Valerie Hansen - Bound By Duty

Assignment: Single Mom Surveillance

The Military K-9 Unit series continues

Her serial killer brother’s escaped—and it’s single mom Zoe Sullivan who’s under suspicion! Sgt. Linc Colson trusts two things: his instincts and his Rottweiler K-9 partner, Star—and certainly not the pretty face he’s assigned to monitor. He’s done everything to keep her from getting under his skin—now he must stop those who want to put her six feet under.

VALERIE HANSEN was thirty when she awoke to the presence of the Lord in her life and turned to Jesus. She now lives in a renovated farmhouse in the breathtakingly beautiful Ozark Mountains of Arkansas and is privileged to share her personal faith by telling the stories of her heart for Love Inspired. Life doesn’t get much better than that!

Also By Valerie Hansen

Love Inspired Suspense

Military K-9 Unit

Bound by Duty

Classified K-9 Unit

Special Agent

Rookie K-9 Unit

Search and Rescue

Rookie K-9 Unit Christmas

“Surviving Christmas”

The Defenders

Nightwatch

Threat of Darkness

Standing Guard

A Trace of Memory

Small Town Justice

Dangerous Legacy

Discover more at millsandboon.co.uk

Bound by Duty

Valerie Hansen

www.millsandboon.co.uk

ISBN: 978-1-474-08447-5

BOUND BY DUTY

© 2018 Harlequin Books S.A

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.

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www.millsandboon.co.uk

Version: 2020-03-02

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Zoe gazed down at the dog. “She’s beautiful.”

“And intelligent and trained to be lethal, if necessary,” Linc cautioned.

“I don’t doubt that for a second.” Meeting Star’s upturned face with a tender look of her own, Zoe dangled the tips of her fingers over the edge of the box. The dog noticed but didn’t seem upset, so she took a chance and wiggled them.

Star had apparently realized she wasn’t a danger because she sniffed Zoe’s fingers, then gave them a quick lick.

“Are you trying to recruit her to the dark side?”

“Not at all. Actually, I’m very impressed with Star. She’s a lot smarter than you security forces people are. She’s already decided I’m one of the good guys around here.”

“Then it’s a good thing she’s not the one in charge.”

* * *

MILITARY K-9 UNIT:

These soldiers track down a serial killer with the help of their brave canine partners

Mission to Protect—Terri Reed, April 2018

Bound by Duty—Valerie Hansen, May 2018

Top Secret Target—Dana Mentink, June 2018

Standing Fast—Maggie K. Black, July 2018

Rescue Operation—Lenora Worth, August 2018

Explosive Force—Lynette Eason, September 2018

Battle Tested—Laura Scott, October 2018

Valiant Defender—Shirlee McCoy, November 2018

Military K-9 Unit Christmas—Valerie Hansen and Laura Scott, December 2018

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear.

—Psalms 46:1–2

Dear Reader,

This is a story of redemption and forgiveness. Even when our past is troubled, there is always hope, always a way to go on. Personally, I don’t know how anyone copes daily without a saving faith in Jesus Christ. He has brought me through many trials when I saw only dark clouds and imagined no rainbows, no possibilities of future happiness.

The struggles of Zoe and Linc were intensified because they both dwelled on an unhappy past rather than accepting the new chance for love that was awaiting them. We can’t go back and fix mistakes—and would probably make things worse if we tried. Each challenge is a way to learn and grow, each new day a precious gift. We only need to accept God’s love and forgiveness, trust Him and willingly place the rest of our lives in His care.

I can be reached by email at Val@ValerieHansen.com, or via my website, www.valeriehansen.com.

Blessings,

Valerie

Special thanks to former air force sergeant Nancy N. for her advice and to our pastor, John, who also served, as did his son.

Terri Reed, Dana Mentink, Maggie K. Black, Lenora Worth, Lynette Eason, Laura Scott, Shirlee McCoy and I all did our best to support each other’s efforts and learn proper air force protocol for this series. It was difficult, but we gave it our all.

God bless the men and women of our current military who daily give far more and those who have sacrificed in the past to keep us free. We are grateful beyond words.

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

About the Author

Booklist

Title Page

Copyright

Introduction

Bible Verse

Dear Reader

Dedication

ONE

TWO

THREE

FOUR

FIVE

SIX

SEVEN

EIGHT

NINE

TEN

ELEVEN

TWELVE

THIRTEEN

FOURTEEN

FIFTEEN

SIXTEEN

SEVENTEEN

EIGHTEEN

NINETEEN

TWENTY

TWENTY-ONE

EPILOGUE

Extract

About the Publisher

ONE

She was being watched. Constantly. Every fiber of her being knew it. Lately, she felt as though she was the defenseless prey and packs of predators were circling her and her helpless little boy, which was why she’d left Freddy at home with a sitter. Were things as bad as they seemed? It was more than possible, and Staff Sergeant Zoe Sullivan shivered despite the warm spring day.