Christy Barritt - Trained To Defend

“Take Buzz and run. Far away.

…and don’t trust the police.”

Framed for her boss’s murder, Sarah Peterson is on the run—with only her boss’s loyal husky, Buzz, for protection. To clear her name and keep her safe, she must rely on her ex-fiancé, former detective Colton Hawk. The police aren’t the only ones searching for Sarah and the brave dog…the real killer is on the hunt, determined to silence them for good.

CHRISTY BARRITT’s books have won a Daphne du Maurier Award for Excellence in Suspense and Mystery and have been twice nominated for an RT Reviewers’ Choice Best Book Award. She’s married to her Prince Charming, a man who thinks she’s hilarious—but only when she’s not trying to be. Christy is a self-proclaimed klutz, an avid music lover and a road-trip aficionado. For more information, visit her website at christybarritt.com.

Also By Christy Barritt

Keeping Guard

The Last Target

Race Against Time

Ricochet

Desperate Measures

Hidden Agenda

Mountain Hideaway

Dark Harbor

Shadow of Suspicion

The Baby Assignment

The Cradle Conspiracy

Trained to Defend

Discover more at millsandboon.co.uk.

Trained to Defend

Christy Barritt

www.millsandboon.co.uk

ISBN: 978-0-008-90082-3

TRAINED TO DEFEND

© 2020 Christy Barritt

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.

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“You and Buzz need to go to the back bedroom. Now. Lock the doors, and don’t come out until I tell you.”

Colton pulled out the gun from his waistband, his jaw set with steely determination.

Sarah didn’t argue. She scrambled away, hardly able to breathe.

But as she locked the door, Buzz beside her, she pressed her ear there, trying to hear what was going on.

It was silent as Colton waited, seeming to prepare himself for battle.

Sarah waited. The moments felt like hours.

Flashbacks from earlier hit her, making her flinch. Images of seeing that man in Loretta’s room. Watching as Loretta took her last breath.

Now Colton was in danger.

She stood and pressed herself into the wall, resisting the urge to look out the window and see what was going on.

She didn’t have to.

She heard tires crunching on gravel in the distance.

Someone was here.

Dear Reader,

Thank you so much for reading Trained to Defend . I hope you enjoyed Sarah and Colton’s story, as well as meeting Buzz.

I love animals. In fact, I have four dogs, and they’re all different sizes, breeds and personalities. I always love being able to incorporate furry friends into my stories because my own dogs add so much love and adventure to my life.

In the book, Sarah talks about wanting a safe place to land. Do you ever feel like you need a safe place in your life? When things feel overwhelming, we all need somewhere we can go to rest and recharge.

Through the Bible, we know that God is our true safety. In hard times, He’s who we can run to. When trouble hits, we can rest in the blessed assurance of God’s promises. Let’s never forget that we always have a safe place in Him.

Blessings,

Christy Barritt

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof.

—Psalm 46:1–3

This book is dedicated to Rusty, Sparky, Molly and Buttons. My furry companions are faithfully by my side every day as I sit down to write. Thanks for the inspiration and letting me be your person.

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

TWENTY-ONE

TWENTY-TWO

TWENTY-THREE

TWENTY-FOUR

TWENTY-FIVE

TWENTY-SIX

TWENTY-SEVEN

TWENTY-EIGHT

TWENTY-NINE

Extract

About the Publisher

Sarah Peterson quietly opened the back door to her new, temporary home in Spokane, Washington, and slunk inside. The warm glow of delight spread inside her as she reflected on her evening. Maybe things were finally starting to look up for her.

She’d been at an art show this evening, and two people had shown interest in her work. All she needed was one big break, and maybe all of the hardship of these past several years could finally be in her past—and stay there.

Behind her, the freezing rain pounded relentlessly as a mid-January storm claimed the area. Forecasters had predicted the precipitation would soon turn to snow and conditions outside would become perilous.

But now, inside the house, everything around Sarah was dark and quiet with the stillness of the evening.

Good. Loretta must be sleeping.

And, if Sarah was smart, she’d remain quiet so the woman could continue sleeping.