Michelle Karl - Christmas Under Fire

Mission: Survive the Holidays

A Mountie Brotherhood story

Cally Roslin came to northern British Columbia to enjoy a charming Canadian Christmas—until somebody tries to kill her. But when she becomes the target of multiple attacks, Aaron Thrace, the handsome Mountie assigned to protect her, is certain it’s no coincidence. Danger is swiftly closing in on Cally, and with hazardous snowstorms on the horizon, there’ll soon be no place to run…

MICHELLE KARLis an unabashed bibliophile and a romantic suspense author. She lives in Canada with her husband and an assortment of critters, including a codependent cat and an opinionated parrot. When she’s not reading and consuming copious amounts of coffee, she writes the stories she’d like to find in her “to be read” pile. She also loves animals, world music and eating the last piece of cheesecake.

Also By Michelle Karl

Mountie Brotherhood

Wilderness Pursuit

Accidental Eyewitness

Christmas Under Fire

Fatal Freeze

Unknown Enemy

Outside the Law

Silent Night Threat

Discover more at millsandboon.co.uk

Christmas Under Fire

Michelle Karl

www.millsandboon.co.uk

ISBN: 978-1-474-08653-0

CHRISTMAS UNDER FIRE

© 2018 Faith Boughan

Published in Great Britain 2018

by Mills & Boon, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF

All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. This edition is published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, locations and incidents are purely fictional and bear no relationship to any real life individuals, living or dead, or to any actual places, business establishments, locations, events or incidents. Any resemblance is entirely coincidental.

By payment of the required fees, you are granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right and licence to download and install this e-book on your personal computer, tablet computer, smart phone or other electronic reading device only (each a “Licensed Device”) and to access, display and read the text of this e-book on-screen on your Licensed Device. Except to the extent any of these acts shall be permitted pursuant to any mandatory provision of applicable law but no further, no part of this e-book or its text or images may be reproduced, transmitted, distributed, translated, converted or adapted for use on another file format, communicated to the public, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher.

® and ™ are trademarks owned and used by the trademark owner and/or its licensee. Trademarks marked with ® are registered with the United Kingdom Patent Office and/or the Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market and in other countries.

www.millsandboon.co.uk

Version: 2020-03-02

Before you start reading, why not sign up?

Thank you for downloading this Mills & Boon book. If you want to hear about exclusive discounts, special offers and competitions, sign up to our email newsletter today!

SIGN ME UP!

Or simply visit

signup.millsandboon.co.uk

Mills & Boon emails are completely free to receive and you can unsubscribe at any time via the link in any email we send you.

“I thought I saw someone slip between the stores back there.”

Aaron frowned. “I’d like to say we don’t need to worry about it, but after all that’s happened, I’m not taking any chances. Come on, let’s get off the main drag.”

He led them down the next street, taking a shortcut around the block before meeting back up with the main street again. The moment they walked up to the corner, Cally gasped. The shadowy shape was back, and it appeared to be a person leaning against a wall under a store awning. It looked as though the person was waiting for something. Or someone.

“Aaron...” Cally couldn’t stop her voice from wavering.

“I see him,” Aaron said in a low tone. “Come on, we’re almost to the station. If we hurry—”

But as they took the first steps to resume their journey, Cally couldn’t resist the urge to look over her shoulder.

She almost screamed.

The white-clad figure had started moving, and the person was running straight for them.

Dear Reader,

Thank you so much for joining Aaron and Cally during the holidays! No matter where you’re from or how you celebrate—or who you celebrate with!—I hope that it’s a season of peace and joy for you.

Like Cally, you might have a challenging family situation to manage. Or like Aaron, you may come from a loving, close-knit family that helps each other out in a pinch. Perhaps you’re experiencing a season of loss, like Cally, and I think it is especially important to acknowledge that Christmas can be a difficult time for those who are grieving. Wherever God has placed you this holiday season—and whomever He has placed you with—I hope you feel His presence and His grace in the busyness and in the quiet moments.

I’m honored that during the bustle of the season, you’ve chosen to spend time between these pages. Aaron is the final Thrace brother to be married in the Mountie Brotherhood series, so if you missed Sam’s and Leo’s stories, be sure to check them out, too!

Blessings,

Michelle

Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

—Matthew 11:28

To everyone who demonstrated patience and grace while I was writing this book.

You know who you are. Thank you.

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

About the Author

Booklist

Title Page

Copyright

Introduction

Dear Reader

Bible Verse

Dedication

ONE

TWO

THREE

FOUR

FIVE

SIX

SEVEN

EIGHT

NINE

TEN

ELEVEN

TWELVE

THIRTEEN

FOURTEEN

FIFTEEN

SIXTEEN

SEVENTEEN

EIGHTEEN

EPILOGUE

Extract

About the Publisher

Cally Roslin stepped out of the small airplane and shivered as a blast of icy northern wind cut through the dampness in the air. It seemed to slice into her heavy winter coat and snow pants and cling to her skin like a layer of frost. She’d experienced a Canadian winter before, but the late December temperatures in Toronto had felt nothing like this introduction to the climate of northern British Columbia. It made her miss the dry warmth of her homeland, the Kingdom of Amar. She clutched the edges of her puffy jacket’s hood around her face to keep her cheeks from taking the full brunt of the cold and gripped the railing with her other hand. The thick glove she wore squished against the metal, and she had to squint to keep her eyes open as she descended the metal staircase to the tarmac.

She sighed in relief as she reached the bottom step. An attendant wearing an airport ID badge quickly ushered her inside the main building—which was the only building for passengers, as far as she could see. Cally had checked out the website for the Rocky North Regional Airport before boarding the tiny aircraft in Vancouver for the second leg of her journey, and so she’d expected the rural, unsecured facility to be small and sparse. But she hadn’t realized how sparse until seeing it with her own eyes.