Dying to please - Linda Howard

Sarah Stevens is a woman with many distinct qualities. Skilled at running large households smoothly and efficiently, she is also a trained bodyguard and expert marksman - indispensable to her current employer, an elderly judge who has hired her as both a companion and a protector. Then one night she thwarts a burglary in progress, a courageous act that rewards Sarah her requisite 'fifteen minutes of fame' with the local press. But the exposure is enough to catch the attention of a tortured soul who, unbeknownst to Sarah, will stop at nothing to have her for himself. Sarah's perfectly ordered life is shattered when tragedy strikes: her beloved employer is brutally murdered. The detective investigating the case, assures Sarah that she is not a suspect. Until lightning strikes twice. There's a second killing - and this time, despite a lack of evidence connecting her to the crime, Sarah cannot escape the shadow of guilt. The only option left for Sarah is to carry on with her life. But she doesn't realise that a deranged stalker is luring her into an elaborate trap . . . one in which she, once ensnared, might never escape...