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Lisa Jackson's Bentz And Montoya Bundle Novel Chapters
List of most recent chapters published for the Lisa Jackson's Bentz And Montoya Bundle novel. A total of 274 chapters have been translated and the release date of the last chapter is Apr 02, 2024
Latest Release: Chapter 1 : Lisa Jackson's Bentz & Montoya Bundle.by Lisa Jackson.To John Scognamiglio, who was
Lisa Jackson's Bentz & Montoya Bundle.by Lisa Jackson.To John Scognamiglio, who was not only the editor of this book, but a major player in the creative process, just as he was with all my books for Kensington, especially during the writing of If She
- 201 They're coming for you.They know.A drip of fear slid down his spine as he climbed to his feet to investigate. "h.e.l.lo?" he said, disgusted with himself. He was a strong man. He'd never known real fear in his life.Footsteps clicked de
- 202 Do it, Kristi, just effing do it!She bit down hard. Drew her head back fast. This time her tooth sc.r.a.ped through the plastic, caught and she was able to make a little tear. She grabbed both of the tiny ends with her fingers, which promptly slipped off
- 203 "This priest. It's personal." priest. It's personal."Which didn't bode well for Kristi Bentz and Ariel O'Toole.Mai stepped over the body, walked to the priest's desk and started going through his files, all the whil
- 204 "Tell me. Everything," she insisted, and felt his hands touch her fingers.He did. He explained that Althea Monroe, who had died of her wounds at the scene, had been in league with Dr. Preston, killing girls for their blood in an effort to keep A
- 205 Jennifer!His eyes flew open.His breath fogged in the coldness. He blinked his eyes several times, wondering at the phenomenon. He couldn't move his head, but out of the corner of his eye, he saw the doorway to the room and beside it a chair. In the c
- 206 "I hate you." Her temper was rising."I know. I just wasn't sure you could admit it. Leave, Jennifer. It's over.""Maybe if you didn't get off bustin' perps and playing the super-hero, ace detective, maybe if you
- 207 Scared out of her wits, she tromped on the accelerator. Who the h.e.l.l was he?Why was he following her?She saw the corner and cut it, hoping to lose him, but her judgment was off and one of the van's tires caught on the shoulder, hitting gravel. She
- 208 CHAPTER 21.CHAPTER 22.CHAPTER 23.CHAPTER 24.CHAPTER 25. CHAPTER 26.CHAPTER 27.CHAPTER 28.CHAPTER 29.CHAPTER 30.CHAPTER 31.CHAPTER 32.CHAPTER 33.CHAPTER 34.CHAPTER 35.CHAPTER 36.CHAPTER 37.CHAPTER 38.CHAPTER 39.Acknowledgments.There are many people I would
- 209 And yet...She shuddered as she imagined his rage. She played her trump card. "Kristi will wonder why you're not home. She's already asking questions.""And what do you tell her? The truth?" That her mother can't keep her
- 210 Her heart froze.A dark figure stood behind the panes, a shadow with a cruel, twisted smile."s.h.i.+t!"The light s.h.i.+fted on the blinds and the image was gone-maybe just a figment of her imagination.Or was it? She didn't wait to find out,
- 211 He swallowed.Hard.A ghost?Or real flesh and blood?The woman, a dead ringer for his first wife, stood deep in the woods, staring at him with wide, knowing eyes and that s.e.xy little smile...G.o.d, that smile had turned him inside out. His heart went still
- 212 "It's Monday.""That's why we're celebrating."He snorted but smiled as he climbed off the machine and swabbed his face with the towel. "Life must be pretty boring if Monday is cause for a celebration.""I th
- 213 No one was watching him from inside the house.Or standing behind a magnolia tree outside peering at him.He let out his breath slowly.Ignored the sense of panic that gripped him.For the love of G.o.d, Bentz, pull yourself together! Was he going completely
- 214 "h.e.l.l, I don't understand.""Exactly."Pus.h.i.+ng his empty cup aside and resting his elbow on the table, Montoya asked, "So what do you want me to do?""Keep it quiet. For now. But I might need some favors."&
- 215 "Yeah, right." Beneath the cover of a striped awning, Bentz shook the rain from the umbrella, then held the door for her. Inside, tiny lights were strung from the open rafters, appearing like stars over head, and the walls were paneled with warm
- 216 "And I thought you were a straight shooter," she said aloud to her own watery image. "Aren't you the one who never backs down? What the h.e.l.l happened to you?"She let her hands fall to her flat belly.A baby...a life that right n
- 217 "We have a few that have wonderful views of the pool," she said, quickly flipping into salesperson mode. "They've each got a sliding door to a private sitting area that opens up to the pool.""Are they the cheapest?"Her s
