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Holiday Homecoming Secrets
Lynette Eason
A man from her past is back—to help her solve a holiday murder case. A friend is missing and presumed dead, and detective Jade Hollis is determined to track down the killer. To do that she must team up with private investigator Bryce Kingsley—who doesn’t know he is the father of her child. But she’ll have to put personal secrets aside because the killer will strike again to keep the truth from being exposed.
A man from her past is back—
to help her solve a holiday murder case.
A friend is missing and presumed dead, and detective Jade Hollis is determined to track down the killer. To do that she must team up with private investigator Bryce Kingsley—who doesn’t know he is the father of her child. But she’ll have to put personal secrets aside because the killer will strike again to keep the truth from being exposed.
LYNETTE EASON is a bestselling, award-winning author who makes her home in South Carolina with her husband and two teenage children. She enjoys traveling, spending time with her family and teaching at various writing conferences around the country. She is a member of Romance Writers of America and American Christian Fiction Writers. Lynette can often be found online interacting with her readers. You can find her at Facebook.com/lynette.eason (https://www.Facebook.com/lynette.eason) and on Twitter, @lynetteeason (https://twitter.com/lynetteeason?lang=en).
Also By Lynette Eason (#ucda4b0a6-4dd7-5213-8312-31efcbdbe76a)
Holiday Homecoming Secrets
True Blue K-9 Unit
Justice Mission
Wrangler’s Corner
The Lawman Returns
Rodeo Rescuer
Protecting Her Daughter
Classified Christmas Mission
Christmas Ranch Rescue
Vanished in the Night
Holiday Amnesia
Military K-9 Unit
Explosive Force
Classified K-9 Unit
Bounty Hunter
Discover more at millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk).
Holiday Homecoming Secrets
Lynette Eason
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
ISBN: 978-0-008-90078-6
HOLIDAY HOMECOMING SECRETS
© 2019 Lynette Eason
Published in Great Britain 2019
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.
® 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 (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
Note to Readers (#ucda4b0a6-4dd7-5213-8312-31efcbdbe76a)
This ebook contains the following accessibility features which, if supported by your device, can be accessed via your ereader/accessibility settings:
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Text to speech
The taillights in Jade’s rearview mirror were closing in fast.
She frowned, tension threading from one shoulder to the next. The driver was going way too quickly. She flipped on her blue lights and slowed. The taillights grew brighter and her stomach dipped as she realized the person was going to hit her. She jammed the gas pedal and shot forward. However, the car behind her stayed right on her tail.
And then the lights disappeared.
“What are you doing?” Jade whispered.
The slam into her rear bumper threw her forward against her seat belt and she hit the brakes out of reflex. The wheel spun under her grip and the SUV whipped sideways. She jerked against the seat belt and slammed her head on the window. Stars flashed, the vehicle tilted on two wheels then crashed onto the asphalt.
Stunned, Jade hung suspended by the seat belt, her only thought that she and Bryce somehow missed one. The most important one had gotten away. The one who wanted her dead...
Dear Reader (#ucda4b0a6-4dd7-5213-8312-31efcbdbe76a),
Thank you so much for going on this journey with Bryce, Jade and Mia. I hope you fell in love with them as deeply as I did. It’s always exhilarating and a bit sad to finish a story—exhilarating in the accomplishment, sad because I’m going to miss watching the characters grow. And Bryce and Jade had a lot of growing to do, didn’t they? They had a lot to overcome in their struggle to find both a killer and true love! But they persevered through tough odds and emerged victorious. So they got their happy ending, and that’s all that really matters, right?
Again, thank you for reading, and I pray that as you overcome the struggles of this world, you’ll keep your eye on the “happy ending” that awaits us as believers in eternity.
God bless,
Lynette Eason
For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.
—1 John 5:4
Dedicated to Emily Rodmell, my fabulous editor of over thirty books with Love Inspired Suspense. Thank you for pulling me out of the slush pile!
