скачать книгу бесплатно
Delta Force Daddy
Carol Ericson
A wounded soldier battles for total recall.But can he trust his elusive memories?Amnesia has robbed Asher Knight of his memories of a fatal mission. Now he doesn’t recognize Paige Sterling, the woman who claims to be his fiancée. Does the Delta Force lieutenant have PTSD—or something more sinister? On the run, he must rely on Paige to dodge unknown assassins and help him regain his memory…but is the secret she keeps from him even more shocking?
A wounded soldier battles for total recall.
But can he trust his elusive memories?
Amnesia has robbed Asher Knight of his memories of a fatal mission. Now he doesn’t recognize Paige Sterling, the woman who claims to be his fiancée. Does the Delta Force lieutenant have PTSD—or something more sinister? On the run, he must rely on Paige to dodge unknown assassins and help him regain his memory...but is the secret she keeps from him even more shocking?
Red, White and Built: Pumped Up
CAROL ERICSON is a bestselling, award-winning author of more than forty books. She has an eerie fascination for true-crime stories, a love of film noir and a weakness for reality TV, all of which fuel her imagination to create her own tales of murder, mayhem and mystery. To find out more about Carol and her current projects, please visit her website at www.carolericson.com (http://www.carolericson.com), “where romance flirts with danger.”
Also by Carol Ericson (#uffbcf5cf-53e5-5a9c-b9ab-6c4d753dbced)
Delta Force Defender
Locked, Loaded and SEALed
Alpha Bravo SEAL
Bullseye: SEAL
Point Blank SEAL
Secured by the SEAL
Bulletproof SEAL
Single Father Sheriff
Sudden Second Chance
Army Ranger Redemption
Discover more at millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
Delta Force Daddy
Carol Ericson
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
ISBN: 978-1-474-07957-0
DELTA FORCE DADDY
© 2018 Carol Ericson
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.
® 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)
Contents
Cover (#u15ed1534-3d71-5d0a-a703-131d1b90e99e)
Back Cover Text (#u0c45dea2-c4cf-56c4-bf51-0d73ffa51214)
About the Author (#u457b40d9-c25d-5246-89b8-0a2f9269c9db)
Booklist (#u7fe02904-4359-50fb-bb9f-d5d1638cc421)
Title Page (#u238293ad-9b48-504a-b6ea-555945c21a65)
Copyright (#u501e7cbb-0e3e-5dd0-8f08-9f61065f6636)
Prologue (#ud3e53861-f47b-5cd9-a9fa-ea51935c43fd)
Chapter One (#uc52e911c-605c-57ea-bc41-71bb73e9e645)
Chapter Two (#u375976d8-8a23-53c9-94d0-c34b21163333)
Chapter Three (#u28889d41-a18d-5689-845c-36f45329a9e7)
Chapter Four (#u183d6f3e-fe6f-5b63-9de5-a36d189e541e)
Chapter Five (#ucfc7dc42-1b9d-5371-8282-82c19827dea9)
Chapter Six (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Seven (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Eight (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Nine (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Ten (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Eleven (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Twelve (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Thirteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Fourteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Fifteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Sixteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Seventeen (#litres_trial_promo)
Epilogue (#litres_trial_promo)
Extract (#litres_trial_promo)
About the Publisher (#litres_trial_promo)
Prologue (#uffbcf5cf-53e5-5a9c-b9ab-6c4d753dbced)
Pain seared through his left ankle as he put weight on it. He listed to the side, throwing out a hand to wedge it against the rocky wall of the cliff face. As the gritty surface abraded the skinned flesh on the heel of his hand, he sucked in a breath.
Sinking into a crouch, he extended his injured leg in front of him and surveyed the rocky expanse below. Even with two steady legs, hydrated and nourished, this landscape would pose a challenge to navigate. Parched, weakened by hunger and with a bum ankle, he didn’t stand a chance.
He eyed the gray skies, scuffs of cloud rolling across the expanse, promising rain and relief—and more challenges. He dragged his boot over the rocks coated with dirt. Once the rains started, rivulets of water would wash the grit from the stones, joining forces in a muddy stream, making his path to the bottom of the mountain a slippery—and dangerous—proposition.
He’d already witnessed one of his men take a tumble down the side of a mountain. Had Knight survived that fall? If he knew anything about his Delta Force team, he’d lay odds on it. But even if Asher Knight had made it through, the men who had double-crossed them would’ve finished off Knight.
