Single mom under siege
A thrilling Coltons of Roaring Springs romance
Detective Liam Kastor assumed hed never see gorgeous Sloane Colton again after high school...right? So when the lovely lawyer suddenly shows up in town years later, Liam is floored. Newly divorced, Sloane is determined to make a life for herself and her toddler daughter. But when deadly threats show up on Sloanes doorstep, Liam is determined to find out whos after herand why.
New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author CINDY DEES is the author of more than fifty novels. She draws upon her experience as a US Air Force pilot to write romantic suspense. Shes a two-time winner of the prestigious RITA® Award for romance fiction, a two-time winner of the RT Reviewers Choice Best Book Award for Romantic Suspense and an RT Book Reviews Career Achievement Best Author Award nominee. She loves to hear from readers at www.cindydees.com.
Also by Cindy Dees
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Discover more at millsandboon.co.uk
Colton Under Fire
Cindy Dees
www.millsandboon.co.uk
COLTON UNDER FIRE
© 2019 Harlequin Books S.A.
Published in Great Britain 2019
by Mills & Boon, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF
All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. This edition is published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, locations and incidents are purely fictional and bear no relationship to any real life individuals, living or dead, or to any actual places, business establishments, locations, events or incidents. Any resemblance is entirely coincidental.
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Version: 2020-03-02
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Contents
Cover
Back Cover Text
About the Author
Booklist
Title Page
Copyright
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
About the Publisher
Chapter 1
Her cell phone flashed.
Incoming text for Sloane Colton Durant from Ivan Durant.
She scowled at the screen. Ivan could keep his last name. She would rather go back to being a Colton, even with all of its notorious implications in Roaring Springs.
This isnt over.
The cell phone flashed another incoming message. Irritated at being disturbed at dinnertime by her ex-husband, she nonetheless touched the screen to see the next message.
She gulped.
I WILL expose what you did and get her back.
A frisson of terror skittered down Sloanes spine. Her ex, a high-powered corporate attorney, didnt make threats idly in court and he wasnt making any now. The custody battle over their daughter had been a bloodbath, and shed had to resort to blackmailing Ivan with his infidelities and gambling to get him to back off. Her own divorce lawyer had warned her that Ivan probably wasnt done trying to take Chloe from her.
Sloanes gaze hardened. Her ex would get custody of Chloe over her dead body. He didnt care about their daughter at all. Ivan merely saw her as a trophy. The spoils of war.
Sloane winced as two-year-old Chloe let out a piercing squeal, and heads across the dining room turned to glare. It hadnt been her idea to bring a toddler to a family supper at the upscale Del Aggio steak house at Roaring Springs, or The Lodge, as locals called it. Shed tried to talk her adoptive father, Russ Colton, out of this particular restaurant, but the man was a born-again bull in a china shop.
He didnt listen to anyone.
Is Chloe all right? Sloanes biological brother, Fox, asked in concern. She looks flushed.
Kids always turn red in the face when theyre winding up for a tactical nuclear meltdown, she muttered.
That sounds serious, Fox responded, eyeing his niece warily.
She and Chloe had spent a few weeks at the Crooked C Ranch while she looked for a permanent place to live. Her adoptive brother, Wyatt Colton, owned the ranch and lived there with his fiancée, Bailey. Fox also had a house on the property and helped manage the spread. They all had a healthy respect for the temper of a tired, hungry two-year-old.
Sloane scooped Chloe out of the wooden high chair, which was probably half the problem. The log contraption might be considered rustic chic, but it looked uncomfortable.
Of course, the other half of the problem was that Little Bugs bedtime had come and gone, and still, there was no sign of dinner.
Lets go for a walk, sweetie, and look at the skiers.
Chloe felt warm in her arms. And her cheeks were rosier than usual. Poor thing had really had a time of it, getting ripped out of the only home shed ever known and being dragged to this new town full of strangers who thought they could walk right up to a baby and get in her face or pick her up because they shared the same last name.
Sloane almost hadnt come back to Roaring Springs, Colorado for that exact same reason. She didnt need her entire loud, nosy, raucous family getting in her face, either. It had been hard enough getting through the divorce without the interference of the whole Colton clan.
Mama. Pitty! Chloe exclaimed, pointing at one of the floor-to-ceiling glass windows on either side of the thirty-foot-tall stone fireplace in the main lodge.
Sloane looked outside at the white stripes of ski runs between stands of fluffy black pines, the slopes bathed in brilliant light for night skiing. Hundreds of skiers dressed in bright colors zigzagged across the snow like a moving dance of jeweled butterflies.
It was pretty. Shed forgotten how much she loved this time of year in Roaring Springs. Ski season was at its peak, The Lodge bursting at the seams with wealthy patrons whod come in from all over for the world-class ski runs and five-star facilities. Shed missed the laughter and ruddy cheeks, the scent of hot buttered rum, and wood fires burning cheerily. Shed even missed the funny hitch-step rhythm of skiers tromping around The Lodge in their ski boots.
This was why shed come home with Chloe. To give her daughter stability. Family. A little joy in her life for a change.
From the first moment Sloane had announced her pregnancy to Ivan, hed been furious about it. Marriage to him had been great provided she gave her undivided attention to him and brought him status and a fat paycheck. But as soon as those were threatened with the imminent arrival of a baby and parenthood, hed turned on her.
Theyd argued constantly through her entire pregnancy. After Chloe had been born, hed been gone more than hed been homebetraying his marriage vows and gambling, as it turned out. But when he was home, thered been only shouting and fuming silences from him.
By the time Chloe was a few months old, she had become withdrawn and silent anytime mercurial Ivan was in the house. It was uncanny how quickly shed learned to hide from her own father.
But then, Sloane had learned to hide from him as well. His temper was uncertain at best and violent at worst. Hed never struck her or Chloe, but she was certain it was only a matter of time. The morning after he smashed every single piece of her mothers chinaone of the few things she had that had belonged to herSloane had filed for divorce. She wasnt sticking around until she or her daughter got hurt. Or worse.
She shuddered and hugged Chloe tightly. Lord, shed hoped she was done with that nightmare and never had to deal with Ivan Durant again. But apparently, he wasnt done torturing her.
Her brain kicked into lawyer gear. She would save his texts. Collect pieces of evidence to build a case against him, and then she would ask for a restraining order. The Colton name should hold a little extra weight in the local court, at any rate. If she had to live with the negative implications of the name, she supposed she should benefit from its power, too.
I go, Mama, Chloe declared, pointing again at the ski slopes.
Would you like to learn how to ski? I can ask about some lessons for you if youd like.
Chloe bounced up and down so eagerly that Sloane had trouble hanging on to her. She would take that as a yes. Struck again by how warm Chloe felt, she asked, Hey, Bug, hows your tummy feeling?
Rumbwy tumbwy.
Rats. Theyd been reading Winnie the Pooh, and Chloe might just be repeating that.
Do you feel sick? Sloane asked.
Chloe stuffed her thumb in her mouth and twisted to look out the window, seemingly disinterested in the current discussion. She had mostly given up thumb sucking in Denver. But with the move to Roaring Springs, shed reverted to the habit. Shed also reverted to bed-wetting and temper tantrums.
Sloane figured Chloe had some pent-up anger to act out and wasnt too concerned about the regressive behavior. It wasnt as if she could blame her daughter for it when she had at least as much anger at her ex to work through.
Shed been boxing at a local gym for the past few weeks, and shed been amazed at how much fury rose up in her belly whenever she envisioned Ivans face on a punching bag.