Mysterious Vows

Mysterious Vows
Cassie Miles

The Bride Had Amnesia…."Maria" couldn't remember her real name, where she'd come from or the mysterious, brooding man who claimed she'd agreed to marry him. She'd awakened with nothing more than a wedding ring–and directions to Jason Walker's secluded island. But would saying "I do" to Jason be a deadly error?Jason never dreamed that his mail-order bride would be so captivating, so sensual–or so dangerous. When time revealed that she wasn't really his true intended, he offered his protection–hoping to discover her identity. He even began to want to offer his love….But could Jason probe the mystery woman's mind–and find the information that her pursuers would kill for?

To Rick, the love I will never regret

CAST OF CHARACTERS

Jason Wakefield Walker the Third—Wounded in a fight for independence, he enters a world of espionage and marries a mail-order bride.

Maria Ramos Hernandez—On the run from enemies too numerous to count, she hides out as a mail-order bride.

Juana Sabatta—The author of Truth, a fiery denouncement of international politics.

Chip Harrington—Though he runs a small-town newspaper, his beat is worldwide.

Edward Elliot—A state senator from Maine who aspires to higher politics.

Wally Babcock—The small-town reverend makes connections all over the globe.

Carrie Kelly—When she translates the works of Juana Sabatta, she is drawn into a web of espionage.

Alice Walker—After she organizes her brother, she is ready to take on the world.

Harvey Epsom—The publisher who dares to insult the establishment.

Mysterious Vows

Cassie Miles

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

Contents

Prologue (#u563e339f-8e6d-5b49-aece-a69db7b6164d)

Chapter One (#u16560deb-7c74-5b33-a65d-a763840ac5db)

Chapter Two (#u43c71bf4-7781-563a-bbd6-ed451daa1d29)

Chapter Three (#ua7d9461a-1895-5eb6-b68e-257f2b8d4c05)

Chapter Four (#ue2ccbdc2-6f06-57f4-bf87-c6a724b22227)

Chapter Five (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Six (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Seven (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Eight (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Nine (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Ten (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Eleven (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Twelve (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Thirteen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Fourteen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Fifteen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Sixteen (#litres_trial_promo)

Prologue

Helpless. Unable to move. Her body felt limp. Arms and legs, heavy as sandbags. Her eyelids opened, barely a slit. Beneath her cheek she felt the smooth tile that lined the edge of the swimming pool.

The men were still here. Though she was unable to distinguish words or sentences, she heard their voices. Their harsh whispers echoed in the silent summer night.

The gaunt man stood over her. The pointed toe of his boot dug into her rib cage and pain radiated through her body in dull waves. She couldn’t escape from him...could not move.

He nudged her again with his toe. Stop it, she wanted to cry. Leave me alone! But her voice was paralyzed.

He shoved at her body. Did he still have the knife? Did his dirty fingers still hold the syringe?

His hands were on her shoulder. The stench of him disgusted her. He rolled her onto her back and her long black hair tangled across her face. She was on her back at the very edge of the pool. If he pushed her into the water, what could she do? She was too weak to swim. She struggled to move, to fight back, but her muscles would not respond. Helpless! Unable to speak, unable to move. Her vision blurred. She saw her own right hand, weighted by an unfamiliar gold ring, reaching toward safety, trying to grasp...

Then she was falling. Down through the cold, she plummeted. Dead weight. The water consumed her as she fell, soaked her Levi’s and her T-shirt. She lost all sense of direction. Which was up, which way was down? The pool was dark, so dark. And cold. Shock trembled through her.

Can’t breathe. Frantically she flung out with her arms. Had they even moved? My God, was she going to die? A scream boiled up in her throat. No! If she opened her mouth, the water would pour down her throat to her lungs. Suffocating.

The cold roused panic, and she kicked. Her toe scraped the concrete bottom of the pool. Push, dammit, push off.

Her legs curled beneath her, and she thrust with all her might. She ascended, but so slowly. Her lungs ached. Her heart pulsed arrhythmically.

In a gush of relief, she broke the surface. Blessed oxygen flowed into her mouth. A breath, she gasped just one breath, before she was again exhausted.

One breath would be enough. One breath at a time, she would survive.

The liquid cold splashed around her in weak ripples, freezing her arms and legs until she floated motionless in the gelid darkness. With great effort, she turned her head to the side and sucked down a mouthful of air. Then another. Each breath was a desperate struggle.

Though she fought the exhausting paralysis, the cold penetrated to the marrow of her bones. And she felt death approaching. Muerte. Death. Softly, gently, the angel of death glided toward her, dancing on the shimmering blue water, coming for her.

It would be easy to give up. To accept death.