Hitched and Hunted. Пола Грейвс
Чтение книги онлайн.

Читать онлайн книгу Hitched and Hunted - Пола Грейвс страница

Название: Hitched and Hunted

Автор: Пола Грейвс

Издательство: HarperCollins

Жанр: Ужасы и Мистика

Серия: Mills & Boon Intrigue

isbn: 9781472035844

isbn:

СКАЧАТЬ on>

      

      “Jake!”

      He grabbed Mariah, hauling her to her feet. Wrapping one arm around her waist, he set out for the relative safety of the woods, not looking back.

      She’d been shot. The pain was like nothing Mariah had ever felt.

      “I have to stop,” she moaned as Jake bent to gather her up to her feet again.

      “We can’t stop long,” he warned.

      Letting her go, Jake crossed to the nearest of the trees and tested the connection between the stump and the trunk. The connective wood didn’t seem to budge despite the violent shake he gave it.

      “It’s like a lean-to,” he said.

      She shook her head, not following.

      “I guess you were never a Girl Scout.” His eyes narrowed, and she could tell he was wondering how much else about her past he didn’t know.

      Hitched and Hunted

      Paula Graves

       www.millsandboon.co.uk

      MILLS & BOON

       Before you start reading, why not sign up?

      Thank you for downloading this Mills & Boon book. If you want to hear about exclusive discounts, special offers and competitions, sign up to our email newsletter today!

       SIGN ME UP!

      Or simply visit

      signup.millsandboon.co.uk

      Mills & Boon emails are completely free to receive and you can unsubscribe at any time via the link in any email we send you.

      For eHarlequin Subcare, a forum full of tough, dedicated writers who know that success comes one struggle at a time. Keep writing and submitting!

      ABOUT THE AUTHOR

      Alabama native Paula Graves wrote her first book, a mystery starring herself and her neighborhood friends, at the age of six. A voracious reader, Paula loves books that pair tantalizing mystery with compelling romance. When she’s not reading or writing, she works as a creative director for a Birmingham advertising agency and spends time with her family and friends. She is a member of Southern Magic Romance Writers, Heart of Dixie Romance Writers and Romance Writers of America.

      Paula invites readers to visit her website, www.paulagraves.com.

      CAST OF CHARACTERS

       Mariah Cooper —When the aftermath of a tornado brings Mariah face-to-face with a nightmare from her past, all the secrets she’s been keeping from her husband come to light in the worst possible way—at the end of a gun barrel.

       Jake Cooper —He learns about his wife’s lies while handcuffed inside a killer’s van. Can he put aside his anger and distrust long enough to save himself and Mariah from a dangerous man seeking vengeance?

       Victor Logan —He made Mariah Cooper the woman she is, and she repaid him with betrayal, testifying against him after he killed her lover. Now she’s back, with a new husband and new identity, and Victor finally has the chance for payback.

       Karl —The mystery man may be Victor’s ally at first glance, but his clear antagonism toward his partner in crime makes him a wild card who could put everyone’s life in danger.

       Gabe Cooper —Jake’s twin brother begins to worry when his brother doesn’t arrive home. Will he figure out what’s going on in time to come to the rescue?

       J. D. Cooper —A widower still mourning his murdered wife twelve years after her death, he has a stake in what happens to his missing brother that he doesn’t even know about.

      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

      Epilogue

       Chapter One

      Mariah Cooper had imagined her death a thousand times in the past four years, but never had she thought she’d be crouched in a motel room bathtub when it finally happened.

      “It’s going to be okay.” Jake’s calm voice barely rose above the wind gusts rattling the windows and howling around the corner eaves just outside the motel room. Across the tub, he locked his hands with hers, his blue eyes meeting hers with steady assurance. “Just another tornado warning, right?”

      Mariah nodded. Having spent her whole life in tornado-prone areas, she’d responded to hundreds of tornado siren warnings with actions drummed into her head over the years—go to the basement or an interior room, put as many walls between you and the exterior as possible, get beneath something sturdy if possible. Right now, they were on the bottom floor of the two-story motel, and the bathroom was the only place in the room that didn’t have an exterior window. The tub had a long steel handle set into the wall to hold on to if things got hairy.

      But she couldn’t remember ever hearing the wind howl so loudly or feeling the walls shake with each gust.

      “It’s close,” she said, pressure rising in her ears.

      Jake’s gaze held hers. “It may not even touch down.”

      On the counter across from the tub, a battery-powered radio kept up a steady stream of chatter from a local station carrying wall-to-wall weather coverage from a television station out of Meridian, Mississippi. The meteorologist was warning people in the Buckley area to get to their places of safety immediately.

      “I love you.” The warmth of Jake’s voice wrapped around Mariah’s СКАЧАТЬ