Silent Night Threat. Michelle Karl

      

      FORGOTTEN MEMORIES

      None of her training prepares astronaut Natasha Stark for what she wakes up to three weeks after her groundbreaking space voyage: a target on her back—and no memories. But there’s something oddly familiar about the FBI agent who rescues her. Christopher Barton can’t believe he drew the mission of safeguarding his long-ago fiancée and her daughter—a child he has every reason to believe is his. To learn the truth, though, he has to help Natasha regain her memory. But with threats mounting against the family he hopes to join, Chris is running out of time to take down the assailants before they kill the woman he never forgot and the child he never knew existed.

      Natasha couldn’t hold back the fear.

      But she refused to cry at seeing her second dead crew member. “That could have been me,” she said, turning away from the body as she recalled the gunshots fired at her and the explosion at her home.

      “I’m not going to let that happen to you. I promise.”

      The funny thing was, she believed Chris. She didn’t know him, but there was something about him...something familiar, comforting, like the touch of his fingertips against her skin. Or was her scrambled brain imagining things?

      Chris pulled away, and the moment was over. “I’m calling a team over. We need to mobilize as many resources as we can to get this figured out.”

      “Good plan.” She’d delve into her hazy memories of this man another time. There were more important things to deal with right now. “We need to warn the other crew before it’s too late.”

      The front window blew out, shattered by a bullet, and glass exploded at them.

      She got the message, loud and clear: it was already too late.

      Dear Reader,

      Thank you so much for spending a little slice of your holidays with Chris and Natasha! You’re probably wondering about the Orion space program that features in this story—is the race to Mars a real thing? Sure is! NASA’s Orion program is real, and it’s under way, though I accelerated the timeline here for the sake of story. But you can read all about it on NASA’s website and elsewhere online.

      Those of you who’ve read Outside the Law will likely recognize Natasha’s last name. She’s the niece of a dastardly character from that book, but she has worked hard to make a name for herself in a typically male-dominated field. I believe that as long as we’re following God’s leading in our lives, we can accomplish great things. Sometimes it will require leaning on a trusted team for support. Sometimes it will mean sacrifice. But when we’re inside God’s will, our lives are forever changed.

      I love hearing from readers. Find me on Twitter (@_MichelleKarl_) or at michellekarl.com and let me know if you’re having a snowy or sunny Christmas. Have a merry Christmas and happy New Year, friends!

      Blessings,

      Michelle

      MICHELLE KARL is an unabashed bibliophile and romantic suspense author. She lives in Canada with her husband and an assortment of critters, including a codependent cat and an opinionated parrot. When she’s not reading and consuming copious amounts of coffee, she writes the stories she’d like to find in her “to be read” pile. She also loves animals, world music and eating the last piece of cheesecake.

      Silent Night Threat

      Michelle Karl

       www.millsandboon.co.uk

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      When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained;

      What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?

      —Psalms 8:3–4

      For Dave, Micah and Dad, who get the joke.

      Contents

       Cover

       Back Cover Text

       Introduction

       Dear Reader

       About the Author

       Title Page

       Bible Verse

       Dedication

       ONE

       TWO

       THREE

       FOUR

       FIVE

       SIX

       SEVEN

       EIGHT

       NINE

       TEN

       ELEVEN