Review
"Powerful suspense and sizzling romance." ~Publishers Weekly.
"Dark and intriguing, Anderson's tightly plotted story keeps you guessing." ~Laura Griffin, New York Times Bestselling Author about Dangerous Waters.
"Superbly crafted stories like these are the reason romantic suspense is my go-to genre." ~USA Today about Cold Fear.
From the Author
TJ slipped out of the tunnel and into the woods he'd spent his whole life exploring, carefully avoiding the cameras he'd helped set up a decade earlier. For years, staying safe, staying off the grid had been the only thing that mattered to his family. Then the heartbreaking and unexpected loss of his mother in the spring had taught him that no matter how carefully they planned and protected themselves, there was no guarantee of survival. And, however much they tried to avoid it, the world, with all its inherent danger, was coming for them.
This quiet remote region of Washington State was drawing commercial loggers and environmental protesters, and the threat of conflict that had always seemed so compelling yet abstract in the past was now becoming a tangible reality. TJ didn't want conflict, but he was prepared. Only one problem...
His breath froze on a rough exhale, forming a cloud that rose up to join the mist shrouding the treetops. A stick cracked under his boot, and a deer snapped up its head, startled, then bounced away, crashing through the thick scrub. TJ cursed himself for not paying attention to where he was putting his feet. Distraction was dangerous.
He didn't want to be seen by anyone except the person he'd come to meet. Couldn't risk being found out. Not yet. Wasn't ready to give her up, even though his dad would flail him alive if he found out what TJ had been up to all summer.
Through the woods and down the steep-sided gully to the almost dried up stream bed that marked the edge of Harrison property. TJ glanced up at the sign warning trespassers to keep away or risk being shot. It was no idle threat.
He stepped over the narrow trickle of water--a small act of rebellion. He wasn't supposed to leave Harrison land. Not without permission from his father.
TJ didn't doubt his father's love, but the man was overprotective. At eighteen, TJ was old enough to make his own choices.
He climbed the opposite bank with a silent tread, his heart skipping a beat as he thought about the girl he'd come to meet. He held his breath as he crested the top of the rise and looked down the steep wooded hillside.
He slowly drew the icy air into his lungs as his mind grappled with disappointment. She wasn't there.
He frowned. He was twenty minutes late because he hadn't been able to get away without someone seeing him. Had she given up on him?
Every Wednesday for months they'd secretly met up and spent a morning together--hiking his favorite trails, spotting wildlife. They'd even snuck away to the movies once when his father had gone into the city. It had been the first time TJ had ever been to a cinema, and it had been overwhelming--not the noise or the scents or the giant screen, but the feel of Kayla's lips beneath his. The sweet taste of her. It was the first time he'd kissed a girl, and it turned out kissing Kayla was addictive.
He wanted to see her so he could kiss her again.
Where was she? He couldn't call her. He didn't carry a cell phone--even if the government didn't track a person's whereabouts with them, they were useless in these mountains.
TJ made his way carefully through the deep green conifers, keeping to the shadows. Maybe that's what Kayla was doing, staying concealed until he showed himself.
There were more people than ever roaming these remote mountains. The numbers had exploded in May when some Canadian told everyone he'd seen a Sasquatch in the old growth forest north of here--where the loggers were supposedly headed next.
TJ didn't want the trees cut down, but his dad had told him to keep out of it. To not draw any attention to their compound or the people who lived quietly inside.
TJ forced himself not to hurry, scanning the surroundings for anyone else on the mountain. He didn't want to be punished and confined if someone from home spotted him. He didn't want to be banned from ever seeing Kayla again.
TJ reached the tree where they'd arranged to meet--a massive, damaged Douglas-fir that had escaped the logger's axe and saved this section of the forest. It was home to a breeding pair of rare Northern Spotted Owls. The environmentalists had scored a major victory for their cause when the endangered birds had been discovered.
The owls were the reason he and Kayla had met. They'd both come to watch the baby birds test out their fledgling wings and had ended up spying on one another as well. She'd been sketching the first time he'd seen her, long hair constantly falling across one side of her face.
