Read The Professional Online

Authors: Kresley Cole

Tags: #Fiction, #Romance, #Contemporary, #Suspense, #Contemporary Women

The Professional (47 page)

AUTHOR’S NOTE

F
or this story, I envisioned the clockmaker/repair shop that Natalie’s grandparents owned as one of the many underground enterprises that flourished in Russia outside of State control in the ’60s, ’70s, and ’80s.

While researching Russian organized crime—facets of which grew apace with the underground economy in those decades—I dug into the backgrounds of various crime bosses. They ran the gamut. Some had advanced degrees; others were political activists. One had even become a TV producer. With such real-life variety, I felt comfortable portraying a gentleman clockmaker (one with a violent and dark past, which he specifically glossed over for his newfound daughter).

Lastly, I can’t take credit for Sevastyan’s vodka/wiper-fluid import idea. This scheme was based on true events.

I hope you enjoyed
The Professional
. Thank you all so much for your readership! And play on . . .

AUTHOR PHOTOGRAPH BY DEANNA MEREDITH STUDIOS

KRESLEY COLE
is the #1
New York Times
bestselling author of the Immortals After Dark series, an intensely sexy paranormal collection that has won three RITA awards and been translated into seventeen languages. In 2013, Kresley was inducted into the Romance Writers of America Hall of Fame. Visit her website at
KresleyCole.com
.

FOR MORE ON THIS AUTHOR:
authors.simonandschuster.com/Kresley-Cole

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Books by Kresley Cole

The Game Maker Series

The Professional

The Immortals After Dark Series

The Warlord Wants Forever

A Hunger Like No Other

No Rest for the Wicked

Wicked Deeds on a Winter’s Night

Dark Needs at Night’s Edge

Dark Desires After Dusk

Kiss of a Demon King

Deep Kiss of Winter

Pleasure of a Dark Prince

Demon from the Dark

Dreams of a Dark Warrior

Lothaire

Shadow’s Claim

MacRieve

The Arcana Chronicles

Poison Princess

Endless Knight

The MacCarrick Brothers Series

If You Dare

If You Desire

If You Deceive

The Sutherland Series

The Captain of All Pleasures

The Price of Pleasure

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Gallery Books

A Division of Simon & Schuster, Inc.

1230 Avenue of the Americas

New York, NY 10020

www.SimonandSchuster.com

This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

The Professional: Part 1
copyright © 2013 by Kresley Cole

The Professional: Part 2
copyright © 2014 by Kresley Cole

The Professional: Part 3
copyright © 2014 by Kresley Cole

These titles were previously published individually as ebooks.

All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever. For information address Gallery Books Subsidiary Rights Department,

1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020

First Gallery Books trade paperback edition May 2014

GALLERY BOOKS and colophon are registered trademarks of Simon & Schuster, Inc.

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Interior design by Jaime Putorti

Cover design by Lisa Litwack

Cover photograph by Cevdet Gokhan Palas/Vetta

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Cole, Kresley.

 The professional / by Kresley Cole.—First Gallery Books trade paperback edition.

 pages ; cm

 1. Romantic suspense fiction. I. Title.

 PS3603.O4287P76 2014

 813'.6—dc23                     2014008869

ISBN 978-1-4767-6231-9

ISBN 978-1-4767-8249-2 (ebook)

CONTENTS

Epigraph

Prologue

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

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

Chapter 40

Chapter 41

Chapter 42

Chapter 43

Chapter 44

Chapter 45

Epilogue

Author’s Note

About Kresley Cole

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