Elle James - Hot Zone

A knight in shining spurs…

Army ranger Trace “Hawkeye” Walsh is in Montana to consider his future, until his involvement in a car chase leaves Olivia Dawson without a foreman for her ranch. Hawkeye can’t walk away from the woman in need. But tackling the role of ranch hand, horses and all, puts this soldier in a hot zone he never imagined.

Olivia needs more than just help with the cattle. The whole reason she’s saddled with Stone Creek Ranch is because someone murdered her father…and now wants the ranch for themselves. Though he’s considering walking away from his career, there’s no way Hawkeye can leave Olivia behind. He must complete this mission for the good of the country—and his heart.

Ballistic Cowboys

Liv bristled. “I don’t need someone to protect me.”

“No one can watch their own back,” Hawkeye said. “As a member of the armed forces, I know what it means to trust the guys behind me.”

“Who did you have in mind?”

He smiled. “Me.”

A thrill of something she hadn’t felt in a long time—if she didn’t count the kiss—rippled through Liv. Taking on Hawkeye could prove to be a big mistake in more ways than one. “What choice do I have?”

“None,” Hawkeye said, his tone firm and final.

For however long it took to find her father’s murderer and stop this insanity going on in her community, she was stuck with Hawkeye. And despite her initial resistance, she had to admit to herself she might just need him.

Hot Zone

Elle James

www.millsandboon.co.uk

ELLE JAMES, a New York Times bestselling author, started writing when her sister challenged her to write a romance novel. She has managed a full-time job and raised three wonderful children, and she and her husband even tried ranching exotic birds (ostriches, emus and rheas). Ask her, and she’ll tell you what it’s like to go toe-to-toe with an angry three-hundred-and-fifty-pound bird! Elle loves to hear from fans at ellejames@earthlink.net or www.ellejames.com.

This book is dedicated to my daughters, who chose to give back to their country by joining the military.

Thank you for following in your mother’s footsteps!

Love you both so much!

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text A knight in shining spurs… Army ranger Trace “Hawkeye” Walsh is in Montana to consider his future, until his involvement in a car chase leaves Olivia Dawson without a foreman for her ranch. Hawkeye can’t walk away from the woman in need. But tackling the role of ranch hand, horses and all, puts this soldier in a hot zone he never imagined. Olivia needs more than just help with the cattle. The whole reason she’s saddled with Stone Creek Ranch is because someone murdered her father…and now wants the ranch for themselves. Though he’s considering walking away from his career, there’s no way Hawkeye can leave Olivia behind. He must complete this mission for the good of the country—and his heart. Ballistic Cowboys

Introduction Liv bristled. “I don’t need someone to protect me.” “No one can watch their own back,” Hawkeye said. “As a member of the armed forces, I know what it means to trust the guys behind me.” “Who did you have in mind?” He smiled. “Me.” A thrill of something she hadn’t felt in a long time—if she didn’t count the kiss—rippled through Liv. Taking on Hawkeye could prove to be a big mistake in more ways than one. “What choice do I have?” “None,” Hawkeye said, his tone firm and final. For however long it took to find her father’s murderer and stop this insanity going on in her community, she was stuck with Hawkeye. And despite her initial resistance, she had to admit to herself she might just need him.

Title Page Hot Zone Elle James www.millsandboon.co.uk

About the Author ELLE JAMES, a New York Times bestselling author, started writing when her sister challenged her to write a romance novel. She has managed a full-time job and raised three wonderful children, and she and her husband even tried ranching exotic birds (ostriches, emus and rheas). Ask her, and she’ll tell you what it’s like to go toe-to-toe with an angry three-hundred-and-fifty-pound bird! Elle loves to hear from fans at ellejames@earthlink.net or www.ellejames.com .

Dedication This book is dedicated to my daughters, who chose to give back to their country by joining the military. Thank you for following in your mother’s footsteps! Love you both so much!

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

Extract

Extract

Copyright

Chapter One

Trace “Hawkeye” Walsh checked the coordinates he’d been given by Transcontinental Pipeline Inspection, Inc., and glanced down at the display on the four-wheeler’s built-in GPS guidance device. He’d arrived at checkpoint number four. He switched off the engine, climbed off the ATV and unfolded the contour map across the seat.

As with the first three checkpoints, he wasn’t exactly sure what he was looking for at the location. He wasn’t a pipeline inspector, and he didn’t have the tools and devices used by one, but he scanned the area anyway.

Tracing his finger along the line drawn in pencil across the page, he paused. He should be getting close to the point at which RJ Khalig had been murdered. Based on the tight contour lines on the map, he would find the spot over the top of the next ridgeline and down in the valley.

Hawkeye glanced upward. Treacherous terrain had slowed him down. In order to reach some of the points on the map, he’d had to follow old mining trails and bypass canyons. He shrugged. It wasn’t a war zone, he wasn’t fighting the Taliban or ISIS, and it beat the hell out of being in an office job any day of the week.

That morning, his temporary boss, Kevin Garner, had given him the assignment of following the pipeline through some of the most rugged terrain he’d ever been in, even considering the foothills of Afghanistan. He was game. If he had to be working with the Department of Homeland Security in the Beartooth Mountains of Wyoming, he was happy to be out in the backwoods, rather than chasing wild geese, empty leads and the unhappy residents of the tiny town of Grizzly Pass.

In the two weeks he’d been in the small town of Grizzly Pass, they’d had two murders, a busload of kids taken hostage and two people hunted down like wild game. When he’d agreed to the assignment, he’d been looking forward to some fresh mountain air and a slowdown to his normal combat-heavy assignments. He needed the time to determine whether or not he would stay the full twenty years to retirement in the US Army Rangers or get out and dare to try something different.

Two gunshot and multiple shrapnel wounds, one broken arm, a couple of concussions and six near-fatal misses started to wear on a body and soul. In the last battle he’d been a part of, his best friend hadn’t been as lucky. The gunshot wound had been nothing compared to the violent explosion Mac had been smack-dab in the middle of. Yeah, Hawkeye had lost his best friend and battle buddy, a man who’d had his back since they’d been rangers in training.

Without Mac, he wasn’t sure he wanted to continue to deploy to the most godforsaken, war-torn countries in the world. He wasn’t sure he’d survive. And maybe that wasn’t a bad thing. At least he’d die like Mac, defending his country.