Geri Krotow - The Pregnant Colton Witness

A murder witness must protect her unborn child—and her heart

A Coltons of Red Ridge thriller

One night of passion with Officer Nash Maddox left Dr. Patience Colton breathless—and pregnant! The two are unexpectedly reunited when Patience becomes a witness to a murder and K-9 cop Nash rushes to her rescue, along with his canine companion. The two will stop at nothing to protect their growing family, but a killer has other ideas...

Former naval intelligence officer and US Naval Academy graduate GERI KROTOWDraws inspiration from the global situations she’s experienced. Geri loves to hear from her readers. You can email her via her website and blog, gerikrotow.com.

Also by Geri Krotow

The Pregnant Colton BrideHer Christmas ProtectorWedding TakedownHer Secret Christmas AgentSecret Agent Under FireThe Fugitive’s Secret ChildReunion Under FireThe Billionaire’s Colton Threat

Discover more at millsandboon.co.uk

The Pregnant Colton Witness

Geri Krotow

www.millsandboon.co.uk

ISBN: 978-1-474-07940-2

THE PREGNANT COLTON WITNESS

© 2018 Harlequin Books S.A.

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

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For Ellen—it’s been a joy watching you turn into the

beautiful young woman you are.

Acknowledgements

A special thank-you to Deanna Reiber, DVM, USA (Ret.) who provided me with veterinary insight and advice as only a USNA sister alumna can do.

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

About the Author

Booklist

Title Page

Copyright

Dedication

Acknowledgements

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

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Extract

About the Publisher

The Red Ridge, South Dakota, autumn morning sky streaked pink and violet across Black Hills Lake. Dr. Patience Colton, DVM, took a moment to soak it all in. Nestled in the northwestern part of the state, Red Ridge—and more specifically, the town’s K9 clinic—were home to her. The only place her heart ever found peace. She committed the view of the mountains to memory, knowing there stood a good chance she’d never look at it, or anything, the same way again. It all depended upon the results of the simple test kit in the Red Ridge Drugstore bag that she clutched in her left hand.

No one had seen her yet; none of the staff knew she was already at the K9 clinic, ready for another day of veterinary medicine. She could run—but to where? Her townhome? Her cabin in the mountains? Another state, where her veterinary license wouldn’t be valid? If the test proved positive, running wasn’t going to change it or the overwhelming implications. Running away might be an option for another person, but not her. Patience never backed down from a challenge, and what might be her toughest yet was no exception.

She sucked in the crisp mountain air before she entered the building, hoping for a few minutes to herself to figure out if the signals from her body weren’t random.

Fifteen minutes later, she wondered if maybe running away wasn’t such a bad idea.

“No. Freaking. Way.” Patience’s hands shook as she spoke under her breath, staring at the test strip she’d used only minutes earlier to determine if she had skipped a period again for any reason other than stress. She stood in the restroom of the Red Ridge County K9 Clinic, her clinic, and struggled to get a grip. Locked in the staff bathroom, the weight of how her life was changing triggered a gush of tears. It had been a mistake to do this at work.

She couldn’t be caught like this—crying over a pregnancy test result. “Calm down.” She gave herself the same advice she wished she could give her K9 patients when they were stressed.

It hadn’t been uncommon for her to miss one or two cycles while in veterinary school and also working extra hours at a part-time job to help pay for her expenses. And the last few months had been incredibly stressful, not just for her but for all of Red Ridge. The modestly sized town was in the midst of a criminal crisis. Patience worked closely with the Red Ridge Police Department, as well as the K9 training center, the latter of which housed the clinic. So it was impossible to not be aware of the stress placed on the RRPD over the local serial killer, dubbed the Groom Killer. Red Ridge had erupted into all-out panic after the fifth and most recent groom-to-be had been murdered. With a population of thirty-five thousand, it made for a lot of fear in the air.

She grabbed ahold of the sink counter, her fingers crushing the cardboard box that she’d pulled the test kit from. It had felt odd sneaking into the local drugstore and purchasing three magazines, a candy bar and a ginger ale along with the test, as if the cashier wouldn’t notice the box. As if she probably hadn’t told all of Red Ridge by now that Dr. Patience Colton, DVM, could be knocked up. That was the problem with being an heiress to the richest family in a small town in South Dakota. Everyone knew your business.