Emilie Rose - A Cop's Honor

She’d vowed to never trust him again...now he was her only hope

As a single mom Hannah Leith faces challenges daily—and deals with them. But when her son gets into serious trouble she’s out of her league and turns to the man she blames for her police husband’s death, Brandon Martin.

Brandon still carries the guilt of his partner’s murder, which only grows heavier when he finds himself growing closer to Hannah and her children. But he’d promised to take care of the man’s family and that is what he will do, even if it means ignoring his own yearning for Hannah.

USA TODAY bestselling author and two-time RITA® Award finalist EMILIE ROSE lives in North Carolina with her own romance hero. Writing is her third career. She’s managed a medical office and a home day care—neither offered half as much satisfaction as plotting happy endings. Her hobbies include gardening, fishing, cooking and traveling to find her next book setting. Visit her website, emilierose.com, or email her at EmilieRoseAuthor@aol.com.

Also By Emilie Rose

The Lottery Winner

Second Chance Mom

Starting with June

The Secrets of Her Past

A Better Man

The Ties that Bind

The Price of Honor

Her Tycoon to Tame

Wedding His Takeover Target

Executive’s Pregnancy Ultimatum

His High-Stakes Holiday Seduction

Bedding the Secret Heiress

More Than a Millionaire

Bargained Into Her Boss’s Bed

Discover more at millsandboon.co.uk

A Cop’s Honor

Emilie Rose

www.millsandboon.co.uk

ISBN: 978-1-474-08105-4

A COP’S HONOR

© 2018 Emilie Rose Riddle

Published in Great Britain 2018

by Mills & Boon, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF

All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. This edition is published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, locations and incidents are purely fictional and bear no relationship to any real life individuals, living or dead, or to any actual places, business establishments, locations, events or incidents. Any resemblance is entirely coincidental.

By payment of the required fees, you are granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right and licence to download and install this e-book on your personal computer, tablet computer, smart phone or other electronic reading device only (each a “Licensed Device”) and to access, display and read the text of this e-book on-screen on your Licensed Device. Except to the extent any of these acts shall be permitted pursuant to any mandatory provision of applicable law but no further, no part of this e-book or its text or images may be reproduced, transmitted, distributed, translated, converted or adapted for use on another file format, communicated to the public, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher.

® and ™ are trademarks owned and used by the trademark owner and/or its licensee. Trademarks marked with ® are registered with the United Kingdom Patent Office and/or the Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market and in other countries.

www.millsandboon.co.uk

Version: 2020-03-02

Before you start reading, why not sign up?

Thank you for downloading this Mills & Boon book. If you want to hear about exclusive discounts, special offers and competitions, sign up to our email newsletter today!

SIGN ME UP!

Or simply visit

signup.millsandboon.co.uk

Mills & Boon emails are completely free to receive and you can unsubscribe at any time via the link in any email we send you.

“Brandon...I think it would be best if you didn’t come around anymore.”

A line formed between his eyebrows. She opened the door and when he didn’t take the hint to leave, she stepped onto the porch and waited for him to follow, then closed the panel behind them.

“Belle already loves you. Mason is getting attached. It’s going to hurt them when you disappear. Lingering will only make it worse.”

“Who says I’ll disappear?”

“Me. I appreciate all you’ve done, but I can’t forget...the past or how dangerous your job is.”

His jaw and shoulder muscles bunched. “I promised Rick I’d look out for you.”

“I’m relieving you of that promise.”

He inhaled, long and slow, filling his chest and making it seem even broader. Then he dipped his chin once, sharply. “Take care of yourself, Hannah.”

He pivoted and walked away. Seconds later his truck engine started. Tension drained from her. It left her empty. She walked back inside and locked the door. The engaging dead bolt sounded a lot like a gunshot echoing off the foyer walls. Cutting Brandon from their lives was the right thing to do. For her sake and her children’s.

Dear Reader,

Sometimes life throws you curveballs. When it does, you have to find the courage to forge a new path—often one you’ve never contemplated before. That’s what happens to Hannah Leith when all her plans and dreams are buried with her husband. For her children’s sake, she must find the courage to start over. But she never anticipated that new beginning would include the man she held responsible for her husband’s death.

As for Brandon Martin, police officer, he never expected to use his investigative skills for his dead best friend’s son. He definitely didn’t foresee being physically attracted to his friend’s widow or suddenly wanting her to become his wife.

I hope you enjoy Hannah and Brandon’s attempts to deny the inevitable.

Emilie Rose

For my dad.

Parkinson’s took his mobility, his speech and his life, but it never took his sense of humor or his kindness.

He’ll always be my hero.

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

About the Author

Booklist

Title Page

Copyright

Introduction

Dear Reader

Dedication

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

Extract

Chapter One

HANNAH SANK DEEPER into her Adirondack chair and stretched out her legs. Her foot bumped the empty fire pit, and a few flakes of rust rained onto her ankles. She shifted again, hoping to find a more comfortable position on the hard seat. Her fingertips brushed across the chair’s peeling paint and a sense of futility rose within her.

The furniture and fire pit, like everything else around the house behind her, needed work. A lot of work. More than she could handle or afford, yet she was tackling it one project at a time. But sometimes she felt like a hamster on a wheel, spinning ’round and ’round and getting nowhere.

The old house was home—the first real home she’d ever had. Not that the places she and her parents had lived as her father climbed the army’s noncommissioned officer ranks had been bad, but they’d all been temporary. She hadn’t been free to paint or make any changes in the rented accommodations. And she had never, ever put down roots until she and Rick had bought this fixer-upper.