Troublemaker (40 page)

He sat motionless, his gaze locked on Kyle. After a minute Kyle felt himself being watched, even as insensitive as he was to everything other than himself. He turned and looked over his family group, then turned the other way to survey the rest of the courtroom audience.

He saw Morgan, and his eyes widened. He swallowed nervously. Morgan just stared, never blinking, every ounce of malice he felt burning in his eyes. This son of a bitch had tried to destroy the woman he loved, and no way was he letting him get away with it. He might not do anything about it today, but the reckoning would come, and soon. The time and circumstance would be of his choosing—and he'd get away with it.

Under the weight of his gaze, Kyle turned pale and jerkily faced forward again.

When the charges were read and the judge asked how he pled, in a tight, shaking voice Kyle Gooding said, “Guilty.”

His family erupted in a muted uproar because that wasn't what they'd expected. His lawyer looked at him as if he'd lost his mind. The judge began banging his gavel, shouting for silence. Morgan sat motionless, merely watching as the hubbub died down and the proceedings came to a close. As Kyle was led from the courtroom in handcuffs, he looked back over his shoulder at Morgan.

Morgan didn't move, didn't blink, didn't break eye contact.

When the door closed behind Kyle, he got up and quietly walked back to his pickup, which he'd retrieved from his condo the weekend after he and Bo were married, eight days ago and counting. They had also retrieved the
Shark
from the marina, and it was now at Bo's house.

As he exited the courthouse, he glanced up at the blue sky and thought it looked like a great day to get in some fishing.

            
Six of Linda Howard's classic tales of suspense and romance are now available digitally for the first time ever:

                                 
DIAMOND BAY

                                 
DUNCAN'S BRIDE

                                 
HEARTBREAKER

                                 
MACKENZIE'S MISSION

                                 
MACKENZIE'S MOUNTAIN

                                 
WHITE LIES

Available now from Avon Impulse.

SHADOW WOMAN

PREY

VEIL OF NIGHT

ICE

BURN

DEATH ANGEL

UP CLOSE AND DANGEROUS

COVER OF NIGHT

DROP DEAD GORGEOUS

KILLING TIME

TO DIE FOR

KISS ME WHILE I SLEEP

CRY NO MORE

DYING TO PLEASE

OPEN SEASON

A GAME OF CHANCE

MR. PERFECT

ALL THE QUEEN'S MEN

KILL AND TELL

NOW YOU SEE HER

SON OF THE MORNING

SHADES OF TWILIGHT

MACKENZIE'S MAGIC

MACKENZIE'S PLEASURE

AFTER THE NIGHT

DREAM MAN

LOVING EVANGELINE

HEART OF FIRE

A TOUCH OF FIRE

MACKENZIE'S MISSION

ANGEL CREEK

THE WAY HOME

A LADY OF THE WEST

DUNCAN'S BRIDE

MACKENZIE'S MOUNTAIN

WHITE LIES

BLUEBIRD WINTER

HEARTBREAKER

DIAMOND BAY

MIDNIGHT RAINBOW

ALMOST FOREVER

SARAH'S CHILD

CUTTING EDGE

TEARS OF THE RENEGADE

COME LIE WITH ME

AGAINST THE RULES

AN INDEPENDENT WOMAN

ALL THAT GLITTERS

BLOOD BORN

RUNNING WILD

This book is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents, and dialogue are drawn from the author's imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

TROUBLEMAKER
. Copyright © 2016 by Linda Howington. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.

FIRST EDITION

ISBN 978-0-06-241897-5 (hardcover)

ISBN 978-0-06-249191-6 (international edition)

EPub Edition MAY 2016 ISBN 9780062419002

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