Publisher: Harlequin Intrigue
Publication Date: June 29, 2021
She’d brought him his greatest joy.
Now he must save her life…
Rancher Kara Holland’s hot on the trail of a murderer who’s
been killing surrogates—like she was for her ill sister. But when Kara’s trap
goes terribly wrong, she’s thrust headlong into the killer’s crosshairs…along
with her sister’s widower, Deputy Daniel Logan. And as she and Daniel stay one
frantic step ahead of a deadly foe, the sparks igniting between them rival the
danger they face.
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My thoughts:
Safeguarding the Surrogate is the second book in the Mercy Ridge Lawmakers series. This one is Daniel's story. Daniel and Kara are being hunted by an unknown shooter who has already killed several women. Being a surrogate for Daniel and his late wife has made her a prime target. I really enjoyed this one. There was non-stop action and several suspects. I also loved the tension between Kara and Daniel. I also enjoyed seeing Barrett from the first book show up in this one. He is Daniel's brother. I hope Leo gets a story! It's a quick read and one I highly recommend.
Safeguarding the Surrogate – Excerpt
Delores Fossen
Kara Holland stood in the darkness and waited for the killer.
With her heartbeat throbbing in her ears and her back pressed to the barn wall, she tried to listen for any sound to alert her that he was coming. Nothing. Not yet. But she’d done everything she could to lure him out and make him come after her.
And she was ready.
She had the Glock gripped in her hand, and thanks to the hours of firearms training, she knew how to use it. If that failed, if he somehow got the jump on her, she’d fall back on the hand-to-hand moves she’d also learned. Of course, those things didn’t guarantee that she would stop him, but she had to try. She was tired of living with this smothering weight of fear.
Finally, she heard something. The sound of a car engine. Then a door closing. He had finally come for her.
The next thing she heard were the footsteps, slow and cautious. They were coming straight toward her barn.
She’d purposely turned off all but the single light in the tack room, and Kara had left the door cracked just enough for a thin beam to pierce the darkness. She stayed in the shadows by a stack of hay bales, but when the killer came in the barn, she’d be able to see him.
Kara could certainly hear him.
Along with the footsteps, the hinges creaked on the barn door, and she pinpointed every bit of her focus while she lifted the Glock. And she took aim.
“Kara?” the man called out.
She groaned, mixing it with some muttered profanity, because she instantly recognized that voice. Not a killer. But Deputy Daniel Logan.
“What are you doing here?” she snapped once she could manage to speak.
“Checking on you,” Daniel snapped right back.
When he stepped into that beam of light from the tack room, she had no trouble seeing the riled expression on his face. Or the rest of him for that matter. He was wearing his usual jeans and work shirt on his tall rangy body. His Mercy Ridge deputy’s badge was clipped to his belt.
“I’m fine,” Kara assured him. Of course, that wasn’t true, and he could clearly see that. After all, she was waiting in her dark barn while holding a gun. “You can go.”
“No, I won’t.” Daniel sounded “all cop” with that one-word response. And he didn’t budge, either. In fact, he came closer, meeting her eye to eye.
“You shouldn’t have come,” Kara insisted.
“I wanted to have a look around and see for myself if the rumors were true. They are,” he added in a snarl. “What the hell are you thinking?”
“You know what I’m thinking,” she fired back.
That only caused him to release a long hard breath. No doubt one of frustration. Well, she was frustrated, too. And scared. Especially scared. Something that she’d hoped to end tonight.
“Two surrogates are dead,” Kara reminded him. Not that a reminder was necessary. Daniel knew because she’d already told him. She’d taken the news articles to him right away when she had learned about the dead women. “Both used the Willingham Fertility Clinic in San Antonio.”
Just as Kara had done. Again, no reminder was necessary for Daniel since the reason she had used the clinic and become a surrogate was to carry a baby for Daniel and his wife, Maryanne. Maryanne had also been Kara’s sister.
As it always did, just remembering Maryanne made her feel as if someone had clamped a vise around her heart. It was almost certainly even worse for Daniel. It’d been nearly two years since Maryanne had lost her battle with breast cancer, but sometimes it felt as fresh as if it’d just happened.
