An Agent for Brielle: Pinkerton Matchmakers, #18

By Parker J. Cole

A beautiful mathematician, a politician, and a murder case that isn't what it appears to be...

Brielle Bradford arrives in Denver, Colorado for one purpose: end her two-year engagement to the prominent politician Matthias Blackburn. What she discovers is that Matthias has put away his political aspirations to fight crime the Pinkerton way. Still reeling from the news, she is enlisted as a temporary agent in order help solve a murder case. The only problem: she has to marry Matthias.

Matthais has never gotten over Brielle's betrayal. Her reluctance to be his wife baffles him when he knows she loves him as much as he loves her. Yet, marriage to Brielle is what he wants and he'll take it anyway he can, even if its a marriage of convenience for the sake of a murder case.

Further testing the couple is a suspect whose enigmatic intelligence and attractiveness lures Brielle away from the case. But Matthias won't give up until they find their suspect and nor will he give up Brielle without a fight.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Barr26 Publishing, LLC
• Release date: Nov 13, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223944331

Book preview

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Pinkerton Detective Agency – Denver Office

July 1871

Brielle Bradford checked the contents of her sister’s letter once more. 427 Chain Bridge Road, she said out loud. The sign above her confirmed she was at the right place. Stuffing the letter back into her reticule, Brielle took in a deep breath and then rang the doorbell.

A moment later, it opened. The last person she expected to see darkened the doorway.

Mr. Blackburn, she breathed.

The tall Negro man exceeded her height by more than a foot as he stood there with the commanding presence of a Dahomey king. His flat, broad brow lifted up over his right eye. Well, well. If it isn’t the little liar I fell in love with two years ago.

Brielle straightened her five foot, five-inch frame. She should have known this meeting would not go as planned. When did anything that involved Matthias Blackburn go as planned?

What are you doing here?

Interesting. His black eyes glittered down at her in a dangerous way. I was going to ask that of you.

The inside of her stomach twisted at the accusatory tone of his voice but she lifted her chin in defiance. She knew she had a lot of explaining to do.

May I come in? She preferred to have this conversation out of earshot of the passersby. Or, rather, she preferred to not have this conversation at all but it seemed as if dieu Tout-Puissant had other plans.

Matthias moved aside and she stepped into the coolness of the dormitory. An uneasy silence lingered in the foyer as the door snapped shut behind them. She fiddled with her reticule and smoothed the wrinkles of her trail worn gown. When she could no longer continue to preen herself, she lifted her eyes and met the gaze of the man to whom she’d lied two years ago.

Of course, his looks had improved in their time apart. His travels all over the country had given the sun ample opportunity to bake his skin to a warm, dark roasted almond. Alert black eyes scrutinized her above a broad, flaring nose. A thin mustache lined his full upper lip.

His starched collar and black tie framed the strong column of his neck. The tailor-made suit hugged his shoulders with a perfect fit. Its deceptive simplicity spoke of his wealth. With his wavy black hair pomaded and parted on the side, he appeared every inch the politician.

Well? he questioned. Do you still recognize me?

Brielle blinked. Heat crawled up the back of her neck as she realized she’d been staring. I recognize you, Mr. Blackburn.

Mr. Blackburn, is it? He made a scoffing noise. "I think we’re on…shall I say…friendly sufficient terms. You can address me by my Christian name."

The guilt-ridden muscles of her stomach relaxed. Her hands clenched her reticule with a death-like grip. With great effort, she stymied the retort ready on her lips and instead replied, "You would have to bring that up, wouldn’t you?"

He crossed his arms. It was the only thing that kept me sane for two years. The fact that we—

Matthias?

Brielle whirled around at the sound of a feminine voice. A pretty woman with lovely hair and a serene air stood before them. Oh, I thought perhaps we had another recruit. She came forward, her eyes kind. You must be Arielle Smith’s sister.

My name is Brielle Bradford.

Is that so? Matthias drawled in sarcasm. Brielle did her best to ignore his caustic tone but her smile was brittle as she greeted, Pleased to meet you.

Pleased to meet you. The woman stretched out a hand. I’m Marianne Chapman but please call me Marianne. Arielle isn’t here right now. She and her husband, Caleb, are out on assignment.

Brielle retuned the handshake. I was aware I might arrive during her next mission. She and her sisters, Camille and Danielle, had been struck dumb when their father had announced that Arielle had become a Pinkerton agent and had married a man none of them had ever seen.

An ironic twist of providence since their father had sent Arielle to America to marry Matthias Blackburn.

Wonderful. Marianne’s gaze swept over her in a lightning quick assessment. Brielle sensed the woman had gathered more information about her in that one glance than in a two-hour interview. Are you also interested in becoming an agent?

Brielle gave a vehement shake of her head. "Pas du tout. Not interested at all. My skills lean toward the academic side of life."

A thoughtful frown appeared on Marianne’s face. What exactly do you mean?

I’m president of the Benjamin Banneker Society on my island home in the West Indies. It’s a scholarly guild dedicated to honing mental acuity through the study of literature, science, and mathematics. My principal interest is in mathematics.

How interesting, Marianne murmured. How very, very interesting.

Is something the matter? Brielle noted the speculative gleam in the woman’s eyes.

I must speak with Archie. Marianne’s gaze drifted over at the silent man by Brielle’s side. I’m sure Matthias will be glad to show you around.

In a flurry of skirts, Marianne disappeared down a hall.

Brielle longed to call her back. Now, nothing prevented her from having this overdue tête-à-tête with Matthias.

Another thought came to mind: what was Matthias doing here in the first place?

I’ll show you to the library. He stepped to the side to allow her to pass before him. There’s no one there at the moment. We can discuss the reason for your visit without any distractions.

He made it sound like a threat.

Will you let me explain?

In the ensuing silence Matthias’s black, penetrating gaze seemed to pierce directly into her soul. Strip her of all sense of privacy. If she let him, his singular glare would bare her vulnerability to him.

No, she did not have vulnerability. Vulnerabilities only existed if one allowed them to exist. Sense and reason precluded all other notions. Within the confines of these two mental rationalities, life could be readily dealt with.

He extended an arm to give her leave to walk ahead of him and said nothing until they had entered the library. Brielle did her best to ignore the prick of alarm as he shut the door. Propriety should have been observed but Matthias would not do anything to compromise her.

At least, she believed he wouldn’t.

Now, that we’re alone, he began in a tight voice, I’ll listen to everything you have to say. Let’s start with your reasons for pretending to be your sister when I asked you to marry me.

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Would you believe me if I told you I had every intention of telling you the truth? Brielle’s proud chin lifted in defiance. Or are you going to shout at me?

Shout at you? Matthias gave a bark of a laugh. I’m past shouting, Brielle, not Arielle, he remarked in a pointed fashion. I want to wrap my hands around your—

He pressed his mouth closed, unsure of how to end that phrase. Wrap his hands round the swan-like column of her throat, where he could strangle her? Or around her slim waist where he could draw her lithe form up against him?

Matthias had difficulty determining which would bring him the most pleasure. What an effort to subdue the chaotic emotions that coursed along his body! The sight of her again, after desolate absence, wreaked havoc on him. Was this how a man felt when his thirst had been quenched by cool, refreshing water?

Vitality arced through his veins as he gulped in the sight of her – that rich, smooth toffee brown face with its wide molasses-hued eyes. Black, curly hair pulled back in a loose bun at the nape of her neck. Her voice with its husky, almost heavy French accent along with that unique West Indies flair reminded him of the sweetest musical tones.

At that moment, she licked her full brown lips