GUARDING THE FIRST DAUGHTER

Stopping to pick up a file late at night, former president’s daughter Kayla Harris discovers her law office has been ransacked—and the culprit is still there. But undercover Secret Service agent Conner Thorne comes to her rescue, and he knows exactly who is after her...just not why. Conner and Kayla go way back to their time in the White House when she was the rebellious first daughter and he was the rookie who saved her neck. Now Conner will put his life on the line again to keep Kayla away from the mobster he’s investigating. And it’s about much more than his job, because this time the woman he’s sworn to protect is also the woman who’s claimed his heart.

Dear Reader,

I’m so glad you’ve embarked with me on this new series! I’m looking forward to seeing more into the lives of the men and women who are Secret Service agents.

Conner and Kayla had a history, one that was at times a joy and at times a pain to delve into. None of us want to hide our true feelings because circumstances don’t allow us to express them, but that is what they had to do. It was wonderful to craft a story where God got the credit for bringing them back together.

I praise and thank Him for the ways He has done that in my life, and my prayer is that He will show you ways He’s shown His mighty hand in your life.

If you want to tell me about it, feel free to email lisaphillipsbks@gmail.com. I would love to hear the story. You can also contact me through my website at www.authorlisaphillips.com and sign up for my newsletter while you’re there!

May God richly bless you.

Lisa Phillips

“How close are you to finishing this undercover assignment?” Kayla asked.

“We’re weeks away from making an arrest. I’m only missing the last piece of the puzzle, and I can put this whole thing to bed.”

Kayla blew out a breath. “Conner, this is huge.”

“And I don’t want you getting caught in the middle of it. I don’t know what Andis wants with you. All I know is that it won’t be good. I’ll protect you if I can, but if you even suspect you’re in danger you call the sheriff. Understand?”

Kayla nodded. “Of course. I just...wish there was a way to help.”

Conner took two steps toward her. “I don’t want you anywhere near Andis.”

Being here with her, knowing that Kayla knew the truth of the man he’d been pretending to be for months, Conner felt right for the first time since...he didn’t know. Maybe since that night ten years ago when Kayla had been in trouble and he’d saved her from what that man had planned.

He wouldn’t leave her side until he knew she was safe.

LISA PHILLIPS is a British-born, tea-drinking, guitar-playing wife and mom of two. She and her husbandlead worship together at their local church. Lisa penshigh-stakes stories of mayhem and disaster where youcan find made-for-each-other love that always ends in a happily-ever-after. She understands that faith is a work in progress more exciting than any story she can dream up. You can find out more about her books at authorlisaphillips.com.

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Lisa Phillips

www.millsandboon.co.uk

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Though an army encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though war arise against me, yet I will be confident.

—Psalms 27:3

I’m so thankful to God for inspiring me with another idea for a series. I hope you all enjoy reading them as much as I’ll enjoy writing these Secret Service books!

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

Dear Reader

Introduction

About the Author

Title Page

Bible Verse

Dedication

ONE

TWO

THREE

FOUR

FIVE

SIX

SEVEN

EIGHT

NINE

TEN

ELEVEN

TWELVE

THIRTEEN

FOURTEEN

FIFTEEN

SIXTEEN

SEVENTEEN

EIGHTEEN

NINETEEN

TWENTY

EPILOGUE

Extract

Copyright

ONE

Kayla Harris shoved the key in the lock of her office door and glanced one more time down the dark hallway. Streetlights lit a swatch of the wood floor through the window at the end of the hall. Cold fingered the back of her neck, a sensation that hadn’t let up all day. Not since that weird phone call this afternoon. It was probably all in her head that she’d been able to hear someone breathing on the other end.

Why did she have to forget that file? She should be home. Safe.

For eight years she hadn’t had a Secret Service detail to watch out for her, and not once had she thought she might need it—until right now. What was different tonight? The fear was probably all her imagination.

