Sarah Varland - Alaskan Ambush

He’ll take down their pursuers...

If she gets them out of the wilderness alive.

Pursued through the wilderness after an ambush that left his partner dead, Anchorage police officer Micah Reed stumbles on his assailants’ other target—backcountry tracker Kate Dawson. His best friend’s sister’s just the person to help him outrun the criminals…and solve his case. But with their pursuers closing in, can they rely on each other’s strength to survive this hazardous chase?

SARAH VARLANDlives near the mountains in Alaska, where she loves writing, hiking, kayaking and spending time with her family. She’s happily married to her college sweetheart, John, and is the mom of two active and adorable boys, Joshua and Timothy, as well as another baby in heaven. Sarah has been writing almost since she could hold a pencil and especially loves writing romantic suspense, where she gets to combine her love for happily-ever-afters, inspired by her own, with her love for suspense, inspired by her dad, who has spent a career in law enforcement. You can find Sarah online through her blog, espressoinalatteworld.blogspot.com.

Also By Sarah Varland

Treasure Point Secrets

Tundra Threat

Cold Case Witness

Silent Night Shadows

Perilous Homecoming

Mountain Refuge

Alaskan Hideout

Alaskan Ambush

Discover more at millsandboon.co.uk

Alaskan Ambush

Sarah Varland

www.millsandboon.co.uk

ISBN: 978-1-474-09643-0

ALASKAN AMBUSH

© 2019 Sarah Varland

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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“Almost there.” Every step they took, Kate grew more cautious.

“Where will we come out?”

“At the main trailhead.”

Micah nodded. “Okay, that works. You have a car there?”

“Yes. Not much farther.”

They moved into another area thick with trees that Micah recognized from years ago. Another couple hundred yards and they’d be to the trailhead. They just had to navigate this last section, steep with rocks littering the dirt pathway.

Kate slipped at the top of an incline, kicked one of the bigger rocks. Micah caught her, alarmed at the way he reacted to the feeling of her in his arms, even for a second.

He stayed still for a minute, with Kate, waiting for the rock to finish crashing down the hill, on edge and alert in case someone heard the sound and attacked them.

But the attack didn’t come in the form he was ready for.

Instead a concussive blast shook the mountain beneath them, loosening more rock.

Kate screamed as the pieces fell together in Micah’s mind.

Someone had set a trip wire for them.

Dear Reader,

Thanks for coming back to Moose Haven with me! I have had so much fun setting these books in a fictional town in Alaska’s very real Kenai Peninsula, a place I love to go to get away. If you ever find yourself in Alaska and want to pretend you’re in Moose Haven, feel free to visit Seward, Alaska, one of the best towns I’ve ever been to. It’s much like the fictional town it inspired, tucked between the mountains and Resurrection Bay.

Writing Kate’s story was a challenge. She’s been one of my favorite of the Dawson siblings since I came up with the series idea (although probably they’re all my favorite at different times), but when it came time to write her book, it was hard to get her to open up to me as a character—she’s not an easy woman to figure out. It got me thinking about how different we all are, as I started thinking about the people Kate reminds me of, and my own personality differences from her. I love the way God made us all so unique and this book was a lot of fun because I got to make what I feel like is a pretty unique heroine. I wish Kate was real; I’d see if she’d go hiking with me and teach me some of her backcountry skills.

One facet of Kate’s personality was the way she was shaped by trauma in her past. We all have our own levels of grief and it takes just as much bravery to work through the ones in your life as it did for Kate to face that avalanche. I hope and pray that whatever you’ve faced in your past, you come to see how God can use it for good and that it brings you closer to Him.

I love hearing from readers! I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had a challenging writing week and then opened my computer to find an encouraging letter from a reader. You can email me at sarahvarland@gmail.com, or you can find me online at facebook.com/sarahvarlandauthor, where I post writing news and a lot of Alaska photos.

Sara Varland

Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.

—Philippians 1:6

To my grandmother Kate Bryan. I borrowed your name for this book heroine, and maybe a tiny bit of your spunk, too. You’ve been in heaven for years, but it didn’t seem right to dedicate this one to anyone else. Thanks for all you taught me.

Acknowledgments

To my family, THANK YOU for everything you do, book related and not. I love you all. Thanks to my friends for being supportive. Special thanks also to Mark and Penny Agnew for that talk over brownies that helped lead to this book. Mark, thanks for the information about trackers—I tried to capture their spirit with Kate’s character, but any mistakes are mine.