Valerie Hansen - Fatal Threat

Someone wants to see her silenced.

An Emergency Responders story

Back home after a mission trip, nurse and EMT Sara Southerland learns that her cousin’s death might not have been an accident—and now someone wants her dead. The only person she can trust is longtime crush and fire captain Adam Kane. With a stalker on their tail, Adam will do whatever it takes to protect the woman he’s realizing he can’t live without.

VALERIE HANSENwas thirty when she awoke to the presence of the Lord in her life and turned to Jesus. She now lives in a renovated farmhouse in the breathtakingly beautiful Ozark Mountains of Arkansas and is privileged to share her personal faith by telling the stories of her heart for Love Inspired. Life doesn’t get much better than that!

Also By Valerie Hansen

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Military K-9 Unit

Bound by Duty

Military K-9 Unit Christmas

“Christmas Escape”

Classified K-9 Unit

Special Agent

The Defenders

Nightwatch

Threat of Darkness

Standing Guard

A Trace of Memory

Small Town Justice

Dangerous Legacy

Discover more at millsandboon.co.uk

Fatal Threat

Valerie Hansen

www.millsandboon.co.uk

ISBN: 978-1-474-09489-4

FATAL THREAT

© 2019 Valerie Whisenand

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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“When did you notice this damage?” Adam asked.

“What damage? What are you talking about?”

Grasping Sara’s shoulders, he turned her in place, still keeping them within the shelter of the broad trunk. “This. See the hole?”

“We have worse things to worry about than a wormhole in a sycamore, Adam.”

He was shaking his head and glancing from side to side as if searching for someone or something. Finally, he said, “This is no wormhole, Sara. The damage is fresh. And judging by the wood that’s been displaced, the hole was probably made by a rifle bullet.”

“Why would anybody go deer hunting in town?”

When he placed both hands on the tree, trapping her, covering her, she began to feel surrounded even though he was only one man.

Adam raised his clear visor and leaned in to bring his lips closer to her ear.

Sara was so nervous, so unhinged by his nearness she almost missed hearing him say, “They weren’t shooting at whitetails, Sara. They were shooting at you.”

Dear Reader,

Not all friends make good mates. Not all mates make good friends. The person who can find both qualities in one person is truly blessed.

In this story, Sara was assuming unkind thoughts in the minds of others and she was often wrong, yet she based her reactions on those perceptions because she blamed herself for a tragedy. That’s easy to do when we experience the loss of someone we love. I believe one secret to reclaiming joy is in giving thanks for what we once had, even though it’s now lost, and embracing the future as the gift it truly is.

There are plenty of trials in daily life that we can’t cope with on our own. There is nothing God can’t handle once we decide to let go and trust Him.

You can reach me via email: val@valeriehansen.com.

Blessings,

Valerie Hansen

A man’s heart deviseth his way; but the Lord directeth his steps.

—Proverbs 16:9

Words cannot fully express my admiration for the amazing people who daily risk their lives to save and protect the rest of us. God has blessed them with a heart for service, a keen mind and the courage of David facing Goliath.

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

About the Author

Booklist

Title Page

Copyright

Introduction

Dear Reader

Bible Verse

Dedication

ONE

TWO

THREE

FOUR

FIVE

SIX

SEVEN

EIGHT

NINE

TEN

ELEVEN

TWELVE

THIRTEEN

FOURTEEN

FIFTEEN

SIXTEEN

SEVENTEEN

EIGHTEEN

NINETEEN

TWENTY

TWENTY-ONE

EPILOGUE

Extract

About the Publisher

Flames were crackling, leaping and curling, their updraft sending sparks and embers whirling into the spring night from a burning duplex on the outskirts of Paradise, Missouri.

Fire Captain Adam Kane figured that the wooden structure was doomed. “Engine One on scene. Structure partially involved. Start a second alarm,” Adam radioed before whipping off his headset. He grabbed his handheld radio as he jumped out, slammed his red captain’s helmet down on his short dark hair and went to work.

“Clay and Walt, pull a two and a half. Peter and Rafe, the hydrant. Dave and Ty, to the roof. And get me more lights. We’ll set up to force ventilate from the front doors so we can search for victims.”

Besides the arrival of an ambulance, Adam noticed his own department’s rescue squad slowly pulling through the crowd of spectators. John Forrester was driving. And in the passenger seat was lithe, blonde Sara Southerland, the ER nurse whose unexpected presence had unnerved Adam when she’d arrived at the station that evening.

Well, he couldn’t allow himself to dwell on Sara’s problems. Other lives depended upon him and his crews. Once the ladder truck arrived he could raise the snorkel and position it to spray the rear of the wood-frame building, doubling their efforts without endangering anyone. Or the equipment.