Rarities Unlimited 03 - Die in Plain Sight

channeling the Queen of Atlantis.”
    “I’ve been meaning to talk to you about that, darling. Did their snakes really have racing stripes?”
    “Some of them,” she said. “Some of them had checks.”
    “Checks? Bet that tickles.”
    “Bet you’ll find out.”

Also by Elizabeth Lowell
    Amber Beach
    Diamond Tiger
    Jade Island
    Midnight in Ruby Bayou
    Moving Target
    Pearl Cove
    The Ruby
    Running Scared
    Secret Sisters
    Autumn Lover
    Beautiful Dreamer
    Desert Rain
    Eden Burning
    Enchanted
    Forbidden
    Forget Me Not
    Lover in the Rough
    Only His
    Only Love
    Only Mine
    Only You
    Remember Summer
    This Time Love
    To the Ends of the Earth
    Untamed
    Where the Heart Is
    Winter Fire
    A Woman Without Lies

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
    DIE IN PLAIN SIGHT. Copyright © 2003 by Two of a Kind, Inc. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, 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 hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
    ePub edition July 2003 eISBN 9780061743276
    FIRST EDITION
    10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1



When the Storm Breaks
    Read the exciting new romantic suspense thriller from HarperTorch paperbacks and HarperCollins e-books.
     
    A rainy night in Washington, D.C.
     
    Claire Lambert walks into a nightmare, witnessing a killer in the midst of committing his latest bloody crime.
     
    She runs for her life, and suffers a head injury, losing her memory.
     
    Gone, too, are her purse and her ID—but they’ve been found:
     
    He flipped open the wallet, quickly reading through the information on her driver’s license. Marie Claire Lambert…Georgetown address. And keys to let him in. The man’s mouth twisted upward in a cruel smile.
     
    “You’re dead, Marie Claire.”

Oh God! Oh God! Where should I go?
    Claire knew the pepper spray would buy her five seconds, ten at most, since she’d missed hitting his eyes directly. She kicked off her low business pumps and hit her full running speed within a few strides. When she risked one more glance back, she saw the killer running after her.
    Her bare feet slapped on the slick pavement as fast as she could make them move. She could feel the force of the man’s will reaching out to her. It was almost a physical touch. She was terrified that she would feel his hand grab her shoulder or hair at any second.
    Then she heard the sawing breath of the man behind her. And she knew if he caught her, she would die….

    “Heather Lowell is going to set the gold standard for modern romantic suspense. Her writing is fresh, hot, romantic, and scary. I can’t wait for her next book.”
    Jayne Ann Krentz

To my parents,
    for knowing when to catch me,
    and when to let me fly.
    And always believing
    that the latter was possible.

Chapter 1
    Washington, D.C.
    July
    Friday evening
    “Southern Belle, thirty, seeks prince to carry her off to his castle and take care of her forever.”

“W hat do you think, dear?” Peggy Gallagher looked over the table at her new client.
    Claire Lambert shifted in her chair, struggling for a response that wouldn’t offend Peggy. She turned to her friend Afton for assistance, since she had been the one to talk her into joining a dating service in the first place.
    “Doesn’t that caption sound like something to grab a man’s attention, Marie Claire?” Peggy pressed.
    Deciding Afton wasn’t going to help, Claire thought about her options. She might have been tired after a long day—a long week, really—but not tired enough to let that gem get by her untouched. Joining the Gallaghers’ dating service was humiliating enough, but having a blurb like the one Peggy had suggested appear next to her picture would be pathetic.
    Besides, she hated being called Marie Claire.
    Claire worked hard to look serious. “I was thinking more along the lines of ‘ Businesswoman,