Elizabeth Heiter | On the Run from a Dangerous Stalker

Sabrina Jones, the heroine of my latest K-9 Alaska series book, K-9 Hideout, has been on the run for two years. She’s lived under an assumed name, not spoken to any friends or family, and only taken jobs that would pay her cash under the table. She’s done her best to remain untraceable, invisible.

The reason? A stalker who sent her notes for six months and then killed her boyfriend. Police got involved, but couldn’t find him and couldn’t provide nonstop protection for her or the people she loved. Sabrina knew it was only a matter of time before someone else was murdered. In order to protect her family, she made the agonizing choice to leave them – possibly forever.

When she reaches the remote town of Desparre, Alaska, she’s worn out from looking over her shoulder all the time. She’s worn out from being under the radar, because it also makes her vulnerable to people who realize she doesn’t want attention. It means employers can pay her less than minimum wage, because she’ll take it to avoid detection. It also means she’s a target for different predators, the kind who recognize a woman without a safety net, a woman who could disappear and not be missed.

The experience has been infuriating and heartbreaking for Sabrina, all alone, thinking things might never change. And all because some man she might never have even spoken to thought his right to want her was greater than her right to live the life she wanted.

But Desparre is different. It’s the first place she’s stayed for more than a few months, the first place where she’s started to feel safe. The first place where she feels like herself again, because instead of taking whatever job she can get that doesn’t put her in danger from her stalker, she’s doing something she loves. A former fashion designer, Alaska’s natural resources have allowed her to try a longtime dream – jewelry design. By setting up an online site, she’s been able to support herself. She’s even allowed herself to make a few friends.

All of it comes crashing down when a new note appears on her doorstep. Somehow, her stalker has found her.

Her first instinct is to run. But here, unlike New York, Sabrina realizes she may be able to make a stand. The community is small and they recognize outsiders. And the police force – especially K-9 handler Tate Emory – is determined to help her end her nightmare.

But as Sabrina works with Tate (and his K-9, Sitka) to try and identify her stalker, she begins to fall for him. And she knows that’s the most dangerous thing of all, because the last time she fell in love, someone died. She wants her life back, but she won’t sacrifice Tate to get it.

As the threat to Tate gets closer, Sabrina tries to leave and Tate stops her. Here’s a snippet from Tate’s point of view, in the scene where she makes him promise to let her go if things get too dangerous:

She stared up at him, warring emotions on her face, until finally she nodded. “Okay, I’ll stay. Just promise me that you’re all going to be careful. If this guy turns his focus on you and Sitka and you can’t find him, I want you to be honest with me. I want you to tell me so I can make my own decision about whether to stay or go.”

He nodded, not breaking eye contact. “I promise.”

But he knew it wasn’t a promise he could keep. This wasn’t a fight he was letting her take on alone anymore.

One way or another, they were going to end this here.

You can meet Sabrina, Tate and Sitka – and find out whether Sabrina can reclaim her life – in K-9 HIDEOUT, releasing June 29^th. You can also catch up on the first three books in the K-9 Alaska series with K-9 DEFENSE (also available in a duo book with Elle James’s Six Minutes to Midnight in VALIANT TRACKER), ALASKA MOUNTAIN RESCUE and K-9 COLD CASE.