Finding Amy

Praise for Finding Amy

A well written, lovely read that perfectly combines romance and suspense.
http://bookaholicramblings.wordpress.com

If you like romantic suspense, then you shouldn’t miss out on
Finding Amy.
An enjoyable read with good writing
and
interesting characters. Read the complete review at I Heart Reading.
http://www.iheartreading.net/book-tour/book-review-finding-amy-by-carol-braswell/

If you like romantic suspense, definitely give Finding Amy a shot. It’s a well-written book, with great characters and a pleasant, suspenseful plot. Read the full review at
http://imaneclecticreader.wordpress.com/2013/07/25/book-review-finding-amy-by-carol-braswell/comment-page-1/#comment-135

Carson was a likeable character. He’s strong and intelligent, and stubborn, but in a good way. I liked Amy as well. She was equally strong, willing to do whatever it takes to protect her sist
er, and overall, a good person. The plot was great. I like romance stories that have more plot or more going on than just the romance, and that was definitely the case here. An excellent read!" by Mira at Forever Book Lover

To my wonderful husband, Steve for your continuous support.

Acknowledgements

A very heartfelt thanks to my critique partner and good friend, Staci Hayes for her belief in me; Liliana Hart for the motivational presentation that put me back in gear; Barbara Ivie Green for her ingenious design of the cover; Dustin Tallent and Courtney Bridges for agreeing to model; Elizabeth Noe Photography for the awesome photos; Danny Meazell for finding the perfect models; and Christy Daniell for agreeing to assist me on this Indie journey.

Copyright Information

Copyright © 2013 by Carol Braswell

All rights reserved.
The reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher, Carol Braswell.

Finding Amy
is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Use of this ebook is limited to personal, non-commercial use. All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce, display, broadcast, or republish in any form including, but not limited to, distribution or storage in a system for retrieval. No transmission, publication, or exploitation of the ebook in part or in whole is permitted without the prior written permission of the author, Carol Braswell. This book may not be resold or uploaded for distribution to others.

Chapter 1

A lone figure stood in the shadow of an abandoned warehouse, watching. Across the narrow street, a three story apartment building loomed with a single yellow light bulb in the alcove casting an eerie silhouette out onto the sidewalk. A large, gray cat sat licking his paw in the small entrance, waiting for a door to open so he could sneak in out of the cold.

Carson Garrett shifted from one foot to the other and hunkered closer to the building to ward off the icy drizzle that had started falling about an hour ago. A miserable night for a stakeout.
The uncomfortable cold threatened to get colder before he left this city. Gripping the hood of his down jacket, he clenched the sides, pulling it tighter around his head in an attempt to warm his cold ears. He needed a cigarette, bad. But even if he carried a pack, the glowing embers might attract attention. Besides, he’d quit several years ago when he became a state trooper.

The
woman had an apartment on the third floor with a window facing the street. It remained dark. She had come in around one in the morning, and the lights went out thirty minutes later. It was getting close to five and still no sign of movement. He could wait. It was his job.

A piercing squeal penetrated the silence. Carson pressed his back to
the wall, reached for the Ruger .44 he carried in a holster, and crouched to the pavement. Pointing the weapon in the direction of the noise, he waited. A loud clang followed the squeal and then what sounded like a round metal object spinning on the hard pavement. Carson’s left hand gripped the Ruger. Two stray alley cats scurried past, brushing up against his jeans as they disappeared around the corner of the warehouse. Carson inhaled, filling his burning lungs with air and relaxed. Placing his gun in the holster, he glanced up at the window.

By tailing her the past week, he knew her schedule. She rose at five, left the apartment fifteen minutes later,
and jogged down the block to Starbucks. She bought a large coffee and a bagel. Continuing for another block, Amy stopped at the news stand, purchased The Dallas Morning Herald and took the time to chat with the lady behind the counter. With her purchases bagged, newspaper under her arm, she jogged back to her apartment. At seven, she emerged again, strolled down the street to Cody Community College and attended classes until noon. After school, she returned to the apartment until six and left for work at Cowboy Bills where she tended bar until closing. Amy Summers had not deviated from her schedule, once. Carson had seen only Amy enter and leave the building. So where is the sister? If they aren’t together, why hadn’t Amy gone to visit? Didn’t twins stay together or at least keep in touch? Questions he would have to get closer to Amy and gain her trust in order to fill in the blanks.

The steady beep of his watch interrupted his thoughts. Her alarm should go off right about now, too.
A dim light appeared through the sheer curtains of Amy’s apartment window. He gave her credit for being punctual. In fifteen minutes, she would exit for her morning jog.

