To help a desperate woman’s search,
he’ll have to brave treacherous territory.
In the wilds of Alaska, grieving former marine Colter Hayes shuts out the world...until he and his combat tracker dog become Kensie Morgan’s last hope of finding her long-missing sister. The improbable mission starts to rekindle Colter’s desire to rejoin the world—while saving Kensie from a killer unsettles his heart. Can they find all they are searching for before it’s too late?
“Helping you wasn’t easy for me. I know you don’t get it, but trust me when I say that any kind of mission was the last thing I thought I needed.”
She was silent, so he pushed forward, faster now, starting to feel foolish for not just blurting a simple apology and leaving it at that. “That’s why I bailed on you when I found out you weren’t telling me everything. And when I kissed you...”
Kensie stayed silent, lips pursed like she was waiting for a real apology. Or maybe she wasn’t even listening to him. It was hard to tell.
“I’m sorry. I should have—”
“It was a mistake. I get it. I agree. We got carried away in the moment. It’s not like it’s going to happen again,” Kensie said, cutting him off suddenly.
It wasn’t going to happen again? Even though that had been his plan, too, hearing her say the words made him long to pull the truck over and see if she really meant it.
Acknowledgments
Thank you to Denise Zaza for suggesting I write a book with a hunky hero and a K-9 partner—I had so much fun creating Colter and Rebel! To everyone involved behind the scenes with K-9 Defense—I appreciate everything you do. Finally, thank you to my family and friends, who are always willing to lend their support on my crazy writing journey. Special thanks to Kevan Lyon, Andrew Gulli, Chris Heiter, Robbie Terman, Kathryn Merhar, Caroline Heiter, Ann Forsaith, Charles Shipps, Sasha Orr, Nora Smith and Mark Nalbach.
K-9 DEFENSE
Elizabeth Heiter
Elizabeth Heiter likes her suspense to feature strong heroines, chilling villains, psychological twists and a little romance. Her research has taken her into the minds of serial killers, through murder investigations and onto the FBI Academy’s shooting range. Elizabeth graduated from the University of Michigan with a degree in English literature. She’s a member of International Thriller Writers and Romance Writers of America. Visit Elizabeth at www.elizabethheiter.com.
Books by Elizabeth Heiter
Harlequin Intrigue
K-9 Defense
The Lawmen: Bullets and Brawn
Bodyguard with a Badge
Police Protector
Secret Agent Surrender
The Lawmen
Disarming Detective
Seduced by the Sniper
SWAT Secret Admirer
Visit the Author Profile page at Harlequin.com.
Join Harlequin My Rewards today and earn a FREE ebook!
Click here to Join Harlequin My Rewards
http://www.harlequin.com/myrewards.html?mt=loyalty&cmpid=EBOOBPBPA201602010002
CAST OF CHARACTERS
Colter Hayes—In a single moment, Colter Hayes lost everything: his marine brothers, his job, even partial mobility. Now he’s hiding and healing in Alaska with his combat tracker dog, Rebel. When Rebel saves the life of outsider Kensie Morgan, Colter sees in her everything he’s ever wanted—but knows now he’ll never have.
Kensie Morgan—For fourteen years, Kensie has been searching for the sister who was abducted right in front of her. She travels to Alaska on a long-shot lead, but she’s ill-prepared to face the natural perils—or her distracting attraction to Colter.
Rebel—Colter’s loyal companion was a marine K-9 until she and Colter were injured in the ambush that killed the rest of their unit.
Alanna Morgan—In the years since Kensie’s younger sister was kidnapped, leads have dried up. But Kensie has never given up on finding her.
Henry Rollings—No one knows much about the reclusive local, but Kensie is certain he’s hiding something about Alanna. The problem is, no one can tell her how to find him to get answers.
Danny Weston—He offers to help Kensie find Alanna, but Danny may not be what he seems.
Over the years, I’ve been lucky enough to have many loyal companions like Rebel. This book is for all my furry, feathered and scaled family members.
Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Epilogue
Excerpt from Show of Force by Elle James
Chapter One
“I’m still alive.”
Three simple words in a note. A note signed by the sister Kensie Morgan hadn’t seen in fourteen years had sent her in a frantic rush across 3,500 miles. Kensie had left a brief message on her boss’s voice mail, telling him she needed some time off, then called her family. They’d been less supportive.
But this time, Kensie had to believe, the lead could be real.
The hope had buoyed her from one layover to the next, warmed her as she stepped off the plane in Alaska. For early October, the temperature was way colder than she’d expected, and it had only gotten worse as she’d paid for her rental pickup truck and headed north.
Desparre, Alaska, was the kind of place you came to to drop off the map. The sort of place no one would think to look—and even if they did, they might never make it out.
After her GPS had given up and she’d made a half dozen wrong turns, she’d finally been able to get directions from a local into town. Now Kensie shivered as she stepped out of her truck for the first time in four hours. Her heavy down jacket was no match for the windchill, so she tugged up the collar as strong gusts whipped her long hair around her face. There was no avoiding the snow covering the walkways, so Kensie trudged through it. Her next stop after the police station was going to be for a new pair of boots.
Her fingers tingled from the cold and she clenched them into tight fists in her pockets, hoping the motion would also ease her nerves. She’d planned to make the store where her sister’s note had been found her first stop, but when she couldn’t find it, she’d given up and headed into the main part of town.
Kensie glanced around, taking in the assortment of buildings—post office, clothing store, bar, drug store, grocery store,
