Killer Body
Elle James
www.millsandboon.co.uk
MILLS & BOON
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Tabla of Contents
Cover
Title Page
About the Author
Dedication
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
Copyright
About the Author
Golden Heart Winner for Best Paranormal Romance in 2004, ELLE JAMES started writing when her sister issued a Y2K challenge to write a romance novel. She managed a full-time job, raised three wonderful children and she and her husband even tried their hands at ranching exotic birds (ostriches, emus and rheas) in the Texas HillCountry. Ask her, and shell tell you, what its like to go toe-to-toe with an angry 350-pound bird! After leaving her successful career in Information Technology Management, Elle is now pursuing her writing fulltime. She loves building exciting stories about heroes, heroines, romance and passion. Elle loves to hear from fans. You can contact her at ellejames@earthlink.net or visit her website at www.ellejames.com.
This book is dedicated to my familymy husband,
daughters, son, grandson, mother, father, sister,
brothers and all my extended family.
Because family is everything.
Chapter One
Dawson Gray clutched the phone in a death grip to keep his hand from shaking. Im not right for this job. Isnt there a surveillance gig I could cover? What about Jack, cant he do it? This was just the kind of job his buddy Jack was best at. Dawson didnt want to disappoint his new boss, but he didnt want to be responsible for anyones life other than his own.
Private investigation is what hed signed up for when hed joined the Lone Star Agency. Taking pictures of cheating spouses, he could handle. Protecting someone from an unknown enemy, never again.
He stared at Laredos Doctors Hospital from the parking lot, dreading the visit. The last two times hed been in a hospital had left him with the permanent need to stay clear. When he was in the military he had to stand at the bedside of the young corporal hed been responsible for and watch him slowly bleed to death of wounds from an IED roadside explosion. Then he had to witness his wifes death, or rather he missed saying goodbye to the only woman hed ever loved. Shed died before hed arrived.
The D.A. in Laredo needs someone today. Id send Jack, but hes not available. Youre the only agent not tagged at this time. Audrey Nye sighed over the line and pleaded with him. I need you to do this. A womans life depends on you.
His bosss words made his stomach knot and his palms sweat against the steering wheel. Who was he to provide protection to anyone when hed already lost too many of the people he cared about? How could Audrey give him this assignment when hed only been sober for two months? Two months wasnt enough to make him qualified to blow his nose in public, much less watch over the welfare of a woman whod been left for dead in an alley. He opened his mouth to tell his boss he couldnt take the job, but she beat him to the punch.
Dawson, you can do this. I wouldnt have assigned the case to you if I didnt think you could handle it. Laredo itself isnt bad, but the citys so close to the border a lot of the drug-war fighting happening in Mexico bleeds across the Rio Grande. Youre trained in Special Ops, you know how to use a weapon. I know youre right for this job. Youre there, you might as well check it out. If you still dont think youre up to it, Ill find someone else, even if I have to take the case myself.
When his female boss, with no military training whatsoever, volunteered to take on a potentially violent bodyguard gig, he knew he had a problem. Dawsons jaw tightened and he drew in a deep breath. Ill take care of it.
Thanks, Dawson. I knew you would. Before he could comment, she continued. The D.A., Frank Young, is scheduled to meet you at the nurses station on Savvys floor. Hell fill you in on the details. Tell them youre her fiancé or they wont let you in. Dont let on to anyone youre anything else. The D.A. wants this all to be low-key. Got that?
Yes, maam. As long as it stayed at the pretend level. Dawson wasnt in a position to be anything other than a hired protector. Since his wifes death two years ago, hed been nearly suicidal. Brokenhearted, hed volunteered for the most dangerous of missions in Iraq, taking risks no one in his right mind would dream of. He hadnt been in his right mind. Not since Amandas death. After nearly getting killed three times and a mandatory psych evaluation, his commander shipped him home and Dawson had gotten out of the service.