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Witness On The Run
Susan Cliff
A deadly road. A desperate situation.A desire that can’t be denied.On the run for the last year, Tala Walker must flee again when she witnesses a murder. She stows away with a sexy, gruff ice road trucker headed to the wilds of Alaska. Despite his own painful past, Cameron Hughes offers his protection. But as they navigate the ice and flee the killers, their passion threatens to burn brighter than the northern lights…
A deadly road. A desperate situation.
A desire that can’t be denied.
On the run for the last year, Tala Walker must flee again when she witnesses a murder. She stows away with a sexy, gruff ice road trucker headed to the wilds of Alaska. Despite his own painful past, Cameron Hughes offers his protection. But as they navigate the ice and flee the killers, their passion threatens to burn brighter than the northern lights...
SUSAN CLIFF is a longtime romance reader, part-time writer and full-time California girl. She loves to daydream about exciting adventures in exotic locales. Her books feature heartfelt romance, gripping suspense and true-to-life characters. Get swept away with Susan Cliff!
Also By Susan Cliff (#u0ab8344d-c16a-5c50-a33b-12b9ae170066)
Witness on the Run
Team Twelve
Navy SEAL Rescue
Stranded with the Navy SEAL
Discover more at millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
Witness on the Run
Susan Cliff
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
ISBN: 978-1-474-07962-4
WITNESS ON THE RUN
© 2018 Susan Cliff
Published in Great Britain 2018
by Mills & Boon, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers 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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www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
“You haven’t been honest with me,” Cam shot back angrily. “You never said you were facing serious charges. I don’t know what the hell is going on. I don’t even know who you’re running from!”
Tala hadn’t withheld information to deceive him. She’d done it to protect him, and herself.
“You’re not as innocent as you pretend to be,” he said.
She sputtered with outrage. “I’m not pretending to be anything.”
He stepped forward, crowding her space. “I’m not a fool, Tala.”
“Why did I come here, then?”
“To torture me.”
She shoved his chest. He didn’t budge. “You think you’re the only one who gets stir-crazy? I’ve been trapped inside a truck for two days, just like you. I need to move around, just like you. I feel restless, too.”
“What I feel is sexual frustration, not restlessness.”
“I’m aware of that.”
“So you wandered over here to make it worse?”
“No. I wandered over here to make it better.”
She didn’t touch him. She just waited for him to touch her, and he didn’t disappoint. Thrusting his hands into her hair, he crushed his mouth over hers.
Dear Reader (#u0ab8344d-c16a-5c50-a33b-12b9ae170066),
I’m delighted to take you on another exciting adventure in my latest romantic suspense novel! If you’ve read my previous books, you know this story is a bit of a detour for me. Cameron Hughes isn’t a Navy SEAL. He’s not a member of Team Twelve. He’s a truck driver.
I’ve always had a soft spot for unlikely heroes, especially the bearded-recluse type. Cam is a former police officer turned guarded widower. He embraces the solitude and remoteness of Alaska’s dark highways. He doesn’t want to get involved with anyone, but fate has other plans. Enter Tala Walker, the witness on the run, and an unlikely heroine in her own right. She’s a waitress with a troubled past and in desperate need of a ride. Cam gives her shelter and becomes her reluctant protector. Together, they embark on a daring journey across the icy tundra.
I hope you enjoy spending time with these characters as much as I did. The setting is unusual, but the core of the story is pure romance. It’s about two people who fall in love against all odds and find the happiness they deserve.
If you prefer the road less traveled, come with me.
