Shirlee McCoy - Lone Witness

She’s keeping secrets. He must keep her safe.

An FBI: Special Crimes Unit page-turner

Were it not for Tessa Carlson, Special Agent Henry Miller’s daughter would have been abducted. But rescuing the little girl has thrust Tessa—a woman in hiding—into the media’s spotlight…and into a criminal’s crosshairs. Now her survival depends on putting her faith in widowed single father Henry if she wants to live to see another day.

Aside from her faith and her family, there’s not much SHIRLEE McCOYenjoys more than a good book! When she’s not hanging out with the people she loves most, she can be found plotting her next Love Inspired Suspense story or trekking through the wilderness, training with a local Search and Rescue team. Shirlee loves to hear from readers. If you have time, drop her a line at shirlee@shirleemccoy.com.

Also by Shirlee McCoy

FBI: Special Crimes Unit

Night Stalker

Gone

Dangerous Sanctuary

Lone Witness

Mission: Rescue

Protective Instincts

Her Christmas Guardian

Exit Strategy

Deadly Christmas Secrets

Mystery Child

The Christmas Target

Mistaken Identity

Christmas on the Run

Military K-9 Unit

Valiant Defender

Classified K-9 Unit

Bodyguard

Discover more at millsandboon.co.uk.

Lone Witness

Shirlee McCoy

www.millsandboon.co.uk

ISBN: 978-1-474-09647-8

LONE WITNESS

© 2019 Shirlee McCoy

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.

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.

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www.millsandboon.co.uk

Version: 2020-03-02

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“What happened?”

“It was a prank phone call,” Tessa said hurriedly. “I got spooked.”

“What did the caller say?” Henry asked.

“Nothing that made any sense.”

“Can you be a little more specific?”

“He said he knew what I had done,” she replied.

“There’s someone you were thinking of? Someone who might want to scare you?”

“The kidnapper pops to mind,” Kayla offered before Tessa could respond.

Too bad. Henry would have liked to hear Tessa’s answer.

He had a feeling the kidnapper hadn’t been the first person to pop into her mind. She’d told him very little about her past. But that seemed to be Tessa’s MO: very little information and very few details.

He wanted to protect her.

She wasn’t making it easy.

He was about to tell her that when something crashed through the window a few feet away, smashing the pane of glass and shattering it into millions of tiny shards.

“Get down!” he shouted, diving toward Tessa and tackling her to the ground as light flashed and a ball of fire shot across the room.

Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.

—Joshua 1:9

To my children. Who know me well and love me anyway.

Dear Reader,

It’s been thirteen years since my first Love Inspired Suspense book was published. In the years since, many things have changed. My children have mostly grown. I’ve moved several times. I’ve said hello to new friends and goodbye to some old ones. I’ve learned a lot about what it means to be part of a family created not just by blood but by the bonds of friendship, faith and community. It is through those bonds that I have been taught the incredible value of compassion, empathy and kindness.

For Tessa Carlson, life has never been easy. She grew up in tough circumstances and found herself in worse ones. She fled something intolerable and created a life that she could be proud of. When she sees a little girl being kidnapped, she knows that intervening could cost her everything she’s worked for, but she’s not willing to turn her away. As the past she’s fled stalks her, she learns the true meaning of love and the beauty of second chances.

I hope you enjoy Lone Witness , the fourth book in the FBI Special Crimes Unit series. I love hearing from readers. You can reach me at shirlee@shirleemccoy.com, or find me on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.

Blessings,

Shirlee McCoy

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

About the Author

Booklist

Title Page

Copyright

Introduction

Bible Verse

Dedication

Dear Reader

ONE

TWO

THREE

FOUR

FIVE

SIX

SEVEN

EIGHT

NINE

TEN

ELEVEN

TWELVE

THIRTEEN

EPILOGUE

Extract

About the Publisher

Wind buffeted the windows of Tessa Carlson’s tiny cottage, rattling the glass as she rinsed her coffee mug and set it in the sink. Outside, thick shrubs brushed against the siding, scraping against the old wood shingles, the sound eerie and unnerving. Usually, she didn’t feel unsettled by the solitude of winter in Provincetown, Massachusetts. This morning, she felt a little anxious and a little off, as if all the hard work she’d done healing from the past had been wasted.

Three years, four months, twelve hours.

That’s how long it had been since she’d disappeared from Napa Valley. There’d been no missing person report. No emotional plea for her return. She doubted Patrick had cared that she was gone. Although, he’d cared a lot about his reputation. To have his girlfriend walk away had to have been a blow to his ego.