Kayla sighed, mostly at her overactive imagination, and turned the key. The door swung open before she could unlock it. She didn’t move, just stood in the hall and looked inside.

Footsteps. Heavy shoes on the wood of the stairs ascended to the second floor above the Main Street bakery in Samson, Virginia. The only entrance and exit for the second floor. The rental space was at the north end of Main. Quaint town, nice people who had the decency to—for the most part—not mention the things she’d done as a young adult.

Since she’d lived in the White House at the time, it meant that everyone in the country knew her story. A mother who had passed away from cancer, her father just reelected for his second term. Kayla had...gone off the rails, to put it pleasantly. But that was years ago, and she didn’t need to be reminded of the White House or those days so soon after her mother had passed.

It wasn’t hiding, living the small-town life. Not if everyone knew who she was. She’d spent her teen years tormenting the White House staff, the Secret Service—particularly the agents assigned to her—and her father with her wild ways. But that was years ago. Now she liked her quiet life of prenuptial agreements, wills and contracts. Most of which involved her sitting at her desk and not in a courtroom. Sure, it was an illusion of anonymity, but it was her life and she liked it.

And now this.

Someone was coming, and there was no time to run to the fire exit.

Kayla ducked inside and gripped the handle so it made no sound when she closed and locked the door. She pulled out her phone, clicked on the flashlight and shone it around. The fact that her office had been torn apart didn’t register. It couldn’t; there was no time.

Kayla wasn’t alone. That was all she needed to know.

She dialed 911. The operator answered, an older lady she’d met at church who said everything like it was and didn’t mince words. Her phone chimed. Low battery. Kayla opened her mouth to reply to the operator and heard those heavy steps in the hallway. The reply choked in her throat. Help.

Her office had been searched. Destroyed. Had they waited around for her?

Kayla’s heart pounded in her chest until she thought it might burst. She raced to the far side of her “lawyer desk,” the one her father had bought her after she had passed the Virginia bar. Her father, former president Jefferson Harris, would send a batch of Secret Service agents to protect her if she asked him to. But it would be too late.

Kayla crouched and hugged her jacket tight to her chest with her purse in her lap. Lord. She was a whole different person now than she’d been all those years ago, a “new creation,” God called her. She had peace with God. She needed some of that peace now.

A floorboard in the hall creaked.

She looked around for something to defend herself with, spotted an umbrella in the corner where she hung her coat and rushed to grab it. She couldn’t hide; she had to fight. Brandishing the thing like a weapon, Kayla waited as the sound of her own breath rushed through her ears.

The door handle twisted.

“Hey!” A man’s voice. But not from the other side of the door. This was farther away. The handle was released and the heavy steps pounded down the hall. A second set followed, giving chase to the far end. Bang. Bang. Glass shattered. Kayla dropped her purse on the floor and covered her ears as she stepped back until her shoulders hit the wall.

“Stop!” A man’s voice.

Then all she could hear was the thump of her heart in her chest. She lowered her hands. What was happening? Should she run? Call 911 again? Scream for help? Her phone lay on the floor by the desk, the screen lit but too far away for her to see if the call was still active.

Again, cold fingered the back of her neck. All too reminiscent of the night she’d snuck into a club so many years ago and had been slipped something in her drink. If Conner hadn’t found her, who knew what might have happened that night. But Special Agent Conner Thorne hadn’t thought his actions anything special. Just doing my job, Ms. Harris. She’d rolled her eyes, but inside, she’d been about to cry at the fact that he could be so impersonal with her. Especially when the feelings she’d had for the twenty-six-year-old Secret Service agent were anything but. Like a four-year age difference really made him “too old for her.”

Conner had been her first real crush. Her first real sense of what love might be. She’d never met anyone in college who brought out those feelings. Then he’d come along that last year her father was in the White House and she’d never met anyone else since who measured up.

More recently, Kayla had heard he’d been fired from the Secret Service. Something else she’d put behind her to add to the list of things she’d moved on from.

