Danger In The Deep. Karen Kirst

      

      When buried secrets surface,

      she’s caught in a criminal’s crosshairs.

      Aquarium employee Olivia Smith isn’t sure why someone wants her dead—but Marine Corps pilot Brady Johnson knows a secret that could explain it. Brady vowed he’d tell no one that Olivia’s husband had been on the run from his own mob family before he died, but he also promised he’d keep Olivia safe. With danger running deep, they’ll have to work fast to stay alive.

      KAREN KIRST was born and raised in east Tennessee near the Great Smoky Mountains. She’s a lifelong lover of books, but it wasn’t until after college that she had the grand idea to write one herself. Now she divides her time between being a wife, homeschooling mom and romance writer. Her favorite pastimes are reading, visiting tearooms and watching romantic comedies.

       Also By Karen Kirst

      Explosive Reunion

       Intensive Care Crisis

       Danger in the Deep

       Love Inspired Historical

      Smoky Mountain Matches

      The Reluctant Outlaw

      The Bridal Swap

      The Gift of Family

      “Smoky Mountain Christmas”

      His Mountain Miss

      The Husband Hunt

      Married by Christmas

      From Boss to Bridegroom

      The Bachelor’s Homecoming

      Reclaiming His Past

      The Sheriff’s Christmas Twins

      Wed by Necessity

      The Engagement Charade

      A Lawman for Christmas

      Discover more at millsandboon.co.uk

      Danger in the Deep

      Karen Kirst

       www.millsandboon.co.uk

      ISBN: 978-0-008-90086-1

      DANGER IN THE DEEP

      © 2020 Karen Vyskocil

      Published in Great Britain 2020

      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.

      By payment of the required fees, you are granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right and licence to download and install this e-book on your personal computer, tablet computer, smart phone or other electronic reading device only (each a “Licensed Device”) and to access, display and read the text of this e-book on-screen on your Licensed Device. Except to the extent any of these acts shall be permitted pursuant to any mandatory provision of applicable law but no further, no part of this e-book or its text or images may be reproduced, transmitted, distributed, translated, converted or adapted for use on another file format, communicated to the public, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher.

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       www.millsandboon.co.uk

       Note to Readers

      This ebook contains the following accessibility features which, if supported by your device, can be accessed via your ereader/accessibility settings:

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       Text to speech

      “Olivia? You here?”

      A sense of urgency gripped him. Calling her name, he rounded the corner into the escalator area.

      A reflection in the glass diverted his attention. Pivoting, he realized the out-of-place shadow was a person, sprawled at the bottom of the steep escalators. Long black hair fanned across the shiny floor grate. A ribbon of dark liquid glistened beneath her cheek.

      Olivia.

      She wasn’t moving.

      Brady forced his leaden feet into motion. At her side, he fell to his knees and felt for a pulse. The breath whooshed from his lungs. Not dead.

      “Olivia, can you hear me?” He searched for the blood source and discovered a deep gash behind her right ear.

      She reacted to his probing fingers with an agonized moan.

      “It’s me. Brady. I’m here to help.”

      Her forehead pinched. When she attempted to sit up, she hissed and cradled her arm against her chest.

      Brady reached out but didn’t touch her. “What happened?”

      Glancing at the floor above, she grimaced. “Someone pushed me.”

      Dear Reader,

      The idea for this book’s setting came to me last year, when I had the opportunity to accompany my son on an overnight field trip to a local aquarium. There was something mysterious and exciting about being there after hours. I’ll never forget spending the night in the shark tunnel, watching the sharks and fish swim overhead as I drifted off to sleep. I shared my idea with our aquarium guide that night, and she agreed it would be a unique setting. I’m sure she was surprised to receive my email many months later asking if she’d agree to be a source of information for my book! I patterned Olivia’s aquarium after the one I visited, the Tennessee Aquarium in Chattanooga. However, I tweaked some aspects and obviously located it in North Carolina.

      I hope you enjoyed Olivia and Brady’s journey. They were both interesting characters to explore and, I’ll admit, a bit of a challenge to bring together. Because she’s a recent widow, I worked hard to make their love story authentic and believable. If you’d like more information on my suspense or historical books, please visit my website at www.karenkirst.com or visit with me on Facebook. I also like to hear from readers through email, which is [email protected].

      Blessings,