual style and intense, layered plot will delight her fans.”

  —Booklist

  “Ms. Howard has made the character [of John Medina] irresistible.... A fascinating novel of suspense and sensual tension.”

  —Rendezvous

  “Heart-pounding sensuality and gripping tension made it impossible to put this page-turner down until the very end. . . . John Medina is quite a hero.”

  —Old Book Barn Gazette

  “[A] sexy thriller. . . . Another explosive hit.”

  —Romantic Times

  “Watching [hero John Medina] in action, à la James Bond, is exhilarating....”

  —Amazon.com

  NOW YOU SEE HER

  “Steamy romance morphs into murder mystery....”

  —People

  “An eerie, passionate, and thrilling tale. . . .”

  —Romantic Times

  “Sensual, page-turning.”

  —Amazon.com

  KILL AND TELL

  “Linda Howard meshes hot sex, emotional impact, and gripping tension in this perfect example of what romantic suspense ought to be.”

  —Publishers Weekly (starred review)

  “A riveting masterpiece of suspense. Linda Howard is a superbly original storyteller.”

  —Iris Johansen, New York Times bestselling author of And Then You Die

  SON OF THE MORNING

  “Linda Howard offers a romantic time-travel thriller with a fascinating premise . . . gripping passages and steamy sex.”

  —Publishers Weekly

  “A complex tale that’s rich with detail, powerful characters and stunning sensuality. . . . It’s no wonder that Linda Howard is the best of the best.”

  —CompuServe Romance Reviews

  Books by Linda Howard

  A Lady of the West

  Angel Creek

  The Touch of Fire

  Heart of Fire

  Dream Man

  After the Night

  Shadow of Twilight

  Son of the Morning

  Kill and Tell

  Now You See Her

  All the Queen’s Men

  Mr. Perfect

  Open Season

  Published by POCKET BOOKS

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  POCKET BOOKS, a division of Simon & Schuster, Inc.

  1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020

  www.SimonandSchuster.com

  Copyright © 2001 by Linda Howington

  Originally published in hardcover in 2001 by Pocket Books

  All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever. For information address Pocket Books, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020

  ISBN 13: 978-0-671-02758-2

  eISBN 13: 978-1-4391-4079-6

  ISBN 10: 0-671-02758-1

  First Pocket Books paperback printing June 2002

  20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12

  POCKET and colophon are registered trademarks of Simon & Schuster, Inc.

  Cover art by Tom Hallman

  Printed in the U.S.A.

  I’m blessed with many, many friends, without whom I couldn’t operate. They aren’t in any particular order, but they are:

  Kate Collins, an editor who never let me see her sweat, even though everyone else around her was in panic mode; Robin Rue, agent and friend and number one cheerleader; Gayle Cochran, who is always there when I need her; Beverly Beaver, whose love shelters all of us; Linda Jones, with her steadiness and quirky sense of humor and good advice; Sabrah Agee, with her laughter and endless sources of legal information; Liz Cline, who literally makes it possible for me to function; Marilyn Elrod, whose friendship is always there, like a rock; my sister Joyce, who has been side-by-side with me since childhood. . . . Like I said, I’m blessed. Catherine Coulter, Iris Johansen, and Kay Hooper are irreplaceable in my life. And let’s not forget the Clud Club—they know who they are.

  By the way, there was a real Buffalo Club, though the only resemblance it bore to the one in the book was the name and the fact that it served alcohol. The real Buffalo Club burned to the ground many years ago, but it was the stuff of legends.

  OPEN SEASON

  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

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Epilogue

  PROLOGUE

  Carmela nervously clutched the burlap bag that held her other dress, some water, and the small package of food she had been able to save for the trip north, across the border. Orlando had told her that they wouldn’t be able to stop, for food or water or anything, until they reached Los Angeles. She was locked in the back of an old truck that bounced and swayed, throwing her from side to side if she didn’t manage to wedge herself into a corner and brace her back and legs in the small V, making sleep impossible because the moment she relaxed, she was sent tumbling across the rough wood bed of