Susan Sleeman - Christmas Conspiracy

WITNESS IN JEOPARDY

It’s a typical day at Rachael Long’s day-care center—until a masked gunman tries to abduct one of the children in her charge. First response commander Jake Marsh manages to defuse the situation before anyone is harmed...but not before Rachael unmasks the would-be kidnapper. Now Jake must lead a manhunt and protect Rachael from the criminal who’s turned his focus on her. But the case is reawakening painful memories for Jake, and Rachael’s treating emotional wounds of her own. And with danger mounting as Christmas nears, they must learn to let go of the past in order to outwit a killer...and find the peace that’s always eluded them both.

Lord, please. I know You decide who lives or dies, but please let Rachael live. Please.

Jake rushed across the room and stood over her. She blinked a few times and seemed almost lucid.

“Who are you?” she asked, her voice sounding thick and heavy. Then her eyes widened. “Kelly!”

“She’s fine and right here.” Jake held the baby up for Rachael to see.

“Thank You, sweet Jesus,” Rachael whispered, her words slurred. “You were looking out for us.”

Her lips tipped in a sweet smile, and Jake’s heart leaped. Despite the medics standing by, he couldn’t seem to pull his gaze from hers.

“We should get her and the baby transported,” the medic said, ruining the moment.

“We’re going with you.” Jake reluctantly pulled away and settled Kelly in her carrier, then glanced back at Rachael. He wasn’t sure if Kelly or Rachael looked more vulnerable.

Didn’t matter, now did it?

He wasn’t going to let anything bad happen to either of them. He’d make sure they were both protected until he was certain that neither of them remained in danger.

Dear Reader,

All good things come to an end, they say, and I hope that you have found the First Responders series a good thing. The series certainly has been a good thing in my life. I loved getting to know each of these characters and sharing their struggles with you as they searched for love in their lives, and I am sad to see the series end.

I am contented that all these special characters have found people to share their lives with, and that they’ve also found peace in their lives. If you’ve ever struggled for peace, I hope these stories have helped you see that God’s peace is right there waiting for you, and you just have to reach out and grab it.

If you’d like to learn more about my other books, please stop by my website at www.susansleeman.com. I also love hearing from readers, so please contact me via email, susan@susansleeman.com, or on my Facebook page, www.Facebook.com/SusanSleemanBooks, or write to me c/o Love Inspired, HarperCollins, 24th floor, 195 Broadway, New York, NY 10007.

Blessings,

Susan Sleeman

SUSAN SLEEMAN is a bestselling author of inspirational and clean-read romantic suspense books and mysteries. She received an RT Reviewers’ Choice Best Book Award for Thread of Suspicion. No Way Out and The Christmas Witness were finalists for the Daphne du Maurier Award for Excellence. She’s had the pleasure of living in nine states and currently lives in Oregon. To learn more about Susan, visit her website at susansleeman.com.

Christmas Conspiracy

Susan Sleeman

www.millsandboon.co.uk

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Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

—Matthew 6:34

For the beautiful daughter I lost in miscarriage.

I know heaven smiled the day you arrived.

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

Introduction

Dear Reader

About the Author

Title Page

Bible Verse

Dedication

ONE

TWO

THREE

FOUR

FIVE

SIX

SEVEN

EIGHT

NINE

TEN

ELEVEN

TWELVE

THIRTEEN

FOURTEEN

FIFTEEN

SIXTEEN

EPILOGUE

Extract

Copyright

ONE

Hot, ugly eyes stared at Rachael from black circles in the gunman’s mask. If he planned to kill her, he needed to do it quickly or she would fight him to the last breath. She’d rather die than see him hurt a child under her care.

She straightened her shoulders and checked on Kelly, asleep in her crib at Rachael’s child development center. Oblivious to the threat, the precious three-month-old pushed her fist under her chin, and soft breaths pursed her lips. She was helpless and depended on Rachael for protection.

The gunman took another step.

Rachael backed up and draped all five feet five inches of her body across the front of Kelly’s crib. “You’ll have to go through me to get to her. I might be small, but I’ll put up a fight.”

“Don’t be a fool.” He jerked his gun toward the wall with brightly painted cubbies holding the belongings of the six infants cared for in this room. “Step away from the baby. I don’t want to hurt you, but I will if I have to.”

Rachael didn’t comply, but memorized his voice—the inflection, the slight rasp. If he got away and left her alive, she could help identity him. But first, she needed to make sure she and Kelly lived.

Rachael tightened her hands on the crib rail, connecting with the solid maple and holding on for dear life. “I’m not moving.”

His eyes narrowed. “Then we do this the hard way.”

“Or you could not do this at all,” she suggested, but he ignored her and took long steps across the room.

Dressed in black, he stood six feet tall and had an athletic build. He wore latex gloves and brandished the gun like he’d held one before. He stepped off and she waited, her eyes fixed on his weapon, expecting it to discharge.

Step by step, he moved across the brightly colored area rug with teddy bears and bunnies that she’d chosen when she’d opened the center three years ago. Never in her wildest dreams had she expected a masked man, intent on kidnapping a precious little baby, would cross this rug.

“Please, don’t do this,” Rachael begged.

He ignored her and kept coming, crossing the room. Thump. Thump. Thump. His hiking boots pounded on the gleaming linoleum, the gun still outstretched in his hands.

Her confidence wavered, and her palms grew moist, the solid rail becoming slick under her hands. Panic stole her breath, and she fought to draw in another one.

Stay calm. Kelly needs you.

The gunman slowed, then stopped in front of her and fixed those burning eyes on hers while pressing the barrel of his gun to her forehead. “Are you ready to cooperate now?”

Fear coursed through her chest, and her hands trembled, but she held her position. Another child’s life wouldn’t end on her watch. The guilt of losing another innocent baby would tear her apart.

She gave a small shake of her head, feeling the gun barrel cold against her skin.

“Fine.” He clamped his free hand on her forearm and spun her swiftly, then snaked his arm around her chest, pinning her arms at her sides and clutching her tight against his body.