Virginia Vaughan - Deadly Christmas Duty

Title Page Deadly Christmas Duty Virginia Vaughan www.millsandboon.co.uk

Copyright ISBN: 978-1-474-08652-3 DEADLY CHRISTMAS DUTY © 2018 Virginia Vaughan Published in Great Britain 2018 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

Introduction Anxiety exploded into full-on panic. The fear of plunging into the water had forced her to relive that long-ago night of terror. But she’d made it out that night, and it had been seven years with no sign of her husband. And no indication he’d ever made it out of that lake alive. How could she explain this to Noah? No one could know the truth. She didn’t hear the roaring sound until headlights bore down on her. She screamed and ran, but the vehicle kept coming, as if calling her name. I’m coming for you, Melinda. I’m coming for you. Only when the crowd approached did the car turn and roar down the road. Noah reached her and she fell into his arms. “I heard you scream. What happened?” Panic morphed into tears and she clung to him. “He tried to run me down.” “Who?” All she knew was that whoever was after her wasn’t giving up. Not until he killed her.

Dear Reader Dear Reader 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 EPILOGUE Extract About the Publisher , Does it ever seem to you that the bad people of the world get a pass and justice is never served? Sometimes it feels that way to me, and this is the very issue Noah is fighting with throughout the story. All he wants is justice for his sister, but it seems to elude him. He’s disillusioned by all the evil and chaos he’s seen and wondering how a good God can allow it. But as Noah learns, we must have faith. We have a God who is always on His throne. He doesn’t sleep. He’s never absent. And He doesn’t have to wonder whether or not someone is guilty of evil deeds. He doesn’t need to collect evidence or proof. He knows. He sees into the hearts of men and gives justice to those who have been wronged. Sometimes, like Noah, we get to see justice done in our lifetimes, but we must never despair that God is the ultimate judge and His justice will always prevail. Thank you for joining me for Noah and Melinda’s story. I love hearing from my readers. You can connect with me on my website, virginiavaughanonline.com , or at Facebook.com/ginvaughanbooks . Sincerely, Virginia

Bible Verse And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus. —Matthew 14:29

Dedication To my mom, who I often go to when I’m stuck on a project. You probably never thought you’d be plotting to kill people with your daughter. Life is crazy, isn’t it?

ONE

TWO

THREE

FOUR

FIVE

SIX

SEVEN

EIGHT

NINE

EPILOGUE

Extract

About the Publisher

Prosecutor Melinda Steele dug through her purse to find the keys that unlocked her office door. Her assistant, Dawn, was out to lunch, and the rest of the suite appeared empty on this Saturday afternoon. She found her keys but stopped when she went to slide one into the lock. Her door was cracked open; the latch never engaged.

Uneasiness prickled her neck. Dawn was always good about making sure everything was locked up before she left for lunch. It was possible she’d been distracted and forgotten, but a sinister dread crept through Melinda as it always did whenever something jarred her out of her normal routine.

Stop being so paranoid , she told herself as she tried to shake off those fears of bygone days when she constantly peered over her shoulder, always watching for the bad thing that was coming for her and her son. But Ramey was now six years old, and the big bad man had never come for them. They were safe here in Daytonville, Alabama, safe in the comfort and anonymity of the small-town life she’d grown to love.

She pushed open her door and walked inside, scanning her office. Everything looked fine. Everything was in its place, and nothing looked askew. That helped reassure her that she was being oversensitive. She touched the photo of Ramey on her desk as she walked by it and sat down. He was fine. They were both fine. They’d escaped the past, and no one was coming for them now. And the door had been locked. Dawn had simply forgotten to pull it shut all the way. It was nothing but a mistake.

She turned on her computer and took out a case file she needed to update as it went through the screens of booting up. A knock on the door grabbed her attention, and she looked up into the most beautiful deep green, long-lashed eyes of a man she’d ever seen. The rest of his face was masculine and his jaw strong. His broad shoulders filled the doorway, but he wasn’t a large man, just fit.

He stepped inside and extended his hand to shake. “Miss Steele? My name is Noah Cason. I’m Nikki Lassiter’s brother. I was hoping I could have a moment to speak with you.”

Nikki’s brother. The former Navy SEAL. That explained the muscles, as well as the hauntingly familiar eyes she’d seen staring at her from a photo on his sister’s mantel.

She stood and gripped his hand. It was strong and intense. “Certainly. Won’t you sit down? I knew your sister very well. She was my son’s teacher two years ago and we became close friends. I’m very sorry for your loss.”

The words seemed empty even to her as she spoke them, but what else could she say? Sorry the man who was supposed to protect your sister was a monster in disguise? Sorry your kid sister has vanished without a trace and is probably dead?

“Thank you.” He sat, but she noticed the way he scanned the room, probably memorizing each and every detail. She smiled, recalling how Nikki had told her about his tendency to do that even before he’d joined the service. He’d been good at assessing people and places and quickly understanding the situation. She’d been proud of her brother, but sad that they had grown apart after he’d left town to join the navy.