They wouldn’t have left any witnesses.
He took a deep breath and swiped the back of his hand across his mouth. “Did you think it was gonna be easy going AWOL in Afghanistan in the middle of enemy territory, Denver?”
His voice sounded rusty to his own ears, but it was strong enough to startle a bird from its hiding place. The bird scuttled and flapped before taking wing and soaring up to those threatening clouds. He watched its ascent with something like envy roiling in his gut.
He willed himself to stand up—he owed it to Knight and the others to persevere. He stomped his bad foot and secured the laces on his boot—the tighter, the better for support. He hoisted his backpack and belted it around his waist. He strapped his rifle across his body. Couldn’t afford to lose that if he took a fall.
The first step jolted his bones, and he gritted his teeth. The next step felt worse, but at least he didn’t slide down the mountain.
Several more yards of jerky movement and his face broke into a sweat, which dripped into his eyes, blurring his vision. Maybe this descent would work better by touch and feel than sight, anyway. He didn’t need to see the view if he pitched off a cliff.
Something scrabbled behind him, dislodging several small stones that tumbled down and peppered the back of his legs. He could get lucky and ride down with an avalanche.
“Meester.”
Ripping his sidearm from its holster, he whipped around and took aim at...a boy. The boy looked down at him from several feet above, clinging to the side of the mountain like a goat.
Denver’s muscles coiled, and he spat out in guttural Pashto, “Who are you? Where did you come from?”
The boy’s eyes grew round, crowding out the other features in his gaunt face. Then he raised an old Russian rifle, pointed it at him and said, “American soldier. You die today.”
Chapter One (#uffbcf5cf-53e5-5a9c-b9ab-6c4d753dbced)
“I’m sorry. Lieutenant Knight doesn’t remember you.” The army officer on the line cleared his throat. “But he doesn’t remember much of anything. He didn’t mention your name. That’s for sure. Are you positive you’re engaged to him?”
Paige’s hand shook as she tried to hold on to her phone. “That’s crazy. Do you think I’d make up some phony engagement to an injured Delta Force soldier?”
The army officer on the line paused, and a burning rage sizzled through Paige’s veins. She released it as a hiss through her teeth.
“I—I’m sure you are engaged and Lieutenant Knight will remember soon enough. The doctors are confident he’ll remember everything.”
“Oh, that’s encouraging.” Paige took a deep breath and closed her eyes. “What else has he forgotten?”
“Well, ma’am.” The officer coughed. “If he’s forgotten it, how would he be able to tell us about it?”
Her fist clenched in her lap. “You must know details of his life. Does he remember them?”
“I’m just the messenger, ma’am. I don’t know much about Lieutenant Knight’s condition.”
That’s for sure. Paige took a gulp of water from the glass on her desk. “Can I talk to his doctors? I’m a psychologist myself.”
“Ma’am, since you’re not next of kin, the doctors won’t speak to you.”
She ground her back teeth together, suppressing the scream that ached in her throat. “His mother is dead, his father’s in prison and he’s an only child. Whom exactly is the doctor speaking to about his care?”
“I don’t know, ma’am. We called you because Lieutenant Knight had your name and number in his phone. Yours was the only number listed in his favorites.”
“There!” She was his favorite. Didn’t that mean something? “Obviously, I’m the person he’d want you to contact in an emergency. Can I fly out to see him?”
“No, ma’am. We can’t allow that—yet.”
The soldier’s words punched her in the gut, and she doubled over. She had to speak to Asher, had to see him. Once they were back in each other’s arms, he’d remember everything.
“How much longer will he be in Germany?”
“Again, ma’am, I’m not at liberty to discuss any of the particulars of the lieutenant’s recovery with you. I got the order to call you out of courtesy...because you’re a favorite.”
She wished he’d stop saying that word. “Can you at least tell me he’s not badly injured physically? Will he make a full recovery?”
“He’s strong. As far as I know, he’s doing fine physically and is expected to make a full recovery. And, ma’am?”
“Yes?”
“That’s off the record.”
When the call ended, Paige sank to her chair behind the desk and placed her hands flat on the surface. What did this mean? Just because Asher had amnesia and couldn’t recall the details of their relationship...or her, did that mean it never happened? What were those doctors in Germany doing to help him recover his memories?
A light blinked above her door, indicating her next client had arrived. How in the world could she help anyone right now when she couldn’t even help herself?
