The Runaway Daughter

The Runaway Daughter
Anna DeStefano

She took the baby and ran…Eighteen-year-old Maggie didn't know what else to do. She'd promised her dying friend she'd keep the baby safe from his father, a drug dealer…and killer. Who else could she turn to but her uncle, Deputy Tony Rivers?Everybody Tony cares about seems to leave him. He really wants to help Maggie and the newborn baby, but if he reports them to his boss, Chief Deputy Angie Carter, he knows Maggie will run again–and he can't risk losing her.But how can Tony keep the truth from Angie when they're embroiled in an investigation that puts their jobs–and their lives–on the line?

“I’m sorry, Angie, really— ”

“I know.” She couldn’t look at him and stay focused, so she made herself let his hand go. A few more inches between them would be a good idea, too. She couldn’t make her body scoot away, so she grabbed on to harsh realities to create the distance she needed. “Running around town with a baby she’s not supposed to have might just get Maggie killed.”

“Then help me find her before anyone else does.” The desperation in Tony’s expression drew her in even further. “Help me protect my niece.”

She gave up her fight not to put her arms around him. Focusing on only the job had never seemed more impossible. Tony’s initial resistance melted into the kind of rib-crushing hug that confirmed how much he’d needed the comfort she was offering.

No man had ever felt more right in her arms.

Dear Reader,

We live our lives. We work hard. We look at the world around us, decide what’s next and strike a new course. Life goes on, and so do we. Most of the time.

But a day’s hard work sometimes reveals less about where we want to go, and instead mirrors what we’ve left behind. The past we refuse to deal with. The disappointments that never really go away.

The Runaway Daughter takes us back to Oakwood, Georgia, and to the exciting small-town lives of the Rivers family. Tony Rivers is a sheriff’s deputy. A good ol’ boy who’s the life of every party. It’s either laugh or look back, and Tony never looks back. Chief Deputy Angie Carter, who’s working hard to forget her own disappointments, becomes his unwilling accomplice as he fights to protect his brother’s child.

Tony’s finished with losing the people he cares about, and he can’t keep his niece safe without Angie’s help. Looks as if the past is tired of being ignored, and so is the attraction that’s been brewing between these two for months.

I love to hear from my readers. Be sure to let me know what you think of The Runaway Daughter at www.annawrites.com.

Sincerely,

Anna

The Runaway Daughter

Anna DeStefano

www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)

Andrew—For all you’ve been, every precious day you give,

and the future shining in each beautiful smile.

TOA—You were there for the very first sentence.

May every blessing given be returned hundredfold.

This is your year, sweetie!

Tanya—To believe, to dream, to laugh. Your friendship is

the well I return to time and again. The stars are yours, my

friend. Breathe deep and enjoy the ride.

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

EPILOGUE

CHAPTER ONE

I SHOULDN’T BE DOING this.

Oakwood Chief Deputy Angie Carter had been trying to talk herself out of trouble, and the dingy pool hall, for over an hour.

The voice in her head knew what it was talking about. She’d let things go too far, which made her an idiot. Playing with fire like this would only get her singed.