Officer Lou Hernandez is surprised when he's asked to help Gideon Monahan catch an art forger. He's not too happy, however, when he meets the man he'll be working with. Lou thinks Rory Kinley is a supercilious pain in the ass. Rory, on the other hand, sees no reason why Lou has been brought into this. After all, he's just a cop, albeit one who is good at going undercover.<br><br>The art forger they're after -- Nate Hanks -- cons collectors, saying he has an undiscovered painting by a famous artist. He's killed one of his marks already to keep from being caught.<br><br>Lou and Rory will have to set aside their differences as they set up a sting to stop Hanks. When they do, they discover they may not be as incompatible as they thought. The question becomes, will their growing feelings survive what's to come -- or be destroyed in the process?

It Takes a Forger

“Yeah, I’m seeing that. Still, I have a feeling Gideon will make sure we open as fast as possible. It’s not like this is going to be for real. It’s a front, to catch Hanks’ interest in our—” Lou made finger quotes, “—side business.”


“Selling forgeries to interested buyers. Has Gideon lined some buyers up already?”


“He’s working on it.” Lou shook his head. “If I’d known when I agreed to help…”


Clay laughed. “You’d have done it anyway.”


As planned, Lou, Gideon, and Rory met in Gideon’s hotel suite at seven that evening.


“Rory’s told me about the properties he looked at today and has shown me brochures he downloaded from the Realtor’s site,” Gideon said to Lou. “I agree with him that this one—” he handed Lou a printout, “—would be the best for our purposes. Not huge, but with a nice-sized main room that can become the gallery, per se.”


Chapter 9