Warning Signs. Katy Lee

      GUILTY UNTIL PROVEN INNOCENT

      When a drug-smuggling ring rocks a small coastal town, the DEA sends Agent Owen Matthews to shut it down. A single father with a deaf son, Owen senses that the town’s number one suspect—the high school’s new principal—doesn’t fit the profile. Miriam Hunter hoped to shrug off the stigma of her hearing impairment when she returned to Stepping Stones, Maine. But her recurring nightmares dredge up old memories that could prove her innocence—and uncover the truth behind a decades-old murder. Yet Owen’s help may not be enough when someone decides to keep Miriam silenced—permanently.

      Focus on the case, Matthews. This was not an accident, and you need to figure out how it’s related, Owen told himself.

      Miriam inhaled sharply. Her head shook back and forth, her face a mash of different emotions. Shock, denial, disbelief paraded across it. She obviously had read his lips accurately. She jumped to her feet; her words sped so fast her hands tripped over each other. “Someone stole my car? This is crazy! I have never done anything to the people in this town. Why do they want to hurt me like this?”

      Owen backed a step away, reaching for his cell phone to put his mind on a different, more innocuous, track. “I’ll call Wes to report the stolen car,” he announced. “How far could it go on this island anyway? I’m sure we’ll find it.”

      At the same time Owen would find out who was behind the threats and put a stop to them. Because there was only one thing worse than being responsible for destroying a pure heart.

      Not protecting one.

      KATY LEE

      is an inspirational romantic-suspense author writing higher-purpose stories in high-speed worlds. She dedicates her life to sharing tales of love, from the greatest love story ever told to those sweet romantic stories of falling in love. She is the children’s ministry director for her church as well as a leader of a Christian women’s organization. Katy and her husband are both born New Englanders, but have been known to travel at the drop of a hat. As her homeschooled kids say, they consider themselves “world-schooled.” But no matter where Katy is you can always find her at www.KatyLeeBooks.com anytime. She would love to connect with you.

      Warning Signs

      Katy Lee

       www.millsandboon.co.uk

      MILLS & BOON

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      My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.

      —John 10:27

      Do not fear, for I am with you;

      do not be dismayed, for I am your God.

      I will strengthen you and help you;

      I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

      —Isaiah 41:10

      To the lovely ladies Sue and Val, who are our interpreters for our deaf brothers and sisters in Christ at my church. Your dedication to interpret every service allows many to “hear” the Lord’s message. God bless you and your ministry.

      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

       DEAR READER

       QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

       EXCERPT

      ONE

      Drug Enforcement agent Owen Matthews gripped the wheel of his rented sports boat as he coasted through the North Atlantic at barely half throttle. The Maine island town of Stepping Stones urged Owen to rush forward to the safety of its shores, but his newly acquired phobia of boats wouldn’t let him speed up even one knot. At this rate the sun would be gone before he arrived at his next assignment.

      “What we do for friends,” Owen mumbled through clenched teeth, thinking about his old academy roommate, and the island’s sheriff, Wesley Grant. Even though Wes had chosen small-town law enforcement and Owen had taken the federal route with the DEA down to the Mexican border, the two kept in touch.

      Wes had called, needing Owen’s undercover expertise to take down a recent marijuana problem at Stepping Stones High School. No job was too dangerous or too far for Owen when it came to extinguishing the distribution of illegal mind-altering substances. Even if the job brought him back to these Maine waters, where his guilt ran deep and he’d vowed never to go again.

      Owen inhaled the old and familiar salty air...and cringed. He needed to get off this boat. He needed to get this job done and get back to Texas where he belonged.

      He steered his focus to the few facts Wes had given him about the case, specifically on how the drugs had appeared about six months ago, soon after two new residents had moved to Stepping Stones.

      Wes