Rescued

From USA Today Bestselling Author & Screenwriter Stephanie St. Klaire comes the shocking beginning of a 5-star series, McKenzie Ridge. Dawson and Sam kick off this standalone romantic suspense series that you won’t want to put down... until you’re ready to binge-read the rest. 

Rescued:

It isn’t just love on the line, it’s lives too…

Dawson and Sam agree on one thing... relationships are more work than they’re worth. But in their darkest hour, they couldn’t deny their attraction to each other and now that he's in her life, he'll do whatever he can to stay there.

Dawson can’t shake the feeling that they are being watched and soon learns their small town has a fatal secret when it becomes clear Sam’s car crash was no accident — someone is trying to kill her…


He’s in a race against time to protect her from a stalker determined to finish their task. They won’t need to look far to find what they’re searching for as they walk right into the crossfires of a crime that’s anything but random and brings their community to its knees.

Secrets and lies are revealed when tragedy strikes putting everything on the line, including lives, as a deranged criminal hides in plain sight.

Love, fear, and impossible choices have him charging to her rescue, but will it be in time…

I write this review with my blood pressure still elevated from the white-knuckle climax that Stephanie St. Klaire smoothly dragged my heart into.
The plot enthralled with the romance, twists, and witty banter.
A fantastic book!
I loved this story from the moment I started reading it ...

I loved this story from the moment I started reading it until I finally finished it.

It was fantastic!

It was dangerous and exciting from the first page until the last. I can't wait to see what the author has in store for us next.

Heart warming and full of suspense!

This sexy, suspenseful, emotional, and swoon-worthy love story will take you on an unforgettable adventure that is sure to leave you beyond happy and your heart full.

A heartfelt and heart-warming single mom romance that will keep you riveted from the beginning until the end.

Just wow!

You wont want to put it down till the last page.

A romantic suspense book with heart

This book to me made me feel as if I was in the small town and the characters came to life as I turned each page. They are the type of family/friends you will fall in love with. Very much look forward to reading the rest of series.
the reader gets suspense, action, overcoming physical setbacks & a strong sense of family through caring friends that have each others back. I cannot wait for the next McKenzie Ridge novel!! Thank you Ms. St. Klaire for a wonderful read ''!
Stephanie St Klaire takes you on an amazing, page-turning journey you won't forget. I can't wait to start the next book!

My new favorite go to author!

Ms. St. Klaire pulls you in right away with this fast paced adrenaline rush and never lets you go.

My heart is still pounding out of my chest! You will fall in love with the town and it's people.

I loved this book a lot. I was on the edge of my seat.

From the first page until the last, this book takes you to a place you don't see coming! This is a wonderful book and if i could give it more than 5 stars I would.

Ms. St. Klaire hit this one our of the ballpark.

I was sucked in right away! There was absolutely no way I could put this book down! When I tried to take a break from reading, tension was high and I had to pick it back up and keep reading. I just had to find out what happened next!

I felt as though I was a part of this story, seeing it as though I was right there with them - with white knuckles and my heart racing.

I really enjoyed this book and will be reading anything else Ms. St.Klaire puts out.

