Dark Deception (Defenders of Justice Book #2) , livre ebook

Baker Publishing Group - Nancy Mehl

Découvre YouScribe en t'inscrivant gratuitement

Je m'inscris

Obtenez un accès à la bibliothèque pour le consulter en ligne
En savoir plus

147 pages

English

Vous pourrez modifier la taille du texte de cet ouvrage

Obtenez un accès à la bibliothèque pour le consulter en ligne
En savoir plus

A propos
Informations
Extrait

Description

Kate O'Brien's quiet life in small-town Shelter Cove, Arkansas is shaken when her past suddenly comes roaring back to life. Four years ago, she and her twin sister were attacked by an elusive serial killer. Only Kate survived, and she's been in witness protection ever since.When new evidence arises to suggest the convicted man wasn't the murderer, she's subpoenaed to testify in the new trial. Afraid to go back into that world, Kate only agrees if Tony DeLuca, the deputy Marshal who protected her during the original trial, escorts her to St. Louis. Tony readily takes on the assignment; Kate's beauty and inner strength made more of an impression on him than he expected. But when Kate's safety is threatened, Tony must race against the clock to keep her alive and put this ugly case to rest before anyone else gets killed.

Sujets

Romance

Thriller

Informations

Publié par	Baker Publishing Group
Date de parution	06 juin 2017
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781441231260
Langue	English
Poids de l'ouvrage	2 Mo

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0202€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