- 218 Fortuna Esperanzo had become a friend of Jennifer's when they'd both worked briefly at an art gallery in Venice.Then there was Lorraine Newell, Jennifer's stepsister, who hadn't liked Bentz from the get-go. A dark-haired prima donna wi
- 219 Last night he'd found a number for her and had tried it, only to get her lofty voice on the answering machine. "You've reached Leland and Shana. Leave a message. We'll get back to you...sometime."Nice, he'd thought and didn&#
- 220 His jaw was set. Rock hard. Eyes as steady as his voice. The cop. Cold. Distant. Had seen it all. "Anything else you remember?""Only that she was sorry," she said in a moment of bare, honest-to-the-bone truth. "For hurting you.&qu
- 221 But she didn't see either of her roommates flopped on the secondhand couch Kim had found. And they weren't nuking popcorn or boiling ramen in the kitchen.Odd.Hadn't she heard one of her roommates return?Dabbing at the sweat on her face, she
- 222 "This is so far-fetched," Hayes said, though his eyes strayed to the photographs again. "Man, oh, man. You and JFK? Okay, I'll bite. Start from the beginning."Bentz filled him in. From waking up in the hospital, to see and smell a
- 223 Her hands fell to her sides and she was vaguely aware that whoever was holding her was letting her fall onto the concrete stoop.As the merciful blackness rolled over her, Lucy's last thought was of Laney...dear sweet, trusting, stupid Laney.CHAPTER 1
- 224 Staged to look like they were still in the womb. Just like the Caldwell twins.Hayes's jaw tightened. "Any ID?""Yeah...their clothes and purses, even their jewelry and cell phones, all over there. Along with their birth certificates, ti
- 225 "It was a long shot," Bentz admitted, spotting his exit."I've got the lab a.n.a.lyzing the type of ink on the doc, but it probably won't be something that will help.""Doesn't hurt to try." Bentz eased up on the
- 226 Narrowing his eyes as he stared at the run-down buildings, Bentz had a hard time turning back the clock, thinking about the old mission as it once had been with manicured lawns and gardens, stained-gla.s.s windows, and flowing fountains.He stepped over a
- 227 No one.Dead or alive.His leg on fire, he hitched his way to the nearest exit and found himself in what had been the lobby of the old inn, the main entrance to the small mission.The air was stale and unused.Except for the slight scent of Jennifer's pe
- 228 It was exactly what Hayes would have thought if anything ever happened to his Maren."You'll catch the b.a.s.t.a.r.d who did this," Corrine rea.s.sured him."I hope so.""Have faith, if not in divine intervention, then in the sk
- 229 A whistle blasted, shrieking so loudly she thought her eardrums would shatter.No! Oh, G.o.d, no!"Rick! Help!" she cried as the end of the tunnel seemed to shrink, becoming smaller and farther away.Her heart drummed and her legs were heavy, so he
- 230 "Do they?" She moved out of the doorway and led him into a living room that was straight out of the late eighties, when her husband Earl, a car dealer, had been alive. Bentz remembered the plaid chairs cl.u.s.tered around a long forest green cou
- 231 CHAPTER 17.Hayes slapped the files shut and leaned back in his desk chair. It squeaked in protest, adding to the cacophony of sounds-computer keys clicking, phones ringing, conversations buzzing. And beneath it all was the ever-present rumble of the ancie
- 232 Yes?No?G.o.d, where was she?Confused, convinced he'd find her hanging from the railing, he grit his teeth and hurried to the rail to the very spot where she'd climbed over. Below the s.h.i.+fting water was dark as ink, no swimmer or body visible
- 233 "Thanks for the drink." Hayes left and Bentz took a long draw on his zero-alcohol beer.Leaving L.A. wasn't an option.At least, not yet.The shower feels good. Hot water streaming down my body as I think about what happened on the pier. I kne
- 234 He punched in the address, headed for the freeway, and barely moved. The 10 was jammed in the middle of the day, but he kept at it, inching past an accident, then picking up speed.As he headed east he checked his mirrors, on the lookout for a tail, watchi
- 235 Life went on.Except for Jennifer.Something was definitely off there.Rick clicked on the remote lock for his car as he crossed the street. He was bothered by what he'd learned, about things he hadn't known, things important to Jennifer. Her frien
- 236 "I'll bet."She caught his sober tone and let out a long sigh. "So. Tell me. What do you want to know and why?" As she loaded her book bag and purse into her Volkswagen Beetle, Bentz told her. While the sun lowered and a few stragg
- 237 He'll be the one who will have to deal with the torment, the pure, soul-sick torture of knowing that, because of him, the woman he loves will be subjected to excruciating, mind-shattering fear and deep, abysmal pain.But I can't get ahead of myse
