In Safe Hands
They were playing a dangerous game.
“Maggie,” he whispered in her ear. “The guy has a gun pointed at us and no one is watching now. We need to disappear before he regains his senses.”
They both hit the door at a run. Just as daylight and cold city air blasted him in the face, the zing of a bullet whizzed past his ear and hit the front window. Glass shattered everywhere.
Bending, he threw his arm over Maggie’s head and shuffled the two of them out the door as fast as he could. “Move!”
She took off without a word, but managed to keep up with him as he dashed along the packed sidewalks. They ran full-out and pushed through midday crowds until they were both out of breath.
“What the hell did you think you were doing?” he gritted out.
Maggie turned and gave him a sweet smile. “Why, Colin, darlin’, you know the answer to that. I was saving your sorry life. What else?”
Dear Reader,
When I began THE SAFEKEEPERS trilogy, I thought of the three traits that I believed portrayed the best of womankind: courage, motherhood and love. The heroines in each of the three stories take a journey to becoming the best woman they can be—by living up to these traits. In this last book, I’ve embodied my ideals of the best of all three traits into one woman. For even though she may never have a child of her own, Maggie Ryan must find the courage to seek out trouble. She must accept both the joy and pain of mothering a child she may never be able to keep. And she must learn to give herself over to true love in order to become the best mother possible.
Maggie is one of my favorite heroines. She’s tough enough to take what she needs. But she must also learn to be vulnerable enough to lose it all—in order to win the one thing she wants most! Count on Maggie to find a way. It’s been great fun writing this trilogy. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!
Happy Reading!
With all my best,
Linda
LINDA CONRAD
was inspired by her mother, who gave her a deep love of storytelling. “Mom told me I was the best liar she ever knew. And that’s saying something for a woman with an Irish storyteller’s background!” Winner of many writing awards, including a Romantic Times BOOKreviews Reviewers’ Choice Award and a Maggie Award, Linda often appears on bestseller lists. Her favorite pastime is finding true passion in life. Linda, her husband and KiKi the puppy, work, play, live and love in the sunshine of Florida.
To everyone who believes in magic.
Contents
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Epilogue
Prologue
Icurse you, Brody Ryan! May you and your children be forever barren. From this moment forward, no Ryan of your loins shall parent a child. No grandchild will you live to see! Your family name ends with your children, Brody Ryan, you son of a dog! Vete p’al carajo!
The bruja’s dark curse still rang out in Lupe Delgado’s mind a decade and a half after it had been issued. More of a good witch, the curandera shook off the memory of her mother’s harsh words from long ago. She continued her walk down the beach along a tropical Vera Cruz mountain lake, glancing again at the disturbing note that she had just been handed. Her mother, the ancient, black-magic bruja witch, was dying.
Lupe had known this time was coming. After all, her mother’s lifetime stretched well into her nineties, and her health had been precarious lately. But Lupe wished with her whole heart for her mother to be granted more time. The fifteen-year-old curse was still valid, and her mother’s shadowy soul was still unprepared to meet her God. Lupe’s eyes filled with tears as her thoughts turned to her three Ryan grandchildren, who were currently living their adult lives in Texas. Their great-grandmother had cursed them when she cursed their father, and they had suffered from the old woman’s black magic ever since. Lupe’s mother’s furious words had brought disaster down upon them, not to mention a blackened soul for the old woman herself.