Nick kissed her again, then Carina watched as he slid the engagement ring onto her finger. She was not a weepy woman, but she felt tears in her eyes and squeezed them away.

“I love you, Nick Thomas.”

“Let’s go back to my place, Detective Kincaid. So I can show you how much I love you.”

She glanced at his knees and winked. “Are you sure you’re up for it?”

“Let’s go and find out.”

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

FIRST AND FOREMOST, I want to thank my readers. If you’ve enjoyed this book, I hope you’ll visit my website at www.allisonbrennan.com to read exclusive content, including deleted scenes, and view book trailers for this and my other books.

San Diego is a beautiful city that I’ve visited many times and look forward to enjoying again. Though I strive for accuracy, I have taken some liberties with the area for story purposes.

As always, several people have helped with the details in this book.

Jennifer Hennessey, who dusted off her criminology degree; Wally Lind, Dan Pollock, and Patrick Murray at Crime Scene Writers, who are always quick to answer questions on anything from postmortem injuries to tracking sexual predators online; author and nurse Candy Calvert, who answered several medical questions; and Gary Olson, consultant for the California State Assembly, who once again shared his knowledge of public safety law so I wouldn’t have to spend days reading the California Legislative Code.

A special thanks goes to Karin Tabke and her husband, ex-cop and all-around good guy Gary, who always answered their phone even when they knew it was me, on deadline, with last-minute questions that were always more complicated than I originally thought.

My husband Dan and our kids deserve extra-special appreciation for giving me the time to write and travel; my mom, who is truly my number-one fan; and everyone in the Sacramento Valley Rose chapter of RWA, who always answered my most arcane questions while giving me unconditional love and support.

And finally, the people who made this book possible: the Ballantine team, especially my wise editor Charlotte Herscher, Dana Isaacson, Kim Hovey, and Gilly Hailparn, who have all been so supportive; the art department, which gave me covers I absolutely love; my super agent, Kimberly Whalen; and the entire Trident Media Group.