LITMIR.BIZ

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walking away from him right then. No memory, no ghost.

      He’d watched her walk away before, but this time, things were going to be different. This time, he was fighting for Jill.

      She just didn’t realize it yet.

      He wasn’t the town troublemaker any longer. Wasn’t the boy who’d never been good enough for Jillian West. Now he was back in Hope to prove himself to the person who mattered the most.

      To you, Jill. For you. I’m back for you.

      * * *

      HE’D NEVER BELIEVED in coincidences. His life didn’t work that way. Everything that happened was part of fate.

      So when he saw the redheaded woman walking off the pier, the light glinting in her hair, the sunset hitting her just right...

      He remembered another time.

      A girl, not a woman. A girl who’d been walking alone. Who’d been coming right to him.

      He’d had such plans for that girl. So many grand, wonderful plans.

      But she’d left him. Ran away. Escaped before he could enjoy himself. Such a shame. In all of his years of hunting, she’d been the only one to escape.

      His one failure. The failure that had changed everything for him.

      * * *

      THE REDHEADED WOMAN was coming closer to him, nearing the parking lot, so he cranked up his Jeep and drove away. As he left, he saw two young girls riding their bikes. So many kids enjoyed riding their bike in that area. There were many trails. Tons of paths.

      So many places to vanish.

      One of the girls had blond hair. The other had dark brown locks.

      Pity one of them doesn’t have red hair. Because, quite suddenly, he was seeing red in his mind. The red hair of a victim.

      The red of blood.

      He hadn’t planned to ever hunt again in Hope. But...seeing that redheaded woman...

      There are no coincidences. Maybe she was there, at that time, for a reason.

      Maybe...

Chapter Two

      She had a serious problem on her hands, Jill knew it. She was on Day Two of her vacation—Day Two—and she was heading toward the local sheriff’s office. She should have been walking on a beach, riding a bike, reading a book, something...anything but...

      Anything but looking for a case. She had so many issues. The plan had been to head home to Hope in order to relax, to get her mind off death.

      Instead, she couldn’t stop thinking about the missing.

      She pushed open the door to the sheriff’s office. A bell jingled over her head. It was quiet inside, she heard the hum of an air conditioner, the ticking of a clock and—

      “Hello, there, Jill. Didn’t expect to see you again so soon.”

      His voice. Dark and deep and rumbly. Jill had often thought that Hayden Black had a voice like whiskey—it just got better with age.

      Sexier.

      Her gaze slid to the right and she saw him. Hayden was smiling at her, that teasing half smile that too many women had admired. His dark eyes glinted at her as he stood in the doorway—the doorway that led directly into Sheriff Ronald Peek’s inner sanctum. Only...

      She didn’t see Sheriff Peek. The big, rather bearlike older man was nowhere to be seen.

      She did see Hayden...and his brown sheriff’s uniform. The guy even had a gleaming, gold star pinned to his chest. No way. “You have got to be kidding me.” Jill glanced around the little station again. No one else was there. Seriously?

      “Kidding?” Hayden straightened. “Why? Don’t you think I look good in this uniform?”

      Her lips thinned. Good didn’t even come close to describing the man and he knew it. Hayden’s shoulders stretched far and wide, making the uniform shirt strain at the seams. He was tall and powerful, and he should not have been standing there.

      Mostly because she wasn’t quite up to handling Hayden. He’d always been able to see right through the mask that she tried to wear in order to hide her emotions. Considering how hollowed out she felt on the inside, the last thing Jill wanted was for Hayden to glimpse her weakness. She cleared her throat. “I’m here to see Sheriff Peek.”

      He winced and straightened away from the doorway. “Good luck with that, sweetheart—er, I mean, Jill.”

      She glowered at him.

      “Peek retired about a month ago. Took off for Alaska. Apparently, facing the last great American frontier has always been a dream for him.” Hayden’s lips twitched. “And, it, uh, seems he’d been watching a lot of TV about building a cabin in the Alaskan wilderness. The call of the wild definitely got to old Ron.” Hayden rolled back his shoulders. “You’re looking at the new sheriff.”

      She shook her head.

      He nodded. “Sheriff Hayden Black, at your service.”

      “You...you can’t be sheriff. Was there a vote or—”

      “Special appointment,” he murmured. “Ron gave me his highest recommendation, and, believe it or not, the folks in this town seemed happy to have me take the job.”

      Jill’s breath heaved out. “Of course, they’re happy to have you. I have no doubt that you’ll be an asset here.”

      Surprise flashed on his face.

      “What?” Now her lips pulled down. “You think because of our, uh, past, that I wouldn’t support you? You’re a good man, Hayden.” And maybe she’d gotten a few glimpses of his case files from his overseas work. Some days, she’d wondered about him. She’d worried. When she’d first read his mission files and seen just how dangerous his SEAL work was, Jill had been terrified.

      Knowing that he wasn’t hers any longer...she’d tried to keep her emotional distance. That had been impossible.

      He took a step toward her. “You know folks in this town didn’t always think that way. I had to prove—”

      She held up her hand. “Stop it, Hayden. You never had to prove anything to me. I hope you know that.”

      His mouth tightened.

      The bell jingled behind her. Jill looked back and saw a young deputy saunter inside the station. He had black hair and blue eyes and when he saw her, he came to a quick stop—and he tightened his grip on the doughnut bag in his hand. “Uh, a visitor? A case?” His eyes seemed to light up. “Ma’am, do you need assistance?” He hurried toward the check-in desk and plunked down his bag. “I’m Deputy Finn Patrick, and I can—”

      “She’s not here for business, Finn,” Hayden muttered. “It’s personal.”

      A tingle snaked up Jill’s spine. Personal. Once upon a time, things had been very, very personal between them. When she looked at Hayden, the memories slid through her mind. She figured all of the stories she’d heard over the years were true—a woman never forgot her first love.

      Especially when that love happened to be a guy like Hayden Black.

      But now Finn was looking at her with speculation in his eyes. Hope was a small town—very, very small. And the last thing she wanted was for gossip to start spreading about her hooking up with the new sheriff. Jill reached into her bag and pulled out her ID. “Actually, I’m here to talk about an old case.”

      Finn’s eyes doubled in size. “You’re FBI!”

      “Yes.”

      Finn appeared absolutely thrilled.

      “What

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