CHAPTER 1:
Blood curdling screams, high pitched and ear piercing, were all she could hear. Sam felt intense confusion by her surroundings, not understanding where she was or where the sounds were coming from. What just happened, who was screaming, and why wouldn’t it stop? Her body pulsed as sharp pain she couldn’t identify flooded her from head to toe. It was so intense, it made her dizzy. She hurt everywhere. It hurt to move, to think even. The pressure in her head was nauseating.
Trying to formulate answers, she struggled to remember where she was. Her last recollection was being in her car. She remembered seeing something bright ahead. Although foggy, it was blinding. Then she heard that haunting scream. She needed to pull over. She shouldn’t be driving — not like this — but she couldn’t seem to do anything. Everything around her was so still.
It was dark, and everything was fuzzy. She writhed for clarity, attempting to overcome the confusion that left her in a groggy haze, sparking new hints of fear. A sense of heaviness weighted her chest like a cement slab, making it harder and harder to breath, each gasp becoming sharper and more shallow than the last. More lights surrounded her. The bright, blinding white light was replaced with changing colors flashing through the sky, surrounding her. There must have been an accident, but she couldn’t see it. The screams were all she could remember. This had to be a dream.
Her world finally came into focus. Colton Sparks was standing to her left, and he was talking to her. Man, he was hot in his fire turnouts. She was indeed in her car, and he was standing next to her car. But what the hell was Colton saying? His look was so upsetting, so full of concern, so unlike Colton. She was struggling to hear him, to understand what was going on or how she could help. This was definitely a dream, Sam decided, because Morgan Jameson appeared as Colton stepped slightly farther down the car with a large object in his hand, some sort of tool. This was getting more confusing by the minute. Morgan shared a similar concerned expression as she began to speak. Morgan’s mouth moved, but the words eluded Sam. She was probably asking her a plethora of questions. Always a cop, that one.
As Colton and Morgan backed away in a rush, Blake Cooper from the local PD and Jessie Clarke from Fire could be seen in the blurred distance, rushing around with a handful of others. Ah, the whole gang was here. It was a work dream. It had been a busy week, after all, so weird dreams were a given in her line of work, especially when she was sleep deprived. Sleep had eluded her the last several nights, thanks to a certain man who gave her goosebumps — the dreamy kind of goosebumps.
Sam couldn’t say anything, and she no longer saw her friends by the car, just the lights fading in and out. Unsure where everyone had gone, she started to feel unsettled. She could hear the voices now, all around her. There was shouting, and what sounded like some sort of saw. None of this was making sense. A strange sensation fell over her. It wasn’t a dizziness, but it wasn’t still either. It made her feel funny. Her body began to feel light; it didn’t seem to hurt anymore. She felt cold, although it was the middle of summer. If she didn’t know any better, she would have thought she was floating. She heard voices again, including his.
She opened her eyes to find Dawson Tayler. Oh, she was definitely dreaming again, about the sexy EMT who flooded her thoughts by day and controlled her dreams by night. After last night’s roll in the hay, or riverbank, she thought he was out of her system, or at least her dreams. Apparently not. She had to admit, it was a damn good roll, and she wouldn’t mind a repeat.
***
It was another hot night in the bus. Dawson and his partner, Carigan, were dispatched to a single MVA on the dark, winding back roads tracing the outside of town. With lights and sirens blaring, they came upon the scene, finding Fire and PD already there — and it was bad. The car, or what was left of it, was wrapped around a big Ponderosa. It wasn’t even recognizable, just a heap of metal and glass everywhere. Smoke was rising from what was likely the head of the car, billowing up the trunk of the tree.
“Jesus, Carigan, it looks like they need the morgue pickup, not an ambulance,” Dawson said to his partner as they approached, seeing the full spectrum of what they had been called to. These calls were never easy. “Whoever is in there, God bless them for surviving so far. What a freaking mess. I hope we got here in time, Cari.”
Having seen this before, especially during peak tourist season, Carigan replied sympathetically, “Probably another drunken tourist from the rodeo, lost on the back roads.”
As they jumped out of the ambulance and grabbed their equipment, Colton Sparks from Fire intercepted Dawson, stopping him before he could approach the victim. Dawson didn’t like the look on Colton’s face. Something was wrong. Watching over Colton’s shoulder, eyeing the wreckage, a light, stealthy tingle drove through him as familiarity set in. He was piecing the demolished car back together in his mind when Colton dropped an earth-shattering bomb.
“Hey, Daws, hold up, man — you need to know. Shit…um, I’m sorry, but it’s Sam. She’s hurt real bad, man. Real bad.” Colton placed his hand on Dawson’s shoulder, full of sympathy and support for his friend. “You okay, man? You got this?”
Stunned, no words to be found, Dawson stared, watching as Jessie and the others from Fire peeled back sections of the car with their equipment. Sam was trapped in that pile of metal, and he was there to rescue her. He had just been with her last night, probably one of the best nights Dawson had ever had. He was at a loss over how his world had turned upside down so quickly. They were both on shift tonight, him on the ambulance, her in the ER, and they had promised to see each other — something Dawson had been looking forward to since leaving her the night before — but not like this — never like this.
Taking in the scene before him, Dawson felt the ground shift as the gravity of the situation fell heavy upon his shoulders. This wasn’t just a wreck or a fender bender. There wasn’t a word for the enormity of what sat right in front of him, wrapped around that tree. Smoke floated from the pile of wreckage, fluids spilled from all over, and blood appeared to be everywhere. Overwhelmed didn’t begin to explain what he was feeling.
Then Dawson saw her. Pale, nearly gray, lifeless, covered in lesions and gashes, bruises already appearing, even in the darkness of the night. Her battered, injured body just lay there as her eyes blankly stared, mouth opening and closing, searching for sound, or maybe air. Without understanding, Dawson felt his heart crack in two as he watched this woman cling to life.
