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A cowboy to her rescue...
but she’s not who he thinks she is.
Posing as her sister for Christmas is the only way to save her, but Maggie Lofton needs help—even if it means working with her twin’s cowboy ex-boyfriend, Liam Pike. But between the bull’s-eye on her back and the dangerous connection she’s forming with Liam, Maggie’s mission is harder than expected. Will their tenuous partnership be enough to shield her when the killer closes in?
Roughwater Ranch Cowboys
DANA MENTINK is a national bestselling author. She has been honored to win two Carol Awards, a HOLT Medallion and an RT Reviewers’ Choice Best Book Award. She’s authored more than thirty novels to date for Love Inspired Suspense and Harlequin Heartwarming. Dana loves feedback from her readers. Contact her at danamentink.com.
Roughwater Ranch Cowboys
Danger on the Ranch
Deadly Christmas Pretense
Gold Country Cowboys
Cowboy Christmas Guardian
Treacherous Trails
Cowboy Bodyguard
Lost Christmas Memories
Pacific Coast Private Eyes
Dangerous Tidings
Seaside Secrets
Abducted
Dangerous Testimony
True Blue K-9 Unit
Shield of Protection
Act of Valor
Discover more at millsandboon.co.uk
Deadly Christmas Pretense
Dana Mentink
ISBN: 978-1-474-09893-9
DEADLY CHRISTMAS PRETENSE
© 2019 Dana Mentink
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.
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Text to speech
“You want to die? Such a pretty young thing?”
“You won’t kill me. Then you’d never know,” Maggie rasped.
“I don’t want to kill you,” he said. “But I will if I have to.”
“I...” she started.
She felt his body twitch, as if something had caught his attention past the railing down on the beach, his hand still pressing her windpipe. “Who’s the cowboy?”
Liam, she thought with a surge of hope. He’d followed her.
She wriggled but he tightened his grip, too, nearly shutting off her oxygen. “You give me what I want and don’t involve anyone else, or you know what will happen. It would be so easy.”
She was too oxygen deprived to reply.
“Hey,” Liam shouted from down below. “Get your hands off her.”
Without warning, the man released her and raced away down the stairs. The sudden movement sent her staggering. Her hips impacted the rusted railing. Gulping for air, it took a second for her brain to register that the railing had given way as she fell backward into nothing.
In God I will praise his word, in God I have put my trust; I will not fear what flesh can do unto me.
—Psalm 56:4
I am writing this letter as I sit in a bustling hospital emergency room, waiting for some test results for a family member. Time seems to slow down here, the conversations ebbing and flowing around me in this busy place. It strikes me that we have so many ways to quantify a human life, don’t we? We can measure the beats of the heart, the actions of enzymes, the microbes and platelets and pulses and respirations that keep a body alive. For all that, we cannot measure a person’s capacity to love, the intangible desire of one person to care deeply for another. That, my friends, is the beautiful inheritance from the Lord. He gives us the ability to love, because He first loved us. What a treasure, what a gift.
Thank you so much for reading my story. I hope it entertained and inspired you. Most of all, I hope you feel deeply that you are loved by our Father. If you’d like to contact me, feel free to send a note via my website at danamentink.com. There is also a physical address there if you prefer corresponding by letter. As always, God bless you, my friends, and thank you for joining me on this adventure!
Sincerely,
Dana Mentink
Dedicated