Still, thinking of him gave her peace. Thank You, Lord.

A shadow darkened the office doorway. The door was cracked only a few inches, but she saw it. The person pushed open the door slowly, hesitantly. A killer on the prowl? Kayla wanted to run to her phone, but was it worth the risk when the move might cost her her life?

After a deep breath, Kayla called out, “If you take one step in here, I’ll blow your head off!”

“You don’t like guns.”

That voice.

The light flipped on.

That face.

Kayla dropped the umbrella.

The lips on his scruffy face curled up at the corners. “Were you planning on skewering me with that thing? I’m having a bad enough day already.”

Kayla pressed one hand to her throat. “You scared me half to death with that cloak-and-dagger entrance, Conner Thorne.”

“Ah, so you haven’t forgotten me.” His lips broke into a smile. Conner Thorne. He still gave off that air of boyish charm, but there was nothing boyish about this man. Dark jeans, heavy boots, a button-up shirt and a leather jacket. His chocolate-brown hair needed cutting, and he badly needed to shave.

“You look like a thug.”

“And you look like a lawyer.” He stepped into the room and closed the door behind him. “Though I guess that’s the point in both cases.”

“What are you doing here?” This was so weird. “Do you...live here in town or something?”

“Or something.” Conner glanced around the room. “Nice place. Nice town, too. I’ve been here and around for almost six months now.”

“Six—” She choked. “And you’re just coming to say hi now?”

He smiled again. “Not exactly.”

“Was that you in the hall?”

“I shot wide and chased him off. He ran down the fire escape at that end. But he saw my face.”

That seemed to be a bad thing, as Conner’s brow furrowed over his blue eyes.

“Who was it?”

He looked around her office like he was trying to figure out a puzzle. “Did you make this mess?”

Kayla exhaled and crossed the room. “Yeah, I just love cleaning so much I make messes on purpose.” She swiped up the phone. The call to 911 had disconnected. Did that mean Sheriff Johnson was on his way? “I figured whoever that was, he did this after I left work. I was picking up a file I’d forgotten that I need to work on this weekend.” She laid a hand on her roiling stomach and tried to take a deep breath. “He must have done this, then come back. Maybe he followed me. Who was it?”

“Someone I...work with.”

So he was a thug, for real? Kayla had heard he got fired after he was discredited. Too many indiscretions committed and too few orders followed. He’d never been one to toe the line, but she never dreamed he’d go this far.

Kayla glanced at the window, suddenly feeling less safe with this man who’d once been a friend.

How long until the police arrived?

The sheriff was a friend, a nice older man who protected this county fiercely. Sheriff Johnson referred battered women to her when they wanted to get help but didn’t know where to go. She’d done some good in this county that had nothing to do with her job and everything to do with a desire that no woman should ever feel the way she’d felt that night years ago. A victim.

The fear sat in her middle, unfurling like a snake ready to strike at her again.

Conner studied the room, then glanced at her. “When the sheriff gets here, tell him everything.” He checked his watch. “I don’t want to read about your grisly demise in the paper while I’m drinking my morning coffee. Okay?”

Kayla folded her arms. He couldn’t have known that man had tossed her office, couldn’t have faked that surprise. He knew that he didn’t need to do that with her when they’d always been honest with each other, even when it was hard. So why had he shown up tonight? “One condition.”

“What’s that?” He shifted his stance. Was he really so eager to leave her?

“Tell me why you’re here.”

* * *

Conner ignored the question. Being in the same room as President Harris’s daughter again was messing with his head. The cute young woman had grown into a strikingly beautiful lady who looked nothing like the Ivy League princess he’d imagined she would eventually become. She’d certainly straightened herself out from those days of pink streaks in her blond hair just to annoy her father and risky outfits her mother never would have approved of.

Conner couldn’t say the same for himself. Not if he wanted to keep his story straight...and in line with what the world believed had become of him. His handler had agreed Conner should check on Kayla, but Greg had also told him that under no circumstances should he read Kayla in on his secret.

