Angi Morgan - The Marine's Last Defence

“I beg your pardon?” Her shock erupted as a nervous laugh.

The same cute sound, from early that morning, that had been so damn attractive. Stow it, Marine. One more time, he debated sharing why it was important to wait on the supplies he needed. He’d be prepared this time.

“I’ll wash your clothes while you shower. How did you think we were going to clean up?”

“I … That can’t possibly be a good idea—what if they come here and I’m—”

“Soapy?” He laughed, unable to stop himself. The look on her face was priceless. “We weren’t followed. Promise. If you’re worried about getting on the road, you should probably get moving.”

She stood and Dallas jumped off the couch to follow. Bree picked her up and Jake held out his hands to take her.

“The paramedics warned me about an infection.” He pointed to his bullet graze. “Do it for me. After all, I did save your life.”

The Marine’s

Last Defence

Angi Morgan

www.millsandboon.co.uk

ANGI MORGANwrites Mills & Boon ®Intrigue novels “where honor and danger collide with love.” She combines actual Texas settings with characters who are in realistic and dangerous situations. Angi has been a finalist for the Bookseller’s Best Award, RT Book Reviews Best First Series, Gayle Wilson Award of Excellence and the Daphne du Maurier Award.

Angi and her husband live in North Texas, with only the four-legged “kids” left in the house to interrupt her writing. They recently began volunteering for a local Labrador foster program. Visit her website, www.angimorgan.com, or hang out with her on Facebook.

Dallas and Valentine—two sweet puppies who gave love every minute they were here. THANKS, Steve,

for your quick responses to my many questions

and your many years of service as a police officer.

AND THANKS, Jen—we both know this book wouldn’t have happened without you.

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

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty-One

Chapter Twenty-Two

Chapter Twenty-Three

Chapter Twenty-Four

Chapter Twenty-Five

Excerpt

Prologue

Six Months Ago

“Keep the girl alive. I’m telling you it would be less complicated,” Griffin Tyler said. “More money for us, too.”

“You don’t tell us nothin’, Tyler.”

Sabrina Watkins flattened herself to the hall paneling. They wanted to kill her? She’d been three years behind Griffin in high school, been in youth group with this man who had become her business partner. And recently she’d thought of him as a very close friend. Their mothers even still went to the same church every Sunday morning.

“She has too many friends,” the unknown voice continued. “Too many that will believe her when she claims she’s innocent. If we leave her alive to chat ’em up, everybody gets sympathetic. It’s better to kill her. Make it look like a suicide and then evidence comes out proving how guilty she is. We lose a little money framing her, but overall the operation survives. You set up shop somewhere else. Insurance, no one’s the wiser.”

She didn’t know the second voice. Average tone, not deep or high. She didn’t think he’d ever boarded a pet with her. She’d only seen the back of the man’s head as she’d rounded the corner from the offices into the clinic. She had no description for the police and didn’t even know his hair color since he was wearing a ball cap.

“Whatever,” Griffin said, not trying hard to sway his partner. “Suicide works. She’s surrounded herself with the business for the past two years. Everything she has is tied up in it. When it goes up in flames, our hometown will think she was too depressed to start over.” He put his hands on his hips, a gesture she’d seen a thousand times when he was ready to move on from a subject. “When will you do it?”

Oh, my Lord, they really are going to kill me, she thought, panicking. Why? What did I do?

“Listen, Tyler, you’re the one who screwed up. Too many fingers in the pie. You should never have involved the local cop who’s getting greedy. The higher-ups want them both gone, along with all traces of the connection to us. You’re damn lucky they don’t want you gone.”

Who have you gotten involved with, Griffin?

Sabrina’s heart pounded faster than Tweetiepie, the miniature Chihuahua she’d groomed at the truck stop that afternoon. Her hands shook even while she was plastered against the wall. She wanted to close her eyes and have someone explain why this was happening. Could someone wake her up from this nightmare so she could go back to her simple life of boarding pets?

Her thoughts drifted through her last conversation with Griffin. As far as she knew there had been no indicators that he was upset with her. But, then again, how did your best friend speak to you three hours before casually mentioning no one would miss you if you were dead?

Wait. Flames? Had he said flames?

Was Griffin speaking in metaphors or were they really going to burn the clinic down? “Gone...all traces.” She had to get to the police. No. The stranger had mentioned involving a cop. Which one? They didn’t mention anyone by name. Who could she trust? But they couldn’t all be bad. Right?

What could she tell them if she did trust them? She’d overheard her business partner plotting to kill a “she,” but unfortunately there were a lot of “shes” in Amarillo, Texas.

She’d look like an idiot. Griffin continued his discussion with the stranger. She couldn’t distinguish their words as they walked to the rear exit. She dropped to the floor and crept around the corner into the operating room.

Griffin was right about one thing—she had no other life outside the clinic or pet sitting. He was also right that every dime she had was tied up in her half of the business.

But right now, she needed help.

No one worked in the clinic on Sundays. She made a special trip with the house-call van once a month, working with truck drivers. It was five o’clock and she’d spent the afternoon grooming dogs at the I-40 truck stop and let Amber borrow her car for a baby shower. If she hadn’t finished an hour early, decided to restock the van while waiting on her assistant’s return, she wouldn’t have a clue about their plot to kill her and burn the clinic.

She’d been so dumb. Well, not anymore. It was time to get closer, find out what they were doing.

On her hands and knees, she scooted across the painted concrete floor. Staying close to the counters and then behind the stainless steel exam table, she was careful not to knock any of the rolling trays full of instruments. She’d never felt comfortable in this room. It wasn’t organized and certainly didn’t function effectively according to what she’d seen over the past two years.

There were many times she’d wondered how Griffin made any money. Now she knew. He made it illegally. She dared to look around the side of the table. There wasn’t enough light in her section of the room for her to be seen, but she was still very careful.

“So we’re agreed. Tonight,” the stranger said. “Get your cop friend to patrol nearby. I’ll nab the girl before the fire’s set and make it look real enough.”

“You think it’s necessary to burn the place with the animals inside?”