A St. Bernard and a Second Chance

Alanna Morgan is no stranger to being in the news. As a former kidnap victim who turned in the “parents” who’d kidnapped her – and raised her from the ages of five to nineteen – she’s also no stranger to conflict. When she decided to turn in two people who’d loved her – and who she’d loved in return – it meant she’d be going home to a family she barely remembered. A brother and sister who had grown up without her. Parents who had given up hope that she was still alive.

For the heroine of Alaska Mountain Rescue, it wasn’t easy to transition back into a life she’d been taken from when she was only five years old. Even harder was trying to reconcile the feelings of love she still had for the “parents” who had kidnapped her, for the “siblings” she’d grown up with, and the fact that she’d decided to break up that “family.” Since returning from an isolated cabin in remote Alaska to Chicago, she’s worked hard to rebuild her relationships with the family who thought they’d lost her forever. She’s also tried to maintain long-distance relationships with the “siblings” she’d grown up with. But one won’t speak to her because of her actions and two others are forbidden by their birth parents from talking to her.

Then Darcy Altier, the woman who kidnapped her, escapes from jail and kidnaps another child. Alanna has to make a choice. Stay in Chicago and continue to nourish the relationships she’d missed most of her life. Or return to Desparre, Alaska, where she believes Darcy is heading, and try to make up for the past. Try to make up for the fact that she hadn’t spoken up sooner. Try to make up for the fact that if she had, maybe some of her “siblings” never would have been kidnapped.

Even though she was just a child when she was kidnapped, and she was kept mostly isolated, Alanna had opportunities to speak up over the years. She hadn’t taken them because she loved her “family.” But she’s always felt guilty about that, especially when she finally came home and saw how her birth family had suffered.

Believing it’s her second chance to do the right thing immediately, Alanna goes back to Alaska with only her therapy St. Bernard, Chance, at her side. Like her, Chance has been given a second chance – her brother-in-law had rescued him and brought him to Alanna to help her reintegrate into her old life.

But Alanna’s family isn’t happy when she returns to Alaska. Although Alanna is worried she’s putting her newly regained relationships in jeopardy, she feels obligated to help.

When she and Chance arrive in Alaska, they immediately have a run-in with rookie police officer Peter Robak. A former war reporter who lost most of the hearing in one ear after a hostage blew herself up in front of him, Peter is suspicious of Alanna’s motives. Even if she thinks she’s here to do right, he can tell she still loves Darcy. He worries that when it comes right down to it, Alanna won’t be able to turn in the woman in a second time.

So, he keeps Alanna close, believing she could lead him right to Darcy and the kidnapped children (because Darcy has managed to grab another kid on her way to Alaska). Being a police officer is Peter’s second chance at a career he loves. He thinks Alanna could be the key to solidifying his position in a department where many of his colleagues don’t want to work with someone with a disability. But he also sees her as a potential liability – someone with divided loyalties just like the hostage whose “rescue” he’d gone to cover and who blew herself up for the people who’d abducted her.

Meanwhile, Darcy seems to think that she has a second chance at building herself a “family.” Only Alanna knows her well enough to unravel where she’s hiding, but Peter fears Darcy won’t let history repeat itself. This time, Darcy won’t let Alanna turn her in, no matter what that means for Alanna and Chance.

The second book in my K-9 Alaska series, Alaska Mountain Rescue, is being re-released in March in a duo book with Nicole Helm’s Hunting a Killer in Tracking a Fugitive. Grab your copy to find out how everyone’s second chances turn out!

You can catch up on the first book in the story (where Alanna’s sister Kensie comes to Alaska to find her, and seeks out the help of an ex-Marine and his Combat Tracker dog) in K-9 Defense (or in the duo book with Elle James’s Six Minutes to Midnight in Valiant Tracker). You can also grab the most recent books in the series, K-9 Cold Case, where a police chief and an FBI Victim Specialist (and his K-9) try to stop a bomber with a connection to the chief’s past, and K-9 Hideout, where a woman on the run from her stalker seeks the help of a rookie police officer and his K-9.

About Tracking a Fugitive

On the trail of justice…

Alaska Mountain Rescue by Elizabeth Heiter

A jailbreak brings Alanna Morgan on a collision course with the woman who stole her childhood. To prevent other helpless victims from being abducted, she sets out with Chance, a therapy St. Bernard, by her side. But rookie police officer Peter Robak has other plans for the civilian investigator. Together in the frigid mountain wilderness, they forge a wary alliance to catch a desperate fugitive.

Hunting a Killer by Nicole Helm

When K-9 handler Selena Lopez discovers her half brother’s a fugitive from justice, she must find him—and his dangerous crew. It’s a good thing that her partner is infuriatingly efficient and handsome lead agent Axel Morrow. But as smart and cunning as the duo may be, it’s a race against time to catch the armed and dangerous criminals before they kill again.

Read an Excerpt of Alaska Mountain Rescue

Order Your Copy:

Amazon               Barnes & Noble                Books-a-Million                Apple Books       Kobo     Google Play

IndieBound        Harlequin            Target

About Elizabeth Heiter:

Publishers Weekly bestselling author ELIZABETH HEITER likes her suspense to feature strong heroines, chilling villains, psychological twists, and a little bit (or a lot!) of romance. Her research has taken her into the minds of serial killers, through murder investigations, and onto the FBI Academy’s shooting range. Her novels have been published in more than a dozen countries and translated into eight languages; they’ve also been shortlisted for the HOLT Medallion, the Daphne Du Maurier award, the National Readers’ Choice award and the Booksellers’ Best award and won the RT Reviewers’ Choice award.

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

Goodreads | BookBub