But that was before Pete had seen his face. No doubt he was here with Manny, the only one of Andis Bamir’s men who actually had brains. But the boss couldn’t have meant for them to break in and then try to grab Kayla. Could he?

Either way, Pete knew Conner was here. His cover was blown. He’d interfered with whatever they had planned, and they knew it. Manny was probably calling the boss right now. The order would go out, and Conner would have a target on his back.

He glanced at Kayla. He could slip out before the sheriff got here. They still had a minute to talk, and then she’d be safe again. “Tell me why someone wants to scare you. What do you have in here that they need?”

Kayla shrugged. “Why should I answer that when you don’t want to answer my question?”

“No boyfriend? An admirer? Someone who asked you out but you turned them down?” It chafed to ask the question, but he had to know. Years ago a relationship with her would have been inappropriate and against protocol. Now it would put her in danger.

She pressed her lips together. “Not that it’s any of your business, but I am not interested in men who only want to talk about how wild I was. That’s not me anymore, but for some reason they only want to see if that girl’s still in there. Well, no more. I’d like to meet someone who doesn’t know who I am and isn’t going to judge me based on the past.”

“Kayla, everyone knows who you are.”

“Hence the reason why there’s no one in my life, past or present.” She shook her head. “I haven’t done anything.”

“That likely isn’t the case. You just don’t know what it is yet.”

“Why do you always have to be so literal? Not everything is cut-and-dried, Conner. If I knew who did this, then there wouldn’t be a problem.” Kayla pinned him with a look. Call him crazy, but he’d missed that look. She said, “You know who that was in the hall.”

“The less you know, the better, Kayla. Let me take care of this on my end, and I’ll do my best to keep you out of it.” He was going to have to leave now. Walk away from her. Again. “Tell the sheriff everything you know. Do everything he says you should do to stay safe. Including calling the Secret Service.”

It would be simpler if she got Secret Service help.

She tipped her head to one side, which usually spelled trouble. Or more paperwork. Which to a Secret Service agent was essentially the same thing. “And we’ve circled all the way back to my original question. Why. Are. You. Here?” She folded her arms. Also a bad sign. “Answer the question, Conner.”

Okay, so she was a really good lawyer. Kayla had won a few national debates in college. He hadn’t seen it but he believed it. He’d never found argumentative to be cute before, and he intended on enjoying it while he could. It would be over soon and he’d likely never see her again.

“I’m here to check on you. To make sure everything is okay.” Which it wasn’t, not now that he knew Andis Bamir wanted something from Kayla.

When she didn’t say anything, he sighed. “I heard your name come up in conversation, okay? The people who were talking about you are bad people, and I knew it couldn’t be good, so I came over to make sure you’re okay. I don’t know if they’re planning something, but the fact that you’ve hit their radar is never good.”

“Who are ‘they’?”

“Andis Bamir. And his men.”

Kayla’s mouth opened. No sound came out. She shook her head. “Andis... Okay. Right. The nastiest man in three counties is talking about me, and we don’t know why.”

We. That was nice. Conner would jump at the chance to team up with her, but it wasn’t possible. He checked his watch. The sheriff had better hurry. Though the delay gave him more time with Kayla.

She touched each finger in turn and paced her office. “Drug trafficking. Illegal arms sales. Counterfeit bills. Human—” She looked at him, and Conner nodded. “Of course he’s doing every awful thing a person can do that involves breaking the law. Except that no one can catch him in the act or find any evidence.”

“Because he spreads it around. Richmond. Washington. Norfolk. Everywhere is part of his ‘territory’ and he has a network of men all over the place.”

Kayla stared at him. “How do you know the intricacies of his operation?”

“I can’t tell you.”

He saw in her eyes that her brain puzzled out the problem. “Money. Secret Service.” Her mouth dropped open. “There was a rumor someone in town was printing counterfeit bills, but the sheriff couldn’t figure out where it originated. It was only hearsay.”

