Winter’s Heart by Suzanne Cass

Exposing the truth will get them killed.

Dedicated environmental scientist Nikita Winter is taking a well-earned holiday in an isolated hut in Sweden’s winter wilderness, when her day takes a harrowing turn as she becomes the next quarry on a deadly hitman’s list.

Inspector Jacob Utsi is on enforced leave after he failed spectacularly on his last case, when his supervisor calls in desperation and tasks him with the mission of rescuing Dr. Winter.

After fleeing through the snow and ice, they discover two of her colleagues have already been murdered, and they want to kill her as well, to stop her from testifying at an upcoming court case that will halt a Chinese company’s unscrupulous fish-farming practices.

Jacob has never let his emotions impede his ability to do his job. Until now. His one directive is to keep the beautiful, stubborn, feisty scientist alive, but he’s finding that increasingly hard as their chemistry becomes undeniable.

The FBI is now involved, and they extract her on a military flight back to the US, where she believes she’ll be safe, with Jacob breaking all the rules to follow her. But the deception only deepens as someone within the FBI does everything in their power to stop her from giving evidence. They’re caught in a deadly game of corporate espionage and greed with no options left.

Can Jacob keep her alive long enough to help her expose her secrets, or will telling the truth get them both killed?