About the Author
USA Today bestselling author, Delores Fossen, has sold over 70 novels with millions of copies of her books in print worldwide. She's received the Booksellers' Best Award, the Romantic Times Reviewers' Choice Award and was a finalist for the prestigious Rita ®. In addition, she's had nearly a hundred short stories and articles published in national magazines. You can contact the author through her webpage at www.deloresfossen.com.
Connect with the Author
Website: https://www.deloresfossen.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorDeloresFossen/timeline/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/dfossen
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/deloresfossen/?hl=en
Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/delores-fossen
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/240672.Delores_Fossen
Delores Fossen
Kara Holland stood in the darkness and waited for the killer.
With her heartbeat throbbing in her ears and her back pressed to the barn wall, she tried to listen for any sound to alert her that he was coming. Nothing. Not yet. But she’d done everything she could to lure him out and make him come after her.
And she was ready.
She had the Glock gripped in her hand, and thanks to the hours of firearms training, she knew how to use it. If that failed, if he somehow got the jump on her, she’d fall back on the hand-to-hand moves she’d also learned. Of course, those things didn’t guarantee that she would stop him, but she had to try. She was tired of living with this smothering weight of fear.
Finally, she heard something. The sound of a car engine. Then a door closing. He had finally come for her.
The next thing she heard were the footsteps, slow and cautious. They were coming straight toward her barn.
She’d purposely turned off all but the single light in the tack room, and Kara had left the door cracked just enough for a thin beam to pierce the darkness. She stayed in the shadows by a stack of hay bales, but when the killer came in the barn, she’d be able to see him.
Kara could certainly hear him.
Along with the footsteps, the hinges creaked on the barn door, and she pinpointed every bit of her focus while she lifted the Glock. And she took aim.
“Kara?” the man called out.
She groaned, mixing it with some muttered profanity, because she instantly recognized that voice. Not a killer. But Deputy Daniel Logan.
“What are you doing here?” she snapped once she could manage to speak.
“Checking on you,” Daniel snapped right back.
When he stepped into that beam of light from the tack room, she had no trouble seeing the riled expression on his face. Or the rest of him for that matter. He was wearing his usual jeans and work shirt on his tall rangy body. His Mercy Ridge deputy’s badge was clipped to his belt.
“I’m fine,” Kara assured him. Of course, that wasn’t true, and he could clearly see that. After all, she was waiting in her dark barn while holding a gun. “You can go.”
“No, I won’t.” Daniel sounded “all cop” with that one-word response. And he didn’t budge, either. In fact, he came closer, meeting her eye to eye.
“You shouldn’t have come,” Kara insisted.
“I wanted to have a look around and see for myself if the rumors were true. They are,” he added in a snarl. “What the hell are you thinking?”
“You know what I’m thinking,” she fired back.
That only caused him to release a long hard breath. No doubt one of frustration. Well, she was frustrated, too. And scared. Especially scared. Something that she’d hoped to end tonight.
“Two surrogates are dead,” Kara reminded him. Not that a reminder was necessary. Daniel knew because she’d already told him. She’d taken the news articles to him right away when she had learned about the dead women. “Both used the Willingham Fertility Clinic in San Antonio.”
Just as Kara had done. Again, no reminder was necessary for Daniel since the reason she had used the clinic and become a surrogate was to carry a baby for Daniel and his wife, Maryanne. Maryanne had also been Kara’s sister.
As it always did, just remembering Maryanne made her feel as if someone had clamped a vise around her heart. It was almost certainly even worse for Daniel. It’d been nearly two years since Maryanne had lost her battle with breast cancer, but sometimes it felt as fresh as if it’d just happened.
USA Today bestselling author, Delores Fossen, has sold over 70 novels with millions of copies of her books in print worldwide. She's received the Booksellers' Best Award, the Romantic Times Reviewers' Choice Award and was a finalist for the prestigious Rita ®. In addition, she's had nearly a hundred short stories and articles published in national magazines. You can contact the author through her webpage at www.deloresfossen.com.
Website: https://www.deloresfossen.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorDeloresFossen/timeline/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/dfossen
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/deloresfossen/?hl=en
Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/delores-fossen
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/240672.Delores_Fossen
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