Conner waited.

“You’re investigating it. The newspaper article said you’d been fired.” Kayla lifted a finger to point at him, totally contrary to her upper-class upbringing. “You’re undercover.”

“I said I couldn’t tell you, but since my cover is now blown wide open, I guess it doesn’t hurt. I trust you to keep my secret, Kayla.”

“You’re working for Andis Bamir, trying to gather the evidence to put him away.”

Conner wanted to hug her. “I can neither confirm nor deny that.”

“Of course you can’t.” She started to pace back and forth. “It’s an incredibly delicate and dangerous situation to be in.” She wheeled around and stared at him. “Have you been undercover all this time, since the article?”

He nodded.

“That was years ago!”

“Assignments. More than one.”

“How close are you to finishing this?”

“I’m only missing the last piece of the puzzle. Then I can put this whole thing to bed.”

Andis Bamir’s counterfeit bills had stopped flowing. The operation had halted for some reason, which meant any chance at catching him in the act had disappeared. He’d been ready to call it quits when he heard Kayla’s name come up.

Kayla blew out a breath. “Conner, this is huge.”

“And I don’t want you getting caught in the middle of it. I don’t know what Andis wants with you. All I know is that it can’t be good. Tell the sheriff, and call your father. Get the Secret Service here to protect you. I don’t want you to take any risks.”

He could tell she didn’t like that, but he wasn’t going to give her the choice. Her safety was his top priority.

Conner took two steps toward her. “I don’t want you anywhere near Andis.”

Being here with her, knowing that Kayla knew the truth about the man he’d been pretending to be for months, Conner felt right for the first time since...he didn’t know when. Maybe since that night years ago when Kayla had been in trouble and he’d saved her from what that man had planned.

But Conner couldn’t be the person she’d known. Not here. No one could know that Conner. It was the nature of the job. Just the fact that Kayla knew the whole story made him feel like he was seeing the sun after a week of gray clouds.

“Wow.” The word was a low mutter as she processed everything she’d learned and the implications.

Conner looked up. There was so much in her eyes he didn’t know where to start. She cared about him; that was clear. He’d never met a more complicated woman, and he was about as straightforward as a man could be. It was probably good they’d never had the chance to be together. They’d likely have driven each other crazy.

He sighed. “I should le—”

The window smashed. A flaming bottle flew to the ground and burst open, spilling its contents across the floor.

Before the liquid could erupt into flames, Conner’s Secret Service training kicked in and he dove toward Kayla.

TWO

Kayla hit the ground. Conner landed beside her as breath burst from her lungs. Flames erupted across the room and Kayla screamed. Conner pushed up off the floor and then grabbed her. She wobbled on her feet for a second and had time to grab her phone but not her laptop bag before he pulled her toward the door.

They made it to the hall, but he headed for the back of the building. No one else was there except them, not anyone from the dentist’s office next to hers or the stores below. Thank You, Lord. There was no one else to get hurt, but there was also no one else who could call for help.

The men had come back, and now they were trying to kill them? What was going on?

Kayla raced after Conner. Halfway down the hall, another bottle came through the broken window at the far end. Conner shoved her to the wall and shielded her with his body. It was heroic, but it didn’t mean he actually cared about her. Secret Service agents weren’t paid for their feelings. They were paid to keep their charges from bodily harm. Still, she warmed at the care he was taking to make sure she wasn’t exposed—to be certain danger reached him first.

“He’s boxing us in. I’ve seen them do it before,” Conner yelled over the crack and hiss of flames. “Is there another way out?”

“The dentist’s office has a fire exit with stairs down to the ground floor.”

Conner pointed down the hall. “On the side?” She nodded. “Too exposed. Anything else?”

Kayla glanced around, as though the answer would reveal itself through the walls. “We should call the sheriff again and find out where he is. Give me your phone—mine is almost dead.”

