Hide The Child
A terrified little witnessWhen army ranger Gabe Decker is asked to protect an orphan and her psychologist, Trina Marr, he doesn’t hesitate. Hidden in a remote cabin, Gabe experiences a taste of family life… And when bullets start flying, Gabe puts vows to do whatever it takes to protect them.
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A terrified little girl is the only witness
to the murder of her family...
And the killer wonât stop until sheâs silenced, too. So when army ranger Gabe Decker is asked to protect the orphan and her psychologist, Trina Marr, he doesnât hesitate. Hidden in a remote cabin, Gabe experiences a taste of family life...something this brawny ranger never dreamed possible. When bullets start flying, Gabe puts everything on the lineâand vows to do whatever it takes to protect his family.
An author of more than ninety books for children and adults (more than seventy-five for Mills & Boon), JANICE KAY JOHNSON writes about love and family, and pens books of gripping romantic suspense. A USA TODAY bestselling author and an eight-time finalist for the Romance Writers of America RITA® Award, she won a RITA® Award in 2008. A former librarian, Janice raised two daughters in a small town north of Seattle, Washington.
A Hometown Boy
Anything for Her
Where It May Lead
From This Day On
One Frosty Night
More Than Neighbors
Because of a Girl
A Motherâs Claim
Plain Refuge
Her Amish Protectors
Discover more at millsandboon.co.uk
ISBN: 978-1-474-07948-8
HIDE THE CHILD
© 2018 Janice Kay Johnson
Published in Great Britain 2018
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 âLicensed Deviceâ) 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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For Jeff Hill, consummate woodsman,
reader and generous friend.
Contents
Squeezed into the tiniest space, Chloe tried not to look through the narrow crack where the cupboard door hadnât completely closed, but sometimes she couldnât help herself. Daddy was lying there right in front of her. All she had to do was crawl out andâNo, no! Mommy said she had to stay here and not make a sound. Not even a teensy sound. Mommy said to wait, no matter what she heard or saw.
But she could see Daddyâs face, and the face of the man who bent over him, too. Except... No! Mommy said.
Hugging her knees to squeeze herself into the smallest ball possible, Chloe closed her eyes. Tears wet her cheeks and she could taste them. She shuddered, trying to hold back a sob.
âShh. Stay right there,â Mommy had whispered. âDonât move a finger or make a sound. No matter what. Do you understand?â
She didnât understand at all, but she was scared, and she was almost doing what Mommy said, even when tears dripped off her chin onto her bare arms. Chloe peeked. Daddyâs eyes were open, but she could tell he didnât see her. Or anything.
Now she couldnât see anybody else, but she heard the man talking. There werenât any other voices, but she didnât move. She didnât whimper, even when the house became quiet and stayed quiet for a long time. She had to wait until Mommy came or Daddy woke up.
She didnât move, didnât make a sound, even when different people came. They all had the same color of blue pants. Now she saw a man crouching beside Daddy, and even though she didnât move, she didnât, he lifted his head and saw her.
Her teeth chattered and she shook all over, but he stepped right over Daddy and opened the cupboard door all the way. He bent low, his face nice, and held out a hand.
