Once Removed (Blackhawk Security)

A STRANGER KILLED HER HUSBAND.
WHY DOES HE WANT HER DEAD TOO?

Finally! Lainey’s getting divorced from her abusive husband. All she has to do is verify his current address. But she finds the mysterious compound where he works deserted. As she investigates, she barely has time to smell gasoline before the building goes up in flames. She tries to climb out a window but someone tries to push her back in. Just when she thinks she;s about to die, a passing neighbor pulls her out of danger. A completely harrowing day.

But it keeps on getting worse. The firefighters find Ron, her estranged ex, dead in the building. The sheriff tells her straight out that he’s the number one suspect. And she learns someone’s broken into her house.

All that only gets you through a chapter or two-- author Watson’s talent for heart-racing action is on full display here. But she’s not done upping the ante— Lainey’s rescuer is Brody, an accounting client on whom she’s long had a secret crush. And she can tell he reciprocates.

But the day your husband is murdered is the worst possible time for romance.

Still, since her house is clearly vulnerable, she has no safe place to stay. So she accepts his offer to stay at his ranch a few days, both agreeing to put their growing feelings for each other on hold. But it turns out that, though Brody’s ranch has great security, there’s no real safety for either of them. Because whoever killed her husband isn’t going to give up and they’ll go through Brody to get to her-- unless the sheriff arrests her first.

It’s almost as much fun watching these two solve the murder as it is seeing them fall in love. Brody has both brains and brawn. Lainey’s got brains, nerve, and quick reactions. Best of all, they both have compassion. With all that in common, they could be a perfect pair-- if it weren’t for the secrets between them…