- 238 Far in the distance she heard someone yell. "Rico!" her neighbor screamed at the dogs. "Daisy! Little Bit! You all hus.h.!.+"But the Chihuahuas were rabid and kept up their high-pitched barking and wails as the night closed in on Shana
- 239 Hayes hadn't been so quick to judge. "You don't think he had anything to do with the Springer twins' murders."Bledsoe had glowered at Shana McIntyre's monitor. "Didn't think so. But this one..." He'd scrat
- 240 Ramona Salazar.The name rang no bells for Bentz, none whatsoever.Using his d.a.m.ned cane and feeling his knee twinge, he walked the short distance from the sandwich shop to his motel in the new shoes he'd picked up at a store in Marina del Rey. Like
- 241 Caller ID showed that the phone was registered to L. Newell. Lorraine? Jennifer's stepsister?He answered before the d.a.m.ned thing rang twice. "Bentz.""Oh. Hi. It's Lorraine." She sounded tense. Breathless. What was this all
- 242 He stared down the dark street where the runner had disappeared just as flas.h.i.+ng lights strobed the night and a police cruiser screamed around the corner.Who had killed Lorraine?Jennifer?Bentz knew in his gut that Lorraine's murder had everything
- 243 "It's easy. Aim. Pull the trigger.""After I load it and flip off the safety.""You lied; you do know how.""But-""Humor me. Just until I get home, okay?" "And when will that be?""Soon,&qu
- 244 Frantic, she kept fighting, trying to roll away from her a.s.sailant's viselike grip. To no avail. The person, strong and lean, didn't budge, just kept applying pressure.The fumes were horrible, burning down her windpipe and into her lungs, sear
- 245 For a millisecond he wondered if he'd made a mistake, if she really had no idea that she resembled Jennifer so closely. Except that she was in the same d.a.m.ned car he'd spotted in San Juan Capistrano and on the freeway. This woman had been d.o
- 246 After all, she had had received some hara.s.sing calls. received some hara.s.sing calls.She poured herself a cup of tea, walked into the den, and logged on to the computer. She'd already scouted out the best deals on flights to the West Coast and had
- 247 "No, don't!" she cried."Too late."Her lips twisted and she shook her head. "Who are you calling?""Who do you think?""The police." "Bingo!""You shouldn't.""Yeah, right.&qu
- 248 d.a.m.n it all to h.e.l.l! He ran after her as she disappeared over the edge of the cliff, her feet kicking up dust. He ran after her as she disappeared over the edge of the cliff, her feet kicking up dust."Son of a b.i.t.c.h!" Bentz was on her
- 249 Sherry Petrocelli answered the phone and confirmed that she would pick up Rick Bentz's wife from LAX. She was off duty, but hey, she owed Jonas Hayes a favor or two. Not that she gave a d.a.m.n about Rick Bentz. She didn't know the guy, but she&
- 250 d.a.m.n it, could the b.i.t.c.h just show up?I called her, left a message from Petrocelli's phone...The cell phone jangles.Finally!I answer quickly, forcing the name off my lips. "Officer Petrocelli." "Hi, this is Olivia Bentz. I think
- 251 "Not yet.""I don't like this," Bentz said as he climbed into the pa.s.senger seat.Hayes dialed his cell phone with one hand and started the engine with another. "Hey, Sherry. Hayes here. Just wondering what's the holdup.
- 252 And she was scared to death as she lay in a dark, smelly enclosure, a cage deep inside a boat of some kind.This madwoman Petrocelli, or whatever her name was, intended to kill her. Because she was married to Rick. That's why the other women were dead
- 253 Glancing over his shoulder, Hayes suppressed a groan. Bentz was out of the car, standing in the pool of light at the chain-link fence, murmuring something to Rufus, who had finally stopped barking. "He's fine out there," Hayes said, trying
- 254 Now, time for the news. I walk to the living area with a quick pause at the refrigerator where I find a chilled pitcher of martinis waiting for me. I drop two olives in my stemmed gla.s.s, pour the cool concoction over them, and settle in the living area
- 255 No, she had to find another way out. If her abductor returned, which Olivia a.s.sumed she would, then Olivia had to lure her into the cage, somehow steal the keys or physically restrain her.It wouldn't be easy. The woman who'd abducted her was not only
- 256 Who else?And yet he was jittery. Tense. Expecting the worst. He began to sweat despite the cool temperature. The men with shovels were just getting to work when Hayes arrived in a tan suit that looked as pressed and crisp as if it had just come from the d
- 257 I don't have a lot of time. It's broad daylight, the d.a.m.ned fog is lifting, but I have to take the risk.So I leave work and drive straight home, download my picture of Olivia, and print it out. I'm wearing thin gloves...no reason to get sloppy now.
