Her brother was murdered.
Will she be next?
While searching for proof that her brother's death was no
accident, Lilah Schwartz is almost killed by a sniper in her Amish community.
Hiding in Levi Burkholder's barn is all that keeps her alive. The former
soldier will do everything in his power to protect Lilah, but can he and Lilah
uncover the evidence her brother hid before she's the next to die?
Terrific book that started with a rush and rarely let up
until the very end. The book opened with Lilah awakening to her brother
shouting her name and their house on fire. Jacob got her out but died shortly after
that. His last words were that it wasn't an accident, and there was something
buried in his office he wanted her to retrieve. Devastated by the loss of her
only family member, Lilah is left reeling when Jacob's wife blames her for
Jacob's death and tells her to find somewhere else to live. Before she can think
of that, Lilah is determined to find whatever it was that Jacob hid. She never
expected to discover Jacob's office nearly destroyed and to have someone start
shooting at her. She escaped through the woods until she found a barn to hide
in.
Levi Burkholder was one of Jacob's clients and a friend. After
attending Jacob's funeral, he gave Lilah his condolences. Levi felt guilty
about not going with her but realized she didn't want him to. Instead, he went
home, thinking about his past. Levi left the Amish community for a while after
an argument with his father. He joined the military, fought in Afghanistan, and
lost his arm there. After his return, Levi became something of a recluse,
fighting his PTSD and the guilt he felt over the deaths of some of his men.
Eventually, he returned to his Amish community. On this day, Levi found Lilah
hiding in his barn, terrified.
Levi made his first appearance in
Plain Refuge when he
was still Englisch, helping his friend Aiden protect a young woman and her
sister. He won't stand by and see another woman suffer. Lilah lost her ability
to trust men when her boyfriend cheated on her, but something about Levi says she
can trust him. As Lilah fills him in on what she knows, Levi thinks of the
changes he saw in his friend and suspects that Jacob was mixed up in something
bad. Levi is determined to help Lilah find the truth.
Lilah and Levi grew closer as they worked together to
unearth the truth. Levi is a kind and honorable man, haunted by the events of
his past. His protectiveness toward Lilah grows into stronger feelings, but he
believes he is too broken for any woman to take on. Some of the events they experience
create flashbacks which Lilah handles surprisingly well. At the same time,
Lilah is wracked with guilt over her brother's death and the danger she
believes she brought to Levi. Each of them tries to resist their growing
feelings as the threat intensifies, but it's no use. I ached for both Lilah and
Levi. Lilah realized she loved a man who would not open himself up to love.
Levi feared risking his heart and the pain of loss if something terrible
happened. I loved the advice he got from his friend Aiden and its effect on him
as he faced the possibility of that loss. The hospital scene was terrific, and
the epilogue was a great look at their future.
The suspense of the story had me glued to the pages from
start to finish. It seemed that every time Lilah and Levi made a discovery, the
bad guys were right on their heels. I loved seeing how Levi's unusual past
played such a big part in keeping them safe and the bad guys just enough off-balance
to help Levi and Lilah. The final confrontation kept me on the edge of my seat and
revealed a bad guy I never expected. Jacob's trouble surprised me, both what it
was and what he ultimately did about it.
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