Cloudburst by Suzanne Cass

She’s not who she seems.
He doesn’t know who to trust.
They’ll need each other to survive.

Behind her shy, schoolteacher guise, Penny hides a traumatic past. Her job as the receptionist at Stargazer Ranch has provided sanctuary over the last two years. But when her abusive ex-husband reappears and tries to snatch her off the street, former cowboy Clayton steps in to help.

Clayton has a chequered past; he’s spent a year in prison for an attempted abduction. So, while Penny is eternally grateful to him for rescuing her, the irony isn’t lost on him. Even if he is drawn to this beautiful, courageous woman, and their attraction is undeniable, he’s the absolute last person Penny needs as a saviour.

Against his better judgement, Clayton offers Penny refuge at his house. But things go from bad to worse when two hired hitmen try to kill them both, because Clayton is to be a witness in an upcoming trial of a notorious mob boss.

It seems Penny is the only one who trusts him. But will that trust prove her undoing? Clayton will do anything to protect Penny, but neither of them bargained on the depths their pursuers will go to find them. Who will pay the ultimate sacrifice?