More than six months of weekly meetings later, and TJ desperately wished he could see her for more than a few short hours each week. He wanted to be with her constantly. Soon, the snow would be too deep for even these stolen moments--the first big dump was late this year, and TJ took it as a sign of approval of their relationship from up above.
He swallowed the lump of frustrated longing that mixed with the familiar excitement in his blood. He leaned against the big, old, fat tree, the rough bark pressing into his spine. The angry chatter of squirrels and call of mountain birds floated on the cool, sharp air.
He'd been toying with leaving home, joining Kayla in her fight to protect the forest and creatures living within it. She had a tent, and he had a little money put aside. He knew she was traveling with a friend, but they could make it work. His family had money--cash and gold--buried in locations none of the others knew about. He could take a little, enough to live on. It was his as much as it was his father's.
But his dad had warned him that the end of days was getting closer, and they had to be ready to defend themselves. TJ clenched his jaw. What about Kayla? Who'd protect her?
TJ wouldn't leave her to die, not when he could offer her safety. He didn't care what the others said about not accepting strays into their fold. His mother had been letting in strangers for as long as TJ could remember. Most were distant relatives, and they all had to promise to contribute and abide by his father's rules. His parents had never turned anyone away. Why should TJ have to turn away the one person he cared about besides his father?
Assuming Kayla wanted to come with him...
He shoved his hands in his pockets and hunched his shoulders. If she didn't want to live in the compound, would she wait in her camp for him until spring? Would she be okay? Or would she be forced to move on to a place where he'd never find her again?
The idea of losing her was like a sledgehammer to his chest.
Should he abandon the only home he'd ever known, the only security they had from the upcoming apocalypse? Maybe. Maybe for this girl--who'd never survive without him. If she wanted him to join her...
He glanced down the mountain, wondering if she'd already left and he'd missed her. A tiny flash of red caught his eye. He took a step forward. Then another. Kayla had a red wool cap that exact shade... Had she dropped it?
She was never late. Had she come and gone and maybe left a note with the hat, knowing he'd find it?
He moved faster, careful of the roots and loose rocks, the uneven footing. When he reached the hat, he saw it was simply that, a wooly hat with no note attached. He picked it up, confused.
It looked similar to the one Kayla usually wore, but he didn't spend a lot of time looking at her hat when her face was so close.
He looked around and caught sight of an object that looked unnatural and out of place in the shadows of the woods.
His feet moved him in that direction, a moment of prescience flowing over him as he dodged around the wide skirts of a western hemlock. This was bad. He knew it was bad even before the shape elongated into a human arm. The rest of the person came into view as he moved closer. His mouth crumbled to dust, and his throat constricted so tightly the air became trapped in his lungs.
Don't look, don't look!
But his brain demanded answers.
"Kayla?"
Copyright 2020 Toni Anderson Inc.
From the Inside Flap
Read the award-winning, bestselling COLD JUSTICE series today! (Try A Cold Dark Place for free on your Kindle)
A Cold Dark Place, #1 ASIN: B00IR4J6RY
Cold Pursuit, #2 ASIN: B00K58LPQU
Cold Light of Day, #3 ASIN: B00N340WEE
Cold Fear, #4 ASIN: B00UZJWMUC
Cold In The Shadows, #5 ASIN: B014GPTTSI
Cold Hearted, #6 ASIN: B01E9RVZSU
Cold Secrets, #7 ASIN: B01N2GB6WQ
Cold Malice, #8 ASIN: B073TG8F23
A Cold Dark Promise, #9 ASIN: B074WH2RK8
Cold Blooded, #10 ASIN: B07BRF5SFP
Read more about Alex Parker and friends in COLD JUSTICE - THE NEGOTIATORS
Cold & Deadly, #1
Colder Than Sin, #2
Cold Wicked Lies, #3
Cold Cruel Kiss, #4
Cold as Ice, #5
Each book features different main characters with overlapping secondary characters. The books don't need to be read in order. All books are full-length Romantic Suspense novels (except for A Cold Dark Promise, which is a wedding novella with a Cold Justice twist).
About the Author
Toni Anderson is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of more than twenty novels. Her books have won the Book Buyers' Best Award, the New England Readers' Choice Award, the Heart of Excellence Award, and the Golden Quill.
