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      “And I can help, as well. I can start work tomorrow,” Rafe jumped in, not wanting to feel left out.

      “I am the oldest, Rafe. I can represent us, and our interests, adequately.”

      And she, as their mother, couldn’t? Whom did they think she worked for? Everything she did was for them!

      Rafe shook his head. “You might be the oldest, but your head is up your ass. You are so damn distracted these days that I’m surprised you haven’t run into a malpractice suit.”

      Elana leaned sideways and jumped into the argument. “Why don’t you two ever consider me? I actually work for the company!”

      “Do you actually know the definition of that word, Elana?” Luc demanded. “It actually means doing more than turning up and looking pretty.”

      God, this was a nightmare. Mariella glanced at Gabe as her children argued. He was watching a ship on the horizon, seeming unaffected by the argument raging around him. But she could see the tension in his jaw, the rigid cords of his neck. Feeling her eyes on him, he turned his head to look at her, and she saw the profound and heartfelt sympathy in his eyes. Mariella watched Gabe’s eyes harden as the argument around them escalated.

      “Shut up!” Gabe’s terse command cut through the siblings’ argument like a sharp knife through flesh. “You three are the biggest pains in the ass the world has ever known. Can one of you surprise me and think beyond yourselves? Your mother represents your interests—she always has, you morons! And can I remind you that your father is inside, fighting for his life, and you three are bickering like mean kids on a playground. Just shut the hell up, all of you!”

      Shock receded, and three pairs of accusatory eyes landed on his face. When silence reigned, Gabe drew in a breath before placing his beer bottle on the table between them. “We need to think about what Uncle Harrison would want. It isn’t this.”

      “How the hell would you know what my father would want?” Luc asked, private school snooty. Low blow, Luc, Mariella thought, ashamed of him. Why did Luc constantly feel the need to remind Gabe that he wasn’t really part of this family, that he wasn’t a Marshall by blood?

      It was time for her, as their mother, to intervene. Mariella snapped her spine straight and sent a continue-or-die look to each of her children, holding Luc’s eyes a tad longer than the rest. “Be quiet and listen to what Joe has to say.”

      Mariella placed her hand on Joe’s knee and bit her lip. That train she’d been thinking about earlier was now so close that she could feel the heat of its engine, its vibrations running through her. She was about to be annihilated, she knew that just as she knew that the Pacific Ocean beyond them was bright and blue.

      Joe ignored her hand, didn’t respond, and Mariella tapped his knee. “Joe? Who is in charge? Is it me? Luc? Gabe? Rafe?”

      “Me?” Elana’s voice drifted over to her, but Mariella ignored her.

      “None of the above,” Joe replied, finally looking up. The expression in his eyes was a mixture of nerves and fear and dread. Dear Lord, Harrison, what have you done?

      “Harrison has, over the years, done a number of favors for many powerful people. Those favors have become a sideline business.”

      It was a bolt from the blue. “What type of favors?” Gabe asked, shock coating his words.

      “Anything, everything. Harrison and his partner made bad things, people, choices and consequences go away. They ensured that potential scandals disappeared. Harrison initially worked alone, but then he took on a partner in this fixing business, and that partner is the one who is going to be calling the shots. It is my belief that those shots include who makes certain decisions about Harrison’s business and Harrison himself.” Joe looked at Mariella and shrugged.

      “You weren’t consulted about Harrison’s move to this clinic because you didn’t need to be. This person—”

      “God, Joe...this person what?” Luc demanded, impatient.

      “This person is bad news. The secrecy? Someone hiding out in the shadows? It’s...” They all held their breath as Joe looked for the word he wanted to use. “...sinister. What the person has done, does, raises the hair on the back of my neck.”

      Mariella gasped as that heavy freight train slammed into her.

      “Who are we talking about?” she demanded, her heart in her throat.

      Joe sent her an anxious smile and shook his head. “I don’t know, exactly, but in certain circles, this person is called the Fixer.”

      * * * * *

       Secrets of the A-List (Episode 2 of 12)

      Clare Connelly

      The lies are spreading like wildfire...

      Someone powerful is calling the shots for the Marshall family. Could it be the “Fixer”? Whoever it is, they’re feeding lies to the press about Harrison’s condition. Meanwhile decisions need to be made. About the family business. About wild child Elana’s wedding to her best friend Thom. The family is determined to find out who their secret guardian devil is—before every last one of their secrets and lies is uncovered...

      Super Rich. Super Sexy. Super Addictive.

      Secrets of the A-List

       About the Author

      CLARE CONNELLY was raised in small-town Australia among a family of avid readers. She spent much of her childhood up a tree, Harlequin book in hand. Clare is married to her own real-life hero and they live in a bungalow near the sea with their two children. She is frequently found staring into space—a surefire sign she is in the world of her characters. She has a penchant for French food and ice-cold champagne, and Harlequin novels continue to be her favorite ever books. Writing for Harlequin Presents is a long-held dream. Clare can be contacted via clareconnelly.com or her Facebook page.

      Visit her Author Profile page at www.millsandboon.co.uk for other titles.

       Episode Two

      The mighty Marshall family is in a downward spiral. Patriarch Harrison is in a coma. Sons Luc and Rafe are at each other’s throats—literally. Daughter Elana just can’t stay away from her forbidden lover, and matriarch Mariella is doing everything within her power to keep up appearances, because that’s her job...or is it? It seems someone else might be trying to fill her designer shoes...

       Chapter One

      The voice seemed to be coming from a long way away, as if she were at the bottom of the ocean and someone was calling to her from the shore.

      “Mariella! Mariella! You must wake up.”

      But she didn’t want to wake up. Memories were leaden clouds on the edges of her mind. Something unpleasant hovered at the periphery, and subconsciously she knew that stirring would mean facing it. And she didn’t want to do that.

      “Wake up!”

      The sound of a door being pushed open punctuated her sleep, and then she was being shaken, roughly, her shoulders gripped by determined hands. She startled, her eyes flying open.

      The housekeeper, Vanessa, hovered above her, her dark hair in an unusual state of disarray, as though she, too, had been woken by

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