Karen Kirst - Danger In The Deep

When buried secrets surface,

she’s caught in a criminal’s crosshairs.

Aquarium employee Olivia Smith isn’t sure why someone wants her dead—but Marine Corps pilot Brady Johnson knows a secret that could explain it. Brady vowed he’d tell no one that Olivia’s husband had been on the run from his own mob family before he died, but he also promised he’d keep Olivia safe. With danger running deep, they’ll have to work fast to stay alive.

KAREN KIRSTwas born and raised in east Tennessee near the Great Smoky Mountains. She’s a lifelong lover of books, but it wasn’t until after college that she had the grand idea to write one herself. Now she divides her time between being a wife, homeschooling mom and romance writer. Her favorite pastimes are reading, visiting tearooms and watching romantic comedies.

Also By Karen Kirst

Explosive Reunion

Intensive Care Crisis

Danger in the Deep

Love Inspired Historical

Smoky Mountain Matches

The Reluctant Outlaw

The Bridal Swap

The Gift of Family

“Smoky Mountain Christmas”

His Mountain Miss

The Husband Hunt

Married by Christmas

From Boss to Bridegroom

The Bachelor’s Homecoming

Reclaiming His Past

The Sheriff’s Christmas Twins

Wed by Necessity

The Engagement Charade

A Lawman for Christmas

Discover more at millsandboon.co.uk

Danger in the Deep

Karen Kirst

www.millsandboon.co.uk

ISBN: 978-0-008-90086-1

DANGER IN THE DEEP

© 2020 Karen Vyskocil

Published in Great Britain 2020

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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“Olivia? You here?”

A sense of urgency gripped him. Calling her name, he rounded the corner into the escalator area.

A reflection in the glass diverted his attention. Pivoting, he realized the out-of-place shadow was a person, sprawled at the bottom of the steep escalators. Long black hair fanned across the shiny floor grate. A ribbon of dark liquid glistened beneath her cheek.

Olivia.

She wasn’t moving.

Brady forced his leaden feet into motion. At her side, he fell to his knees and felt for a pulse. The breath whooshed from his lungs. Not dead.

“Olivia, can you hear me?” He searched for the blood source and discovered a deep gash behind her right ear.

She reacted to his probing fingers with an agonized moan.

“It’s me. Brady. I’m here to help.”

Her forehead pinched. When she attempted to sit up, she hissed and cradled her arm against her chest.

Brady reached out but didn’t touch her. “What happened?”

Glancing at the floor above, she grimaced. “Someone pushed me.”

Dear Reader,

The idea for this book’s setting came to me last year, when I had the opportunity to accompany my son on an overnight field trip to a local aquarium. There was something mysterious and exciting about being there after hours. I’ll never forget spending the night in the shark tunnel, watching the sharks and fish swim overhead as I drifted off to sleep. I shared my idea with our aquarium guide that night, and she agreed it would be a unique setting. I’m sure she was surprised to receive my email many months later asking if she’d agree to be a source of information for my book! I patterned Olivia’s aquarium after the one I visited, the Tennessee Aquarium in Chattanooga. However, I tweaked some aspects and obviously located it in North Carolina.

I hope you enjoyed Olivia and Brady’s journey. They were both interesting characters to explore and, I’ll admit, a bit of a challenge to bring together. Because she’s a recent widow, I worked hard to make their love story authentic and believable. If you’d like more information on my suspense or historical books, please visit my website at www.karenkirst.comor visit with me on Facebook. I also like to hear from readers through email, which is karenkirst@live.com.

Blessings,

Karen Kirst

My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.

—James 1:2–4

Acknowledgments

Rachel Richardson, Sleep in the Deep educator—Rachel, I’m sure you weren’t expecting me to actually follow through with my idea! I appreciate the time you took to answer my questions throughout this lengthy process. Your knowledge was invaluable in creating my heroine, as well as grasping aquarium operations.

J.T. Young—I appreciate your insight into what it means to be a USMC helicopter pilot. Thank you for tpatiently answering my many questions.

Andrew Benson—Thank you for sharing your diving knowledge and helping me craft plausible situations suited to an aquarium.

Jeff Sardella—Thank you for providing a clear understanding of light aircraft procedures and helping me with those all-important details.

Dan Rowe—You may not remember our chat last year, but I still have the notes. Thanks for telling me about your experiences as a USMC pilot.

Any mistakes are my own.

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

About the Author

Booklist

Title Page

Copyright

Note to Readers

Introduction

Dear Reader

Bible Verse

Acknowledgments

ONE

TWO

THREE

FOUR

FIVE

SIX

SEVEN