“Tayler, grab the cart, damn it! Get over here. She’s ready for extraction! Let’s go!” Carigan shouted to her partner, needing his assistance as she stabilized their patient for removal.
Shaken from his daze, Dawson grabbed the gurney and ran to assist his partner, setting aside his feelings for Sam and what had happened, looking at her strictly as his patient. They quickly, but carefully, removed her from the unrecognizable mound of shredded vehicle, the top peeled away like a tin can. He wouldn’t let her die, not today, not on his watch. They wouldn’t end this way.
***
Dawson was staring at her, his expression blanketed in concern and worry. Why was light-hearted Dawson looking so damn serious? Where was that panty-melting smile and charm? Sam looked around with her eyes only, unable to move her head. It was so bright and sterile-looking. Were they in his ambulance? Dawson grabbed something from above her and briefly fidgeted with her arm. She couldn’t feel much, but she knew those were his hands — his touch was exhilarating and unmistakable. She felt him. She finally felt something that wasn’t pain or numbness. He was holding her hand, and she could finally hear his words.
“Sam, please stay with me. You’re going to be okay, baby. Hang on, okay?” Dawson said anxiety lacing his words. “Fight, honey. We’re almost there. You’re going to make it. You’ve got to fight!”
Be okay? Going to make it? Panic struck as reality set in. Something was wrong. Something had happened…to her. She couldn’t feel anything other than his warm hand and the heaviness on her chest. Why couldn’t she feel anything? Oh my God. It had been an accident, and she was the victim. They were all there for her — Colton, Morgan, Dawson — all the lights — something happened to her! Dawson squeezed her hand. He looked down, eyes pinched closed, and was talking again. What the — was he…praying?
Oh shit! Oh shit, this was bad, really fucking bad! Sam’s last thought before everything got cold, dark, and silent…was Ellie.
***
Dawson was taken aback by the overwhelming emotions rushing in. He continued to talk to Sam while she drifted in and out of consciousness, finding himself on auto-pilot. While he assessed the deep longing and hurting in his chest, Dawson said all he could to comfort her, prayed even, as he took it all in.
Head to toe, covered in injuries, bleeding immensely, and frightened by the gash and swelling on her head, Dawson was relieved when they arrived at the emergency room and she was still alive. At the ready, the staff met them at the doors, emotions and fear evident, all anxious to receive their co-worker, their friend, sweet Sam, as their next patient.
“Cari, what do we have?” asked the thirty-something, highly accomplished, Doc Charles, an ER favorite and probably the best doctor to care for Sam.
“MVA, unconscious female, mid-twenties, BP 95/60 and dropping, multiple traumas to the…” Carigan rattled off, completely by the book, not letting emotions get involved, until her dear friend was handed over to those who would be charged with saving her. She could break down later, when Sam was in the right hands.
“Where’s my other nurse? All hands on deck!” Doc hollered, scanning the staff surrounding the gurney, waiting for answers before examining the patient laying in front of him.
“You’re looking at her, doctor. Our vic is Sam,” replied a teary Nurse Jan, senior to her peers, deeply affected by the visual impact of Sam’s injuries.
“Son of a… Let’s go. Trauma one. Everything we’ve got, people!” choked Doc, realizing the extent of the injuries to tackle. The emotion of the situation concerning one of their own overcame him briefly before he led Sam away, ready to fight whatever battles her injuries presented.
With a blank stare, completely stunned, Dawson stood there, watching his colleagues wheel Sam off, not knowing if it was the last time he would see her. God, he hoped not. Not this, not again.
***
Dawson finished his shift in a daze. The rodeo was in town and that’s where they’d spent most of the night. First, they tended to a call for a toddler with corn in his nose and his frantic mother. Toddlers with small objects shoved in various orifices were a pretty common call, even if it wasn’t typically an emergency, but this kid managed to get what appeared to be half the cob up there. There were also a handful of bumps and bruises from the inevitable rowdy drunken cowboy brawls. The eye-roller of the evening, however, was a man passed out in the park, naked. Who gets that drunk? When the rodeo was in town, they saw all kinds of crazy, and tonight was no exception. For the first time ever, Dawson didn’t love his job…he didn’t want to be here.
***
Back at the hospital, Dawson found himself standing at the foot of Sam’s bed. The black and blue covering every inch of her exposed skin was startling, leaving her nearly unrecognizable. The cuts to her head and face were equally shocking. Flashing back to the scene, he could only imagine what was beneath the bandages and splints that concealed the worst of her injuries. The sight of her damaged body moved him, an all too familiar emotion Dawson thought he buried a decade ago.
Despite her traumatic injuries, she looked peaceful, like she was only sleeping, but the sounds of the machines monitoring her, and ultimately keeping her alive, reminded him she was anything but at peace. What happened? What would cause such a dramatic and horrifying accident? It’s the middle of summer, the roads are clear, and all the locals are very cautious of wildlife wandering in the road. It just didn’t make sense why she hit that tree, that far off the road, that hard.
Everly Shaw, Sam’s best friend and their colleague, walked in, catching him in deep thought. As a nurse on staff, Sam’s emergency contact, and adoptive family, she was privy to Sam’s lengthy list of injuries. Focused on Sam’s face, still beautiful even if roughened, Evie began to share the outcome of Sam’s accident.
He heard the words broken, punctured, fracture, and maybe even concussion, but he wasn’t sure. Dawson was completely consumed by the desire to help her, see her healed. Everly’s final words were loud and clear and shook him from the subject of his distraction. His heart stopped for a moment and the wind knocked from him when she said, “Coma.”
Sam was in a coma. Evie rambled on for who knows how long, then he was alone again. Evie had slipped out without notice. It was only him and Sam. Dawson began to reconcile the feelings and emotions engrossing him. He didn’t understand them. It had been years since he felt anything for anyone. Dawson fell asleep to the beeps and chirps, hearing every breath she took, in the chair next to her bed, holding her hand.