Terri Reed - Guardian

PROTECTING THE SINGLE MOM

When a fellow FBI agent is kidnapped and a protected witness vanishes, Leo Gallagher will stop at nothing to find them both. So when he discovers a link between the case and a single mother in Wyoming, Leo and his trusty K-9 partner rush to question Alicia Duncan. Could she be the key to locating the missing persons? Not if a killer has anything to say about it. Someone is determined to keep Alicia from talking, so Leo and his chocolate Lab must keep her and her little boy safe on their family ranch. With danger lurking around every corner, Leo must work overtime to not lose another person who’s important to him.

“Agent Gallagher.”

Alicia’s soft voice stopped him on the upstairs landing of her ranch house. “Please, call me Leo,” he said. “We’re going to be in close quarters for a while.”

She nodded but her eyebrows pinched together. “Leo. I appreciate what you’re doing for us.”

He nodded. “Keeping you and your family safe is my job, Alicia.”

“And finding the man who wants your witness dead,” she pointed out.

“Yes, that, too.”

“I’ll pray that you find him.” Her words wrapped around him. The common bond of faith pleased him. He could use all the help he could get.

CLASSIFIED K-9 UNIT:

These lawmen solve the toughest cases with the help of their brave canine partners

Guardian—Terri Reed, April 2017

Sheriff—Laura Scott, May 2017

Special Agent—Valerie Hansen, June 2017

Bounty Hunter—Lynette Eason, July 2017

Bodyguard—Shirlee McCoy, August 2017

Tracker—Lenora Worth, September 2017

Classified K-9 Unit Christmas—Terri Reed and Lenora Worth, December 2017

Dear Reader,

Writing about K-9 officers and their handlers is always a pleasure. True was a heroic dog and learning about water search-and-rescue was fascinating. I’m always amazed and impressed by the abilities of canines.

FBI agent Leo Gallagher, True’s human partner, overcame a traumatic past to become a hero. So often we humans let our past define us just as Leo had done, but with the help and love of the right woman for him, he was able to look to the future with hope.

For widow Alicia Duncan, trust didn’t come easy after the hurt and betrayal of her late husband. For her son’s sake, she chose not to let bitterness take root, which allowed her to be open to finding love again with a man of integrity and honor.

I hope you’ve enjoyed the first book in the new Love Inspired Suspense continuity series. If you’d like to see Zara and Dylan’s story, look online for Agent-in-Training. And keep an eye out for the next five installments in the series to see how the men and woman of the FBI Tactical K-9 Unit rescue Jake and take down the Duprees.

Until we meet again, may God bless you and keep you in His care,

TERRI REED’s romance and romantic suspense novels have appeared on the Publishers Weekly top twenty-five and Nielsen BookScan’s top one hundred lists, and have been featured in USA TODAY, Christian Fiction Magazine and RT Book Reviews. Her books have been finalists for the Romance Writers of America RITA® Award and the National Readers’ Choice Award and finalists three times for the American Christian Fiction Writers Carol Award. Contact Terri at terrireed.comor PO Box 19555, Portland, OR 97224.

Guardian

Terri Reed

www.millsandboon.co.uk

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Deliver me, O Lord, from my enemies;

In You I take shelter.

—Psalms 143:9

Thank you to the editors at Love Inspired for the opportunity to work on this continuity. And a huge shout-out of gratitude for the brainstorming, encouragement and friendship to the other authors in this series: Laura Scott, Valerie Hansen, Lynette Eason, Shirlee McCoy and Lenora Worth.

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

Introduction

Dear Reader

About the Author

Title Page

Bible Verse

Dedication

PROLOGUE

ONE

TWO

THREE

FOUR

FIVE

SIX

SEVEN

EIGHT

NINE

TEN

ELEVEN

TWELVE

THIRTEEN

FOURTEEN

FIFTEEN

EPILOGUE

Extract

Copyright

PROLOGUE

The daylight broke over the horizon of the Los Angeles industrial district and muted morning light slashed through the high windows of the large two-floor warehouse. FBI agent Leo Gallagher pressed his back to the wall inside the cavernous structure’s south entrance. The air was cool, but heavy with a mix of anticipation and vigilance.

His heart rate increased, not much, but enough that he took a calming breath. He tightened his hold on the leash of his canine partner, a chocolate Labrador named True.

The open floor plan of the bottom level was filled with containers and pallets that provided too many hiding places. That could be a problem. Shadows lurked above and in the recesses of the corners. No one said this job was easy. Far from it, and sweat beaded on his forehead behind his helmet.

Almost time? Leo glanced at fellow FBI agent Jake Morrow and his canine, a Belgian Malinois named Buddy.

Behind his tactical face guard, Jake nodded and signaled for Leo and True to proceed into the murky depths of the purported hideout of the notorious Dupree syndicate, the criminal organization that the elite FBI Tactical K-9 Unit had been working around the clock to bring down for months.

But every time the team got close, the crime boss, Reginald Dupree, and his uncle and second in command, Angus, managed to escape.

Not going to happen again. The first time could have been coincidence, but after the second and third instances, he knew something else was going on. That was why Leo’s boss had been tight-lipped about this raid. No one outside the tight circle of the team knew of today’s operation in case there was a leak somewhere in the Bureau.

The Tactical K-9 Unit was a special, classified branch of the FBI that had settled in a nondescript building in downtown Billings, Montana. The secret nature of the team’s cases needed anonymity to function. They worked across the country, under the radar, to solve tough crimes and deliver swift justice.

The thought of someone they knew and trusted double-crossing them burned, and Leo hoped that wasn’t the case, but lives were at stake, either way. He took a silent step. True stayed at his side.

Eerie silence scraped along Leo’s nerves. The anonymous tip they’d received, sending the team to this location, had guaranteed them that Reginald and Angus would be here. Plums ripe for the taking.

Across the expanse of open space, Leo saw fellow team member Harper Prentiss, along with Star, her German shepherd, and their boss, special agent in charge Max West and his canine, a boxer by the name of Opal, slip through another door and climb a staircase to the second floor.