Captive at Christmas Read Online Free Page B

though he decided to do a quick internet search of her. Mac found the name of her store, a small one in Vancouver, simply called ‘ Magnus Books ’. They’d been in business for over fifty years and the previous owners were Harald and Silje Magnus – most likely her parents.
    Then he saw her professional profile on one of those websites that people sign up for to make business connections or search for new jobs. He had to give her some credit. If this was all a ruse, she did one hell of a job to convince people that she wasn’t a threat.
    But if she really did turn out to be Hannah Magnus, bookstore owner, the woman had a pretty impressive past.
    Graduated high school early, at just sixteen years old, then put herself through a two-year business administrations course at a local college in Vancouver. She worked with charities for soldier’s families and even started up a foundation of her own.
    That got his attention.
    Mac glanced at her over the top of his phone and saw her buried in that book. He clicked on the link and read the page as it loaded.
    Help for Heroes was less about money and charity as it was about providing support and friendship to families who had a loved one in or retired from the Special Forces.
    The Canadian version of the American Marines or Navy SEALs, called JTF – Joint Task Force. Hannah arranged get-togethers, support groups and even therapy for people who lost their spouses or loved ones to the job, as well as the constant training and vanishing acts they needed to perform when called away.
    The website listed a few tips for easing the loneliness of being the one left behind as part of their program, and how to react to their loved one when they were at home. Hannah was listed as the author of the article and he couldn’t believe how insightful she was.
    Strange; had she been married to someone and had that happen to her?
    Mac checked his e-mail once more but found nothing of interest. He slipped the phone back into his pocket and turned his full attention to the beautiful creature who still sat curled up and reading.
    His mind continued to ask the question who are you, Hannah Magnus?
    If she hadn’t come here to kill him, then the woman certainly was a dream come true. Someone who seemed to understand the dangers of taking a job to protect one’s country, on top of everything else she could do.
    “John?”
    Mac cringed at the name. “Yeah?”
    “Would you like some cake?” Hannah closed her book and stretched, raising her arms high above her head.
    He groaned silently as she thrust her chest out. The woman had no idea what she did to him. “Cake…yeah, thanks.”
    “I take it a glass of wine is still out of the question?”
    “Yup.”
    She paused, neatly folding the blanket that had been tucked over her lap. He imagined it felt nice and warm. “How about a cup of coffee then? If you’re so suspicious of me, I doubt you’ll be getting much sleep.”
    Good idea, he thought, resting his ankle on his knee to hide the straining of fabric in his lap. Damn this woman and her centerfold body. “Uh, yeah, coffee sounds good.” She had him sounding like a mumbling idiot, too.
    After offering a little smile, Hannah went into the kitchen. His brain fuzzed around the edges as she made up a specialty coffee for him and cut two large pieces of cake. Mac knew he hadn’t been drugged because he watched everything she did, but it sure felt like it. He wanted to relax in her presence, Mac realized, though it was an unfortunate impossibility.
    The vibrating phone in his pocket snapped his mind back to reality and he looked at it to see there was a new e-mail – the one that he’d been waiting for. Opening it up, he scrolled through the information though it told him very little that he didn’t already know.
    Parents from Norway, moved to Canada a short while after they got married. Died when she was ten and Hannah had been raised by her brother Erik – now deceased, unsolved