Janice Johnson - Hide The Child

A terrified little girl is the only witness

to the murder of her family...

And the killer won’t stop until she’s silenced, too. So when army ranger Gabe Decker is asked to protect the orphan and her psychologist, Trina Marr, he doesn’t hesitate. Hidden in a remote cabin, Gabe experiences a taste of family life...something this brawny ranger never dreamed possible. When bullets start flying, Gabe puts everything on the line—and vows to do whatever it takes to protect his family.

An author of more than ninety books for children and adults (more than seventy-five for Mills & Boon), JANICE KAY JOHNSONwrites about love and family, and pens books of gripping romantic suspense. A USA TODAY bestselling author and an eight-time finalist for the Romance Writers of America RITA® Award, she won a RITA® Award in 2008. A former librarian, Janice raised two daughters in a small town north of Seattle, Washington.

Books by Janice Kay Johnson Contents Cover Back Cover Text About the Author Booklist Title Page Copyright Dedication Prologue Chapter One Chapter Two Chapter Three Chapter Four Chapter Five Chapter Six Chapter Seven Chapter Eight Chapter Nine Chapter Ten Chapter Eleven Chapter Twelve Chapter Thirteen Chapter Fourteen Extract About the Publisher

A Hometown Boy

Anything for Her

Where It May Lead

From This Day On

One Frosty Night

More Than Neighbors

Because of a Girl

A Mother’s Claim

Plain Refuge

Her Amish Protectors

Discover more at millsandboon.co.uk

Hide the Child

Janice Kay Johnson

www.millsandboon.co.uk

ISBN: 978-1-474-07948-8

HIDE THE CHILD

© 2018 Janice Kay Johnson

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

For Jeff Hill, consummate woodsman,

reader and generous friend.

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text A terrified little girl is the only witness to the murder of her family... And the killer won’t stop until she’s silenced, too. So when army ranger Gabe Decker is asked to protect the orphan and her psychologist, Trina Marr, he doesn’t hesitate. Hidden in a remote cabin, Gabe experiences a taste of family life...something this brawny ranger never dreamed possible. When bullets start flying, Gabe puts everything on the line—and vows to do whatever it takes to protect his family.

About the Author An author of more than ninety books for children and adults (more than seventy-five for Mills & Boon), JANICE KAY JOHNSON writes about love and family, and pens books of gripping romantic suspense. A USA TODAY bestselling author and an eight-time finalist for the Romance Writers of America RITA® Award, she won a RITA® Award in 2008. A former librarian, Janice raised two daughters in a small town north of Seattle, Washington.

Booklist Books by Janice Kay Johnson Contents Cover Back Cover Text About the Author Booklist Title Page Copyright Dedication Prologue Chapter One Chapter Two Chapter Three Chapter Four Chapter Five Chapter Six Chapter Seven Chapter Eight Chapter Nine Chapter Ten Chapter Eleven Chapter Twelve Chapter Thirteen Chapter Fourteen Extract About the Publisher A Hometown Boy Anything for Her Where It May Lead From This Day On One Frosty Night More Than Neighbors Because of a Girl A Mother’s Claim Plain Refuge Her Amish Protectors Discover more at millsandboon.co.uk

Title Page Hide the Child Janice Kay Johnson www.millsandboon.co.uk

Copyright ISBN: 978-1-474-07948-8 HIDE THE CHILD © 2018 Janice Kay Johnson 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

Dedication For Jeff Hill, consummate woodsman, reader and generous friend.

Prologue Prologue Squeezed into the tiniest space, Chloe tried not to look through the narrow crack where the cupboard door hadn’t completely closed, but sometimes she couldn’t help herself. Daddy was lying there right in front of her. All she had to do was crawl out and—No, no! Mommy said she had to stay here and not make a sound. Not even a teensy sound. Mommy said to wait, no matter what she heard or saw. But she could see Daddy’s face, and the face of the man who bent over him, too. Except... No! Mommy said . Hugging her knees to squeeze herself into the smallest ball possible, Chloe closed her eyes.