Janie Crouch: Protector's Instinct

He knows he failed her once before. This time he’s determined to protect her by any means necessary...

Former police detective Zane Wales won’t let history repeat itself. He couldn’t save the woman he loved from a brutal assault, so he left the force—and Caroline Gill’s life. But now a psychopath has her in his vengeful sights. And the only way Zane can keep the strong-willed paramedic safe is to stay close 24/7—even as their reignited desire burns out of control.

Caroline can finally face down her past by helping Zane catch this perp. And she’ll give Zane all the passionate healing he needs to show they have a future together. But a danger they never saw coming will turn their second chance into a lethal, inescapable trap...

Omega Sector: Under Siege

“You’ve got to prove it, Zane.”

“Prove that I want you?” His hands gripped Caroline’s hips and pulled her down harder against him. “I don’t think there can be any doubt of that.”

“Prove that you really think I’m strong. That you’re not afraid I’ll break at the least little thing.”

“I know you won’t.”

“That you can still get lost in me. That we can get lost in each other.”

Zane’s hand reached up and tangled in her hair, bringing Caroline’s lips down hard against his. Caroline moaned. Yes. Yes, this was what she wanted...

Protector’s Instinct

Janie Crouch

www.millsandboon.co.uk

JANIE CROUCH has loved to read romance her whole life. The award-winning author cut her teeth on Mills & Boon Romance novels as a preteen, then moved on to a passion for romantic suspense as an adult. Janie lives with her husband and four children overseas. She enjoys traveling, long-distance running, movie watching, knitting and adventure/obstacle racing. You can find out more about her at www.janiecrouch.com.

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This book is dedicated to Girl Tyler. It’s wondrous to have a friend who can walk with me through this craziness known as—duh, duh, duh—writer’s life. Thanks for all the talks, encouragement, TMI shares and getting messages to me from editors when I’m out of the country. And ALL CAPS. And All the Words. Boldly go, babe.

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text He knows he failed her once before. This time he’s determined to protect her by any means necessary... Former police detective Zane Wales won’t let history repeat itself. He couldn’t save the woman he loved from a brutal assault, so he left the force—and Caroline Gill’s life. But now a psychopath has her in his vengeful sights. And the only way Zane can keep the strong-willed paramedic safe is to stay close 24/7—even as their reignited desire burns out of control. Caroline can finally face down her past by helping Zane catch this perp. And she’ll give Zane all the passionate healing he needs to show they have a future together. But a danger they never saw coming will turn their second chance into a lethal, inescapable trap... Omega Sector: Under Siege

Introduction “You’ve got to prove it, Zane.” “Prove that I want you?” His hands gripped Caroline’s hips and pulled her down harder against him. “I don’t think there can be any doubt of that.” “Prove that you really think I’m strong. That you’re not afraid I’ll break at the least little thing.” “I know you won’t.” “That you can still get lost in me. That we can get lost in each other.” Zane’s hand reached up and tangled in her hair, bringing Caroline’s lips down hard against his. Caroline moaned. Yes. Yes, this was what she wanted...

Title Page Protector’s Instinct Janie Crouch www.millsandboon.co.uk

About the Author JANIE CROUCH has loved to read romance her whole life. The award-winning author cut her teeth on Mills & Boon Romance novels as a preteen, then moved on to a passion for romantic suspense as an adult. Janie lives with her husband and four children overseas. She enjoys traveling, long-distance running, movie watching, knitting and adventure/obstacle racing. You can find out more about her at www.janiecrouch.com .

Dedication This book is dedicated to Girl Tyler. It’s wondrous to have a friend who can walk with me through this craziness known as—duh, duh, duh—writer’s life. Thanks for all the talks, encouragement, TMI shares and getting messages to me from editors when I’m out of the country. And ALL CAPS. And All the Words. Boldly go, babe.

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

Extract

Copyright

Chapter One

You’re a liar. And everyone is going to know.

Caroline Gill glanced at the text on the phone, then promptly shut it down and put it away. She had ignored similar texts for the last four days, hoping they would stop. Someone obviously had the wrong number.

Caroline may be a lot of things, but a liar wasn’t one of them. Life was too short to live surrounded by lies.

She’d learned that the hard way eighteen months ago.

She made a mental note to call the phone company or look into how to block texts on her phone after her shift tonight.

Because she definitely didn’t have time to do it right now. She had a real crisis to deal with. As the ambulance pulled to a stop, Caroline jumped out of the passenger side and surveyed the utter chaos around her.

As she looked around the wreckage, she took a deep breath, trying to ascertain what she needed to do first. The thick morning fog that had blown in from the coast of Corpus Christi made everything more difficult to deal with—especially a deadly crash.

As a paramedic she dealt with accidents and injured people on a daily basis. Thankfully she didn’t experience a situation as bad as this often: at least seven cars in a deadly pileup.

She turned back to her partner, who was just getting out of the ambulance. “Kimmie, radio Dispatch. We need help. Mass casualty. Let them know.”

Kimmie did so immediately as Caroline further studied the situation before her. The fog had been a big factor in what caused this multicar pileup on State Highway 358. But a bigger factor looked to be like some idiot who had been driving the wrong way down the crowded street.

“Help me.”

Caroline heard the weak voice coming from a truck a few yards away, just one of many. Some were sobbing, some begging for help, some basically screaming. Absolute chaos in a situation where no one could see more than two or three feet in front of them.

Caroline blocked out the voices—she had to, despite their volume or the words or sounds they made. She had learned a long time ago as a paramedic that the loudest people weren’t always the ones who needed the most help.