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Lone Witness
Shirlee McCoy
She’s keeping secrets. He must keep her safe. An FBI: Special Crimes Unit page-turner Were it not for Tessa Carlson, Special Agent Henry Miller’s daughter would have been abducted. But rescuing the little girl has thrust Tessa—a woman in hiding—into the media’s spotlight…and into a criminal’s crosshairs. Now her survival depends on putting her faith in widowed single father Henry if she wants to live to see another day.
She’s keeping secrets. He must keep her safe.
An FBI: Special Crimes Unit page-turner
Were it not for Tessa Carlson, Special Agent Henry Miller’s daughter would have been abducted. But rescuing the little girl has thrust Tessa—a woman in hiding—into the media’s spotlight…and into a criminal’s crosshairs. Now her survival depends on putting her faith in widowed single father Henry if she wants to live to see another day.
Aside from her faith and her family, there’s not much SHIRLEE McCOY enjoys more than a good book! When she’s not hanging out with the people she loves most, she can be found plotting her next Love Inspired Suspense story or trekking through the wilderness, training with a local Search and Rescue team. Shirlee loves to hear from readers. If you have time, drop her a line at shirlee@shirleemccoy.com.
Also by Shirlee McCoy (#u830d3f44-96ff-5f28-887d-347dc0a9ece5)
FBI: Special Crimes Unit
Night Stalker
Gone
Dangerous Sanctuary
Lone Witness
Mission: Rescue
Protective Instincts
Her Christmas Guardian
Exit Strategy
Deadly Christmas Secrets
Mystery Child
The Christmas Target
Mistaken Identity
Christmas on the Run
Military K-9 Unit
Valiant Defender
Classified K-9 Unit
Bodyguard
Discover more at millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk).
Lone Witness
Shirlee McCoy
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
ISBN: 978-1-474-09647-8
LONE WITNESS
© 2019 Shirlee McCoy
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)
“What happened?”
“It was a prank phone call,” Tessa said hurriedly. “I got spooked.”
“What did the caller say?” Henry asked.
“Nothing that made any sense.”
“Can you be a little more specific?”
“He said he knew what I had done,” she replied.
“There’s someone you were thinking of? Someone who might want to scare you?”
“The kidnapper pops to mind,” Kayla offered before Tessa could respond.
Too bad. Henry would have liked to hear Tessa’s answer.
He had a feeling the kidnapper hadn’t been the first person to pop into her mind. She’d told him very little about her past. But that seemed to be Tessa’s MO: very little information and very few details.
He wanted to protect her.
She wasn’t making it easy.
He was about to tell her that when something crashed through the window a few feet away, smashing the pane of glass and shattering it into millions of tiny shards.
“Get down!” he shouted, diving toward Tessa and tackling her to the ground as light flashed and a ball of fire shot across the room.
Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.
—Joshua 1:9
To my children. Who know me well and love me anyway.
Dear Reader (#u830d3f44-96ff-5f28-887d-347dc0a9ece5),
It’s been thirteen years since my first Love Inspired Suspense book was published. In the years since, many things have changed. My children have mostly grown. I’ve moved several times. I’ve said hello to new friends and goodbye to some old ones. I’ve learned a lot about what it means to be part of a family created not just by blood but by the bonds of friendship, faith and community. It is through those bonds that I have been taught the incredible value of compassion, empathy and kindness.
For Tessa Carlson, life has never been easy. She grew up in tough circumstances and found herself in worse ones. She fled something intolerable and created a life that she could be proud of. When she sees a little girl being kidnapped, she knows that intervening could cost her everything she’s worked for, but she’s not willing to turn her away. As the past she’s fled stalks her, she learns the true meaning of love and the beauty of second chances.
I hope you enjoy Lone Witness, the fourth book in the FBI Special Crimes Unit series. I love hearing from readers. You can reach me at shirlee@shirleemccoy.com (mailto:shirlee@shirleemccoy.com), or find me on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.
Blessings,
Shirlee McCoy
Contents
Cover (#ubcb2bae9-cb2f-555d-b4af-c2f697ada798)
Back Cover Text (#uc960a774-a2cb-5fd6-84d5-154bc5fce9cd)
About the Author (#u4c93d7dc-16fd-5112-804b-fbcca69dd7c8)
Booklist (#uf6fef454-806f-5848-aba9-75cffbfc5def)
Title Page (#u77c393ad-d023-5c11-b824-62a7f7340099)
Copyright (#ub174ade4-5b8a-5ab7-a9d4-bb2094001174)
Introduction (#u365394d0-78d6-5463-b084-1c64eed4b619)
Bible Verse (#ubd994104-a32e-54f2-95fb-45540b161ffb)
Dedication (#u24efd5fb-28d5-5ece-9bc5-c23260391bc5)
Dear Reader (#u244a24a1-4add-5d87-b559-30d0642ccfc0)
ONE (#u890c900a-cd25-50d4-b4ef-b3d9a1494ad3)
TWO (#u246fe1d7-f9ec-5b6f-aba0-bb03a8a7b32a)
THREE (#u82f11d39-01a3-511f-a0b1-73939fb0c304)
FOUR (#litres_trial_promo)
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)
EPILOGUE (#litres_trial_promo)
Extract (#litres_trial_promo)
About the Publisher (#litres_trial_promo)
ONE (#u830d3f44-96ff-5f28-887d-347dc0a9ece5)
Wind buffeted the windows of Tessa Carlson’s tiny cottage, rattling the glass as she rinsed her coffee mug and set it in the sink. Outside, thick shrubs brushed against the siding, scraping against the old wood shingles, the sound eerie and unnerving. Usually, she didn’t feel unsettled by the solitude of winter in Provincetown, Massachusetts. This morning, she felt a little anxious and a little off, as if all the hard work she’d done healing from the past had been wasted.
Three years, four months, twelve hours.
That’s how long it had been since she’d disappeared from Napa Valley. There’d been no missing person report. No emotional plea for her return. She doubted Patrick had cared that she was gone. Although, he’d cared a lot about his reputation. To have his girlfriend walk away had to have been a blow to his ego.
Or, maybe not.
He’d moved on quickly after she’d gone, stepping into a new relationship within months of Tessa’s exit from his life.
She knew, because she’d kept tabs on him. She had been afraid not to.
The man who had once been her Prince Charming, her path out of abject poverty, had become her worst nightmare. The abuse had been subtle at first. A quick insult. A veiled threat. Eventually, veiled threats had become overt. Words had become shoves and slaps. She had spent eight years believing things would get better and another planning her escape. She had known leaving was the only way to survive, but it had still been the most difficult thing she’d ever done.
She’d grown up tough. She’d had no idea who her father was, and very little idea of what a mother should be. Hers had always been hopped up on drugs or coming down from a high. There’d been nothing stable about the life she’d lived in the Los Angeles projects, but she’d been working to get herself out when she’d met Patrick.
He’d been the antithesis of everything she had hated about her life. Polished and refined, well-mannered and quick to offer compliments, he’d taken advantage of an eighteen-year-old’s desperation. She could see that now. At nearly thirty, she understood that she had been groomed to be his plaything, his prize. He had never loved her. He had loved the control he had over her.
Still, nine years was a long time to be with someone. It was a long time to love someone who didn’t love you.
