Dangerous Refuge

Praise for Dangerous Refuge “Smart, realistic characters, a beautifully described setting, a cultural/economic issue that deserves to be highlighted, and an intriguing puzzle meld into a riveting mystery that won’t disappoint.” — Library Journal “You know when you pick up an Elizabeth Lowell book, you’re going to get strong characters, a vivid setting and a thrilling story.” — USA Today “the characters ring true, and the action concludes with an exciting chase through a desolate Sierra Nevada terrain of abandoned mine shafts and aborted dreams.” — Publishers Weekly “Elizabeth Lowell is great!” — Johanna Lindsey “This author delivers pure, undiluted excitement.” — Jayne Ann Krentz “Romantic suspense at its best.” — Booklist “A law unto herself in the world of romance.” — Amanda Quick Murder and mystery spark unexpected romance in this captivating new tale from New York Times bestselling author Elizabeth Lowell Tanner is a hard-edged, big-city cop come home to the historic Davis family ranch to settle his uncle’s estate. Shaye Townsend works for an environmental conservancy that acquires and protects old ranches—and she wants to preserve the Davis homestead. When the suspicious death of Tanner’s uncle at his ranch throws the two opposites together, tempers flare and sparks fly. While they have trouble seeing eye-to-eye, Shaye and Tanner agree on one thing: They need to uncover the truth. Combining their unique skills, the unlikely pair share long nights in the pursuit of justice. Before they know it, the friction they generate turns to heat, igniting a love neither ever expected to find. And when Shaye becomes a killer’s target, Tanner realizes he’d give up anything to protect her—including his life. New York Times bestselling author Elizabeth Lowell has more than eighty titles published to date with over twenty-four million copies of her books in print. She lives in the Sierra Nevada Mountains with her husband, with whom she writes novels under a pseudonym. Her favorite activity is exploring the Western United States to find the landscapes that speak to her soul and inspire her writing. Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved. Dangerous Refuge By Elizabeth Lowell HarperCollins Publishers Copyright © 2013 Elizabeth LowellAll rights reserved.ISBN: 978-0-06-213273-4 ONETHERE WAS NO doubt about it. He was dead.Shaye Townsend swallowed hard, breathed care-fully through her clenched teeth, and swallowed again. The sick feeling subsided. The grief didn't. Although it wasn't the first time she had seen death, it was the first time she had known the person who died.Lorne Davis was lying on his back, lean and dark and motionless as the black shoulders of the moun-tains holding up the western sky. The air had a bite that whispered of summer's end. The first sunlight of day was caressing the highest icy peaks, but there was no warmth yet. The sky was clear, endless.No need to feel for a pulse, she thought as tears blurred her vision. No need to cry, either. He died the way he wanted to, boots on, working the land he loved more than anything else.The deeply slanted sidelight revealed no sign of a struggle around the body or any flailing pain before the end. Death had come quickly. It had taken the scaven-gers a while longer, but they, too, had arrived. If Lorne had been wearing a hat, it had vanished in the restless 2 Elizabeth Lowellwind. He wasn't wearing a jacket, either. It must have been warm when he died.Whenever that had been.The rising sun showed more than Shaye wanted to see, more than enough for her to guess that Lorne had spent at least a day in the open. Probably more.I can't even cover his ruined face.The local deputies would lecture her if she went any closer to the body than she was now. So would her vol-unteer search- and- rescue unit. Her training had been very clear: If there was no chance of life, the body was to be left undisturbed until the authorities arrived.He'll never laugh and call me a skinny city blonde again. Never serve me coffee that would etch glass and silently dare me to ask for sugar or cream. Never stand in the dusty yard next to me and watch night flow like a lover up the mountain slopes.Roosters crowed from the direction of the barn, telling the hens it was time to get out and scratch for a living. Lorne had enjoyed the busy chickens, and Dingo, his half- wild dog, had known they were off- limits for eating or chasing.Tears streaked Shaye's cheeks as she fumbled in her fleece jacket pocket for her phone. The lining of the pocket felt almost hot against her cool fingers.Her movement sent a rustling through the nearby sagebrush, where the animals that had scattered at her appearance waited for her to leave. Magpies and crows had come with the increasing light. They settled on the rails of the ancient corral, watching, waiting. Two vul-tures flapped harshly overhead, fighting gravity for a chance to feed.It was early for the big birds to be flying. Usually dangerous refuge 3they waited for the sun to heat the air enough to raise thermals. Then the vultures would rise on the warm-ing air and do lazy cartwheels, waiting for something to die.They must have been here yesterday, knew food was waiting for them today.She choked off an irrational need to scream at the scavengers. They were what they were— nature's cleanup crew. Nothing personal.His last words to me were a furious phone message. He died cursing me.A slow wind blew down from the mountains. It dried the tears on Shaye's cheeks as it dried everything else it touched. The country on the east side of the Sierra Nevada Mountains was arid, unforgiving, and beauti-ful in a spare, open way.She punched in three numbers on her cell phone, waited, and then realized there was no cell ser vice where she was. She thought of the backpack of search- and- rescue basics she always kept in her Bronco. The flashlight, first- aid kit, bear spray, and other necessary tools wouldn't help her now, but the SAR beacon could.I could use the locater, she thought. It's close and has a radio. I wouldn't have to leave Lorne.But the beacon was only to be used in a life- or- death emergency. This was urgent, yet it wasn't an emer-gency. Death didn't care about a few minutes or a thou-sand eons.She muttered something unhappy, waved her arms wildly to drive the waiting scavengers farther back, and retreated toward the weathered barn across the dusty ranch yard. By some quirk of geography, the barn was one of the few places on the ranch that had any cell 4 Elizabeth Lowell connection. Lorne had been disgusted when she had discovered it. He had prided himself on needing noth- ing from civilization— and giving nothing in return. The only exception to his daily solitude was Dingo, the tawny mutt with erect ears, curled tail, and dainty feet. Lorne had allowed the dog to share first the edges of his life, then his small home. Like Lorne himself, Dingo was aloof with people, independent, but had a reluctant need for companionship. Both mutt and man had softened toward Shaye in the last months. In Dingo's case it was the treats she brought him. In Lorne's it was the slow understanding that she shared his love for the land in all its enduring, unforgiving grandeur. A few days. A few days gone and she came back to this. And all because her boss had never met any paper- work she couldn't trash. Shaye turned away and walked quickly toward the barn. The dawn wind flexed, ruffling the feathers of the bald- headed black birds sidling closer to Lorne's body. She spun around, shouted, waved her arms, and threw rocks. The birds grudgingly retreated. She thought about pulling out the bear spray and blasting them with concentrated capsicum, but that was anger and revul- sion talking. Rocks would work better. Watching (Continues...) Excerpted from Dangerous Refuge by Elizabeth Lowell . Copyright © 2013 Elizabeth Lowell. Excerpted by permission of HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site. Read more