Susan Cliff
Contents
Cover (#u43eee7e7-1f41-5f23-a443-fdf53d9a0a25)
Back Cover Text (#ub02f3fc9-ad43-5718-860d-66c68e4104b3)
About the Author (#ufbe00769-bb1e-5933-8b80-a10935370a0f)
Booklist (#u9410a06d-b291-5b30-945c-c3d3db202221)
Title Page (#u388a9191-2eb8-5bc1-959a-45f413991a18)
Copyright (#uda9b8147-80eb-5b1a-967c-a98f47f85cec)
Introduction (#ud0b8d9e1-559f-5e7c-ab29-a431dccb7f64)
Dear Reader (#u9b0a510a-8839-52b5-97e1-c9816ff5d5c1)
Chapter 1 (#u08e4b1b5-014d-5e5f-890d-e054834e8424)
Chapter 2 (#u2be9eda7-95e8-5972-a4ea-3b8064072604)
Chapter 3 (#udb77c442-58d3-5c60-98ba-29ce3c90d6ca)
Chapter 4 (#ub30ae33d-830d-527c-910c-642cf77e1e66)
Chapter 5 (#uca0633d1-362d-58b4-9024-27294421c5df)
Chapter 6 (#ud10fc9d0-9235-595d-a226-0ba6fdf1c205)
Chapter 7 (#uee0105d9-50e5-59cb-ada1-92b8ffe381a4)
Chapter 8 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 9 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 10 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 11 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 12 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 13 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 14 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 15 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 16 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 17 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 18 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 19 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 20 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 21 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 22 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 23 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 24 (#litres_trial_promo)
Extract (#litres_trial_promo)
Extract (#litres_trial_promo)
About the Publisher (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 1 (#u0ab8344d-c16a-5c50-a33b-12b9ae170066)
December 1162N14 degrees
Tala Walker was a woman on the run.
She’d fled Canada six months ago and never looked back. Now she was living under an alias in Willow, Alaska. She’d rented a room at a quiet boarding house. Every day she got up early and walked to the diner where she worked.
It wasn’t much, but she felt safe here.
This morning, the diner was in disarray. There were beer cans all over the countertops and broken glass on the floor. It reeked of booze and cigarettes. She sighed, shaking her head. Walt must have really tied one on last night.
A quick detour to the office down the hall revealed the man responsible for the mess. He was dead to the world, snoring away on a dilapidated love seat. His barreled chest rose and fell with every breath.
Tala didn’t bother to wake him up. Walt was her boss, the designated cook and the owner of the diner. If he wanted to sleep on the job, that was his prerogative. She’d opened on her own before. She could handle the early-morning customers herself. They were heading into the dark days of winter, and business was sparse.
She cleared away the trash and cleaned the floor. She thought of Duane, the husband she’d run away from, who’d also indulged in drunken antics. Only his hadn’t been as harmless as Walt’s. She pushed aside those memories and focused on her morning tasks. Alaskan truckers liked their coffee. She prided herself on brewing a good cup.
At 6:00 a.m. she turned on all the lights, flipped the Closed sign to Open and unlocked the front door. Soon after, a black-and-white squad car pulled into the parking lot. An officer in a navy blue uniform emerged from the vehicle. The sight reminded her of Duane also, and she had other reasons to be nervous about lawmen, but she knew he wasn’t here for her. Cops liked coffee, too. They drank it at Walt’s for free.
“Morning,” he said, hunkering down on a bar stool.
She put a mug in front of him and filled it up. The cream and sugar was within reach. “Can I get you anything else?”
“Just this.”
Tala nodded and inched away. She felt the familiar urge to flee, so she grabbed a clean rag and started wiping down the counter. She didn’t strike up a conversation with him. She didn’t strike up conversations with anyone. She wasn’t the friendliest waitress. Walt always told her she’d get better tips if she smiled once in a while.
A few minutes later, three roughnecks strolled in. Truckers were their regular clientele, but the diner took all kinds. These men had the weathered look of loggers or oil riggers. Tough guys weren’t unusual in these parts, or where she was from. She’d been born on a land reserve in the Northwest Territories. She was no stranger to hardworking men.
She brought them three mugs and three menus, glad for the distraction. As she poured their coffee, she noticed one of the men exchanging a glance with the police officer. She got the odd feeling they knew each other.
“You need another minute to decide?” she asked.
The man closest to her had dirty blond hair and bloodshot eyes. His friends were dark-haired. One had a long, skinny face and a goatee. The other was stocky, with boyish freckles. “Three breakfast specials.”
She collected the menus. “Coming right up.”
The police officer watched her walk away from their table.