He ran a hand through his hair and shook his head. “My cover is blown.” He paused, his thoughts somewhere distant she wasn’t invited. “I guess the rules no longer apply.”

Kayla let her gaze roam his face, trying to figure out what on earth would possess a man to live the kind of life where he was constantly under threat of being killed.

She’d understood on some level before tonight that undercover work was dangerous for a law enforcement officer. But now that she’d seen what he lived with, Kayla didn’t know if she could stand that life. There were men and women who could, though, and she had so much respect for what they did.

“So what do we do?”

Conner glanced around. “We need a place to hide where the smoke won’t get us. We can call the sheriff from there. I just have to keep you safe until he shows up.”

“But not yourself?” He didn’t need to be safe?

“You know what I mean, Kayla. When I know you’re okay, I’ll make a break for it.”

Instead of dishing it back to him—and dying of smoke inhalation from standing in this hallway—Kayla grabbed his arm and dragged him to the kitchen. Conner shut the door and she got two bottles of water from the fridge. Then he soaked some towels and tucked them under the door.

She handed him a water.

“Thanks.” Conner drank half the bottle in one go and then pulled out his phone, thumbed buttons. After gulping down the rest of the water, he threw the empty bottle in the recycling bin.

Kayla looked around. “I think we should try to get out of here.”

“They started the fire to flush you out, and now they’re waiting outside. When you run outside, they’ll probably shoot you. That’s how this works. The fire gets you outside, and then they finish you off. If there’s time, they’ll dump the body back inside to destroy the evidence.”

“Wonderful. Unless...”

“What?”

“They’re trying to kill you. You said your cover is blown. Maybe they’re not after me anymore.” She saw the look he gave her and said, “Well, it’s possible. And either way we need to get out of here before we suffocate.” She grabbed his phone.

Conner’s eyes darkened. “That isn’t going to happen to you.”

“Because I’m in danger, and you’re going to save me?”

“Yes.”

“You know, normal people just call the police when they’re in danger.” She even dialed the numbers to prove it.

Conner didn’t react, though she knew for a fact she was funny. “You’re not normal people and neither am I.”

Kayla showed him the phone and pressed Dial. Just so he could see how normal she was. “I’ve been working very hard for the last few years to be normal, thank you, and you’re ruining—Yes, I need the sheriff and a fire truck. I’m trapped in my office.”

The same lady who’d answered the first time took her location and Kayla answered a half-dozen questions. No, they weren’t in danger of being immediately injured—though it would be minutes before their situation changed. No, they couldn’t get out.

When the woman tried to get her to take deep breaths to calm down, she hung up. “Why did you come tonight?”

“Like I told you, I overheard a conversation from the next room. Your name was mentioned, so I decided to come over and see if you knew why they were talking about you. It’s no secret that you or I once lived in the White House. That’s probably why they didn’t let me in on it.”

“So you heard the conversation?”

“Not much of it, like I said. No more than your name, but I got the impression they don’t like you too much.”

“I don’t know why not. I’m a likable person.” Kayla wasn’t like a trial lawyer who spent all day in a courtroom and made tons of enemies. She wrote wills. Business contracts. Nothing to hide. No one wanted her dead. That was crazy. Unless...

Conner frowned. “Something just happened with your face.”

“I—” Kayla blew out a breath.

“Tell me.”

“It can’t be connected to me, so there’s no way they could know. But I own a piece of property on the outskirts of town. Sometimes the sheriff refers women in...dangerous situations to me. If they want to press charges against their husbands or boyfriends or whoever is hurting them, I can help them, but sometimes they’re still in danger even then. So I give them a place to stay. Whether it’s permanent or just until they get on their feet is up to them.”

“You run a battered-women’s shelter.”

“Why did you say that like it’s a bad thing?” Smoke had started to creep under the kitchen door. Kayla coughed. “I help women, and sometimes kids, too. But I don’t run it—I have a manager for that. I just...facilitate the place. Locke helped me set it up.”

