Shirlee McCoy - Undercover Bodyguard

“YOU’RE IN DANGER.”

Bakery owner Shelby Simons can’t deny a stalker is after her. Still, knowing she’s at risk is one thing. Admitting she needs a bodyguard is quite another. Especially when the bodyguard is Ryder Malone. The former SEAL is too big, too tough and way too attractive. Yet Ryder won’t take no for an answer. If she can’t find a place for him in her life, he’ll make one, working undercover to protect Shelby and find her attacker. But as Ryder and Shelby get closer to answers—and each other—the killer starts closing in….

Heroes for Hire

Seeking the truth—at any cost.

Ryder scooped Shelby up, racing back across the yard as another explosion rocked the house.

It threw him to his knees, but he kept his arms tight around Shelby’s soft, limp body.

“What happened?” she gasped, coughing on the acrid fumes.

“Explosion.”

“Maureen’s in there!” She shoved away, jumped to her feet and ran straight back toward the inferno.

He followed, heat searing his cheeks. “There’s nothing we can do to help her.”

She turned, tears trekking down her cheeks. Near her temple was a deep cut that oozed blood. She didn’t seem to feel the pain of it. Didn’t seem to know she was hurt.

Memories threatened to overtake Ryder. He shoved the images down deep as fire continued to lick along the facade of the house.

Shelby stopped in her tracks, her face lit by flames and stained with soot.

Ryder took her arm and urged her to the front yard. There might be another explosion, and he didn’t want Shelby anywhere near the building if there was.

SHIRLEE McCOY

has always loved making up stories. As a child, she daydreamed elaborate tales in which she was the heroine—gutsy, strong and invincible. Though she soon grew out of her superhero fantasies, her love for storytelling never diminished. She knew early that she wanted to write inspirational fiction, and she began writing her first novel when she was a teenager. Still, it wasn’t until her third son was born that she truly began pursuing her dream of being published. Three years later, she sold her first book. Now a busy mother of five, Shirlee is a homeschool mom by day and an inspirational author by night. She and her husband and children live in the Pacific Northwest and share their house with a dog, two cats and a bird. You can visit her website, www.shirleemccoy.com, or email her at shirlee@shirleemccoy.com.

www.millsandboon.co.uk

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.

Because you are my help,

I sing in the shadow of your wings.

My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me.

—Psalms 63:7–8

To my friends at An Orphan’s Wish who work tirelessly to shower His love on China’s orphaned children. May God continue to bless your efforts.

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

CHAPTER NINETEEN

CHAPTER TWENTY

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

EPILOGUE

DEAR READER

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

ONE

“Come on, Old Blue, don’t fail me now!” Shelby Simons turned the key in the ignition of her 1958 Cadillac and prayed that this time, the engine would turn over.

It didn’t, of course.

That would have made her morning just a little too easy.

“Fine. Stay here. I can walk the four blocks to Maureen Lewis’s place,” she grumbled.

She grabbed two large bakery boxes from the backseat and closed Old Blue’s door with a little too much force. She loved the car, but it was as fickle as its original owner, Grandma Beulah, had been.

The scent of chocolate wafted from the boxes as Shelby picked her way across the bakery’s empty parking lot, and her stomach growled. Stupid diet. Eight days of starving herself, and she still could barely fit into the little black dress her sister had sent from Paris.

But Shelby would fit into it before the Spokane Business Association’s black-tie dinner that she’d planned to attend with Andrew Willis.

Andrew, her ex-fiancé, who’d promised her a million dreams and given her nothing but lies.

Now, he’d be attending the function with Stephanie Parsons, and Shelby would be going alone, because there was no way she was going to stay home moping about her newly single status. Sure, she’d been planning a wedding two short months ago, but God had had other plans, and Shelby had to believe they were better than the ones she’d made for herself.

Marriage.

Family.

Forever with someone who loved her.

She sighed, hefting the bakery boxes a little higher and doing her best to ignore the fragrant aroma that drifted from them. Maureen would be pleased with the assortment of pastries Shelby was providing for the early-morning kickoff to Maureen’s birthday bash. She’d invited Shelby to attend the breakfast and the New York shopping spree she and her closest friends were going on afterward, but unlike Maureen, Shelby wasn’t a bestselling true-crime writer with plenty of money to throw around. She had bills to pay and a business to run. Being at the bakery she’d opened five years ago was the only way to do it. Though, she had to admit, flying to New York to shop sounded like a lot more fun.

She walked up South Hill, heading toward 21st Street, the quiet morning making her feel more lonely than usual. Two months, and she was over Andrew. If she were honest, she’d admit that she’d been over him two minutes after she’d caught him kissing Stephanie and broken their engagement. But she still craved the connection she’d had with him, still missed having someone she could call when she was walking up a dark street by herself and felt vulnerable and alone. Not that Andrew would have appreciated an early-morning call, but she’d always thought that once they were married…

She cut the thought off before it could form.

She hadn’t agreed to marry him because she’d thought she could change him. She’d agreed because she’d thought she’d loved him. More importantly, she’d thought he had loved her.

Obviously, she’d been wrong on both counts.

If she’d loved him, her heart would still be broken.

If he’d loved her, he wouldn’t have fallen for Stephanie while he was engaged to Shelby.

Shelby frowned, not sure why she was thinking about Andrew. She had plenty on her plate without worrying about the past. She had three deliveries to make and a car that wouldn’t start. Maybe Maureen would lend her one of the three cars she owned. If Shelby arrived on time. Maureen was a stickler for punctuality, and if Shelby was even a minute late making the 5:20 delivery, Maureen would not be happy.

She picked up her pace. One more block. She could do that in three minutes. Which was exactly how much time she had left. Up ahead, a dark figure bounded around the corner of Maureen’s street, jogging toward Shelby with a swift pace that bordered on a run.