Lenora Worth - Lone Star Protector

KEEPING WATCH

When dog trainer Kaitlin Mathers is attacked, Texas K-9 Unit captain Slade McNeal is determined to keep her—and what’s left of his family—safe from harm. But soon Slade realizes nothing’s safe, including his dogs, his son or the beautiful woman who’s opening his heart. When Slade realizes the enemy might be closer than he ever dreamed possible, he vows to see justice served. But can he save Kaitlin before it’s too late to tell her he loves her?

Slade felt the rush of air as she moved away from him. “Hey, wait a minute.”

“You seem to want to be alone,” Kaitlin said, her voice a sweet whisper.

“Not tonight,” he replied. “C’mon and sit with me awhile.”

She stood there, hesitating. He could almost feel the conflicting thoughts rushing through her head. He felt the same kind of warning each time he was around the woman.

But she moved, finally. She went to the kitchen and

put the glass in the sink and stood there for a minute staring out the window. Then she let out a gasp. “Slade?”

“What?”

“I…I think there’s someone out there.”

LENORA WORTH

has written more than forty books for three different publishers. Her career with Love Inspired Books spans close to fifteen years. In February 2011 her Love Inspired Suspense novel Body of Evidence made the New York Times bestseller list. Her very first Love Inspired title, The Wedding Quilt, won Affaire de Coeur’s Best Inspirational for 1997, and Logan’s Child won an RT Book Reviews Best Love Inspired for 1998. With millions of books in print, Lenora continues to write for the Love Inspired and Love Inspired Suspense lines. Lenora also wrote a weekly opinion column for the local paper and worked freelance for years with a local magazine. She has now turned to full-time fiction writing and enjoying adventures with her retired husband, Don. Married for thirty-six years, they have two grown children. Lenora enjoys writing, reading and shopping…especially shoe shopping.

Lone Star Protector

Lenora Worth

www.millsandboon.co.uk

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Cursed be he that smiteth his neighbor in secret. And all the people shall say, Amen.

—Deuteronomy 27:24

To K-9 officers and their canine partners. Thanks for your hard work and willingness to serve. It was a joy to learn more about what you do every day.

Special thanks and acknowledgment to Lenora Worth for her contribution to the Texas K-9 Unit miniseries.

Contents

ONE

TWO

THREE

FOUR

FIVE

SIX

SEVEN

EIGHT

NINE

TEN

ELEVEN

TWELVE

THIRTEEN

FOURTEEN

FIFTEEN

SIXTEEN

SEVENTEEN

EIGHTEEN

NINETEEN

TWENTY

TWENTY-ONE

EPILOGUE

DEAR READER

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

ONE

“Don’t make a sound.”

K-9 trainer Kaitlin Mathers felt the cold nozzle of the gun sticking into her rib cage, shock and fear pouring through her system like a hot, blowing wind. The man holding her had a raspy voice and wore silky black coveralls and a black ski mask, even though it was June in Southwest Texas. She could feel his sweat breaking through the lightweight material of his clothes, could smell a musky scent that probably came from the heat and high adrenaline. When she tried to squirm away, something cold and metal pressed against her backbone. A zipper, maybe? Determined to keep it together, Kaitlin didn’t move or try to speak. She had to stay calm so she wouldn’t be killed. So she could get away.

Across the K-9 training yard, Warrior barked and snarled from his vantage point inside his mesh kennel porch. Thankfully, she hadn’t put the young trainee inside for the night yet. Someone would hear the barking and come around the corner, wouldn’t they? Please, Lord, give me courage, she prayed, memories of her mother’s death playing through her head.

That’s what you get for working late all by yourself. You’re more like your mother than you realized. But it had never occurred to Kaitlin that someone would be hiding in the bushes right outside the doors of the Sagebrush K-9 Training Facility. Especially since the building and training yard were located inside a locked fence directly behind the Sagebrush Police Department.

The man holding her must have known the risks, but he’d somehow managed to get through that gate. He hurriedly shoved her toward a waiting van, the same dark van she’d only minutes before noticed parked underneath an old oak near the back parking lot.

“I need you to come with me,” he said, his whisper like a knife slicing through her nerve endings.

“Why?” She had a right to ask.

“I’ll explain that later, sweetheart.”

Kaitlin looked at the van, then tried to look back at her attacker. She caught a glimpse of strange, black eyes, another shock wave jolting through her system. Before she could see anything else, he jerked her back around and pushed the gun hard against her side. “Let’s go.”

Kaitlin didn’t think about being silent anymore. If she got in that van, the chances were very good that she’d be dead by nightfall. Just like Mom. But unlike her too-trusting mother, Kaitlin didn’t intend to become a victim. She screamed and started fighting for her life.

* * *

K-9 captain Slade McNeal was halfway to his vehicle when he heard barking. Excited barking. Whirling toward the kennels, he wondered which dog had been left inside them.

Warrior.

He’d just watched trainer Kaitlin Mathers putting the newbie, a strong Belgian Malinois that reminded him of his own missing German shepherd, Rio, through his paces. They’d spoken briefly, and he’d gone back to his office.

But where was Kaitlin now? It wasn’t like her to leave a dog unattended, even kenneled. Warrior was sure upset about something.

The dog kept on barking, the sounds growing more urgent. Something was up. Slade hurried toward the building, his weapon drawn. He passed the kennels but didn’t see anyone. Since Warrior would have a close bond with Kaitlin, it made sense that the dog was trying to warn her about something. Or alert someone else.

“Good job,” Slade said when he passed the pacing, snarling animal. He didn’t try to stop Warrior’s barking.

Then he heard a scream, followed by grunts and shouts.

Slade stood at the corner of the building, then pivoted around the side, his weapon still drawn. About twenty yards away, a man in a dark mask had Kaitlin by the arm, trying to drag her across the asphalt toward an open black van. And he had a gun pointed at her head.

Slade’s heart rushed ahead, pumping adrenaline right along with realization. He recognized this man. The Ski Mask Man, they’d labeled him around headquarters. Slade had been gunning for this guy for five long months. This criminal had some nerve, trying to kidnap a trainer right out of the training yard.

A multitude of angry memories raced through Slade’s head, followed by the taste of victory. Could this case finally get a break? He glanced back at Warrior, then turned his attention back to the scene in front of him. He’d never make it to the locked cage to let the dog out, and he didn’t have time to dig for his keys or call for backup. He could shoot the lock, but what if he hit the dog?