Extrait

Cover
Title Page
Copyright Page
© 2017 by Nancy Mehl
Published by Bethany House Publishers
11400 Hampshire Avenue South
Bloomington, Minnesota 55438
www.bethanyhouse.com
Bethany House Publishers is a division of
Baker Publishing Group, Grand Rapids, Michigan
www.bakerpublishinggroup.com
Ebook edition created 2017
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—for example, electronic, photocopy, recording—without the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC.
ISBN 978-1-4412-3126-0
Scripture quotations are from the King James Version of the Bible.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, incidents, and dialogues are products of the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Cover design by Dan Pitts
Cover photography by Mike Habermann Photography, LLC
Nancy Mehl is represented by The Steve Laube Agency.
Dedication
This novel is dedicated to Peter Marsh.
If I could talk to you one more time, I’d tell you how smart, funny, and special you were.
If I could talk to you one more time, I’d tell you that I still remember your great smile.
If I could talk to you one more time, I’d tell you how much it meant to me when you’d leave the other boys playing outside so you could come in just to visit with your friend’s mom.
If I could talk to you one more time, I’d tell you how much you were loved.
If I could talk to you one more time, I’d wrap my arms around you and never let go.
If I could talk to you one more time, I’d tell you that one of the worst moments in my life was telling my son that you were gone. I’d tell you that we both cried. That we still cry.
If I could talk to you one more time, I’d tell you that God can turn any situation around. That life is never, ever hopeless. If only you’d talked to us one more time.
But now there’s an empty spot in the world where you should be. No one will ever fill it. No one else can. It will always belong to you.
We can’t talk to you one more time in this world, but we’re praying that someday we’ll get to talk to you one more time . . . forever.
We love you, Peter.
Contents
Cover
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
Prologue
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
Epilogue
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Books by Nancy Mehl
Back Ads
Back Cover
Prologue
Playing dead was harder than she ever could have imagined. Despite the pain and the warm blood that surrounded her, she fought to lie perfectly still. It was quiet. Too quiet. There was no doubt in her mind that if he thought she was still alive, he would come back and finish the job.
How could this be happening? Only two hours ago she and Kelly were at a party, celebrating. Then they’d come home to find a man hiding in the bathroom. Kate hadn’t known anything was wrong until she’d found him with one arm around Kelly’s neck, his other hand holding a knife to her throat. He’d looked shocked to see her. As if he hadn’t known Kelly had a sister.
“Back up,” he’d ordered. “Or I’ll slit her throat.”
Kate wanted to stop him. Wanted to free her sister, but she couldn’t find a way to do it. If she angered him, she was certain Kelly would die. So she stayed where she was, praying he would leave.
But he didn’t. Not until Kelly was dead, and Kate wished she could join her. She lay on the floor until she was absolutely sure he was gone. Then she crawled over to the phone and dialed 911.
When the dispatcher answered, all she could do was cry.
Chapter One
Icy rain pelted the windows of the St. Louis courtroom, given strength by a stiff wind that shrieked and moaned, eerily echoing the sounds of the serial killer’s victims. The city was under a tornado watch, and if the watch became a warning, the courtroom would be emptied and everyone would be directed to the building’s basement. Seated a couple of rows behind the defense table, Deputy U.S. Marshal Tony DeLuca shivered, even though the room was abnormally warm. The old courthouse smelled of sweat and despair. Its polished floors had been trod upon by thousands of feet. Its marble pillars had seen many criminals pass through the doors while their victims waited inside its walls, praying for justice.
There was complete silence as twenty-year-old Kate O’Brien walked slowly up to the front of the room and took the stand. She held up her hand as she was sworn in. Tony could see her body tremble, and he wished he could stand by her side and comfort her as she faced the man who’d tried to take her life. Deep down inside, Tony believed she’d be okay. Kate’s fragile beauty belied her inner strength. She was determined to conquer the monster who had brought so much destruction into her life.
She took her seat, purposely looking away from Alan Gerard, who stared at her brazenly, as if trying to destroy her confidence. Kate had vowed to ignore Gerard until the moment she was forced to identify him. After that, she’d made it clear he would never take up space in her head again. Tony admired her bravery, but he doubted if anyone could so easily banish the demons that lurked in the dark.
He looked carefully around the packed courtroom. There had been several threats made against Kate from delusional people who considered themselves fans of the demented serial killer. Although some in law enforcement had chalked up most of them to individuals who would never carry out their warnings, Tony took each one seriously. Several of the letter-writers had been tracked down and found to be harmless, but there were a dozen or so who couldn’t be traced. One in particular bothered him. The verbiage used was educated and succinct. Although the writer was obviously delusional, he had reasoned out his insanity in a way that kept Tony awake at night.
Everyone has a destiny. Every step we take only brings us closer to the inevitable. There is no way to change what must happen. Kate O’Brien’s course is ordained, and there is nothing anyone can do about it. Accepting this truth is the only thing that can free our souls.
Although Tony believed in destiny too, he refused to accept that there was no deliverance from evil. He was determined that Kate would find happiness in a world that had been so unkind to her.
Tony had talked to her about witness protection, but she didn’t want anything to do with it. She was ready to leave her aunt’s house and start a new life—on her own terms. Even though Tony had assured her they would work to provide her with the kind of lifestyle she wanted, Kate’s mind was made up. Tony could only hope that after Gerard was sentenced, the crazies would find some other vicious killer to worship. Still, he felt unsettled. On guard. As if his gut was trying to tell him that Kate was in danger.
As District Attorney Matthew Gibbons stood up and headed her way, Kate searched the gallery until she spotted Tony. She’d asked him to stay where she could see him. She’d told him she felt more secure knowing he was there. Tony hoped she’d be able to keep herself together as she faced Gerard in court. The pressure of living through that awful night again—of coming face-to-face with the monster . . . Well, talking about it and actually going through with it could prove to be two very different things.
Tony kept his gaze steady as Kate stared back at him. If he could send her additional courage through sheer will, she would have all she needed.
After Kate was sworn in, Gibbons asked her to recount the events of April twenty-third of last year. She began with the birthday party. She and Kelly were turning nineteen—getting ready for college, moving into their own apartment. They should have started a year earlier, but Kelly had been injured in a car accident with her boyfriend. Scott had walked away with a mild concussion, but Kelly had broken both legs and shattered her right arm. Recovery and rehabilitation had taken so long, starting school was impossible. Kate had decided to wait for her sister rather than begin without her. Sharing an apartment and going to college together was something they’d looked forward to since they were children.
“Where was this party held?” Gibbons asked.
“At McGoogles. Near the campus.”
“So this was a happy occasion?”
“Yes, very. Kelly was doing well after her accident, and we were both looking forward to our first year in college.”
“How late did the party last?”
“We shut it down around midnight. Even though Kelly was much stronger, she still tired easily. I wanted to get her home so she could get some rest.”
“And where was home?”
“We’d just found an apartment near the college. We’d moved in two weeks earlier. That’s where we went.”
“You’re talking about the apartment on Delmar?”
“Yes.”
The assistant D.A. cleared his throat. Tony knew the testimony that would follow was important. Even though there was DNA at the crime scene that linked Gerard to the attacks, it was only a small amount of evidence—a spot of blood in one location, found after the scene was initially processed. The defense claimed the DNA had been planted. That no one who had committed such a brutal murder could have left such a small amount of blood behind. They also contended there were no marks on Gerard’s body—no cuts that could have produced blood. There was nothing under the girls’ nails, no fingerprints that matched Gerard’s, and nothing else to link him to the murders—except for Kate’s eyewitness testimony. She’d recognized him as a maintenance worker at the college. Her identification had led to his arrest.
The lack of physical evidence was highl