Love Inspired Suspense April 2021--Box Set 2 of 2 by Laura Scott (free e reader .TXT) 📕

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“We’ll get through this...”

“Is this another one of your famous promises?”

Liam didn’t answer and instead looked at Paige’s right arm, trussed up in a sling. “This is going to be a little tricky.”

“You ought to get out of here. Wait for the police, the bomb squad. No sense in both of us...” She didn’t finish. She didn’t have to.

The grim line of Liam’s lips told her what he thought of her suggestion.

“You think I’d leave you?” Outrage rimmed every syllable.

No. She didn’t. Afraid to say anything more, she shook her head. At the same time, she bit down on her lip. Hard. The pain gave her something to focus on rather than the fear that crawled up her spine to settle at the base of her neck.

Buck up, girl. You’ve faced down terrorists, gunrunners and smugglers. What’s one itty-bitty bomb?

“On the count of three, be ready.”

“For what?”

“This.” With that, he grabbed her good arm and yanked her from the seat before she knew what was happening.

Jane M. Choate dreamed of writing from the time she was a small child when she entertained friends with outlandish stories complete with happily-ever-after endings. Writing for Love Inspired Suspense is a dream come true. Jane is the proud mother of five children, grandmother to ten grandchildren and staff to one cat who believes she is of royal descent.

Books by Jane M. Choate

Love Inspired Suspense

Keeping Watch

The Littlest Witness

Shattered Secrets

High-Risk Investigation

Inherited Threat

Stolen Child

Secrets from the Past

Visit the Author Profile page at Harlequin.com.

Secrets from the Past

Jane M. Choate

For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: thou delightest not in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.

—Psalm 51:16–17

I wrote this book during the pandemic. During that time, I marveled at the heroes and heroines who stepped forward: nurses and doctors, truck drivers and store clerks, farmers and ranchers, all of whom our nation, indeed, our world, depended upon. We did not need movie stars or sports figures or politicians; we needed the working people, those who did their jobs so that the rest of us could continue with our lives as normally as possible. This book is for them and for all of those who kept the rest of us going.

Contents

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

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Dear Reader

ONE

Bam.

The crunch of metal against metal sent the Suburban careening to the far edge of the highway.

The car fishtailed as Liam McKenzie struggled to get it under control. The tricked-out truck that had picked up their tail while Liam was driving his son to preschool and was even now giving chase showed no signs of easing up. If he didn’t lose it soon, it would send his car straight over the sheer cliff flanking one side of the narrow road.

“Daddy, I’m scared.”

Jonah’s plaintive words jammed Liam’s heart in his throat. Liam was scared, too. Not for himself, but for his five-year-old son, the most important person in his life. “I’m scared, too, but it’ll be okay.”

“Promise?” The two syllables sent his heartbeat into overdrive.

“Promise.” He hoped he could make good on his words.

Army Deltas typically ran into danger, not away from it. But ex–Delta operator Liam McKenzie was doing just that—running from danger, against every instinct, every piece of training he’d ever received. He hadn’t used any of his Delta training since leaving the army and starting up his software company, but it was still very much a part of him. Maybe that was why he’d agreed to meet with a member of the US Marshal Service about possibly accepting a job. He wanted to put his highly honed skills to use. More, he wanted to make the world a better place, a safer place for his son and for everyone else.

But none of that was important. Not now. Keeping Jonah safe was all that Liam cared about. Even when every fiber of him was urging him to turn his vehicle around and give chase to the men who were doing their best to run him off the road.

The worry in Jonah’s eyes lightened. “Why are those men trying to push us off the road?”

Jonah’s curiosity was one of his most endearing qualities, but Liam didn’t have the time or energy to answer. Not now. Not when everything in him was focused on getting his son to safety.

“I don’t know.” That wasn’t strictly the truth, as Liam had a pretty good idea why someone wanted to run them off the road.

“If you don’t know, nobody knows, because you’re the smartest daddy in the whole world.”

Despite the grim circumstances, Liam had to smile. Jonah’s faith in him gave him the courage he needed to keep going. It was a touchstone, a reminder of all that was good in the world. He needed that now, desperately needed it, as he raced to find a way to save their lives.

A small opening in the bushes on the other side of the road presented an escape. He pressed down harder on the accelerator, swerved sharply across the road before the pickup rounded the curve and pulled into it, hoping the bushes would obscure his vehicle.

A deep breath later, the pickup sped on down the road, leaving Liam free to turn around and head in the opposite direction. It would take another half hour to get home—preschool was forgotten—but it was worth it if it spared Jonah any more distress.

Liam was ready to face what had to be faced. He’d served for eight years in hot spots all over the world and had never been as shaking-in-his-boots scared as he was now. He didn’t know a man could be that scared and still breathe.

Jonah’s safety, his very life, depended upon what Liam did next. Someone was trying to