In a heartbeat - Elizabeth Adler

Someone is trying to kill property tycoon Ed Vincent: someone so ruthless and determined that he nearly succeeded. As Vincent hovers between life and death in a New York hospital, Detective Marco Camelio chases after the only clue he has, the whispered name "Zelda". Behind the whispered name is Melba Eliose Merrydew, an unconventional, beautiful, determined single mother and the only woman who has ever managed to sweep Vincent off his feet. Mel Merrydew met Ed Vincent the last time the assassin came after him - and despite his obsessive secrecy, she knows just enough to unmask the killer before his third, perhaps fatal attempt. But the assassin has seen Mel - and is closer than she thinks. As Mel and Marco journey from New York to Tennessee and South Carolina in search of Ed Vincent's hidden past, the danger follows them, leading to near-tragedy in California and finally, an explosive confrontation in New York.