Julie Miller - Task Force Bride

USA TODAY bestselling author Julie Miller’s The Precinct: Task Force series heats up when a plain Jane and an experienced cop pose as an engaged couple.

Something about Hope Lockhart fascinated Officer Pike Taylor. The cop and his canine companion had been patrolling the neighborhood around Hope’s bridal shop for months, trying to capture the criminal who targeted her. Was it the way she hid her voluptuous beauty beneath a plain Jane exterior?

Hope bore the scars of a troubling past. And despite a profession steeped in romance, she’d never known the love of a man. But when Pike is assigned to protect her by posing as her live-in fiance, his tenderness may give Hope the courage to open her heart for the very first time.

“Feel what?”

“Someone watching.” She tipped her head back to see his sharp gaze swinging back and forth. He was looking, too. “Do you think I’m paranoid?”

That clear blue gaze settled on her. “No. I’ve felt it, too.” His hands tightened at her waist and he pulled her into his chest, winding his arms behind her back and resting his chin at the crown of her hair.

Her arms caught between them and she whispered against the KCPD logo embroidered on his chest. “Did you see someone? What do you need me to do?”

“Easy, partner. I need you to let me hold you for a minute. Okay?”

Hope nodded. She willed herself to relax against him. “I’m okay with that.”

“You’re not alone, Hope. It’s you and me, remember? This guy’s going to try to come after you, but he won’t get to you, understand? I won’t let him.”

Whatever the reason behind this show of support, Hope curled her fingers into the back of his shirt and held on. She needed to feel safe for a few moments. She needed to know she’d made the right decision to agree to helping the police.

She needed to hear him say it again, in that deep, husky voice that danced across her eardrums and soothed the fear from her heart. “You’re not alone.”

Task Force Bride

USA TODAY Bestselling Author

Julie Miller

www.millsandboon.co.uk

USA TODAY bestselling author JULIE MILLERattributes her passion for writing romance to all those books she read growing up. When shyness and asthma kept her from becoming the action-adventure heroine she longed to be, Julie created stories in her head to keep herself entertained. Encouragement from her family to write down the feelings and ideas she couldn’t express became a love for the written word. She gets continued support from her fellow members of the Prairieland Romance Writers, where this teacher serves as the resident “grammar goddess.” Inspired by the likes of Agatha Christie and Encyclopedia Brown, Julie believes the only thing better than a good mystery is a good romance.

Born and raised in Missouri, this award-winning author now lives in Nebraska with her husband, son and an assortment of spoiled pets. To contact Julie or to learn more about her books, write to PO Box 5162, Grand Island, NE 68802-5162, USA or check out her website and monthly newsletter at www.juliemiller.org..

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CAST OF CHARACTERS

Hope Lockhart—Wedding planner and owner of Fairy Tale Bridal Shop. A shy, secretive woman who makes happily-ever-after’s happen for everyone else. After escaping a close encounter with the Rose Red Rapist, the neighborhood spinster becomes the task force’s best chance at capturing him. But agreeing to be the bait in KCPD’s trap means facing off against her own private fears…and a man who wants her dead.

Edison “Pike” Taylor—K-9 cop with KCPD. Nobody protects and serves Kansas City the way a Taylor can. This neighborhood cop has got his work cut out for him when he’s assigned to go undercover as Hope’s fiancé. Teaching the inexperienced Hope how to act like a woman in love is challenging enough. Keeping her alive might be the toughest—and most important—mission this cop could have.

Hans—Pike’s canine partner. A well-trained officer who likes playing tug-of-war and chasing down bad guys.

Hank Lockhart, Sr.—Hope’s father wants his daughter’s forgiveness.

Nelda Sapphire—Hank’s girlfriend.

Brian Elliott—Hope’s mentor and friend. His vision for revitalizing downtown KC doesn’t include a serial rapist.

Adam Matuszak—Hope’s attorney. Where do his loyalties really lie?

Leon Hundley—The neighborhood handyman has fixed a lot of things in Hope’s shop.

Gabriel Knight—Reporter at the Kansas City Journal. What’s his deal with KCPD, anyway?

Vanessa Owen—Television news reporter. She’s got the lead on a story that could make her a star.

The Rose Red Rapist—Will he finally be brought to justice?

For the wonderful pets who have blessed my life: Purr, Bobbi, Boots, Frosty, Cocky, Peanut Butter, George, Anxious, Butterscotch, Reitzie, Duke, Patches, Sherlock, Shasta, Padre, Maxie and Maggie.

Please consider supporting your local animal shelter, and open your heart to a new furry friend.

Contents

Prologue

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Excerpt

Prologue

Today was a bad day to be a bride.

“Hello?” Hope Lockhart pressed her phone to her ear and inched her way toward the door, quietly seeking an escape as her perfectly executed plan for her client’s wedding blew up in an explosion of harsh words and wailing tears. “Hello?”

Click.

Hope cringed as the mysterious caller hung up without saying a word. She didn’t need this today. She tucked her phone into the hip pocket of the gray suit she wore and hurried her steps.

“Cold feet is not an option, young lady,” Dale Barrister lectured his daughter over the chamber music drifting down from the sanctuary upstairs while the mother of the bride wept right alongside her daughter. He pointed his white-gloved finger to the ceiling. “Everyone who’s anyone in Kansas City is in that church right now, waiting for us.”

“Daddy!” Deanna Barrister wailed, pushing her veil away from the mascara running down her cheeks. “I don’t think I can do this. Not today.”

“Well, we’re not doing it tomorrow or any other day.” The skin above his starched white collar turned red with anger. “I spent more money on this shindig than you’re worth, and this is how you repay me?”

Hope curled her fingers around the doorknob behind her and paused at the cruel words. Raised voices always twisted her stomach into knots. Tension like this usually suffocated the breath from her chest and scattered coherent thoughts right out of her head. The anger, pain and frustration filling the room reminded her of things she’d worked long and hard to forget.

“You stupid cow! When I tell you to do a thing, I expect—”

Uh-uh. Hope slammed the door on that particular memory and forced herself to take a deep breath and intervene. “Mr. Barrister, perhaps if we give Deanna a few minutes—”