- 258 "I checked the roster of recent parolees with a history of violent crimes. Looking for suspects who might fit the profile of the Twenty-one killer," Bledsoe said as he approached Hayes's desk.Hayes leaned back in his chair. Martinez perched on the edge
- 259 Montoya landed at LAX, picked up his bag, and went straight to the rental-car desk. As he was taking steps to collect the Mustang, a much newer model than the one he had in New Orleans, he put in a call to Bentz. "I'm in Los Angeles," he said when his
- 260 The Blue Burro was hopping, the dinner crowd spilling into the bar where colorful pinatas and fake parrots hung from open beams painted in bold primary colors. Dressed in dark slacks and white s.h.i.+rts with bandannas at their necks, the waitstaff bustle
- 261 "You really don't know?" She paused, thought for a second. "He left me. Not once, but twice, for the same b.i.t.c.h that kept breaking his heart." She looked toward the wall, but seemed to focus on the middle distance, to a place only she could see.
- 262 Where had she been?Under the streetlamp?Near the ficus tree?He started walking faster and faster across the dusty, uneven lot, beneath the flickering, humming neon lights of the So-Cal's advertising board offering free wi-fi and cable TV.Was that a movem
- 263 Jada looked from Bentz to Montoya before focusing on the gun still trained on her. "Oh, c.r.a.p," she said, biting her lip and obviously struggling with her decision."It'll go much easier on you if you tell us about your boyfriend," Montoya urged."B
- 264 No leniency if she pulled the "I'm a cop" card, or looked at him piteously.And if Hayes was involved, then he'd go down, too.A muscle worked in Bentz's jaw. He just kept tapping his finger, his gaze straight ahead as they flew down the freeway.His ce
- 265 "d.a.m.n it!"Again!Nothing.The camera remained unscathed. Standing. The red light a small malicious and mocking eye staring at her, recording her futile movements. "You son of a b.i.t.c.h," she said and took another swipe.Another hit.
- 266 But not the boat keening. No...it was different. Shouts? Shouts?Footsteps?Could someone be on the boat? Oh, G.o.d, please! Oh, G.o.d, please!The lights flickered again.She took in another huge gulp of air mixed with salt water. Coughing, sputtering, hangi
- 267 UNSPOKEN.IF SHE ONLY KNEW.HOT BLOODED.COLD BLOODED.THE NIGHT BEFORE. THE MORNING AFTER.DEEP FREEZE.FATAL BURN.s.h.i.+VER.MOST LIKELY TO DIE.ABSOLUTE FEAR.ALMOST DEAD.LOST SOULS.LEFT TO DIE.WICKED GAME.MALICE.CHOSEN TO DIE.WITHOUT MERCY.DEVIOUS.Published b
- 268 "Death," she whispered.Sheer terror curdled her blood. Oh, G.o.d! Oh, G.o.d! Scared out of her mind, Camille tried to scramble to her feet. Scared out of her mind, Camille tried to scramble to her feet.In that instant, Fate struck.The rosary was
- 269 A door shutting as the church bells pealed.Just like before.The whisper of evil brushed the back of her neck again. She nearly stumbled as she raced forward, her bare feet slapping the cold stone floor, echoing to the high, coved ceiling.This can't b
- 270 CHAPTER 4."Still up?" Freya's voice cut into her fantasy."Always." Val tried to ignore the worries about Camille. She tossed the tea bag into the sink and glanced over her shoulder toward the archway leading to the main house. Whe
- 271 "Hey! Aren't you forgetting something?" she asked, angling her chin toward him, practically begging for a kiss."Oh, yeah!" He walked to the closet, found the locked box holding his sidearm, and retrieved his weapon. After strappin
- 272 "Sick. Twisted." Bentz's eyes looked tired, the crow's-feet near his eyes p.r.o.nounced. "Aren't they all?""Yeah.""Looks like our guy made some kind of necklace with her blood.""Or his," Mon
- 273 The older woman shook her head slowly. "Everyone was asleep. I can't see what good waking them will do.""They might have heard something. Or maybe someone was up, pa.s.sing through the hallway on the way to the restroom. There's a chance someone saw
- 274 "Why do you think Cam-er, Sister Camille was wearing a bridal gown?""I don't know." He shook his head, biting at his lower lip, thinking hard. "The dress looked old. Not overly expensive, I'd guess. Like the kind a nun m