Valerie Hansen - Threat Of Darkness

TO PROTECT THE CHILD

As a nurse and special advocate for children, Samantha Rochard is used to danger in small town Serenity, Arkansas. But when she suspects a little boy is in jeopardy from his powerful father, the danger turns on her. Her only source of protection? The handsome police officer who broke her heart five years ago. Yet after John Waltham comes to her rescue in more ways than one, Samantha must trust in him—and the Lord—to watch over her...and save one sweet little boy.

The Defenders: Protecting children in need.

Enjoy a special 15th anniversary bonus story from Love Inspired, Small-Town Romance by Arlene James

“I’m not going to hurt you, Samantha,” John said. “I’m not like your father, okay?”

“I know.”

He offered his hand to her, waited a few heartbeats, then started to pull back.

Samantha moved quickly to grasp it before he could change his mind. The feeling of safety and concern in John’s tender touch was all-encompassing and so comforting it nearly brought tears to her eyes.

Holding his hand like this was dumb, given their stormy history. It was also something she was not ready to relinquish. Not when the police were still at her house searching for her attacker.

“This whole drug-conspiracy idea might be nothing more than a big misunderstanding.”

“Even if it is, there’s still somebody out to get you, Sam. All the good intentions in the world won’t protect you from evil if you don’t use your head.”

He was right, of course. That was what she was doing when she volunteered through CASA. And that was the same thing John had been doing when he’d put himself in place to protect her.

VALERIE HANSEN

was thirty when she awoke to the presence of the Lord in her life and turned to Jesus. In the years that followed, she worked with young children, both in church and secular environments. She also raised a family of her own and played foster mother to a wide assortment of furred and feathered critters.

Married to her high school sweetheart, she now lives in an old farmhouse she and her husband renovated with their own hands. She loves to hike the wooded hills behind the house and reflect on the marvelous turn her life has taken. Not only is she privileged to reside among the loving, accepting folks in the breathtakingly beautiful Ozark mountains of Arkansas, she also gets to share her personal faith by telling the stories of her heart for all of the Love Inspired Books lines.

Life doesn’t get much better than that!

Threat of Darkness

Valerie Hansen

www.millsandboon.co.uk

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Dear Reader,

In 2012 Love Inspired Books is proudly celebrating fifteen years of heartwarming inspirational romance! In honor of this special occasion, we’re spotlighting the Love Inspired Suspense series this month.

If you haven’t read a Love Inspired Suspense book before, now is a wonderful time to discover them. Love Inspired Suspense offers gripping suspense, compelling romance and an inspirational message—all within one series. These edge-of-the-seat, contemporary romantic suspense stories feature Christian characters facing challenges to their faith…and to their lives!

We’re excited about our author line-up this month. Look for Threat of Darkness by Valerie Hansen, the latest book in her exciting miniseries, The Defenders. Terri Reed delivers the dramatic finale to Love Inspired Suspense’s continuity series, Fitzgerald Bay, with The Deputy’s Duty. Rachelle McCalla’s Reclaiming the Crown miniseries continues with Prince Incognito. Susan Sleeman rounds out the month with Double Exposure, the first book in her new miniseries, The Justice Agency.And enjoy a fifteenth anniversary bonus story at the end of each book.

I hope you enjoy each and every story. Look for four new Love Inspired Suspense books every month for the perfect combination of riveting suspense and inspirational romance!

Sincerely,

Tina James

Senior Editor

This book is dedicated to all the unsung heroes who take a stand against injustice for the sake of others. Many thanks, also, to Joe and Karen for their support and work on my behalf, and to the many faithful readers and friends who keep me in their prayers.

“Do not be overcome with evil, but overcome evil with good.”

—Romans 12:21

Contents

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Dear Reader-Author

Questions for Discussion

SMALL-TOWN ROMANCE

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

ONE

The keening wails echoing down the usually quiet halls of the Serenity Medical Center made the hair on the back of Samantha Rochard’s neck prickle. Every natural instinct told her to flee. Instead, her experience as a registered nurse sent her racing toward the sound of misery.

A doctor, white coat flying behind him, shoved her aside and burst through the curtain into an E.R. exam cubicle. She heard him start to speak. Then, his words were abruptly cut off.

A sixth sense brought Samantha to a skidding halt before the weighted curtain had stopped swinging behind him. Was that scuffling? Fighting? A thud?

She peeked through a slit between the panels. Dr. Weiss, the physician who had elbowed her out of his way, lay on the floor, moaning. A thin, scraggly figure she judged to be male stood with his back to her. The only thing about him that caught her attention and held it was the small, silver-colored revolver he was waving.

Samantha wheeled and flattened herself against a nearby wall. Hands trembling, she pulled out her cell phone, called 911 and cupped her hands around the instrument to muffle her speech.

“We need help at the medical center. Hurry.”

“What’s the nature of your emergency, ma’am?”

“I don’t know.” Samantha wanted to shout instead of whispering. “I heard a scream and…”

When the dispatcher interrupted to ask, “Is that you again, Ms. Rochard?” she figured her report wasn’t going to be taken seriously. So what else was new?

“Look,” Samantha said, “we’ve got a guy in our E.R. with a gun. Isn’t that enough?”

“Okay. Stay where you are and let us handle it.” There was a rumble of conversation and beeping noises in the background before the dispatcher returned. “We have units on the way. Stay on the line with me.”

Samantha was about to reply when someone grabbed a fistful of her shoulder-length, dark hair and jerked her off her feet. The cell phone hit the floor with a splintering crack. She was being dragged backward into the exam area where Dr. Weiss lay!

Her scalp felt as though it was on fire. She couldn’t think. Couldn’t reason. All she could do was keep screaming “No! No!” and try to regain her balance enough to fight back.