Kate James - When I Found You

Dear Reader Dear Reader Dear Reader TITLE PAGE ABOUT THE AUTHOR DEDICATION Acknowledgments CHAPTER ONE CHAPTER TWO CHAPTER THREE CHAPTER FOUR CHAPTER FIVE CHAPTER SIX CHAPTER SEVEN CHAPTER EIGHT CHAPTER NINE CHAPTER TEN CHAPTER ELEVEN CHAPTER TWELVE CHAPTER THIRTEEN CHAPTER FOURTEEN CHAPTER FIFTEEN CHAPTER SIXTEEN CHAPTER SEVENTEEN CHAPTER EIGHTEEN CHAPTER NINETEEN CHAPTER TWENTY CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE EXTRACT COPYRIGHT , It seems like yesterday that I placed my fingers on the keyboard to start writing When the Right One Comes Along, the first book in my K-9 Trilogy. It’s hard to believe this third book is now complete, too. I’ve spent a considerable amount of time over the past year and a half with Cal, Jessica and Scout; Rick, Madison, Sniff and Nitro; and finally Logan, Ariana and Boomer. I’ve enjoyed discovering these characters’ stories, and their heartbreaks and happily-ever-afters. When I Found You is a work of fiction. Although it refers to the leaked results of Homeland Security’s inspector general’s 2015 covert testing of the Transportation Safety Administration’s (TSA’s) operations and technology, I want to draw special attention to the difficult and demanding job that TSA’s frontline workforce performs. I would also like to recognize the San Diego Harbor Police, who have responsibility for providing law-enforcement services at San Diego International Airport. Although in the story I assigned this responsibility to the San Diego Police Department, the Harbor Police’s Explosives Detection K-9 Team is currently the only TSA-certified explosives-detection team south of Los Angeles. I hope they will forgive me for the liberties I have taken in the name of fiction. I hope you enjoy When I Found You, and maybe you’ll miss these characters a little, the way I do. I’ve provided some discussion questions on my website, in case you’d like to use this story for your book club. As always, I would love to hear from you! You can connect with me at www.kate-james.com , www.Facebook.com/katejamesbooks , @katejamesbooks or at PO Box 446, Schomberg, ON, L0G 1T0, Canada. Kate

TITLE PAGE When I Found You Kate James www.millsandboon.co.uk

ABOUT THE AUTHOR KATE JAMES spent much of her childhood abroad before attending university in Canada. She built a successful business career, but her passion has always been literature. As a result, Kate turned her energy to her love of the written word. Kate’s goal is to entertain her readers with engaging stories featuring strong, likable characters. Kate has been honored with numerous awards for her writing. She and her husband, Ken, enjoy traveling and the outdoors with their beloved Labrador retrievers.

DEDICATION To my parents, for selflessly providing me with the opportunities and encouragement to pursue my dreams. To the men and women who dedicate their lives to law enforcement—they deserve our unwavering support and gratitude.

Acknowledgments Acknowledgments Acknowledgments CHAPTER ONE CHAPTER TWO CHAPTER THREE CHAPTER FOUR CHAPTER FIVE CHAPTER SIX CHAPTER SEVEN CHAPTER EIGHT CHAPTER NINE CHAPTER TEN CHAPTER ELEVEN CHAPTER TWELVE CHAPTER THIRTEEN CHAPTER FOURTEEN CHAPTER FIFTEEN CHAPTER SIXTEEN CHAPTER SEVENTEEN CHAPTER EIGHTEEN CHAPTER NINETEEN CHAPTER TWENTY CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE EXTRACT COPYRIGHT My editor and I considered a number of titles for this book, but none seemed just right. So we asked readers. I was thrilled to see the tremendous enthusiasm demonstrated by many people. As it turned out, we didn’t have just one winner but four: Summer Halls, Laurie Iglesias, June Smalls and Jill Weatherholt. Thank you, ladies! I would also like to extend my appreciation to Maria Reeves for allowing me to “borrow” the name of her beloved yellow Labrador retriever, Darwin, for the newest four-legged member of the San Diego Police Department’s K-9 Unit. Darwin and his handler, Shannon Clemens, might have their own story one day! Thank you, once again, to Constable Jim Hilton and York Regional Police (Ontario, Canada). Constable Hilton, a member of YRP’s canine unit, was invaluable to my research for this trilogy. Finally, none of my books would be what they are without the contribution of my fabulous editor, Paula Eykelhof. Thank you, Paula, for all that you do! Thanks also to Victoria Curran, senior editor, for challenging me and all the Mills & Boon Heartwarming authors to tell the very best stories we can.

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN

CHAPTER TWELVE

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

CHAPTER NINETEEN

CHAPTER TWENTY

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

EXTRACT

COPYRIGHT

CHAPTER ONE

“THE PILOT’S BRINGING the plane back?” Ariana Atkins, chief of security and asset protection for the San Diego International Airport, swiveled away from her desk and stared at her senior security manager.

“Yeah. The plane is on its way,” Max Golding responded. He was leaning against Ariana’s door frame, a hand tucked into the pocket of his stylish dress pants. “You know as well as I do, it’s the pilot’s call.”

“Two vacation-going women bound for Barbados overindulge in their duty-free alcohol purchase, are drunk before the plane is out of our airspace, get into a fight on board, and the pilot declares it a security risk and decides to turn the aircraft around? Have I got that right?”

“That sums it up.” Max straightened. “I was told the flight crew had trouble calming them down.”

He moved to Ariana’s desk, fiddled with her mouse and called up the security camera footage he’d emailed her of the women at the gate.

“They were inebriated before they boarded! The gate crew shouldn’t have let them on that flight.”

“I can’t argue with you about that. The San Diego Police Department is sending a team to meet the plane.”

This was news to Ariana. “Why? We can handle two drunken women ourselves with the SDPD officers assigned to the airport.”

Max shrugged. “I would’ve thought so, but one of the charming young ladies uttered a threat against the crew and passengers. She said, and I quote, that she’d blow them all to kingdom come.”

Ariana rolled her eyes to the ceiling. “Great. Just great.” That added weight to the pilot’s decision to bring the plane back.

As far-fetched as it was that one of the women involved in the altercation might have a bomb on board, the United States Transportation Security Administration required that all such incidents be taken seriously.

They’d have to hold the plane away from the terminal building until they had confirmation that there were no explosive devices on board. Only then could it taxi to a gate.

Her stomach rumbled and she glanced at her watch. She’d missed lunch. It wasn’t likely that she’d be having dinner anytime soon either.

“I can handle this, Ariana, if you want to go home.” Obviously Max had heard her stomach, too. “You’ve averaged ten-hour days all week. You deserve some downtime.”

She rose, grabbed her jacket from the back of her chair. “Thanks, but I’m okay. We’ve all been putting in long hours since the budget cuts. Besides, we could be dealing with a lot worse than two drunken women and a planeload of understandably disgruntled passengers.”

“True.” Max’s iPhone pinged several times in quick succession. He checked the incoming messages. “Game time. The plane has landed, and two members of the SDPD K-9 Unit are on their way and authorized for the airfield. Oh, did I mention the plane has a fighter jet escort?” he said over his shoulder as he exited her office.