Elizabeth Goddard - Stormy Haven

He’s her undercover bodyguard—but she can’t know

A Coldwater Bay Intrigue story

When someone tries to kill former government agent Jonna Strand, Ian Brady comes to her rescue. Now Ian must keep Jonna safe and catch the would-be killer—without revealing he was sent undercover to protect her. But when Jonna learns the truth, can she look past his secrets and lean on him to ensure they live through the storm-ridden night?

ELIZABETH GODDARDis the award-winning author of more than thirty novels and novellas. A 2011 Carol Award winner, she was a double finalist in the 2016 Daphne du Maurier Award for Excellence in Mystery/Suspense, and a 2016 Carol Award finalist. Elizabeth graduated with a computer science degree and worked in high-level software sales before retiring to write full-time.

Also by Elizabeth Goddard

Love Inspired Suspense

Coldwater Bay Intrigue

Thread of Revenge

Stormy Haven

Texas Ranger Holidays

Texas Christmas Defender

Wilderness, Inc.

Targeted for Murder

Undercover Protector

False Security

Wilderness Reunion

Mountain Cove

Buried

Untraceable

Backfire

Submerged

Tailspin

Deception

Discover more at millsandboon.co.uk

Stormy Haven

Elizabeth Goddard

www.millsandboon.co.uk

ISBN: 978-1-474-08596-0

STORMY HAVEN

© 2018 Elizabeth Goddard

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.

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www.millsandboon.co.uk

Version: 2020-03-02

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The hooded man aimed a gun at Jonna.

Ian lunged at the man, ramming into him to at least throw off his aim. Gunfire resounded in his ears. The weapon went off before he could stop it.

Cold, brutal waves washed over them as he fought the attacker. A fist filled Ian’s vision. Pain radiated across his face. Salt water washed into his nose and burned.

Ian shoved the man down in the wet sand and pinned the man’s arms behind his back. But the ocean gripped them both. Ian floundered as the current ripped the man from him and pulled Ian under. He held his breath, trying to gain his footing again. He met the sand on his knees, broken shells cutting into his flesh as he gasped and choked on water. Hands gripped him, and he wrestled someone to the ground.

Too late he recognized the feminine form beneath him. “Jonna!”

“We have to get out of here. It’s too dangerous!” she yelled.

For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion: in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me;

he shall set me up upon a rock.

—Psalms 27:5

Dedicated to my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

You’re the King of my heart.

Acknowledgments

Thank you to all my writing buddies for your encouragement through the years on this long writing road. It’s been an adventure, to be sure. And special thanks goes to my family—thank you for putting up with me while I get lost in my writing world. I couldn’t do this without you. Elizabeth Mazer—I’m so grateful for the opportunities you’ve given me to write for you. To my agent, Steve Laube, thank you for seeing something in me, for believing in me.

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

About the Author

Booklist

Title Page

Copyright

Introduction

Bible Verse

Dedication

Acknowledgments

ONE

TWO

THREE

FOUR

FIVE

SIX

SEVEN

EIGHT

NINE

TEN

ELEVEN

TWELVE

THIRTEEN

FOURTEEN

FIFTEEN

SIXTEEN

SEVENTEEN

EIGHTEEN

NINETEEN

TWENTY

TWENTY-ONE

TWENTY-TWO

Dear Reader

Extract

About the Publisher

ONE

Only three more miles...

Rain pelted Jonna Strand as she jogged the wintry Washington shoreline. Her cheeks grew numb from the wet cold as white vapor clouds puffed out of her burning lungs.

But as focused as she was on her run, a subtle alarm snaked up her spine.

She’d learned long ago to pay attention to that sixth sense that forewarned of danger. The alarm going off now had nothing at all to do with the storm that had advanced from far out in the Pacific faster than meteorologists had predicted, catching Jonna off guard.

She remained on high alert—a souvenir from her previous training as an ICE agent. More specifically an HSI special agent—the Homeland Security Investigations division of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. She’d put that life behind her, but the training remained.

Jogging six miles every day, she made an effort to stay as fit as she’d been while in law enforcement, the job she’d left three years ago. Even brutal winter storms couldn’t keep her inside. Except weathermen had predicted this system would wreak havoc and threaten lives—so maybe she should have stayed inside, especially given that her instincts warned another possible threat loomed.

Up on the ridge overlooking the beach, a man jogged, keeping pace with her. Only a crazy person would be out in this storm. She could almost laugh at that.

But she felt something was off.

Jonna shoved the apprehension aside and focused on her jog. She’d know soon enough if her instincts were right.