Carol J. Post - Lethal Legacy

Someone wants her family secrets buried

He’s her only chance to survive

Andrea Wheaton thought her parents’ tragic deaths were accidental—until she’s attacked during a burglary at their home. Now she’s also being targeted. Her ex-sweetheart Sheriff Deputy Bryce Caldwell insists on protecting her, though she refuses to trust him again. But with a killer closing in, can she and Bryce uncover her family’s secrets before it’s too late for them both?

CAROL J. POSTwrites fun and fast-paced inspirational romantic suspense stories and lives in sunshiny central Florida. She sings and plays the piano for her church and also enjoys sailing, hiking and camping—almost anything outdoors. Her daughters and grandkids live too far away for her liking, so she now pours all that nurturing into taking care of two fat and sassy cats and one highly spoiled dachshund.

Also By Carol J. Post Booklist Title Page Copyright Introduction Dear Reader Bible Verse Dedication ONE TWO THREE FOUR FIVE SIX SEVEN EIGHT NINE TEN ELEVEN TWELVE THIRTEEN Extract About the Publisher

Love Inspired Suspense

Midnight Shadows

Motive for Murder

Out for Justice

Shattered Haven

Hidden Identity

Mistletoe Justice

Buried Memories

Reunited by Danger

Fatal Recall

Lethal Legacy

Discover more at millsandboon.co.uk

Lethal Legacy

Carol J. Post

www.millsandboon.co.uk

ISBN: 978-1-474-08598-4

LETHAL LEGACY

© 2018 Carol J. Post

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

Before you start reading, why not sign up?

Thank you for downloading this Mills & Boon book. If you want to hear about exclusive discounts, special offers and competitions, sign up to our email newsletter today!

SIGN ME UP!

Or simply visit

signup.millsandboon.co.uk

Mills & Boon emails are completely free to receive and you can unsubscribe at any time via the link in any email we send you.

The lights in Andi’s house went out, leaving only the glow of the fire.

Bryce reached for Andi, tension spiking through him. “Stay here.”

He pulled his flashlight from his pocket and clicked it on. There were no storms in the area. He’d stepped from his car under a clear sky, an almost half-moon casting its soft glow over the landscape. No reason for the power to go out.

“What happened?” Andi’s voice was paper-thin, with an underlying quiver.

“I’m going to look out and see if there’s light in my direction.”

Bryce darted down the hall to the master bedroom. When he swept aside the curtains, his uneasiness ratcheted up several notches. A soft glow shone through the trees: his own porch light. His power was on.

So what happened to Andi’s?

Out front, glass shattered, followed by an almost simultaneous scream. He dropped the curtains into place and ran from the room, panic pounding at his heels. At the end of the hall, flames engulfed the love seat that separated the living room from the dining area.

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 TEN ELEVEN TWELVE THIRTEEN Extract About the Publisher ,

I hope you’ve enjoyed returning to Murphy, North Carolina. A number of years ago, while visiting the area, my husband and I went in with four other family members and bought a dilapidated old cabin on twelve acres. While at the building supply store, we told them about our project, and the guy asked if we knew about the gold. We talked to some people, one of whom was a retired geologist who lived across the street at the time. Sure enough, turns out thar’s gold in them thar hills! We found where mining had happened at one end of the property and also on the geologist’s land. There’s still gold, but it’s about one thousand feet down, buried in a vein of quartz.

I hope you’ve enjoyed Bryce and Andrea’s story. I love reunion stories, and this one was a lot of fun to write. Both Andrea and Bryce had acquired a lot of baggage over the years and had to work hard to learn to trust again.

I hope you’ll come back in December to reconnect with some of your favorite Murphy residents in the third and final book in the series.

Love in Christ,

Carol J. Post

Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed;

for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee;

yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee

with the right hand of my righteousness.

—Isaiah 41:10

Writing is a solitary activity,

but a lot of support goes into writing

and publishing a book. A huge thank-you to my “team”:

My sister, Kim Wolff,

for all your help with my Murphy research.

The rest of my family for your unending encouragement.

My critique partners, Karen Fleming and Sabrina Jarema, for making my stories the best they can be.

My beta reader/proofreader, Martha “Mom” Post,

for catching the things the rest of us miss.

My amazing editor, Dina Davis,

and lovely agent, Nalini Akolekar, for all your hard work.

And my wonderful husband, Chris,

for thirty-seven amazing years.

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text Someone wants her family secrets buried He’s her only chance to survive Andrea Wheaton thought her parents’ tragic deaths were accidental—until she’s attacked during a burglary at their home. Now she’s also being targeted. Her ex-sweetheart Sheriff Deputy Bryce Caldwell insists on protecting her, though she refuses to trust him again. But with a killer closing in, can she and Bryce uncover her family’s secrets before it’s too late for them both?