Virginia Vaughan - Risky Return

About the Author VIRGINIA VAUGHAN is a born-and-raised Mississippi girl. She is blessed to come from a large Southern family, and her fondest memories include listening to stories recounted around the dinner table. She was a lover of books from a young age, devouring tales of romance, danger and love. She soon started writing them herself. You can connect with Virginia through her website, virginiavaughanonline.com , or through the publisher.

Booklist Also By Virginia Vaughan Contents Cover Back Cover Text About the Author Booklist Title Page Copyright Note to Readers Introduction Dear Reader Bible Verse Dedication ONE TWO THREE FOUR FIVE SIX SEVEN EIGHT NINE TEN EPILOGUE Extract About the Publisher Covert Operatives Cold Case Cover-Up Deadly Christmas Duty Risky Return Rangers Under Fire Yuletide Abduction Reunion Mission Ranch Refuge Mistletoe Reunion Threat Mission Undercover Mission: Memory Recall No Safe Haven Discover more at millsandboon.co.uk .

Title Page Risky Return Virginia Vaughan www.millsandboon.co.uk

Copyright ISBN: 978-1-474-09687-4 RISKY RETURN © 2019 Virginia Vaughan Published in Great Britain 2019 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

Note to Readers

Introduction “Collin, they know all the information I’ve gathered and everyone I’ve spoken with,” Rebecca whispered. Collin’s gut clenched as a text confirmed what he’d suspected. Rebecca’s car had been inventoried as part of gathering evidence at the crime scene, but her laptop was not there. Was this the work of a dirty cop? “Your computer was never taken for evidence. It’s gone.” He took Rebecca’s arm. “We should go. You can recount whatever you remember to the FBI and they can pick up the trail you started.” The sooner they got Rebecca’s witness out of town and to the FBI, the better off they were going to be. If anything happened to her, or all three of them, the trafficking ring would have succeeded in tying up their loose ends and could continue on unscathed. Collin opened the passenger door for Rebecca. But from the corner of his eye, he spotted a car approaching them, slowing down. The window lowered and the barrel of a gun protruded. His instincts kicked in and he grabbed Rebecca and threw her to the ground behind the car as gunshots rang out, spraying his car with bullets...

Dear Reader Dear Reader Contents Cover Back Cover Text About the Author Booklist Title Page Copyright Note to Readers Introduction Dear Reader Bible Verse Dedication ONE TWO THREE FOUR FIVE SIX SEVEN EIGHT NINE TEN EPILOGUE Extract About the Publisher , Thanks so much for joining me in book three of my Covert Operatives series. I hope you enjoyed Collin and Rebecca’s story as much as I enjoyed writing it. I love reunion stories and this one was no exception. These two characters fell in love at a very young age, but the pressures of real life tore them apart. This happens all too often these days, but thankfully, we serve a God of second chances. One of my favorite Bible verses is Joel 2:25, where God tells how He will restore to us what the locusts ate. I clung to this verse during a dark time in my life when it seemed all my hopes and plans for the future were ruined. I wondered if life could ever be good again. It was. My past mistakes do not define me and neither do yours because no matter how dark your situation seems right now, we have hope through Jesus Christ. He wants to heal your pains. He wants to rebuild your life. I love hearing from my readers! You can contact me online through my website www.virginiavaughanonline.com or on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/ginvaughanbooks . Blessings! Virginia

Bible Verse Thou in thy mercy has led forth the people which thou hast redeemed: thou hast guided them in thy strength unto thy holy habitation. —Exodus 15:13

Dedication This book is dedicated to the men and women who serve others unselfishly in all capacities and fields. Thank you for what you do.

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Extract

About the Publisher

It was her.

Collin Walsh spotted Rebecca across the cashier stands at the local grocery store. He would know her anywhere, her long dark hair cascading over her shoulders as she picked up her groceries and walked out. He paid for his items then followed, watching her as she moved through the parking lot, oblivious to his presence. He’d wanted to play it cool when he saw her again but he wasn’t sure he could. Should he approach her? Say hello? Or turn and walk away and not open those old wounds? He didn’t even know what name she used these days. Had she kept the last name Walsh or gone back to her maiden name of Rebecca Mason?

She stopped at a blue Toyota Camry and dug through her purse, presumably for keys. He’d known he might see her when he’d returned to their hometown, but he hadn’t expected the way his heart would be racing or how his mouth would be going dry when he finally did.

He looked away. If he was smart, he would walk back to his car and drive away, pretending he’d never seen her. But when he glanced at her again, he couldn’t. She was beautiful. Just as beautiful as she’d been twelve years ago, and his brain reactivated memories he’d spent years pushing away. The feel of her in his arms. The taste of her lips. Running his hands through her hair. The way her eyes had gleamed as he’d slipped a pawnshop wedding ring on her long, slim finger.

Man, how he’d loved her.

Irritation bit at him. He’d faced down terrorists and some of the evilest people in the world in his jobs as both an army ranger and then a covert security specialist for the CIA, but saying a simple hello to the woman he’d once loved and married paralyzed him with fear.

His good sense kicked in and he walked in the opposite direction, toward his car. He’d already let her down once. No need to revisit his failure. Yet, he couldn’t resist one last look. He turned back just in time to see a man approach her from behind, grab her and slam her head against the car.