“Of course Special Agent Locke helped you.”

Okay, now he looked mad. What was it he’d said...? Something just happened with your face. Yeah, ditto. Didn’t he like his former supervisor?

“Look,” Kayla said. “I just thought if someone wanted to find something or hurt me, that would be the only reason I can think of as to why. Maybe they were looking for the address. The sheriff keeps a tight lid on the whole thing, but it could be that my identity was leaked and someone wants to get revenge on me for helping one of the women.”

It wasn’t like she could sit by and do nothing, though. Her job wasn’t exactly on the front lines of making the world a better place, not like Mr. Undercover Agent over there. They couldn’t all be like that. Kayla just used her passion to help women who needed it, and she gave them the chance to find safety. To feel real peace for the first time.

“So what’s the connection between the shelter and Andis?”

Kayla shook her head. “You tell me.”

“There has to be one.” He glanced aside for a minute.

“Either way, we’re both in a burning building.” Kayla started toward the window to see if she could see a fire truck or at least emergency lights.

Conner grabbed her arm. “Don’t go near the window. They might be watching for us.”

Kayla was supposed to be done with the part of her life where people were trying to kill her. She should be safe now, or as safe as your average person who wasn’t the former president’s daughter was. Living her life. Doing her part to help other people. That was the life God had given her. And now someone was trying to take that away from her.

Kayla wasn’t going to let them.

* * *

Conner knew why his handler had recommended he sever all personal ties before he went undercover. He’d been the perfect candidate—deceased parents, a sister he wasn’t close with. No girlfriend or significant other to either break up with or ask to wait for him. But standing here with Kayla, Conner had to wonder why that was.

Sure, he’d been married to his work for a long time. Joining the Secret Service had been everything Conner ever wanted since he’d found out who those suited men standing around the president were.

Romance hadn’t been part of his life. Especially when the woman he wanted had been young, impetuous in a way that had been both infuriating and adorable, and completely out of reach. The idea of a new Secret Service agent dating the president’s college-age daughter was so unthinkable he’d been laughed at by his colleagues for even asking the question.

Fast-forward nearly a decade and Conner had seen Kayla a few times around town. He was pretty sure she never even knew he was there, as he’d made a point to avoid her. It wasn’t a secret, even from Andis and his men, that he’d been Secret Service. He’d given them some privileged information about printing money to “buy” his way in, and Andis had accepted Conner as one of them. But distrust ran deep with criminals. They didn’t fully trust him and probably never would.

Bringing down their organization from the inside would mean one less bad guy in the world.

But now the assignment was over. Pete had seen him. Conner would have to scrape together what he could and see if there was enough for a solid case—if they didn’t kill him first.

After it was done, if Conner didn’t wind up in witness protection, he’d have to give Kayla a call. The woman she had become was vibrant, despite the situation they were in.

Conner’s gaze caught hers and he surveyed her face. Even with the smoke that now filled the air, she seemed to be doing okay. The fire department and the sheriff would show up soon, and then he’d leave her to her life while he took care of Andis.

He took a breath and it caught in his throat. Conner coughed it out. “We won’t last much longer in here.”

He scanned the room. Table and chairs. A fire extinguisher hung on the wall. That might come in handy.

Flames glowed orange between the door and frame, the wet towels now smoking.

“What do we do?”

Conner didn’t answer. He waved Kayla to him. If this didn’t go according to plan, he would regret spending this time with her and never saying the things that were in his heart. “Kayla—”

“No, no. Don’t do that.” She took a step back. “You’re going to give me the ‘I’ll lay down my life to protect you’ speech, aren’t you? I know you, Conner. You’ll always be a Secret Service agent, and I doubt there will ever be a day when you’re in the same room as me that you won’t feel like you’re on protective detail.” She sighed. “Because it’s your job.”

