Perilous Waters. Sandra Orchard
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UNDER SUSPICION
For FBI agent Sam Steele, there’s no room for error or emotions on his latest undercover assignment. Getting close to gallery owner Jennifer Robbins while on an Alaskan cruise is the only way to catch her dealing stolen art. Out on the icy seas, Jen suddenly goes from suspect to victim when she’s targeted by a deadly enemy. And Sam’s mission goes from investigating an art crime to protecting the woman who’s begun to melt his heart. As danger looms closer, he’ll do anything to save her life—even if it costs him his own.
The mist rolling over the water obscured the view of land, kind of how Sam felt about this case.
And if he didn’t get his bearings soon, he might just run aground. The fact that almost getting killed hadn’t been enough to convince Jen to divulge her secrets made it look as though she was neck-deep in the art fraud.
On the other side of the balcony divider, he heard Jen cry out. He scaled the balcony rail, swung around the partition and hurried to her side as she wrestled a blanket in her lounge chair.
“Jen,” he whispered. “It’s just a dream. You’re okay. Wake up.”
Her eyes flew open. “Sam? What are you doing here?”
“You cried out. I thought you were in trouble.”
“I must’ve been dreaming. Every time I close my eyes I see his face, see him lunging toward me.” She shivered.
Against his better judgment, Sam folded her in his arms. He couldn’t help himself. She looked utterly stricken. He wanted to say It’s okay. You’re safe now. But he didn’t know that. In fact, he doubted it with every ounce of his being.
SANDRA ORCHARD
hails from the beautiful countryside of Niagara, Ontario, where inspiration abounds for her romantic-suspense novels—not that she runs into any bad guys, but because her imagination is free to run as wild as her Iditarod-wannabe husky. Sandra lives with her real-life hero husband, who happily provides both romantic and suspense inspiration, as long as it doesn’t involve poisons and his dinner. But her truest inspiration comes from the Lord, in the beauty of a sunrise over the field and the whisper of a breeze, in the antics of a killdeer determined to safeguard its nest and the faithfulness of the seasons. She enjoys writing stories that both keep the reader guessing and reveal God’s love and faithfulness through the lives of her characters.
Sandra loves to hear from readers and can be reached through her website, or at www.Facebook.com/SandraOrchard or c/o Love Inspired Books, 233 Broadway, Suite 1001, New York, NY 10279.
Perilous Waters
Sandra Orchard
MILLS & BOON
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When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you.
—Isaiah 43:2
To my husband, my favorite person with whom to celebrate life’s special moments.
Acknowledgments
Thank you to my daughter Christine for patiently deciphering and typing my handwritten manuscript. Words flow much faster from a pen than a keyboard for me. Thank you to my faithful accountability partner and prayer warrior, Patti Jo Moore, for helping me through the rough spots. And thank you to my critiquers—Wenda Dottridge, Vicki McCollum, and Stacey Weeks—whose unique insights enriched the story in many ways.
Contents
ONE
“Please tell me those women aren’t why you’re really in town.”
Sam Steele shifted his gaze from the gorgeous heiresses dining in the corner of the dimly lit Seattle bistro and grinned at his brother. “They’re not why I’m in town.”
Jake’s eyes narrowed. “Right. Now tell me the truth.”
“What?” Sam brandished his most offended tone, hoping not to give away that Jake had nailed his mission. “Can’t I look at a pretty woman?” Pretty hardly did Jennifer Robbins justice. His fingers itched to tug her blond locks free of the tidy bun she’d tamed them into.
“Sure,