Sharon Dunn - Mountain Captive

Trapped in a blizzard,

can he complete his rescue mission?

Private investigator Jude Trainor won’t give up on finding a kidnapped little girl—even after the suspect runs him off a mountain road and sends bullets his way. But when Lacey Conrad steps in to help Jude, the criminal sets his sights on her. Can Jude and Lacey outlast a snowstorm and a person who will stop at nothing to cover his tracks?

Ever since she found the Nancy Drew books with the pink covers in her country school library, SHARON DUNNhas loved mystery and suspense. Most of her books take place in Montana, where she lives with three nearly grown children and a hyper border collie. She lost her beloved husband of twenty-seven years to cancer in 2014. When she isn’t writing, she loves to hike surrounded by God’s beauty.

Also By Sharon Dunn

Dead Ringer

Night Prey

Her Guardian

Broken Trust

Zero Visibility

Montana Standoff

Top Secret Identity

Wilderness Target

Cold Case Justice

Mistaken Target

Fatal Vendetta

Big Sky Showdown

Hidden Away

In Too Deep

Wilderness Secrets

Mountain Captive

True Blue K-9 Unit

Courage Under Fire

Discover more at millsandboon.co.uk.

Mountain Captive

Sharon Dunn

www.millsandboon.co.uk

ISBN: 978-0-008-90639-9

MOUNTAIN CAPTIVE

© 2020 Sharon Dunn

Published in Great Britain 2020

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

This ebook contains the following accessibility features which, if supported by your device, can be accessed via your ereader/accessibility settings:

Change of font size and line height

Change of background and font colours

Change of font

Change justification

Text to speech

The sight sent a jolt of fear through her.

“He’s back.” Lacey pointed at the snowmobile on the mountain. “And he has a rifle.”

As they took cover in a snowdrift, Lacey pushed aside the panic that filled her.

Jude faced her, but neither of them dared make a sound. They listened to the snowmobile grow closer. Just a few more minutes and it’d be past them.

She looked up and her breath caught. “He has her! He has the girl!”

“The roads must be open. He’s taking her out of here.” Jude reached for his gun. “We have to stop him.” He fired a shot.

He jerked his head to one side. Before she even had time to look up the mountain to whatever had alarmed him, a thundering roar surrounded her.

Avalanche.

They bolted downhill but couldn’t outrun the wave of snow. In seconds, her body was picked up and tossed around. Snow cascaded around her, enveloping her, and stole her last breath.

Dear Reader

Thank you for going on the exciting and dangerous suspense journey that Jude and Lacey experienced. While they were running for their lives, they were also making a discovery that they had not really been living at all. After the life-altering tragedies that both of them faced, it is normal to shut down and maybe even feel lost and hopeless for a time. With God’s love though, I think we are meant to journey to a place of abundance and joy. Having faced some difficulties in my own life, I understand about living life on autopilot. Been there, done that, they make a T-shirt for it. I am by nature a pessimist. But I believe that we find healing and the full life God promises when we take risk, choose to love and walk in gratitude. God has so much for us.

Thank you,

Sharon Dunn

Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.

—Psalm 30:5

I cried by reason of mine affliction unto the Lord, and he heard me; out of the belly of hell cried I, and thou heardest my voice. For thou hadst cast me into the deep, in the midst of the seas; and floods compassed me about: all thy billows and thy waves passed over me.

—Jonah 2:2–3

For Shannon, who brings so much humor and adventure into my life. So glad you are my son.

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

About the Author

Booklist

Title Page

Copyright

Note to Readers

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

Extract

About the Publisher

Private Investigator Jude Trainor gripped the steering wheel of his SUV as it hugged the upward side of the narrow mountain road. One small overcorrection and he ran the risk of sailing off the road and down the steep incline. Windshield wipers beat out an intense rhythm, wiping away the increasing snowfall. The radio forecast an unexpected blizzard, the worst Montana had seen in fifty years.

He could just make out the red taillights of the car he’d chased for miles. The car matched the description of the one believed to have been used to kidnap an eight-year-old girl over a week ago from her home in North Dakota. There was no way to match it to the driver because it had been reported as stolen a day before the kidnapping.

Was the girl being held in a remote cabin in these mountains? Jude doubted the suspect would lead him to the girl. What he hoped for was to take the driver into custody and get him to confess. But the driver had not stopped when they were on the highway. Now with only the two of them on this road, he must know he was being tailed. Jude prayed for an opportunity to stop or disable the car.