Daredevil’s Run

Kathleen Creighton Daredevil’s Run

The fourth book in the Taken series, 2008

Dear Reader,

Let’s extend our summer lovin’ with this month’s Silhouette Romantic Suspense offerings. Reader-favorite Kathleen Creighton will enthrall you with Daredevil’s Run (#1523), the latest in her miniseries THE TAKEN. Here, an embittered man reunites with his long-lost love as they go on a death-defying adventure in the wilderness. You’ll feel the heat from Cindy Dees’s Killer Affair (#1524), the third book in SEDUCTION SUMMER. In this series, a serial killer murders amorous couples on the beach, and no lover is safe. Don’t miss the exciting conclusion to this sizzling roller-coaster ride!

When a handsome hero receives a mysterious postcard, he joins forces to find its sender with the woman who secretly loves him. Can they overcome a shared tragedy and face the future together? Find out in Justine Davis’s emotional tale Her Best Friend’s Husband (#1525), which is part of her popular REDSTONE, INCORPORATED miniseries. Finally, let’s give a big welcome to Jennifer Morey, who debuts in the line with The Secret Soldier (#1526), and begins her miniseries ALL MCQUEEN’S MEN. In this action-packed story, a dangerous-and ultrasexy-military man must rescue a kidnapped scientist. As they risk life and limb, they discover an unforgettable chemistry.

This month, you’ll find love against the odds and adventures lurking around every corner. Enjoy these gems from Silhouette Romantic Suspense!

Sincerely,

Patience Smith

Senior Editor

This book is for DAVE and TIM…the two sweet, wonderful guys who have dedicated themselves to making my daughters’ lives happy (a task requiring more than a small measure of patience, empathy, and of course, love). How on earth did my girls get so lucky?

A SPECIAL THANK YOU…

To Dawn, my firstborn (who calls to my mind words from The Sound of Music: “Somewhere…I must have done something good…”) and to the other wonderful people at Kern River Outfitters in Wofford Heights, California-Dwight Pascoe, his wife, Trudy, and whitewater photographer Bob Walker-for making it possible for me to ride the river without once getting my feet wet.

Prologue

Part 1

It started the way it always did, with the dream of waking up in the darkness, of being afraid, terrified. Heart racing, pounding, sweating and shaking, wanting to cry but knowing he was too big to cry. He didn’t want to be a baby, did he?

He didn’t cry, he didn’t. But his chest and throat hurt as if he did.

Then the noise. Terrible noises-things crashing, breaking, thumps and bangs, voices yelling…screaming. A man’s voice yelling. A woman’s voice screaming.

There were other voices, too, small frightened voices-not his!-whimpering, “Mommy…”

And finally…finally the other voice, the one he’d been waiting for, praying for, soft as a breath blowing warm past his ear. “Shh…It’s okay…it’s gonna be okay. I won’t let him hurt you. Nobody’s gonna hurt you. You’re safe now. It’s okay.”

He felt safe then, and warm, and when the loudest noises came, he crouched down in the warm darkness and waited for the crashing and banging and screaming and yelling to stop and the lights to turn on, so bright they hurt his eyes. So bright he woke up.

“Wade-Wade-”

Mattie’s voice. Mattie was standing beside his bed, poking him, shaking his arm.

“Wake up, Wade. Wake…up!”

“I am awake. Stop poking me.” He glared up at his brother’s face, just a dark blob in the darkness of their room, and scrubbed furiously at his eyes. “What’s the matter? What did you wake me up for?”

“You were crying.”

“Was not.”

“Yes, you were. I heard you. Did you have a bad dream, Wade?”

“Maybe. So what?” He was the older brother, after all. “Big deal. It was only a dream. Go back to sleep, Mattie.”

Mattie’s shadow didn’t move, just went on standing there beside Wade’s bed. A small voice said, “I can’t. I’m all awake now, too. Can I get in bed with you, Wade?”

Wade let out an exaggerated breath, but the truth was, he didn’t mind. “Okay…but you better not kick me this time, or I’m pushin’ you on the floor.”

He scooted over and Matt lifted the edge of the blankets and crawled in beside him. For a few minutes Wade lay still, listening to his brother’s uneven breathing, feeling the warmth of his body drive away the last lingering chill of nightmare.

After a while, he heard a whisper.

“Was it the pounding dream, Wade?”

Wade’s voice felt gravelly as he answered, “Yeah.”

“And…did he come?”

“Did who come?”

“You know who. The angel. The boy angel.”

After a pause, Wade said on a long breath, “Yeah…”

“I knew it,” Mattie said, wriggling down into the pillow with a yawn. “He always comes when you need him…”

A moment later his breathing became a soft snore, and a moment after that, Wade, too, was asleep.

Part 2

Wade dialed the phone from his hospital bed. He closed his eyes as he counted the rings, but it didn’t help to shut out the image of his brother the way he’d last seen him, making his way slowly and awkwardly through his apartment in his wheelchair.

The rings stopped after only two, surprising him. Always before when he’d called, it had taken at least six rings for Matt to get to the phone.