Angela Strong - Presumed Dead

THREAT OF EXPOSURE

Framed for a sabotaged military operation, Preston Tyler has allowed everyone to believe he’s dead—until he witnesses someone planting a bomb in his childhood sweetheart’s cabin. To save Holly Fontaine’s life, he must blow his cover. Holly is shaken...both by the explosion and the sudden appearance of a man she thought she’d lost forever. But their reunion is short-lived when the bomb planter returns, forcing their escape into Lake Tahoe’s wilderness. As they struggle to survive, memories of their shared past reignite old feelings. Holly refuses to lose Preston again, but with their pursuer closing in, will the ultimate betrayal tear them apart for good?

“Are those bullets? Are we being shot at?”

“Yes.” Preston slammed the door to the smaller room and barricaded it with a chair under the knob. “Get online and contact the police. I’m going to keep the shooter away from you.”

Holly logged into the internet from a kneeling position.

“9-1-1. What is your emergency?” The voice echoed over computer speakers.

“We are being shot at.”

We? Did she just say “we”? Preston craned his neck around to send her a warning look.

Holly covered her mouth, eyes wide.

“Have you been shot?” the voice asked.

“No. No. The door is locked. I’m inside the computer room at Cedar Glen Lodge.”

“Police are on their way. Has anyone else been shot?”

Preston splayed his hands as if getting arrested. Unless Holly did some quick damage control, he’d soon be in handcuffs.

Or he’d be dead.

The door vibrated as a body slammed into the other side.

Dear Reader,

I had so much fun researching this story. SOAR and the CID are real. The locations on Lake Tahoe are real—including the secret tunnel. And even the flaws in the characters are real. But I didn’t have to research those.

See, I’m like Holly in the way that I lost a relationship that I thought would last forever, and I was terrified of being alone. It would have been very easy for me to make the same mistake Holly made in committing to the wrong person. So often, as women, we want the romance. We want to feel desired. And so we compromise our relationship with Christ to have a relationship we tell ourselves God wants for us because it will make us happy. But, as Holly found out, true happiness didn’t come from being loved. It came from loving—even when the man she loved made it very clear there was no future for them together.

Preston was that man. He was the exact opposite of Holly. He’d lost so many people he loved that he didn’t ever want to love again. And he figured God felt the same way toward him. He believed he was doing the right thing by pushing Holly away, and it took almost losing her to realize love was worth fighting for. This is similar to where my husband was at when I met him. Jim was planning to move to Alaska and write off women for good. But God had better plans. Just like God always does.

The Bible says two are better than one. This doesn’t have to mean romantic relationships. It means we are created for community. We are created to learn and grow together with Him.

In the end, Holly and Preston learned this lesson from each other. The same way I got to learn this lesson along with my real-life hero. Jim is the reason I’m able to write about romance again. Love changes lives, which changes the world. And there’s nothing else I’d rather write about.

This is my first book with Love Inspired Suspense, and I’m thrilled you chose to read it. It hasn’t been easy, but just like Holly and Preston became stronger when working together, I am a better writer because of working with my editor. I hope I keep getting better, and I hope you’ll join me on the journey. Please stop by for a visit at www.angelaruthstrong.com, and always feel free to share your story with me at: angelaruthstrong@gmail.com.

Love always,

Angela

ANGELA RUTH STRONG sold her first article to a national magazine while still in high school and went on to study journalism at the University of Oregon. Her debut novel came out in 2010, and she’s won both the Idaho Top Author and Cascade Awards for her work. She lives with her hubby and three teenagers in Idaho, where she also started IDAhope Writers to encourage other aspiring authors.

Presumed Dead

Angela Ruth Strong

www.millsandboon.co.uk

I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.

—John 10:10

Dedicated to Johnathan, Ashley and Kristina—your creativity inspires me.

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

SEVENTEEN

EIGHTEEN

NINETEEN

Extract

Copyright

ONE

Preston Tyler lowered his feet from the deck railing and leaned forward as his gaze followed the Jeep pulling up next to the Fontaines’ cabin across the lake. Though he’d been forced to hide out in his own family cabin for four years since being pronounced “dead” by the military, nobody had stayed at his childhood sweetheart’s cabin at all.

Of course, he’d heard Holly had just canceled her wedding to Caleb Brooks. Maybe she needed a place to heal.

Preston should have considered the possibility and gone camping at Yosemite or headed to San Francisco to catch a Giants game. Honestly, a vacation in the Tenderloin District would have been better than seeing the woman he’d once loved mourn the loss of another man.

So, he wouldn’t look. Preston inhaled deeply as he stood. Well, maybe he’d take one peek to see if it was even her. And if it was, he’d head inside until she left.

A lanky male frame climbed out of the driver’s seat of the Jeep. Holly’s dad? Brother?

Preston ignored the traitorous twinge of disappointment. It was better this way. Unless her family was getting the cabin ready for her arrival...

He squinted against the blinding sun for a better look at the figure pulling luggage out of the rear gate on the navy blue Jeep Cherokee. Only one duffel bag, but the man left the back gate of the Jeep open as he focused on carrying it to the house.

A warning alarm rang in Preston’s head. He grabbed the binoculars he usually used when scouting for fish.

The dark man with a goatee retrieved a key from the top of the doorframe and looked around before cracking the door open. Not right. He wasn’t a Fontaine.

Preston tracked the man’s movement through the windows. There. In the bedroom. The stranger unzipped the duffel, looked at his watch and pressed a few buttons on a device that resembled an alarm clock.

Preston’s guts churned. He’d seen bombs before, but only in the military, never in a vacation home. Why would anybody want to blow up an old cabin? Should he call the police with an anonymous tip? Or was he imagining things?

The man ran back through the house, replaced the key, slammed the rear gate of his Jeep and jumped into the driver’s seat. Not good.

Preston ran a hand through his hair. He shouldn’t have been involved at all. But just because he was supposed to be dead didn’t mean he didn’t care about Holly’s family anymore. It meant he had to be discreet.

He lifted the binoculars again to get the license plate number of the SUV. Another vehicle crossed its path, blocking the license plate from view. Another vehicle? Headed toward the cabin? Preston raised the binoculars higher to get a look at the driver.