Mysterious Montana
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B. J. Daniels
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19,1K
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41
From two classic Harlequin Intrigues, two dangerous women, and two men who will do anything to protect them. A WOMAN WITH A MYSTERY A year ago Holly Barrows raced through a raging snowstorm, convinced that someone was trying to kill her — and straight into the arms of Slade Rawlins. But after their moment of passion, she vanished, only to return the following Christmas with an outrageous claim of kidnapping. She has no memory beyond her time with Slade, and any child she had would also be his…but can he protect a family shrouded in mystery? MYSTERY BRIDE The moment Will Sheridan met Samantha Murphy at a party, he knew she was the one he'd been waiting for. But one kiss, and she disappears. Will won't give up looking for her, his lost bride, but Samantha is a private investigator working very hard to hide her identity. When Will gets swept up in her latest case, things take a dangerous turn and she has no choice but to let him in. Now on the run to save an innocent life, can they stay alive long enough to act on their attraction?
PROLOGUE
Halloween
The pain. It dragged her up from the feverish blackness, doubling her over in a scream of anguish. Her eyelids fluttered, a flickering screen of light and dark. Three shadows moved at the end of the bed, silhouetted against a shaft of blinding light. They wavered in a whisper of dark clothing and low voices, hovering at her feet, waiting.
“Help me,” she tried to say, but her mouth was cotton, her words lost in their whispers.
The shadows moved, blocking the blinding light. She blinked, focused. A scream tore from her throat as she saw them, really saw them. Her eyes locked open, her heart clamoring in her chest at the sight of their grotesque faces as they huddled around her. The three made no move to stop her from screaming and she knew from some place deep inside her that she couldn’t be heard outside this room or they would have.
She tried to get up. Another pain shot through her. She pushed herself up on her elbows, suddenly light-headed and sick to her stomach. She could feel the agony again, coming like a speeding train toward her. She had to get away before it was too late.
One of them stepped from the bright light, face hidden behind a hideous mask, voice muffled. “It will be over soon.”
Her eyes widened, blood thundered in her ears. She knew that voice! Oh, my God!
Hands held her down as the pain accelerated, the macabre shadows a frenzied flicker of movement and whispers, the horrible whispers, suddenly rising in alarm.
She tried to see what was wrong, but her view was blocked, the hands strong holding her down. She squeezed her eyes shut against the horrifying images, against the paralyzing fear and the unimaginable pain. Gasping for each breath, she fought not to scream, fought not to lose her mind. But she knew it was already too late. The moment she’d seen their masked faces, she’d known. The moment she’d heard the familiar voice. The monsters had come to take her baby.
