CHAPTER 1

 

 

She will always wonder what would have happened had she not looked out her window at that exact moment. Shivers run up her spine, as they always do when she thinks back to that day… It was nothing much, just a chance look out the window to see a blue truck with a white cab almost stop as it passed by her house. Ten minutes later came the phone call that changed her world forever.

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"I've been watching you, Maura," a disembodied voice started. Then, dead air…

 

 When she finally found her voice, all she could think to ask was, "Who are you?"

 

Ignoring her, he went on, "And not only should you be more careful, you should also be much more observant. It's dangerous out there. This afternoon," he continued, sounding annoyed, "I was stuck in the ditch when you passed by, so I didn't get to watch you." She gasped as she realized what he was saying. "So just take this as a friendly warning, or you could be reading more about yourself in the papers than you really want reported." Before she could respond, he hung up.

 

Oh. My. God.  Quickly she checked the phone for a name, a number — anything. Unknown. Shit. It didn't take her long to put two and two together, though. She remembered the truck stuck in the ditch. It matched the one outside her window just before the call. But who called her, and why? How did he know her name? The news articles. Damn.

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Suddenly it all became clear as she thought back to a beautiful sunny day last week. Snow, crisp and clean, covered the hills behind them, but they weren't paying any attention. They were completely absorbed in each other.

 

Making love in the CRV was tricky, but they had gotten it down to a fine art. Today it was unusually cold. In her state of undress, she started to shiver and opened her eyes to complain. Her gasp made Liam look up too, and they both were shocked to see a hooded figure effortlessly turn and run up the steep embankment and quickly disappear from sight. Immediately, Liam lifted her from his lap and fastened his clothing as he opened the door to race up the hill after the stranger. All he saw was a truck in the distance hightailing it down the deserted canal road snow, blowing and spraying in its wake. He'd been watching them!

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Maura was beautiful in an understated way. Her fair-skinned, glowing Celtic complexion, long red hair, and big green eyes assured that she was remembered. Named for a fourth-century Christian martyr, she was strong, smart, and savvy. Okay, maybe that was pushing it a bit, but it helped her to believe that when she had to make public statements. She was, after all, one of the first high-profile regional environmental and social activists and persecuted in her own right for taking a public stance against government policies. She enjoyed this role and had worked very hard to garner respect.

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But for all her bravado, Maura was damaged.

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To be continued . . .