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Safe Haven
Hannah Alexander
A TEENAGE FUGITIVE–Youthful master of disguise Fawn Morrison comes to Hideaway seeking refuge. Now that her dangerous game has turned deadly, she must entrust her safety to strangers.A DOUBTING DOCTOR–Karah Lee Fletcher relishes the challenges offered by Hideaway's new clinic, until an unsettling discovery shakes her confidence. Despite self-doubt, she reaches out to Fawn and finds unexpected grace.A LONELY RANGER–Their first meeting leaves Ranger Taylor Jackson vowing to avoid strong-willed Karah Lee. Yet, observing her interact with patients, Taylor begins to feel admiration. Could it lead to something deeper?
PRAISE FOR
HANNAH ALEXANDER’S NOVELS
“The plot is interesting and the resolution filled with action.”
—Romantic Times BOOKreviews on Fair Warning
“Reminiscent of Alice Sebold’s The Lovely Bones, this intelligent mystery will keep readers engrossed.”
—Library Journal on Last Resort
“Hannah Alexander’s unique ability to combine suspense with romance and faith will have you searching for this author’s entire backlist. Grab [her] titles while you can and visit this wonderful town called Hideaway—you’ll never want to leave! Each book is top-notch suspense, with just a touch of romance. Last Resort is a must-buy…guaranteed to keep you on the edge of your seat until you turn the final page!”
—Romance Reviews Today
“Alexander’s skill at meshing spiritual truths with fascinating suspense is captivating. Well-drawn characters help the two separate plots move rapidly toward an exciting conclusion.”
—Romantic Times BOOKreviews on Safe Haven
“Hannah Alexander is one of the few authors who has the unique ability to bring tears to your eyes and God’s touch to your heart. Safe Haven is suspense, romance and first-rate entertainment all bound into one neat book.”
—Romance Reviews Today
“Genuine humor…an interesting cast of characters…a few surprises.”
—Publishers Weekly on Hideaway
“Hideaway is gripping and romantic. It may also have crossover appeal to fans of medical suspense and of such authors as Tess Gerritsen.”
—Library Journal
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. You will seek Me and find Me when you seek Me with all your heart. I will be found by you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back from captivity.”
—Jeremiah 29:11–14
Safe Haven
A Hideaway Novel
Hannah Alexander
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
For many years Lorene Cook, Cheryl’s mom, has been an active participant with us as we work with our books. Mom, you’ve been a lifesaver!
Thanks to Vera Overall, Mel’s mother, for her love and encouragement.
Thanks to our longtime friends and encouragers Jack and Marty Frost, Barbara Warren, Jackie Bolton, Ron and Janet Benrey, Doug and Brenda Minton, and Lori Copeland.
Many thanks to our wonderful editor, Joan Marlow Golan, and her excellent staff at Steeple Hill Books.
Thanks to our friends who helped brainstorm this book—Nancy Moser, Annie Jones, Deborah Raney, Stephanie Whitson and Colleen and Dave Coble.
Blessings to our talented and beautiful Branson celebrities: Stacy and April Frerking and their parents, Dennis and Bonnie Frerking.
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
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Questions for Discussion
Chapter One
Fawn Morrison glided across the atrium of the crowded country-music theater, enjoying the glances aimed in her direction. So what if the stares weren’t all filled with admiration? Those jealous women could learn to apply makeup the right way and emphasize their few positive qualities. Everybody had at least one or two. Almost everybody.
With a grin and a wink at the old geezer who stood behind the ticket counter, Fawn eased herself past a group of chattering people and strolled toward the ATM machine in the corner.
Some of these people probably thought she was one of the entertainers in the production—she’d never looked better in her life. She wore a calf-length gown of blue silk that Bruce had selected, telling her it matched the color of her eyes. The plunging neckline raised a few eyebrows, and the thigh-high slit had almost caused an accident out in the parking lot. She sure wasn’t in Las Vegas anymore. Branson, Missouri, seemed like a different planet. Hokey, maybe, but she kind of liked this place.
As she waited for the cash to click out of the machine, Fawn enjoyed the sight of her reflection in the mirrored wall. She looked hot. Sophisticated and grown-up. She’d come a long way in eight months—from earning money the hardest way, to flouncing through the casino in her cutesy little monkey outfit, smiling and calling “Keno, Keno, Keno” like a brain-injured parrot, to riding in limousines and living in luxury, eating lobster and drinking champagne.
All because she didn’t mind a balding man with a paunch, and pockmarks on his face.
