Beautiful Stranger

Beautiful Stranger
Kerry Connor

He could always spot a woman in distress, and the beautiful stranger hiding in Dr. Josh Bennett's trunk obviously needed help. Claire Preston claimed she had come to him because she was out of options and on the run from a killer. Now, the doctor who always played by the rules, but never let a woman get too close, desperately wanted to wipe away the fear he saw in the vulnerable beauty's eyes.Josh knew getting Claire to let down her barriers and tell him the truth about her past was crucial to their survival. But how far was he willing to go to protect her if it might mean jeopardizing his vow of "first, do no harm"?

She smiled up at him with relief, with gratitude, and his heart gave a sharp tug in his chest.

He’d known that what had been done to her was diabolical. He’d never imagined just how incredibly cruel it had been. It verged on evil.

Then Claire’s eyes widened slightly, as though just noticing how close he was. In that instant, something changed between them, a noticeable thickening of the air. Josh felt her closeness that keenly, even as part of him recognized she wasn’t nearly close enough.

All it took was a glimpse of her sweet, soft mouth to send a charge through him.

How could any man resist?

Kerry Connor

Beautiful Stranger

To my grandmother, for all the Intrigues.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

A lifelong mystery reader, Kerry Connor first discovered romantic suspense by reading Harlequin Intrigue books and is thrilled to be writing for the line. Kerry lives and writes in Southern California.

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

Epilogue

CAST OF CHARACTERS

Claire Preston—Locked away in a mental institution with no idea how or why she’d come to be there, she had no choice but to escape to get some answers.

Josh Bennett—The doctor couldn’t turn away a woman in need of his help.

Milton Vaughn—The family attorney is in charge of Claire’s inheritance until she turns thirty-five, and may not be willing to turn over control easily.

Gerald Preston—The uncle who felt he should rightfully control the family business.

Dinah Preston—Gerald’s wife had always suspected Claire would cause the family embarrassment.

Thad Preston—Claire’s cousin cared more about spending money than earning it.

Dr. Walter Emmons—The head of the Shady Point mental health facility had his price.

Karen Tate—Claire considered her assistant her friend. Had she made a mistake?

Ahmed Al-Saeed—Finding Claire was his mission, and nothing would stop him from fulfilling it.

Chapter One

Today was the day. She was finally going to escape this hellhole.

A heady mixture of adrenaline and fear rushed through her veins. Adrenaline because the day was finally here after three long months of waiting and planning. Fear because she knew this was her only chance. If she failed, she would be trapped here forever. Her life would effectively be over.

The thought sent another blast of anxiety through her, but Claire Preston allowed her body to betray none of her turbulent emotions. The breathing exercises and years of yoga she’d practiced helped her keep her heartbeat steady. Her eyes remained fixed on an empty space on the lawn in front of her. She didn’t move a muscle, other than a slight bob of her head to relieve the growing crick in her neck. Even that could easily be viewed as an unconscious twitch by anyone who might be looking. There was absolutely nothing that might lead anyone to think she was anything more than what she appeared to be.

Just another patient at the Thornwood mental health facility, so drugged out of her mind she didn’t even know who she was anymore.

Except Claire did know. Just as she knew the only way that would continue to be the case was if no one else was aware of that fact.

Voices drifted toward her as people passed by on the edges of the lawn, none of them paying her any mind. Late afternoon sunlight poured down over the veranda where one of the nurses had parked and abandoned her. Claire felt none of its warmth. She’d felt nothing but a bone-chilling cold from the moment she’d woken up in this place and found herself living her worst nightmare.

More than once she’d wondered if this was really happening or if it was all in her head. She didn’t know what would be worse, being sane and locked up in a mental institution, or figuring out this was a hallucination and she really was crazy after all.

It hadn’t taken her long to determine this was all too real. Nightmares didn’t last this long.

But no more. It was time for this nightmare to end.

The voices finally faded from earshot. She waited and listened closely for the sound of anyone else approaching. Hearing nothing, she lifted her head slightly and scanned the area.

The lawn stretched before her, lush and green, seeming to go on forever. She had to fight the urge to bolt, to lunge out of the chair and make a break for it as fast as her legs could carry her.

Not yet. But soon.

A flicker of movement in the corner of her vision drew her eye. It was a man, walking toward her on the path bordering the lawn. The sunshine at his back, he seemed to rise out of the horizon. Dismissing him, she quickly looked away, only to find her attention drawn back for some reason a moment later.