"I did my best," he said.
"Did you?" she challenged.
A tickle caught at her throat and her eyes blurred with unwanted tears. She had not come here to cry. She sniffed, wondering why the air felt so thick. It took a minute to register that it was not her emotions that were making her eyes water, but smoke.
The same awareness flashed in her father's eyes. "Damn," he swore. "The kitchen—I was cooking—"
He ran out of the room, and she followed him down the stairs, shocked by how thick the smoke was in the entry.
She was on her dad's heels when he entered the kitchen. The scene was unbelievable. Flames shot two feet in the air off a sizzling pot on the stove. The fire had found more fuel in a stack of newspapers on the counter that had been left too close to the burner, those sparks leaping to the nearby curtains.
Her father grabbed a towel and tried to beat out some of the flames, but his efforts only seemed to make things worse. Embers flew everywhere, finding new places to burn, the heat growing more and more intense. Moving to the sink, she turned on the faucet and filled up a pitcher, but it was taking too long to get enough water. She threw some of it at the fire, but it made no difference.
"Move aside," her dad shouted, grabbing two hot pads.
"What are you doing?" she asked in confusion.
He tried to grab the pot and move it to the sink, but she was in the way, and he stumbled, dropping the pot in the garbage. She jumped back from an explosion of new fire.
"We have to call 911," she said frantically. But there was no phone in the kitchen, and her cell phone was in her bag by the entry. "Let's get out of here."
Her father was still trying to put out the fire, but he was getting nowhere.
"Dad, please."
"Get out, Sara," he said forcefully, then ran into the adjacent laundry room.
"Wait! Where are you going?"
"I have to get something important," he yelled back at her.
"Dad. We need to get out of the house." She coughed out the words, but she might as well have remained silent because her dad had vanished through the laundry room and down the back stairs to the basement. She couldn't imagine what he had to get. There was nothing but gardening tools and cleaning supplies down there.
She started to follow him, then jumped back as the fire caught the wallpaper next to her head, sizzling and leaping towards her clothing.
"Dad," she screamed. "We need to get out of the house."
A crash echoed through the house. Then all she could hear was the crackling of the fire.
Buy ON A NIGHT LIKE THIS
Book List
Off The Grid: FBI Series
#1 Perilous Trust
#2 Reckless Whisper, Coming Soon!
#3 Desperate Play, Coming Soon!
Lightning Strikes Trilogy
#1 Beautiful Storm
#2 Lightning Lingers
#3 Summer Rain
Romantic Suspense Novels
All She Ever Wanted
Don’t Say A Word
Golden Lies
The Sanders Brothers Romanic Suspense Duo
#1 Silent Run
#2 Silent Fall
The Deception Romantic Suspense Duo
#1 Taken
#2 Played
The Callaway Series
#1 On A Night Like This
#2 So This Is Love
#3 Falling For A Stranger
#4 Between Now and Forever
Nobody But You (A Callaway Wedding Novella)
#5 All A Heart Needs
#6 That Summer Night
#7 When Shadows Fall
#8 Somewhere Only We Know
The Callaways Boxed Set - Books 1-3
The Callaways Boxed Set - Books 1-8
The Callaway Cousins
#1 If I Didn’t Know Better
#2 Tender Is The Night
Take Me Home (A Callaway Novella)
#3 Closer To You
#4 Once You're Mine
7 Brides for 7 Brothers - Multi-Author Series
#1 Luke: Barbara Freethy
#2 Gabe: Ruth Cardello
#3 Hunter: Melody Anne
#4 Knox: Christie Ridgway
#5 Max: Lynn Raye Harris
#6 James: Roxanne St. Clair
#7 Finn: JoAnn Ross
7 Brides for 7 Soldiers - Multi-Author Series, Coming Fall 2017
#1 Ryder - Barbara Freethy
#2 Adam - Roxanne St. Claire
#3 Zane - Christie Ridgway
#4 Wyatt - Lynn Raye Harris
#5 Jack - Julia London
#6 Noah - Cristin Harber
#7 Ford - Samantha Chase
Bachelors & Bridesmaids
#1 Kiss Me Forever
#2 Steal My Heart
#3 All Your Loving
#4 Before I Do
#5 Falling Into You
#6 Forever Starts Tonight
#7 Dreaming of You, Coming Soon!
The Wish Series
#1 A Secret Wish
#2 Just A Wish Away
#3 When Wishes Collide
The Wish Series Boxed Set
Contemporary Romance Novels
Almost Home
Ask Mariah
Daniel’s Gift
Just The Way You Are
Love Will Find A Way
One True Love
Ryan’s Return
Some Kind of Wonderful
Summer Secrets
The Sweetest Thing
The Way Back Home
Angel’s Bay Series
#1 Suddenly One Summer
#2 On Shadow Beach
#3 In Shelter Cove
#4 At Hidden Falls
#5 Garden of Secrets
About the Author
Barbara Freethy is a #1 New York Times Bestselling Author of 63 novels ranging from contemporary romance to romantic suspense and women's fiction. Traditionally published for many years, Barbara opened her own publishing company in 2011 and has since sold over 7 million books! Twenty of her titles have appeared on the New York Times and USA Today Bestseller Lists.
Known for her emotional and compelling stories of love, family, mystery and romance, Barbara enjoys writing about ordinary people caught up in extraordinary adventures. Barbara's books have won numerous awards. She is a six-time finalist for the RITA for best contemporary romance from Romance Writers of America and a two-time winner for DANIEL’S GIFT and THE WAY BACK HOME.
Barbara has lived all over the state of California and currently resides in Northern California where she draws much of her inspiration from the beautiful bay area.
For a complete listing of books, as well as excerpts and contests, and to connect with Barbara:
For information: [email protected]
Follow Barbara on Facebook
Sign up for Barbara's Newsletter
Join Barbara's Private Fan Group
Visit Barbara's website
Table of Contents
PERILOUS TRUST
Also Available
Prologue
One
Two
Three
Four
Five
Six
Seven
Eight
Nine
Ten
Eleven
Twelve
Thirteen
Fourteen
Fifteen
Sixteen
Seventeen
Eighteen
Nineteen
Twenty
Twenty-One
Epilogue
Excerpt from SILENT RUN
Excerpt from ON A NIGHT LIKE THIS
Book List
About the Author
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