Jessica R. Patch - Killer Exposure

A killer with a secret motive...

A mother with a secret baby

Crime scene photographer Greer Montgomery didn’t expect to witness a murder at a small-town carnival—nor to be rescued by the father of her secret baby. A storm chaser, Locke Gallagher often stares down death, but he’s never known true fear until Greer’s life is at risk. But how can he protect his newly discovered family when the killer could be anyone?

JESSICA R. PATCHlives in the Mid-South, where she pens inspirational contemporary romance and romantic suspense novels. When she’s not hunched over her laptop or going on adventurous trips with willing friends in the name of research, you can find her watching way too much Netflix with her family and collecting recipes for amazing dishes she’ll probably never cook. To learn more about Jessica, please visit her at jessicarpatch.com.

Also By Jessica R. Patch

Fatal Reunion

Protective Duty

Concealed Identity

Final Verdict

Cold Case Christmas

Killer Exposure

The Security Specialists

Deep Waters

Secret Service Setup

Dangerous Obsession

Discover more at millsandboon.co.uk

Killer Exposure

Jessica R. Patch

www.millsandboon.co.uk

ISBN: 978-1-474-09642-3

KILLER EXPOSURE

© 2019 Jessica R. Patch

Published in Great Britain 2019

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.

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www.millsandboon.co.uk

Version: 2020-03-02

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“I’m so frightened. I want my daughter. I want my life back.”

Locke knelt next to Greer. “I’m scared, too, if it makes you feel any better. For Lin’s safety and yours. But he’s been in this house. He knows we have a daughter, and while we’re being super careful and taking extra measures to make sure we aren’t followed...we aren’t perfect.”

She looked into his eyes and he saw her fear.

“Maybe we move Lin somewhere else,” he told her. “Or talk to the sheriff about extra protection. We’ll figure it out. You and me,” he whispered. “Okay?”

She only nodded and he refrained from wiping her tearstained cheeks. He was supposed to be angry with her for keeping his child from him. But right now, in this moment, she was so vulnerable. So frightened. He could only offer her compassion. Any other emotion he felt toward Greer could get them killed.

He had to focus on one thing only: a killer was coming. With vengeance on his mind.

Dear Reader,

Greer Montgomery was a tough character to write at first. Why would someone hide a child from a father if she knew he was a good man? It came down to her own childhood fears. Fear can be irrational, but it doesn’t make it any less real or debilitating to the one who suffers from it.

Words hold life and death, and the words Greer heard her father say the night he left molded and shaped what she believed about men, especially men like Locklin, who had some similar playful and adventurous traits as Greer’s dad. Greer had to learn to trust God. To trust that even if everyone walked out on her and baby Lin, God never would. When that peace was enough, it healed her to trust Locke and give him a chance to be the dad he desperately wanted to be, but was also afraid of.

You and I don’t have to be afraid of our pasts or how they were shaped. We do have to be brave and ask God to heal us from those fears and help us trust people in our lives who want to help and love us. I hope you enjoyed Greer and Locke’s story. I love to hear from readers, so please email me at jessica@jessicarpatch.com and sign up for my newsletter to keep in touch and be “Patched In” with all things bookish! Sign up at www.jessicarpatch.com.

Warmly,

Jessica

Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the Lord thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.

—Deuteronomy 31:6

To Mom, for loving us kids sacrificially and unconditionally, and letting me sit out on the porch as a kid watching thunderstorms instead of making me come in the house.

Special thanks to my agent, Rachel Kent, who’s always in my corner and a joy to work with. To Shana Asaro, for her excitement about weather disaster plots and for always being a rock star editor; to Emily Rodmell, for her help early on in the story; to Susan Tuttle—the other half of my author brain and human shovel always ready to dig me out of a plot hole; and to Jill Kemerer, for helping me burrow into my heroine’s and hero’s hearts to find their fears.

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

About the Author

Booklist

Title Page

Copyright

Introduction

Dear Reader

Dedication

ONE

TWO

THREE

FOUR

FIVE

SIX

SEVEN

EIGHT

NINE

TEN

ELEVEN

TWELVE

THIRTEEN

FOURTEEN

EPILOGUE

Extract

About the Publisher

Spring wasn’t the only thing in the air. Storms were rolling in, and if Greer Montgomery didn’t need the money she wouldn’t be standing here in the middle of a field on an April evening taking photos for the upgraded Goldenville Chamber of Commerce website. Nope, she’d be home snuggled up with her own little Stormie Lin, listening to her suck a pacifier and inhaling that sweet baby scent—a mix of innocence and baby powder. But Greer would work three more jobs, if necessary, to provide for her nine-month-old princess.