For the past six days
, he had gone into Cowboy Bills, sat at the end of the bar with his back to a wall to watch her and ordered a Coors Light. He had never seen a more beautiful woman. Her auburn hair hung down her back in seductive waves and framed her delicate face. She had the most unusual green eyes of anyone he’d ever seen. They faded from dark to light green and gold sunburst surrounded her dark pupils. Anytime she caught him watching her, those eyes penetrated his soul and seemed to read his mind.

She couldn’t be more than five feet and a few inches
, but in that mini skirt she had worn a few days ago, he got a glimpse of her slim, toned legs. The thin matching t-shirt she wore had her nipples standing erect in the cool bar. He imagined those slender legs wrapped around him, her breasts full; her nipples hard, just like that night in the bar. Every red blooded male’s dream of a woman. Heat flowed through his body, but he willed it aside. With the stakes this high, his cravings would have to take a back burner. He clenched his jaw. Brother, she could make a saint sin. He would have to watch his step. Under normal circumstances, she’d be one he’d love to know better. Unfortunately, these were not normal circumstances. Carson had to gain her trust, find out what he needed to know, and get all of them back to Texas.

****

Carson had been on vacation when he received the call.

“I hate to interrupt your vacation
, but we just received some new information you’re going to want to see. It’s on the Martin Kenner case,” Captain James informed him.

“Can you tell me now?” Carson’s interest piqued at the mention of
Kenner.

“You need to see these pictures. Can you come in?”

Carson’s stomach did a somersault. He wanted to put these criminals away but even with the evidence the department had gathered, the D.A. still wanted witnesses. “I’ll be there within the hour.”

Twenty minutes later, Carson
sat in front of his captain’s desk at Texas Ranger headquarters. He tried to curtail his patience, but he wanted this case wrapped up. They had invested too much time and manpower trying to nail Martin Kenner.

The c
aptain picked up the folder lying in front of him, perched his glasses on his nose, and scanned the pages. “Seems Martin’s wife has left. Word on the street is she also took quite a sum of money. Not his money but money he intended to launder for someone else. Now that person is on Martin’s ass to return it. Martin Kenner goes and gets one of his heavy hitters to find his wife, Jamie, eliminate her and bring the money back. Eight months ago Jamie and her twin, Amy Summers disappeared. Here’s a photo of the twins.” He removed the picture and slid it across the desk. “Both women have dropped off the map. You have to find her before the killer does.” He peeped over the top of his glasses and handed the rest of the data to Carson. “But you’ll have to find Amy first. She’s the only one who knows where Jamie is hiding. You might get lucky, they could be together.” Captain James leaned back and his chair squeaked. “One more thing; Jamie has her four year old daughter with her.”

Carson flipped through the pages
for a minute, lowered his voice and spoke more to himself than the Captain. “He’ll kill all three of them.”

****

When the alarm buzzed, Amy turned over and slammed her fist on top of the clock, shutting off the obnoxious noise. Dressing in the sweats she laid out last night, she ran down the stairs. Outside, the cool morning air sent a sudden chill through her. A fine mist covered the sidewalk and street. The slight breeze carried the rich scent of fresh baked bread and brewed coffee causing her stomach to grumble. Amy stretched out her sleepy muscles, jogged in the direction of Starbucks and her morning fix. After securing the bagged bagel in her jacket pocket and taking a hefty sip of her latte, she continued farther down the block to purchase a newspaper and catch up on the local gossip from Marlie. The woman could talk the horns off of a long horn but Amy enjoyed their morning chats. Waving goodbye, Amy tucked the folded paper under her arm and walked back to her apartment.

Amy kept to herself since she and her sister
had relocated. She had few friends and wanted it that way. Ms. Browning, across the hall, Stan, Amy’s boss and Marlie were the only three people she could call close friends in Wyoming. Ms. Browning didn’t have any living siblings and had never had children. When Amy caught the flu a few weeks ago, the old woman kept her supplied with homemade chicken soup, hot water bottles, and Vick’s VapoRub. Working six nights a week at the bar and school during the day, she had little time to make friends. She liked it that way. She didn’t have to answer questions about where she came from, why she chose Wyoming, and if she had brothers and sisters.

