Countdown. Heather Woodhaven
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BORROWED TIME
When Rachel Cooper witnesses the abduction of her neighbor’s young twin sons, she springs into action to save them. But now the thwarted kidnappers are after her…and her only hope of survival is relying on their widowed single father, James McGuire. A weapon has been planted on a satellite James’s company is ready to launch, and as the systems specialist, it’s his job to stop it. But someone is set on keeping James from preventing the scheduled takeoff—and they’ll use anyone close to him as leverage. Now he must find a way to protect his boys and the woman he’s beginning to fall for…before the final countdown can even start.
“If I can’t take the kids this time, it seems you’ll do.” The kidnapper’s scratchy voice filled her right ear.
“I’m not leaving empty-handed,” he continued, sending a chill down her spine.
The man squeezed her tighter around her torso. She struggled as he growled, “Now who’s sorry she tried to play the hero? Huh?”
“Help,” she yelled, praying someone would hear.
The back door burst open. James filled the doorway.
James yelled something she didn’t register as the kidnapper snarled and let go of her.
His right hand reached into his jacket and pulled out a jagged knife.
Rachel gasped, paralyzed.
James stepped forward, and his foot whipped out a kick so fast that if Rachel had blinked she would’ve missed it. The knife soared into the hallway. He pinned the man down.
“Who sent you?” James asked.
HEATHER WOODHAVEN earned her pilot’s license, rode a hot-air balloon over the safari lands of Kenya, parasailed over Caribbean seas, lived through an accidental detour onto a black-diamond ski trail in the Aspens and snorkeled among stingrays before becoming a mother of three and wife of one. She channels her love for adventure into writing characters who find themselves in extraordinary circumstances.
Countdown
Heather Woodhaven
God setteth the solitary in families.
—Psalms 68:6
To Jennifer Brost.
I love the way you and The Job Foundation
walk with children and their families. You are an inspiration and a constant source of encouragement.
Contents
Rachel Cooper whipped the steering wheel to the left, maneuvered through the rush-hour traffic and entered her tree-lined subdivision. Her shoulders relaxed. Each time she made the turn it was as if she’d left the city behind.
Her stomach growled at the smell of the steak burrito and chile con queso sitting in the paper sack on the passenger seat. The night’s agenda included lounging on the couch and watching her favorite shows. The idea seemed like the perfect remedy to the physical strain of styling hair for twelve hours. After a couple hours of loafing, she’d make herself burn away the calories with her nightly kickboxing video...if she didn’t justify her way to an early bedtime instead.
Rachel guided the car around the maze of bends and curves within the subdivision. Not a single street lasted more than a couple of blocks before turning and changing names. The real-estate agent explained the layout was to prevent cars from speeding, but Rachel imagined it was more about fitting as many houses as possible on the amount of land.
Giant