THE WEB CLEANSER
                                                       

If you're looking for a great Romantic Suspense, this is it!
Author Franny Armstrong

PRINT ISBN-13: 978-1535147347

PRINT ISBN-10: 15235147342
Publisher: Franny Armstrong
Genre: Romantic Suspense

Purchase links: Amazon, Smashwords

Ryland Sanders is a feisty, no-nonsense cop who protects her heart with her smart mouth. She has no friends, and every partner she's ever had gave up on her long ago. When paired with a new cop, Ry pulls out all stops to get rid of him.

Kane Nanuq (Nanook) is from the Northwest Territories on Baffin Island. He's tracking a serial killer, who murdered his wife and children. When he meets Ry, his carefully planned revenge is altered. She wants to become bait, but Kane wants to protect her. She cracks open his carefully guarded heart, even as she loses hers.

The duo work together to capture the man, but neither of them realize they've lost their hearts to each other until it's too late...

EXCERPT

In a million years, she wouldn't ever admit to anyone, let alone herself, that his touch made her belly flutter with a swarm of butterflies. Keeping her eyes on her computer screen, she did her best to appear unaffected. For a few seconds, he tapped the keys on her keyboard, then rebooted the computer. When the proper window came up and the computer worked fine, he said, "There," then returned to his desk. Angry that she'd felt an interest in him, she said, "I'm not going to thank you…for anything."

He smirked, saying clearly, "I don't expect you to."

Stunned, she stared at him for a long moment. It then occurred to her it wasn't his fault that her whole morning had gone bust. She sighed then gave him credit for being nice to her when she'd been so nasty to him. She realized that he hadn't done a thing to deserve her ire, except by being the schmuck who'd been chosen to be her partner. After all, he hadn't picked the job himself, or had he?

She let out a heavy sigh then pushed back her chair. After picking up her cup, she took a large gulp of the still-warm drink.

"Listen, ice man…" Stopping herself, she tried again. "Listen, Nanuq, I think we should start this day over again. I admit I'm not the easiest person to get along with by a long shot, but since we have to work together, why don't I try and keep my smart mouth shut, and you can stop being so damned nice to me?" Keeping her eyes on the ceiling, she waited in silence for him to respond.

It took long enough that she shifted her gaze to him. He'd sat back to study her in the annoying way he did, similar to a cat eyeing a mouse.

After he finally nodded, he refocused on his computer without uttering a word. He'd let her off the hook again. She shook her head, then took another large swig of coffee and turned back to her own computer, enjoying a strange sense of satisfaction. For a moment, she thought he'd be a pretty good partner if he kept to himself and let her do the talking, but then she shrugged. After having been paired with a series of partners who wouldn't follow her lead, she had sworn to go solo, but the chief refused to let her.

Her gaze suddenly swung over to view her screen.

"Holy moly!" she cried. "Did you get this email about our first case of the day? The body of a female, approximately thirty-five years old, was discovered in a burning apartment by firefighters. She'd been drowned in the bathtub then left submerged. The killer soaked the hallway with kerosene and lit it on fire. The body hadn't burned since someone noticed the fire fairly quickly."

Glancing at Kane, she noted his closed expression, and a slight tic flickering along his jaw line. He'd seen the email all right.

"What do you make of it? It's the fourth murder in the city in the past two months, and all evidence points to the serial killer whom we've dubbed the Web Cleanser. Anything to add?" He was keeping something from her; she could sense it.

Without taking his eyes from the computer screen, Kane said, "The murders started happening in Inuit two years ago. I've been tracking the perpetrator ever since."

"You might be a man of few words, ice…Nanuq, but I need more. Send me what you know about them."

Expecting he'd obey without protest, she returned to the email. Ten minutes later she glanced back at him.

"Well?"

His hard gaze met hers. "No."