Valerie Hansen - Explosive Secrets

PREGNANT AND ALONE

Implicated by her criminal cousin, Nicki Johnson is now the target of a murderous gang. Dark-haired policeman Jackson Worth thinks she is hiding something, but his remarkable bomb-sniffing dog has no such reservations. He’s there to protect her—no judgments, no questions. And Jackson is a man of honor. He’ll stand by this beauty and her unborn child. Because it is the right thing to do. And because guarding her has left his battle-scarred heart open to the possibility of love. Which changes everything…

Texas K-9 Unit: These lawmen solve the toughest cases with the help of their brave canine partners

“You’re sure your ex isn’t the one harassing you?”

“Absolutely. He left after I told him about the baby. As far as I’m concerned, good riddance.”

“He’s a fool” was all Jackson dared say. If he had opened up and told her everything he was thinking, she would have been even more embarrassed.

There was a strong sense of honor and righteousness in him. Always had been. Maybe that was why this police job seemed to fit him so well. Why he felt such an undeniable obligation to step up and take care of Nicolette when her need was so great. She would never know how deeply, how personally, her plight affected him, of course, because he would never tell her.

But he would be there for her, helping and guarding her to the best of his ability, for as long as she needed him to be. It wasn’t only because she might help the department solve a difficult case, either.

Looking after her was simply the right thing to do.

Whether she liked it or not.

VALERIE HANSEN

was thirty when she awoke to the presence of the Lord in her life and turned to Jesus. In the years that followed, she worked with young children, both in church and secular environments. She also raised a family of her own and played foster mother to a wide assortment of furred and feathered critters.

Married to her high school sweetheart, she now lives in an old farmhouse she and her husband renovated with their own hands. She loves to hike the wooded hills behind the house and reflect on the marvelous turn her life has taken. Not only is she privileged to reside among the loving, accepting folks in the breathtakingly beautiful Ozark mountains of Arkansas, she also gets to share her personal faith by telling the stories of her heart for all the Love Inspired Books lines.

Life doesn’t get much better than that!

Explosive

Secrets

Valerie Hansen

www.millsandboon.co.uk

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

I will give you a new heart

and put a new spirit within you.

—Ezekiel 36:26

To my “partners in crime,”

Shirlee McCoy, Margaret Daley, Sharon Dunn,

Terri Reed and Lenora Worth, who were a joy

to work with on this series. To Joe and Karen,

beloved proofreaders who catch my boo-boos.

And to my personal K-9 cops, Charlie Brown and Lucy, two rescued Labs who see to it that

I don’t spend every waking hour sitting at my computer.

Contents

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

DEAR REARDER

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

ONE

Nicolette Johnson was about to leave for her night-shift job at The Truck Stop Diner when her cell phone rang.

She slipped it out of her jeans pocket and hesitated while she listened to the ringtone playing “The Yellow Rose of Texas.” Most of her recent callers had been nosy reporters or curious neighbors wanting to ask what she knew about her cousin Arianna Munson’s recent murder.

“That would be nothing, just like I told the police,” she muttered. But since her curiosity was aroused, she gave in and answered. “Hello?”

“Hello, Nicki, darlin’.”

The slow, deep drawl was dripping with menace, sending chills up her spine. “Who is this?”

“Never mind who I am. You need to stop holding out on us,” the man warned. “Remember, we know where you live.”

Nicki swallowed past the lump in her throat. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. Leave me alone.”

“That’s not going to happen, lady. That idiot Murke blew it the other night, but we can still get to you, just like we got to the Serpent.”

“Who?” She rued the telltale tremor in her tone.

“Arianna Munson.” He gave an evil-sounding chuckle. “That was our pet name for your dearly departed cousin.”

There was a pause while the caller laughed as if he’d just told a great joke. “We eliminated her, and we can do the same to you. If you think you can run or hide, just ask the Sagebrush cops what happened to one of their wives a few years back.” He chortled again then shouted, “Boom!”

Stifling a tiny shriek, Nicki immediately ended the call. Many of the specifics of the man’s threats had already become a confusing muddle, but one fact stood out. The way he had barked boom left no doubt that she was dealing with a deadly enemy, one she should not try to defeat on her own.

Shaking, Nicki managed to punch in the phone number from the business card the police officers had left with her a few days before. She held her breath and counted the number of rings while she waited for someone to answer.

“Sagebrush Police Department. How may I help you?” a friendly sounding woman asked.

Nicki had intended to report the sinister warning calmly and with little emotion. When she heard the dispatcher’s voice, however, she blurted, “I need help. Somebody just threatened to blow me up!”

* * *

“K-9 unit 463, your position?” the patrol radio broadcast.

Jackson Worth keyed the mic. “Sagebrush Boulevard and Main, headed north.”

“We have a possible bomb threat at 3274 Lost Woods Road, apartment 210. See the woman.”

“Affirmative. On my way. ETA approximately ten.”

“Copy. Advise if you need backup.”

Jackson flipped on his light bar and spun the wheel of the SUV. In the backseat, his black Labrador retriever, Titan, was panting rapidly, knowing they were about to go to work.

The big dog’s enthusiasm made Jackson smile. They were so much a team it was as if Titan could read his mind. He could certainly tell what that dog was thinking. When they were on duty his canine partner was all business, even when he acted as though he was still battling the negative effects of their previous assignments in war zones.

“We both came through the fire okay then, didn’t we, old boy?” Jackson said affectionately. “And we’re still doing it.”

Titan wiggled, but remained disciplined enough to stay seated and not fight the restraints that kept him safe when he wasn’t riding in his portable kennel. Jackson hated to cage the tractable dog so he used every excuse not to.