Contents
Cover (#u4304cbe4-f249-58d0-82d8-08e016db4090)
Back Cover Text (#u70a8a1a0-05fb-5ed3-93d2-6bb9c82f1cc9)
About the Author (#u033021eb-4e2f-54a3-8545-d20131459ab1)
Booklist (#u4d243bc4-e170-53e0-ae91-36827bf7bf54)
Title Page (#u99df6f87-8d97-5459-a140-073171296e6a)
Copyright (#u75c39a29-ce9b-5289-87cc-2030ed4b776e)
Note to Readers
Introduction (#u626d0fb4-8a37-5a8d-b5b3-756e9d773fca)
Dear Reader (#u86b11950-714d-5576-83c1-d2ee799f0f28)
Bible Verse (#ub7e29350-3c8a-5ceb-b28a-14fcd6283ca3)
Dedication (#ub87411cd-558f-5313-9bfb-fb6ebeee05af)
ONE (#u0954d9a4-c5d5-5887-8545-7607d1964b99)
TWO (#u9b566ecc-4be5-50d6-9379-b0c4343e8aca)
THREE (#u58ba88b2-0d33-5e09-af15-7ad03513339b)
FOUR (#u90cc4d39-83a9-5883-8522-9900e8fec291)
FIVE (#litres_trial_promo)
SIX (#litres_trial_promo)
SEVEN (#litres_trial_promo)
EIGHT (#litres_trial_promo)
NINE (#litres_trial_promo)
TEN (#litres_trial_promo)
ELEVEN (#litres_trial_promo)
TWELVE (#litres_trial_promo)
THIRTEEN (#litres_trial_promo)
FOURTEEN (#litres_trial_promo)
FIFTEEN (#litres_trial_promo)
SIXTEEN (#litres_trial_promo)
SEVENTEEN (#litres_trial_promo)
EPILOGUE (#litres_trial_promo)
Extract (#litres_trial_promo)
About the Publisher (#litres_trial_promo)
ONE (#ucda4b0a6-4dd7-5213-8312-31efcbdbe76a)
Detective Jade Hollis pulled her unmarked SUV into the parking lot of the deserted textile mill and parked. Five minutes ago, a call had come in from someone seeing “strange lights” in the crumbling building. Even though she was off duty, she’d only been half a mile away from the address and had volunteered to stop by.
No doubt Wally Benjamin, one of the small town’s homeless, had decided to seek shelter in the place once again. It seemed to be a favorite of his, and she couldn’t say she blamed him.
December nights were cold—and tonight the forecast called for temperatures in the high twenties with snow. She’d pulled Wally—and a few of his homeless friends—out of the building more than once last winter and taken them to the shelter on the edge of town. Jade blew out a breath and turned off the car. The heater fell silent and she sat for a moment, dreading the idea of trading her warm spot for the frigid wind.
She grimaced. The quicker she took care of this, the quicker she could get home. At least she had a home—one that was finally in the same city as her daughter. She slipped out of the driver’s seat and into the swirling snow. For a brief moment, the wind settled and dead quiet surrounded her. She heard a scraping noise coming from the interior of the old building before the wind whipped her ponytail across her face and shivers wracked her. She grabbed her coat, gloves and hat from the back seat.
After pulling everything on, she made sure she could reach her weapon. She wasn’t terribly concerned about needing it but wasn’t going in unprepared even though she was almost a hundred percent sure it was Wally in there.
But there’d been several drug-related deaths over the past three months and the suppliers were as slippery as eels, moving from one place to the next, never landing long enough for the police to find them and bust them. They always seemed to be one step ahead of law enforcement which was frustrating to everyone involved.
Jade carried the portable radio, ready to call an ambulance if Wally needed medical treatment—should it be Wally in the building. Last year, he’d suffered frostbite as a result of his refusal to go to a shelter on one of the cold nights. She lifted her chin, deciding the man didn’t have a choice tonight. She’d arrest him for...well...something...if she had to. For his own good. A heated holding cell was better than a dirt floor in a freezing cold building that had been declared a danger zone. If it was Wally. She really shouldn’t assume.
The beam of her high-powered flashlight guided her steps to the space where the front door had been. She stepped inside and swept the light over the area, then lifted the radio to call the dispatcher. “Darlene, this is Jade. Did the caller say in what part of the building he saw the lights? This place is huge.”
The radio popped, and Darlene came on. “In the main building where you usually can find Wally. The person called back and said that not only were there were lights, but possibly a small fire. Fire trucks are en route.”
“10-4. Thanks. But you can cancel the trucks. There’s no sign of a fire.” At least not in this part of the building. “Or lights.” Although she did wonder what the noise had been. Rats probably. “If I’m wrong, I’ll call you back.” The trucks could be on site within minutes if needed.