Entering the apartment, Amy t
ossed the newspaper on the seat next to the door and thought about the new guy who showed up in the bar a few days ago. His manor set him apart from the regular rodeo crowd that frequented Cowboy Bills. Cody, Wyoming held a rodeo every night of the week and she’d seen her share of that rowdy bunch. But this new guy kept to himself, didn’t flirt with the abundance of single women in the bar, and nursed one Coors Light until closing. He always left a ten dollar bill on the counter when he walked out. She had caught him watching her with his intense, blue eyes that oozed sensuality. The black leather jacket he wore bulged against the broad shoulders underneath. Tight, starched Wranglers hugged his muscular legs. He had to be the real thing, from the tip of his ostrich boots to the white, Stetson he wore low over his forehead that hid those beautiful eyes.

Stop it Amy
,
she scolded herself. You know you can’t get involved with anyone. Besides,
who says he’s interested in you anyway? She smiled. It doesn’t hurt to dream about the good looking cowboy, though.

Amy shook her head
. “Why
don’t you concentrate on something else? Like seeing Jamie
and Trish.”
How she missed her twin and little niece. They’d escaped Jamie’s abusive, soon to be ex-husband eight months ago. Amy had helped them settle into their new home in Montana. It had taken careful planning to secure the rental for Jamie and Trish and locate an apartment for herself in a different city. After discussing the move, they decided it best not to stay together in case Martin located one of them.

Up until that earth shattering day, everything had
seemed perfect. Amy spent her weekends entertaining the four-year-old, golden haired beauty who lovingly called her Aunt Amy.

She missed them terribly. She hadn’t seen them in five months, since she’d left them in Montana.
They had made plans for Amy to drive up in two weeks. Still too far away for her. Being identical twins, the sister’s shared deeper instincts than most sisters and knew when something was wrong with the other.

Eight months ago,
Jamie showed up at Amy’s employment, towing Trish by the hand and dropped a bomb. Without going into details, Jamie told Amy she had to get away from her husband Martin and hide. Amy trusted her sister enough not to ask too many questions and chose to wait until Jamie broke down and revealed the whole story.

The trio stayed one night at
Amy’s condo in order for her to tie up loose ends. She had taken a leave of absence from her nursing position at the hospital and had gone to great lengths to find the perfect hiding place for all of them. With the money Jamie supplied, they rented a beautiful cabin on Hebgen Lake in Montana.

But Trish had her ha
nd wrapped around Amy’s heart. The bundle of energy loved her Aunt Amy as much as she loved her own mother. Before leaving Texas, Amy would take Trish to visit the Fort Worth Zoo, take in a Disney movie, or just stroll through the Galleria eating chocolate ice cream in waffle cones. The ice skating rink in the Galleria fascinated Trish who had begged her aunt to show her how to “nice skate”, as she put it.

“I can skate.”
Trish had batted her big green eyes.

“I know you can
, but ice skating is different from the skating you do. I’ll teach you when we have time. We don’t have time today,” Amy had explained.

Amy’s excitement bubbled inside her and she grinned. It wouldn’t be long before she would be with them. I
f the traffic stayed moving through Yellowstone, Amy could drive to the cabin in four hours. Cutting through the National Park made the drive more scenic and interesting. Watching the weather forecast was a key factor. If a heavy snow was predicted, she had to go around the park due to the highway department closures. That would be a much longer trip and less time to spend with her sister and niece. Amy had to keep watch on the forecast. She couldn’t afford to get stranded in Montana by a snowstorm.

****

The next morning Carson loped across the street and down to Starbucks. He wanted a hot cup of coffee to warm his freezing hands. He intended to sit in the back of the coffee shop until
s
he came by, follow her to school, and then he could go back to the motel for a catnap. He didn’t like stake-outs. The girl slept less than anyone he had ever watched. He caught himself nodding off several times while waiting for her. When this was over and everyone was safe, he intended to sleep for a week and dared anyone to wake him.

It hadn’t been hard to find Amy. When she arrived in Wyoming she
’d requested her school records from The University of Texas. The Texas Rangers had access to that otherwise private information. She also used her own social security when she went to work. Armed with the file containing the photograph, Carson spotted her right away, even though the college graduation picture he had didn’t do her justice.

Carson gripped
the cup in both of his cold hands and sipped the hot coffee. He winced when the liquid burned his tongue. He set the cup on the table to cool. Starbucks needed to put warning labels on their coffee mugs. He reached for a newspaper someone had left behind and held it in front of his face, peeking over the top to make sure he didn’t miss her. After glancing out the window for the hundredth time, he spotted her. Why didn’t she stop for her coffee? Throwing the paper down and grabbing his coffee, he rushed to the door. Yanking on the glass door and staring out the picture window in front of the shop, Carson failed to see the woman entering until they collided, releasing the lid on his mug, sending the hot liquid splattering all over him and the woman’s beige jacket.