Julie Miller - Tactical Advantage

HIS ONLY JOB WAS TO PROTECT HER—NOT GET HER INTO BED

When his coinvestigator was attacked just moments after Detective Nick Fensom left the scene, he swore he’d never let her get hurt again. Thanks to their tense relationship, criminologist Annie Hermann wasn’t happy to have Nick as her newly appointed protector. And although Nick couldn’t blame her, being together 24/7 caused him to see Annie in a whole new light. Before long, he couldn’t stop picturing the beautiful brunette wrapped up in his arms—and in his sheets. But allowing unfamiliar feelings to get in the way of the job was completely unprofessional…especially once Annie discovered the evidence that could cost her her life.

“Twelve hours ago, a man nearly killed you. He knows where you live. Are you going to trust that he has no reason to come back to finish what he started?”

“If you stay here, we can’t… You have to promise—”

“You’ll know when I make a promise to you, Annie.”

Before she could guess his intent, his hand snaked out to cup the back of her neck. He stroked his thumb against the thumping beat of her pulse.

“I am keeping you safe whether you like it or not. You’re right. We are on this task force job together—so you do your brainy thing and I’ll do what I do so that you can get us whatever clues you can. I’m tired of this Rose Red bastard and his sick fan club having the upper hand on us. You will not be hurt again. Not while there’s breath in my body. Understood?”

Tactical Advantage

USA TODAY Bestselling Author

Julie Miller

www.millsandboon.co.uk

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

USA TODAY bestselling author Julie Miller attributes her passion for writing romance to all those books she read growing up. When shyness and asthma kept her from becoming the action-adventure heroine she longed to be, Julie created stories in her head to keep herself entertained. Encouragement from her family to write down the feelings and ideas she couldn’t express became a love for the written word. She gets continued support from her fellow members of the Prairieland Romance Writers, where this teacher serves as the resident “grammar goddess.” Inspired by the likes of Agatha Christie and Encyclopedia Brown, Julie believes the only thing better than a good mystery is a good romance.

Born and raised in Missouri, this award-winning author now lives in Nebraska with her husband, son and an assortment of spoiled pets. To contact Julie or to learn more about her books, write to P.O. Box 5162, Grand Island, NE 68802-5162 or check out her website and monthly newsletter at www.juliemiller.org.

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CAST OF CHARACTERS

Nick Fensom—A KCPD detective with a protective streak that fills every inch of his broad shoulders. He’s as baffled by the eccentricities of the brainy Annie Hermann as he is by his attraction to her soulful eyes and curly hair. But what’s a man to do when a killer targets the woman he has to work with? He becomes her round-the-clock protector—whether she likes it or not.

Annie Hermann—The quirky criminologist understands science and lab samples better than she understands most people, and has grown used to a lonely existence. When she’s attacked while processing the Rose Red Rapist’s latest crime scene, it’s Nick Fensom who charges to her rescue. But with the two of them sharing a history of getting along like oil and water, can she trust her life—or her heart—to Nick?

Roy Carvello—Annie’s neighbor takes his job very seriously.

George Madigan—Nick’s uncle is the deputy commissioner of KCPD.

Nell Fensom—Nick’s youngest sister.

Jordan Garza—Nell’s bad-news boyfriend.

Adam Matuszak—Annie’s ex-fiancé didn’t think she’d fit in with the life he wanted.

Gobel and Ramirez—What happened to the two cops on duty that night?

Raj Kapoor—A fellow criminologist from the crime lab.

The Rose Red Rapist—His attacks on the women of Kansas City are growing more frequent—and more violent.

The Cleaner—The Rose Red Rapist’s accomplice. Psycho fan? Or key to breaking the task force’s investigation wide-open?

With thanks to my editor, Allison Lyons.

Some books are harder to write than others.

Your patience, insight and support make a difference.

And the Italian food was yummy!

Contents

Prologue

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Extract

Prologue

The screech of brakes clawing at the frosty pavement set the driver’s teeth on edge as the van up ahead careened around the corner and jerked to a stop near the alleyway by the Fairy Tale Bridal Shop. “Of all the stupid...”

Rolling to a quieter, gentler stop half a block away, the curious driver following the van turned off the headlights and shifted the car into Park. Hugging long arms around the steering wheel, the driver leaned forward to watch the van’s door open and see the reckless daredevil climb out. Ethereal snowflakes drifted from the low-hanging sky, turning the illumination from the streetlamps translucent, and making it difficult to pinpoint an exact height for the man, or even determine the color of clothing he wore beyond something dark. But one could make out broad shoulders as he hunched them against the wintry air and looked up and down the street.

The one who watched sank back into the shadows of the car as the man’s gaze swept past. His face was obscured by a stocking mask and the puffy clouds of his warm breath in the cold night air. Apparently satisfied that the snow, the holiday and the late hour had chased most of Kansas City’s residents inside for the night, he moved to the back of the van and pulled open the double doors.

A rush of adrenaline quickened the hidden watcher’s pulse as the mystery man reached inside to pull out a long, cigar-shaped package draped in a blanket or tarp. Catching a breath and holding it, the one who watched without making a peep could see he was clearly up to no good.

He dragged the bulky cargo out of the van and bent his knees to toss it over his shoulder like a duffel bag. After another visual sweep along the sidewalk and street, he carried the rolled-up delivery into the alleyway where he dumped it into a pile of trash bags.

The watcher leaned forward again when he pulled away the covering with all the finesse of a magician revealing his latest illusion. Something tumbled out of the cover and rolled behind the bags, out of sight. Was that...a body?

The watcher gasped.

The pulse was racing now, thundering inside the watcher’s ears. Gloved fingers clenched again and again, tighter and tighter, around the steering wheel.

The man wadded up the cover in his arms before unzipping the front of his coat. The spare light from the street barely reached into the alley, so one couldn’t be quite sure of the subtle movements, but it seemed he was pulling something out of his coat.

Whatever it might be was small and slender, scarcely discernible in the dim light. He placed the object behind the trash bags, on top of the body. Then he straightened, pulling another object from his coat. He bent forward, backing out of the alley. He held a small windshield brush in his hand and was dusting off the sidewalk, wiping away his footprints and any sign that he had been there at all.