Janie Crouch - Armed Response

IS THE WOMAN HE ONCE LOVED...

THE TRAITOR THEY’RE SEARCHING FOR?

Former Special Forces soldier Jace Eakin must find the mole inside Omega who’s leaking intel to a terrorist mastermind. Despite their complicated history and the fact that she is keeping a secret, he can’t believe it’s SWAT team leader Lillian Muir. As they give in to long-denied passion, Jace vows to protect Lillian with his life. But he’s been wrong about her before...

Omega Sector: Under Siege

JANIE CROUCHhas loved to read romance her whole life. This USA TODAY bestselling 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 janiecrouch.com.

Also by Janie Crouch

Daddy Defender

Protector’s Instinct

Cease Fire

Major Crimes

Special Forces Savior

Fully Committed

Armored Attraction

Man of Action

Overwhelming Force

Battle Tested

Discover more at millsandboon.co.uk

Armed Response

Janie Crouch

www.millsandboon.co.uk

ISBN: 978-1-474-07917-4

ARMED RESPONSE

© 2018 Janie Crouch

Published in Great Britain 2018

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

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.

This book is dedicated to my sister-in-law, Kimberly. Thank you for always being such a source of joy and encouragement, not just to me, but to everyone around you. And for making Mark read my books. I love you.

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

About the Author

Booklist

Title Page

Copyright

Dedication

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

About the Publisher

Chapter One

The way some women felt about that perfect little black-dress-and-heels ensemble—ready for anything, able to handle themselves, bring it on —Lillian Muir felt about her SWAT cargo pants, combat boots and tactical vest.

The heavy clothing and gear she wore might have felt burdensome at one time on her five-two, one-hundred-pound frame, but she had long since adjusted. Now she almost felt more comfortable with the extra thirty pounds weighing on her than she did with it off. The weight was a comfort. A friend.

Her HK MP5 9mm submachine gun rested against her shoulder, just grazing her chin. Her fingers curled gently around it as she moved through the silent winter air of this Colorado night. A shotgun strapped around her back and a Glock pistol low on one hip provided further assurance she could handle what was ahead.

More than a pair of high heels ever would.

And what was ahead was pissing her the hell off. A man—a father —holding his ex-wife and their two children hostage at gunpoint.

“Bulldog One, status.”

Lillian tapped the button that allowed her to speak into the communication system attached to her ear under her helmet. “Approaching back door, TC.”

“Roger that. Hold for entry.” One of the team’s newest—and temporary—members, Philip Carnell, was acting as Tactical Command. Carnell wasn’t the team’s usual TC and his presence added to Lillian’s unease about the mission. Not that Carnell wasn’t brilliant when it came to planning and calling the shots. He was. Had an IQ of about a million and was able to process tactical information and advantages faster than anyone Lillian had ever seen. His mind was like a damn computer.

But he wasn’t part of the usual team. And moreover, he was pretty bitter about that.

They were shorthanded from recent attacks by criminal mastermind Damien Freihof over the past few months. Team members had been hurt and even killed as they battled one assault after another. Explosions. Bullets through windows. Sliced throats. Even assailants at weddings. Freihof had made it his mission in life to wage war on Omega Sector.

Lillian herself had been injured in a mission just two weeks ago, shrapnel from an explosion catching her in the shoulder. She ignored the slight discomfort now. She had bigger things to worry about.

“Bulldog Two, report status,” Carnell said.

“I have a visual on the suspect. Single tango. He’s pacing. Three hostages. Mom and two kids. All in the kitchen.” Bulldog Two’s voice was a little too high, too excited. Another person that damn sure wasn’t part of the normal elite Omega Sector SWAT team. Damn Damien Freihof and his mole inside Omega.

Lillian ignored that discomfort for now, too.

“I have a shot. Repeat, I have a shot,” Bulldog Two said.

Lillian held her tongue. New Kid wasn’t her problem.

“Negative, Bulldog Two. Hold your position,” Carnell told him.