Christmas Blackout. Maggie K. Black

      

      NO WAY OUT

      The last thing Benjamin Duff needs is to be stranded at his friend Piper Lawrence’s bed-and-breakfast with a dangerous intruder. But when he stops to say goodbye before moving across the world, he finds a masked man attacking Piper. Benjamin rushes to save her, crashing his truck and trapping them during a winter storm in the process. With no power or cell phones and time running out before his trip, he’ll have to work fast to catch the killer. As they fight for their lives and their feelings for each other grow, Benjamin must decide if he’s really willing to leave Piper behind.

      “Hey, it’s okay.” Piper stepped backward out of his arms. “It’s probably just the wind coupled with some ice on the power lines.”

      “Maybe it’s nothing. But maybe it’s something.” Benjamin’s hand ran down her arm and squeezed hers. “Either way, get behind me and stay close.”

      Tempting. But no. She’d spent way too long trying to rid herself of the dizzying butterflies that soared through her veins whenever Benjamin was near. She wasn’t about to lose her head now. Sure, back on the island last summer she’d thought their relationship was heading somewhere romantically. Right up until he’d taken her out to dinner her last night on the island only to blindside her with the news that he was determined to remain a commitment-free bachelor for the rest of his life.

      “Power goes out around here all the time in the winter.” She pulled her fingers out of his grip. “It usually comes right back within minutes. But even if it is someone dangerous, I’m going to meet it head-on.”

      MAGGIE K. BLACK is an award-winning journalist and romantic suspense author with an insatiable love of traveling the world. She has lived in the American South, Europe and the Middle East. She now makes her home in Canada with her history teacher husband, their two beautiful girls and a small but mighty dog. Maggie enjoys connecting with her readers at maggiekblack.com.

      Christmas Blackout

      Maggie K. Black

      

www.millsandboon.co.uk

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      I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths I will guide them; I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth. These are the things I will do; I will not forsake them.

      —Isaiah 42:16

      For my strong, brave and beautiful girls.

      You are what makes Christmas special.

      Contents

       Cover

       Back Cover Text

       Introduction

       About the Author

       Title Page

       Bible Verse

       Dedication

ONE

TWO

THREE

FOUR

FIVE

       SIX

       SEVEN

       EIGHT

       NINE

       TEN

       ELEVEN

       TWELVE

       THIRTEEN

       FOURTEEN

       FIFTEEN

       SIXTEEN

       SEVENTEEN

       EIGHTEEN

       EPILOGUE

       Dear Reader

       Extract

       Copyright

       ONE

      Benjamin Duff gripped the steering wheel with both hands and tried to turn into the skid. It was too late. Pelting sleet and freezing rain had turned the southern Ontario back road into a treacherous mess of slush and ice. The storm had picked up quickly. He’d been just a fraction of a second too late in catching the change of traction from paved road to country lane.

      Now