Liz Johnson - Hazardous Holiday

PROTECTING HIS FAMILY

Just in time for the holidays, navy SEAL Zach McCloud returns home from deployment—and discovers someone wants his family dead. When he married his cousin’s struggling widow, he vowed to help her and her seriously ill son, and now he’ll risk everything to protect them. Even if their arrangement is only temporary. Kristi’s certain an unhappy client from the law firm where she works is determined to hunt her down. But when a sniper bullet wildly misses its target, they begin to question whether it’s really her someone wants dead. Working together, can they figure out why they’ve been attacked...and keep little Cody from the nefarious forces dead set on making this Christmas their last?

“It’s okay,” Zach said. “It’s going to be okay.”

But his words didn’t make the hail of bullets stop.

And then he heard the sweet song of police sirens. And just like that, as quickly as they’d started, the shots ended.

He released Kristi just enough for her to look up at him, eyes wild and curls askew. She dropped her gaze to her son and cupped his cheeks in her palms. “Are you all right?”

Cody looked mildly shell-shocked but shrugged anyway. “I’m okay.”

She turned her arm, and Zach saw a red swath from her elbow to her shoulder. Grabbing her with less finesse and more fear, he said, “I thought you said you weren’t hit.”

Kristi followed his gaze to the smear of blood and frowned, looking puzzled. “It’s not me. I’m not...” Her eyes widened in alarm when she looked at his shoulder. “Oh, Zach.”

She scrambled to pull off her sweater and pressed it against his arm.

Pain seared through him like a flash of lightning. It was as if his entire arm was on fire, and he hadn’t even noticed. Only now could he feel the blood rolling down to his elbow.

But at least it was his and not hers.

Dear Reader,

Thank you for joining Zach, Kristi and me on this adventure. I hope you enjoyed reading their story as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Zach appeared in the first Men of Valor book, A Promise to Protect, and he’s been waiting not-so-patiently for his own story ever since. In fact, he’s been waiting for a lot of things, especially Kristi. I love how he’s willing to sacrifice his own happiness for hers. And I love that his sacrifice begins to open her eyes to a love she never expected.

Both Zach and Kristi—and even Cody—get second chances at the right time. I’ve never been one who likes to wait, but Zach and Kristi remind me that God’s timing is perfect. I hope when you feel like God hasn’t heard you or that you can’t possibly wait any longer, this story will remind you that everything has a season and God’s timing is best.

Thanks for spending your time with us. I’d love to hear from you. You can reach me at liz@lizjohnsonbooks.com, Twitter.com/LizJohnsonBooksor Facebook.com/LizJohnsonBooks. Or visit LizJohnsonBooks.comto sign up for my newsletter.

Liz Johnson

By day LIZ JOHNSON is a marketing manager at a Christian publisher. She makes time to write late at night and is a two-time ACFW Carol Award finalist. She lives in Nashville and enjoys exploring local music and theater, and she makes frequent trips to Arizona to dote on her nieces and nephews. She writes stories filled with heart, humor and happily-ever-afters and can be found online at www.lizjohnsonbooks.com.

Hazardous Holiday

Liz Johnson

www.millsandboon.co.uk

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.

To everything there is a season,

and a time to every purpose under the heaven.

—Ecclesiastes 3:1

For the readers.

May you continue to find joy in stories

and hope in the greatest story of all.

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

Introduction

Dear Reader

About the Author

Title Page

Bible Verse

Dedication

PROLOGUE

ONE

TWO

THREE

FOUR

FIVE

SIX

SEVEN

EIGHT

NINE

TEN

ELEVEN

TWELVE

THIRTEEN

FOURTEEN

FIFTEEN

SIXTEEN

EPILOGUE

Extract

Copyright

PROLOGUE

“I guess we’d better get married, then.”

At Zach’s words, Kristi Tanner dropped her mug. It shattered and splashed coffee across her kitchen floor, dousing the nearby cabinets in the pale, creamy drink.

All six feet two inches of Zach McCloud stooped in silence to scoop up the porcelain shards, but she couldn’t move as his words rang in her ears, over and over.

We’d better get married, then.

Get married, then.

Married.

As proposals went, that was the very worst one she’d ever heard. Of course, she’d heard only two in person. But this was nothing like a sweet, romantic scene from the movies.

From his knees, Zach stared up at her. “I guess that was a bit of a surprise.”

She gave him a curt nod.

“Sorry about that.” He threw the broken mug away, then shifted into the traditional proposal pose. She sucked in a quick gasp. Was he going to do it right this time?

But she didn’t know what right looked like.

When Aaron had asked her to marry him, he’d pulled a ring out of the front pocket of his work jeans and slipped it on her finger before she’d even known what was happening. That had been fine with her, since she’d been in love with Aaron Tanner since he shared his pudding cup with her in the second grade.

But he was never going to share his dessert with her again.

Tears burned her eyes, and she tried to wipe them away. No matter how similar their hazel-green eyes and cleft chins—genetic traits the cousins shared—the man kneeling before her wasn’t Aaron.

“Why exactly do you think we should get married?”

Zach rubbed at his bald head, the superclose shave most likely masking the McCloud men’s tendency toward early hair loss. “Guess I sort of jumped ahead there.”

“You think?” She couldn’t help the snark that laced her words. It wasn’t pointed at him precisely. It wasn’t pointed anywhere actually.

Maybe a little at Aaron.

Definitely kind of at Aaron.

He’d promised they’d grow old together working the ranch they both loved.

Then he’d gone and walked in on a robbery in progress. He’d tried to protect the pregnant clerk behind the gas station counter. And he’d been shot three times in the chest.

How dare he leave her to raise their five-year-old son, Cody, all by herself?

“As I see it, you can’t stay in Montana,” he said, his voice low, laced with pain that was entirely too familiar.

Aaron hadn’t just been Zach’s cousin. He’d been his best friend, too.

He snagged a towel from the counter and mopped up the coffee streaks down the cabinets before wiping at the puddle on the floor. “Not with Cody’s condition.”

That was a placid euphemism for the sinister heart defect that had been slowly stealing her son’s life, breath by breath.

“He needs to be near the best doctors when he reaches the top of the transplant list. And you need support...and insurance.” The flecks of brown in his green eyes seemed to glow as he leaned forward. “You’re all alone out here.”