Dana Mentink - Deadly Christmas Pretense

A cowboy to her rescue...

but she’s not who he thinks she is.

Posing as her sister for Christmas is the only way to save her, but Maggie Lofton needs help—even if it means working with her twin’s cowboy ex-boyfriend, Liam Pike. But between the bull’s-eye on her back and the dangerous connection she’s forming with Liam, Maggie’s mission is harder than expected. Will their tenuous partnership be enough to shield her when the killer closes in?

Roughwater Ranch Cowboys

DANA MENTINKis a national bestselling author. She has been honored to win two Carol Awards, a HOLT Medallion and an RT Reviewers’ Choice Best Book Award. She’s authored more than thirty novels to date for Love Inspired Suspense and Harlequin Heartwarming. Dana loves feedback from her readers. Contact her at danamentink.com.

Also by Dana Mentink

Roughwater Ranch Cowboys

Danger on the Ranch

Deadly Christmas Pretense

Gold Country Cowboys

Cowboy Christmas Guardian

Treacherous Trails

Cowboy Bodyguard

Lost Christmas Memories

Pacific Coast Private Eyes

Dangerous Tidings

Seaside Secrets

Abducted

Dangerous Testimony

True Blue K-9 Unit

Shield of Protection

Act of Valor

Discover more at millsandboon.co.uk

Deadly Christmas Pretense

Dana Mentink

www.millsandboon.co.uk

ISBN: 978-1-474-09893-9

DEADLY CHRISTMAS PRETENSE

© 2019 Dana Mentink

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

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Text to speech

“You want to die? Such a pretty young thing?”

“You won’t kill me. Then you’d never know,” Maggie rasped.

“I don’t want to kill you,” he said. “But I will if I have to.”

“I...” she started.

She felt his body twitch, as if something had caught his attention past the railing down on the beach, his hand still pressing her windpipe. “Who’s the cowboy?”

Liam, she thought with a surge of hope. He’d followed her.

She wriggled but he tightened his grip, too, nearly shutting off her oxygen. “You give me what I want and don’t involve anyone else, or you know what will happen. It would be so easy.”

She was too oxygen deprived to reply.

“Hey,” Liam shouted from down below. “Get your hands off her.”

Without warning, the man released her and raced away down the stairs. The sudden movement sent her staggering. Her hips impacted the rusted railing. Gulping for air, it took a second for her brain to register that the railing had given way as she fell backward into nothing.

In God I will praise his word, in God I have put my trust; I will not fear what flesh can do unto me.

—Psalm 56:4

Dear Reader,

I am writing this letter as I sit in a bustling hospital emergency room, waiting for some test results for a family member. Time seems to slow down here, the conversations ebbing and flowing around me in this busy place. It strikes me that we have so many ways to quantify a human life, don’t we? We can measure the beats of the heart, the actions of enzymes, the microbes and platelets and pulses and respirations that keep a body alive. For all that, we cannot measure a person’s capacity to love, the intangible desire of one person to care deeply for another. That, my friends, is the beautiful inheritance from the Lord. He gives us the ability to love, because He first loved us. What a treasure, what a gift.

Thank you so much for reading my story. I hope it entertained and inspired you. Most of all, I hope you feel deeply that you are loved by our Father. If you’d like to contact me, feel free to send a note via my website at danamentink.com. There is also a physical address there if you prefer corresponding by letter. As always, God bless you, my friends, and thank you for joining me on this adventure!

Sincerely,

Dana Mentink

Dedicated to my parents, Bob and Lisa, who taught their children what love looks like.

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

About the Author

Booklist

Title Page

Copyright

Note to Readers

Introduction

Bible Verse

Dear Reader

Dedication

ONE

TWO

THREE

FOUR

FIVE

SIX

SEVEN

EIGHT

NINE

TEN

ELEVEN

TWELVE

THIRTEEN

FOURTEEN

FIFTEEN

SIXTEEN

SEVENTEEN

EIGHTEEN

NINETEEN

TWENTY

TWENTY-ONE

TWENTY-TWO

TWENTY-THREE

Extract

About the Publisher

Maggie Lofton punched the speed in her twin sister’s Corvette as a car rounded the corner behind her a little too fast. The twisting road cut along California’s central coast was lit only by the moon and her headlights. Was the person behind her a random stranger or the man she’d been warned about? Tammy’s terrified phone conversation from late the night before rang in Maggie’s memory.