A seasoned cop becomes the target of a killer. And so does the woman hes falling for.
Detective Lieutenant Thomas Watson had been off air force active duty so long, he thought he was safe. Until a gunman crashes his daughters wedding, reawakening the warrior inside him. He hires nurse Jane Boyle to care for his injured father so he can focus on bringing the gunman to justice. While Jane is the ideal caretaker, her dark past has landed her in witness protection. And the more shes embraced by this family of cops, the more danger shes in. For a shadow from Thomass own past might be willing to lend Janes stalker a helping hand
The Precinct: Bachelors in Blue
Youve been shot.
She unbuttoned his cuff and gently pushed the plaid chambray up his arm to inspect the graze across his skin.
Im so sorry you got hurt. I never meant
As she turned the wounds into the light, their heated words topped each others. You could have been run down. You could have been shot. When I give you an order, I expect you to
Screw your order. I wont let anyone else get hurt. He was after me.
do what I say and stay safe. He was after me.
Jane froze as they blurted the exact same words. She tipped her chin up to see the shocked look in his eyes that she imagined mirrored her own.
Im a cop. Bad guys dont like me. Thomas spread his fingers over hers. He dipped his head to put his face in hers and demand she look him in the eye. But why would someone want to hurt you?
Protection Detail
Julie Miller
www.millsandboon.co.uk
JULIE MILLER is an award-winning USA TODAY bestselling author of breathtaking romantic suspense with a National Readers Choice Award and a Daphne du Maurier Award, among other prizes. She has also earned an RT Book Reviews Career Achievement Award. For a complete list of her books, monthly newsletter and more, go to www.juliemiller.org.
For the Dixons and their Ruby, who taught our Maggie
that not all big dogs are scary.
Thanks for always saying hi to your shy neighbor.
Ive loved all our conversations about the dogs.
Contents
Cover
Back Cover Text
Introduction
Title Page
About the Author
Dedication
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
Epilogue
Extract
Copyright
Prologue
Thomas Watsons face hurt from the effort it took not to cry when he saw his daughter in her wedding gown.
Its okay, Dad. Olivia Mary Watson had packed up all her tomboy clothes, her gun and her badge and put on a beaded ivory gown that made her look every inch the grown woman he reluctantly admitted she had become. She reached up to cup his cheek and smiled, reminding Thomas of the wife hed lost to a drugged-up thiefs bullet when Olivia was a toddler. I will always be your little girl.
Shed stopped being his little girl the day shed become a Kansas City cop, like him, his father and her three older brothers. But a daddy was entitled to indulge his sentimental side on a day like this. They stood in the doorway of the changing room at the church while the pre-ceremony music played, but Thomas was remembering skinned knees, annoying big brothers and broken hearts that had required his advice, his patience and a hug.
Youre beautiful. You look so like your mother. He fingered the veil of Irish lace his bride had worn thirty-five years earlier when hed been a raw lieutenant stationed in the UK on his first overseas assignment. Mary Kilcannon had been a civilian working on the base. A late-night rescue from a drunk fellow officer in a bar had led to them talking until dawn, a first kiss and true love. A month later he and Mary were married, and what should have been a lifetime together began. Thomas didnt mourn his wife anymore, but he missed her. There were a lot of life moments he wished he could have shared with Mary. Like the wedding of their youngest child and only daughter. He kissed Olivias cheek. She would have loved to have been here today. I know shes watching over us.
Its been twenty years. Youve done your duty by us. We never wanted for anything with you and Grandpa and Millie to take care of us. But Mom would want you to find someone and be happy again.
I date, he insisted.
Escorting a female work friend to the annual police officers ball does not constitute dating. She straightened his red silk tie, an homage to the February 14 date that all the men in the bridal party except for the groom himself were wearing. Youre a handsome man. Youre fit. Youre smart, a rock of dependability and caring. Maybe you could ease up on the whole alpha male of the pack thing youve got going on. But thats SOP for any senior detective I know, and besides, you probably needed that to raise the four of us. You have a nice house and a good job consulting with KCPD. The right woman is out there waiting to snatch you up if youd let her.