Jordyn Redwood - Taken Hostage

A DEADLY RANSOM

When neurosurgeon Regan Lockhart’s daughter is kidnapped, the abductors want to make a deal for the little girl’s life. If she wishes to ever see her child again, Regan must hand over the virus she uses in a radical cancer treatment. But bounty hunter Colby Waterson can’t let her trade the cure, which is his sister’s last hope. He’s already lost a wife and baby, and he won’t lose anyone else. But when a mistake leads both him and Regan into the hands of the bad guys, the kidnappers up their demands. Now Regan must create a biological weapon or her daughter dies. For Colby, no case has ever been this personal. He’ll need every skill he’s got, because only he can save both his sister and the woman he’s growing to care for.

All she could think of was her daughter.

“Do you think...”

Her voice trailed, but Colby knew what she didn’t ask. “I think Olivia is still alive,” he said.

“How can you be sure?”

“Because they clearly want you alive as well—which, to be honest, is what has me more worried.”

She nodded without pressing him. She knew that if the bullet they’d fired had been a real one, she would be dead.

That was when regular programming changed and the local TV news anchor came on-screen. According to the report, her nanny was dead. Then her picture was shown. “If you see this woman, contact local authorities immediately.”

Regan’s stomach felt like a boiling mass of acrid liquid. It was as if her life was now an overturned hourglass—each grain of sand taking minutes off not only her life but Olivia’s, as well.

Her nanny was dead. If they could kill her so easily...what did that mean for her daughter?

Would any of them make it out alive?

Dear Reader,

Taken Hostage was inspired by two true medical stories I found very interesting.

Duke University Medical Center is actually in phase I clinical trials using a genetically modified poliovirus that is working in some patients to cure recurrent glioblastoma. Of course, the leap that a cure like this could be further manipulated into a bioweapon is (as far as I know) fiction.

The second was based on Italian physician Dr. Paolo Macchiarini who specializes in building tracheas (or windpipes). He is considered a maverick, but also some patients’ last hope at life. His compassion struck me after I watched a documentary called A Leap of Faith: A Meredith Vieira Special. What if this man went missing?

To what lengths would I go to find him if it was my loved one that needed him?

I always LOVE to hear from readers and can be reached via email at jordyn@jordynredwood.com or by mail at the following address: Jordyn Redwood, PO Box 1142, Parker, Colorado 80134.

Many Blessings,

Jordyn

JORDYN REDWOODis a pediatric ER nurse by day, suspense novelist by night. She pursued her dream of becoming an author by first penning her medical thrillers Proof, Poison and Peril. Jordyn hosts Redwood’s Medical Edge, a blog helping authors write medically accurate fiction. Living near the Rocky Mountains with her husband, two beautiful daughters and one crazy dog provides inspiration for her books and she loves to get email from her readers at jredwood1@gmail.com.

Taken Hostage

Jordyn Redwood

www.millsandboon.co.uk

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And if one prevail against him, two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken.

—Ecclesiastes 4:12

For my friend and mentor Candace Calvert. Thank you for taking me under your wing and being a guiding light on my writing journey.

Acknowledgments

Thank you to everyone at Harlequin for all the hard work you put into these books. Special thanks to my editor, Emily Rodmell, for always being available to answer my questions and offer invaluable help during the writing and editing process.

Always a special thank-you to my friend and agent, Greg Johnson. Hopefully some big things will happen this year!

I couldn’t do what I do without the support of my amazing husband, James. If I have any ability to write romance, it is because you show it to me every day in both big and small ways. I’m the luckiest girl.

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

Introduction

Dear Reader

About the Author

Title Page

Bible Verse

Acknowledgments

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

CHAPTER NINETEEN

CHAPTER TWENTY

EPILOGUE

Extract

Copyright

ONE

Ten bullets. Nine in the clip, one in the chamber. Checked twice.

That was what fugitive recovery officer Colby Waterson carried at all times to protect himself. Extra clips didn’t matter because it was rare to have time to reload. Especially when working alone.

However, today was not about hunting fugitives from the law. Today was about helping save his sister Sam’s life. Today was the day Colby Waterson was going to meet Dr. Regan Lockhart. The one woman...the only human being alive...who could save his sister from a brain tumor that had thus far refused to die at the hands of conventional medical therapy.

Colby thrummed the steering wheel of his crimson-red Ford F-250. Needles of anxiety wormed through his chest and his breakfast sat heavy in his gut. He glanced at his watch. If traffic kept this pace, he’d be on time.

As long as nothing happened. As if hearing his thoughts, the rains let loose, torrential and determined, momentarily obliterating his view of the road until he engaged his windshield wipers, which only moderately improved visibility.

I should have left earlier. Why did they schedule this meeting so early in the morning? It’s a crime to be up before sunrise.

The roar of an engine drew Colby’s attention out his driver’s-side window as a black GMC Yukon flew past him and then squeezed in like a sardine between Colby and the blue Toyota Sequoia he’d been trailing.

What’s the rush, big man? Want to make sure everyone sees your nice, shiny, new toy? Was the maneuver worth getting a whole car length ahead?

Colby eased back a few paces to increase the distance between him and the black SUV. As a bounty hunter, he was constantly on the lookout for trouble, no matter what his agenda for the day was. After all, good days often turned into the worst kind. Like hearing your wife has cancer on the same day she tells you she’s pregnant. And then losing both his wife and unborn child within five months. The event that marked his life was over a decade ago yet still always felt like yesterday.

The black Yukon sped up and began riding the bumper of the navy blue Sequoia. Heat spread in Colby’s chest and he glared at the back of the driver’s head between windshield wiper passes. There was no doubt—the guy was driving recklessly and the fresh onslaught of rain only provided a slippery surface for added danger. Hydroplaning was quickly becoming a risk. Trepidation caused Colby’s flesh to prickle.