Linda Castillo - A Cry In The Night

The doctors had said it was a miracle he’d lived.

Buzz wondered what the odds were of a man surviving such an ordeal twice in his lifetime, because he felt as if he’d just been struck again.

He’s your son.

Kelly’s words rang in his ears like a thunderclap. Shocking. Dangerous. Damning. He wanted to deny them, give voice to the outrage inside him. Instead he stared at the woman he’d spent three years loving more than life itself and the last few trying desperately to get out of his system.

Slowly he turned to face her. “You kept my son from me.”

“I never meant to hurt you.”

Buzz didn’t have time to acknowledge the fury burgeoning inside him. Right now, there was a young life at stake. A life he had every intention of saving. His son’s life.

Dear Reader,

Things are cooling down outside—at least here in the Northeast—but inside this month’s six Silhouette Intimate Moments titles the heat is still on high. After too long an absence, bestselling author Dallas Schulze is back to complete her beloved miniseries A FAMILY CIRCLE with Lovers and Other Strangers. Shannon Deveraux has come home to Serenity and lost her heart to travelin’ man Reece Morgan.

Our ROMANCING THE CROWN continuity is almost over, so join award winner Ingrid Weaver in Under the King’s Command. I think you’ll find Navy SEAL hero Sam Coburn irresistible. Ever-exciting Lindsay McKenna concludes her cross-line miniseries, MORGAN’S MERCENARIES: ULTIMATE RESCUE, with Protecting His Own. You’ll be breathless from the first page to the last. Linda Castillo’s A Cry in the Night features another of her “High Country Heroes,” while relative newcomer Catherine Mann presents the second of her WINGMEN WARRIORS, in Taking Cover. Finally, welcome historical author Debra Lee Brown to the line with On Thin Ice, a romantic adventure set against an Alaskan background.

Enjoy them all, and come back again next month, when the roller-coaster ride of love and excitement continues right here in Silhouette Intimate Moments, home of the best romance reading around.

Yours,

Leslie J. Wainger

Executive Senior Editor

www.millsandboon.co.uk

grew up in a small farming community in western Ohio. She knew from a very early age that she wanted to be a writer—and penned her first novel at the age of thirteen during one of those long Ohio winters. Her dream of becoming a published author came true the day Silhouette called and wanted to buy one of her books!

Romance is at the heart of all her stories. She loves the idea of two fallible people falling in love amid danger and against their better judgment—or so they think. She enjoys watching them struggle through their problems, realize their weaknesses and strengths along the way and, ultimately, fall head over heels in love.

She is the winner of numerous writing awards, including the prestigious Maggie Award for Excellence. In 1999, she was a triple Romance Writers of America Golden Heart finalist and took first place in the romantic suspense division. In 2001, she was an RWA RITA ®Award finalist with her first Silhouette release, Remember the Night.

Linda spins her tales of love and intrigue from her home in Dallas, Texas, where she lives with her husband and three lovable dogs. Check out her Web site at www.lindacastillo.com. Or you can contact her at P.O. Box 670501, Dallas, Texas 75367-0501.

This book is dedicated to my husband, whose love and support made it possible for me to write this story. To my nephew, Aaron—officer and EMT extraordinaire. Thanks for being such a hero that day on the mountain. If I ever get into a tight spot, I sure hope there’s someone like you there to help me. And to my special friends and fellow authors Cathy, Jen and Vickie, thanks for believing in the magic. You guys are the best.

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Kelly Malone knew better than to panic. Even as she felt its razor claws dig into her, she fought its powerful grasp. Panic made smart people do stupid things. Stupid things that ultimately led to mistakes. She couldn’t afford to make a mistake. Not when her child’s life was on the line.

Gripping the steering wheel with white-knuckled hands, she stared through the windshield into the black abyss ahead and pressed the accelerator to the floor.

She’d grown up less than twenty miles from the eastern edge of this beautiful, unforgiving land. White River National Forest had been her home for thirty-one years. Her father had been a smoke jumper; her mother a park ranger. Kelly knew the area like the back of her hand, respected its capricious nature. She knew and loved the people who lived here. Over the years she’d known of a dozen lost children. She’d even helped look for a few of them herself. She knew most of those children were found safe and sound.

None of them had ever been her child.

The thought sent a spike of fear straight through her heart to coil in her gut like a reptile whipping its spindly tail. “He’s going to be all right,” she whispered fiercely. “He’s going to be okay.”

Kelly knew the value of remaining calm and rational—even if the situation had already spiraled out of control. But the side of her that was a mother first scoffed at the idea.

Her child was missing.

It was her fault.

And there was only one man in the world she trusted to find him and bring him back. A man she’d once loved with all her heart. A man she’d hurt terribly. A man whose life she was about to change forever.

A fresh wave of terror slashed her, choking her, bleeding the last vestiges of calm from her veins. Adrenaline sparked like fire and zipped along her nerve endings like a lit fuse. Hysteria beckoned, but she knew once she entered that shadowy place, she’d never climb out.

The headlights sliced through the blackest night she’d ever seen, but Kelly didn’t slow down. Driven by the primal instinct to protect what was precious, she drove like a madwoman through the inky darkness, her single-minded determination slapping down any notion of her own safety. Though the night was mild—even in July, temperatures in the Colorado Rockies could vary wildly—she felt cold, chilled from the inside out, as if her blood had been replaced with ice.

She would never forgive herself if something terrible happened to her little boy.

The wind tore at her car, shoving it from side to side like a child’s toy, but she didn’t slow down. Her tires protested with a squeal as she skidded around a dangerous curve she knew better than to take at such a high rate of speed. To the west, lightning split the sky, shattering it like crystal, illuminating bony trees and rocks the size of dinosaurs.

Kelly withheld a sob at the thought of her child huddled and alone on a night like this. Eddie had never been afraid of the dark, but thunder had always scared him. It tore her up inside knowing he was out there, alone and frightened and cold. The thought reached into her, a fist breaking through her ribs, gripping her heart and squeezing it so brutally she couldn’t breathe.