Okay, sure he’d been acting a little wacky the past couple of days, but what did that matter? He could afford to act wacky. Besides, he knew how to treat a lady—if the lady didn’t expect him to open doors for her and if she didn’t mind a burp or two during the dinner conversation.
She used the entry card and stepped into the elevator reserved for special guests, then rode up to the seventh-floor penthouse suite—Branson didn’t have skyscrapers like Vegas. It didn’t have casinos, either, and smoke didn’t hang in the air like a cloud of poison.
Bruce was talking on his cell phone when she glided through the door. She allowed it to close with a muted clunk, and he glanced around at her. She smiled as she slid the thin spaghetti strap of her blue beaded purse from her shoulder and placed it on the counter by the minibar.
His gaze darted away and his fingers whitened on the tiny phone. “No, Vin, I told you what I’d do if you didn’t stop the purchase.”
Fawn sighed as Bruce paced to the other end of the carpeted great room. Okay, so he didn’t seem as distracted by her hot looks as the old geezer at the counter downstairs.
He lowered his already deep, gravelly voice. “I’ve got everything I need to…no, you listen. I don’t need the cash from this deal, I was just doing you a favor, but I’m not risking no lives for this.” He grunted and held the phone out from his ear.
Fawn heard the angry rant all the way across the room, and she winced at the threat in that voice. Bruce frowned at her, then put the phone back to his ear. The lamplight made his face look as white as mashed potatoes. “No? Well, you didn’t tell me about their new little discovery, did you? How many other investors know your dirty little secret? I’m not taking the heat for—”
He sighed and glanced over his shoulder toward Fawn, then disconnected with a push of a button. “Stupid jerk can have his little temper tantrum on his own time. Sorry you had to hear that, Princess. You got back fast.” The edges of his voice softened as his gaze caressed her.
“What am I, your errand girl now?” she teased in the husky, seductive voice she’d practiced for months before she ever went to Las Vegas. She crossed the room in slow, easy strides and reached up to trail a fingertip along his shoulder, then rubbed at the bristles on his chin.
He jerked away as if she’d zapped him with electricity.
She pouted at him.
“Did you get the show tickets?”
“They’re in my purse.”
“And the cash?”
“That, too.”
Bruce nodded, though she couldn’t be sure he’d even heard her words. He reached into the front pocket of his slacks and pulled out a beautiful steel cigarette lighter, strolling slowly, thoughtfully, over to her purse on the counter. He opened the purse and slid the lighter into the tiny zippered pocket inside, then zipped it shut.
“I don’t smoke,” she said.
He sighed, the plump lines of his face drawing down with concern. “Whatever you do, don’t lose the purse.”
“You know I won’t.” Two weeks ago, some loser had tried to lift it from her shoulder, and he’d nearly lost his future children. He’d limped away, hopefully wiser.
“Are you done being serious?” Fawn asked. “Can we go play now?”
The question brought another frown. Bruce chewed on his lower lip for a moment, then pointed toward the satiny cushions of a Victorian love seat beside the wall of windows that overlooked Branson. “We’ve got to talk.”
She blinked up at him. This was a new thing with Bruce since they’d flown here from Vegas two days ago. He seemed to want to talk a lot more, and he’d barely touched her since they arrived. Although in one way that was a big relief, in another way…
“Have a seat, Princess,” he rumbled.
She smoothed the silk dress beneath her and sat, making sure the slit fell away and revealed her leg. She patted the cushion beside her. He ignored her gesture, pulled a chair from the dining set and sank down across from her, hands on his knees as he leaned forward and narrowed his heavy-lidded eyes.
She quietly sucked in her breath. Was she getting dumped?
“First of all, that isn’t a lighter, it’s a computer data storage device. It’s called a flash drive, and that’s all you need to know for now. Hopefully, you’ll never need to know.”
“But what if I do?”
“Just remember that it has important information in it—information that lives could depend on. If anything happens—”
“Anything like what?”
He closed his eyes. “Don’t ask me that. Please. You’re smart, and you’ll know. If anything happens, find someone you know you can trust and give them the flash drive.”
“You’re not making sense.”
“Just remember what I said. I’m asking you to do the right thing.” He gave her a firm look, and she forced herself to behave like a lady and shrug, as if that would be no problem. “Second of all,” he said, “I’ve got to tell you something, Princess, and this won’t be easy.” He straightened and shoved his right hand into the pocket of his gray slacks. “But first, I got a little present for you.” He pulled out a small jewel case.
