Rachel Lee - Stalked In Conard County

About the Author RACHEL LEE was hooked on writing by the age of twelve and practiced her craft as she moved from place to place all over the United States. This New York Times bestselling author now resides in Florida and has the joy of writing full-time.

Booklist Also By Rachel Lee Contents Cover Back Cover Text About the Author Booklist Title Page Copyright Note to Readers Introduction Dear Reader Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 About the Publisher Conard County: The Next Generation Guardian in Disguise The Widow’s Protector Rancher’s Deadly Risk What She Saw Rocky Mountain Lawman Killer’s Prey Deadly Hunter Snowstorm Confessions Undercover Hunter Playing with Fire Conard County Witness A Secret in Conard County A Conard County Spy Conard County Marine Undercover in Conard County Conard County Revenge Conard County Watch Stalked in Conard County Conard County: The Next Generation Cornered in Conard County Missing in Conard County Murdered in Conard County Discover more at millsandboon.co.uk

Title Page Stalked in Conard County Rachel Lee www.millsandboon.co.uk

Copyright ISBN: 978-0-008-90487-6 STALKED IN CONARD COUNTY © 2020 Susan Civil Brown 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. ® and ™ are trademarks owned and used by the trademark owner and/or its licensee. Trademarks marked with ® are registered with the United Kingdom Patent Office and/or the Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market and in other countries. www.millsandboon.co.uk Version: 2020-03-02

Note to Readers

Introduction “Haley? Are you feeling ill?” In an instant her eyes lost the hollow look and began to spark blue fire. “I’m fine,” she said. “I’m not sick. But some jerk woke me up last night and opened a box of memories I’d safely put away under lock and key for almost twenty-five years.” Roger hesitated, waiting, giving her a chance to continue. Then, wondering if he was prying, he asked the question boldly. “Your kidnapping?” “Yes.” She snapped the word. “I never heard much about it,” he said. “I was too young, nobody said anything to me and I just picked up that it had happened. But it was over quickly, right?” Something in her posture eased. Her face and tone quieted a bit. “That didn’t make it much better.” “I don’t imagine it would. I can’t conceive of anything more terrifying no matter how long it lasted.” “It wasn’t just the terror,” she said slowly. Then she seemed to shake herself. “It’s in the past,” she said, as if reminding herself. “Maybe not far enough in the past,” he remarked. * * * Be sure to check out the rest of the Conard County: The Next Generation miniseries!

Dear Reader Dear Reader Contents Cover Back Cover Text About the Author Booklist Title Page Copyright Note to Readers Introduction Dear Reader Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 About the Publisher , Traumatic events from our childhood can affect us for a long time, possibly throughout the rest of our lives. They can affect our perceptions of events in the present and our emotional well-being. They should never be minimized. While therapy can help, it cannot erase, and many will be haunted forever. A single event can trigger us. We may experience paranoia and fear that we might once again experience terrible things. A hurricane, a tornado and other severe traumas may sometimes not be recognized as such until much later when we find ourselves lost in a cold sweat and an unwilling trip down the rabbit hole of memory. We can also try to dismiss our current reactions as out of proportion to what is actually happening. We may be right about that or we may be wrong. Regardless, we have had our brains imprinted with a terrible experience. It will not go away. In this story, Haley McKinsey falls into that rabbit hole of her past abduction. She doubts her own fears, doubts her own interpretation, tries to tell herself she is overreacting. Roger McLeod doesn’t think she is and becomes her ally as she faces the moment when present and past combine to create terror. Rachel Lee

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

About the Publisher

The full moon glowed almost as bright as an icy sun. It poured through the window in Haley McKinsey’s bedroom, reaching through her eyelids and gently prompting her to wake.

As her eyes fluttered open, she stared with amazement at the brilliance of the silvery orb. A small smile curved her lips as she drank in the rare beauty. She’d never seen this from her apartment in Baltimore. Just another thing to make her think more seriously about moving to Wyoming. Inheriting her grandmother’s house in Conard City had initially seemed like a generous gift. She could sell it and use the money for a great many things. Nurses weren’t exactly overpaid.

But since arriving two days ago, she’d begun to remember the occasional summer visits here, and as the memories came back to her, the house began to feel like it might be her new home.

Seeing the moon now, enjoying the magic of being awakened by its silvery light, she found another reason to want to remain. There hadn’t been very many vacations here, but there had been enough to give her a stack of good memories.

Such a beautiful place!

Lying there in a drowsy, pleasant place, the worries of the world and the past seemed far away.

Until the face appeared at the lower ledge of her window. She couldn’t see it clearly because of the moon’s brightness behind it, but her heart slammed into high gear and she sat up immediately, trying to think of what she could use for a weapon.

Even as she had the thought, the face dropped from view. Had someone really been there? Had she imagined it in the hinterland between waking and sleeping?

With her heart in her throat, her mouth as dry as sand, she wondered if she should even move. Should she go out and look? Should she call the police?