EXPECTINGâAND IN DANGER
Attacked in her classroom, widowed teacher Ariel Martinâs only thought is for her unborn child. When her studentâs brother, rookie K-9 officer Tristan McKeller, and his faithful dog save her life, she canât thank him enough. She knows Tristan wonât rest until sheâs safe, but she doesnât want him or his police colleagues digging into her dangerous past. After all, the only person who would want to hurt her is deadâ¦or is he? With her and her childâs life on the line, sheâll have to trust Tristan with her secrets if she wants to finally get the fresh start sheâs been desperately seeking.
The woman was pregnant!
âStay!â Tristan commanded his K-9 partner, and Jesse dropped down with a grunted protest.
A woman appeared in the window. Dark hair. Pale skin. Freckles. Very pregnant belly that wasnât cooperating as she struggled to crawl through the opening.
Ariel Martin. The newest teacher at Desert Valley High School. Smart. Enthusiastic. Patient. Heâd heard that from more than one parent. Heâd even heard it from Mia.
âYou okay?â he asked, running to her side.
She shook her head, dark gray eyes wide with shock, a smear of blood on her right hand. Sheâd cut herself. It looked deep, but she didnât seem to notice. âThereâs a gunman. He tried to shoot me.â
The words were calm, crisp and clear, and they chilled Tristan to the bone. Two women had already been murdered in Desert Valley. Was Ariel Martin slated to be the third?
ROOKIE K-9 UNIT:
These lawmen solve the toughest cases with the help of their brave canine partners
Protect and ServeâTerri Reed, April 2016 Truth and ConsequencesâLenora Worth, May 2016 Seek and FindâDana Mentink, June 2016 Honor and DefendâLynette Eason, July 2016 Secrets and LiesâShirlee McCoy, August 2016 Search and RescueâValerie Hansen, September 2016
Aside from her faith and her family, thereâs not much SHIRLEE MCCOY enjoys more than a good book! When sheâs not teaching or chauffeuring her five kids, she can usually be found plotting her next Love Inspired Suspense story or wandering around the beautiful Inland Northwest in search of inspiration. Shirlee loves to hear from readers. If you have time, drop her a line at [email protected].
As for God, His way is perfect; the word of the Lord is flawless. He is a shield for all who take refuge in Him.
âPsalms 18:30
To my fellow Rookie K-9 authors.
Val, Dana, Lynette, Terri and Lenora, working with the five of you was such a privilege and a pleasure! We made quite a team, and Iâm so glad that I got to be part of it!
ONE
The soft buzz of her cell phone pulled Ariel Martinâs attention from the ninth-grade English paper she was grading. It was good that sheâd been engrossed in the essayâthe student had obviously done an outstanding job. It was not so good that long shadows had drifted across the classroom floor while she was reading. It was late. Later than sheâd realized.
She grabbed her phone and read the text that had come through.
Want to grab some dinner later, Ari?
âNo, Easton. I do not,â she muttered, shoving the phone back in her purse without responding.
Easton Riley was a nice enough guyâa math teacher whoâd coached the football team to regional victory the previous yearâbut she wasnât interested.
She had her hands full teaching summer school, tutoring on the side, getting the classroom ready for the long-term sub whoâd be taking over from mid-September through December when she had her baby. The last thing she needed or wanted was a relationship complicating things. Sheâd lived that for five yearsâalways at another personâs beck and call, always worrying about what someone else wanted or needed.
She hadnât thought marriage would be that way. Sheâd thought it would be a mutual effortâtwo people working together to reach a common goal. Sheâd been wrong. She had the divorce papers to prove it, filed in Nevada and finalized three weeks later. Not what sheâd wanted. Sheâd wanted couples counseling and pastoral help. Mitch had wanted someone else.
That had hurt. What had hurt more was how adamant heâd been that she get rid of the baby she learned she was carrying a week after Mitch had filed for divorce. An abortion, thatâs what heâd demanded. Heâd even tossed cash at her, screaming that sheâd better get rid of the kid or heâd do it for her.
That had been the first time sheâd been scared of her ex-husband. Thereâd been other times after that. The fact that heâd died in a fiery car wreck a month later should have given her a sense of relief, but sheâd felt trapped by all the memoriesâgood and badâof their marriage. Las Vegas had never been her dream. It had been Mitchâs. Theyâd graduated from the University of Arizona and chased after the things heâd wantedâmoney, fast cars, expensive toys. Sheâd been happy to go along for the ride, because sheâd loved him.