She was so far off the mark it wasn’t even funny, but if he told her the truth—that he had seriously missed her—she would get embarrassed. So Conner walked to the window, put his back to the wall and peered out. They were on the second floor, but the awning above the store window downstairs was below them. If he smashed the window, they could use the awning—which would likely rip under their weight—to at least break their fall.

“Do you see them?”

Conner scanned the street. “No. And I don’t see a fire truck or the sheriff either.”

“What’s taking them so long?” Kayla stepped over but, thankfully, kept well back of the window. “They should be here by now, shouldn’t they?”

Conner didn’t like this one bit. “I would have thought so.”

The only reason for the delay he could think of was that someone at the sheriff’s office had been paid off by Andis. Conner didn’t like entertaining the idea that an officer of the law could be corrupt, but it did happen. It would hit Kayla hard, knowing her contacts in helping those women might not be completely aboveboard.

Boots in the hall, coming toward them.

“Firefighters.” Kayla started for the door.

Conner grabbed her arm. “Wait a second.”

“In there!” A man yelled.

Conner grasped the fire extinguisher. “Move to the side.” If this wasn’t firefighters, if it was Manny and his guys, Conner wasn’t going to let them get a shot off before he could get Kayla out of there. He had his gun, but taking down the group would mean too many questions about who he was and why he’d been here. Not to mention the investigation would be over when Andis found out it had been Conner who’d killed his men.

He slammed the butt of the extinguisher against the window. The glass shattered, and he cracked out as much as he could, making sure he got everything on the bottom frame. “Let’s go.”

“You want to jump?”

The man in the hall yelled again. “Get it open!”

Conner grabbed Kayla’s arm.

The door handle shifted, and someone banged against the door as though trying to open it with the force of his body.

He got Kayla to the window.

A gunshot blew a hole in the door beside the handle. Two. Three shots. Four.

“Go!”

He pushed her out.

Kayla landed on the awning, slid to the edge and rolled at the last second. She grabbed the edge and fell as the fringe ripped from the frame and she disappeared out of sight.

The door flew open.

Conner jumped. He tried to land on the awning as softly as possible, but his boots hit the material and went straight through. Conner prayed, for the first time in years, that he wasn’t going to land on top of Kayla. When he hit the concrete, he rolled to disperse the force and bumped into Kayla’s feet.

He looked up at her.

“That looked painful.”

She wasn’t wrong.

Kayla held out her hand, and he took it but didn’t give her his weight as he got up. Then he let go and put his hand on her back to lead her away. He didn’t need Manny and his men seeing them on the street. Just like he didn’t need to know what her hand in his would feel like. Conner could have lived his life without that.

It would have been infinitely easier than knowing for sure now that her skin was soft and smooth and her smaller hand fit in his perfectly. That her warm fingers could lace through his when his were cold. No, he didn’t need to know that. It wasn’t going to be a comfort when he was on the run from Andis.

Conner sighed.

“Where do we go now?” Kayla asked. “I have no wallet, no keys. It’s all in the office. I can’t even get in my house.” She pulled up short on the sidewalk, in the middle, right out in the open. Conner moved her to the alcove of a Laundromat that was closed.

“We’ll figure it out, okay? Let’s just get to my truck.”

The air outside smelled like smoke. Where were the emergency services? Someone had to have called it in, and their call should have been responded to already. Conner didn’t want to believe that the people who were supposed to protect Kayla and the others who lived in this town could be bought. That they’d intentionally allow an innocent to get hurt.

When they started walking again, she took his hand. Conner wanted to shake loose of her hold but he didn’t. Still, she glanced at him. Conner saw it out of the corner of his eye. He couldn’t answer the question that wasn’t voiced. He wasn’t in a position to do that, not when his world was one of lies and distrust that could get him killed, all for the sake of justice.

Kayla was everything he’d ever wanted, and Conner had to walk away from her.

But not yet.

Someone was behind them.

THREE

Kayla glanced over her shoulder and let out the breath she’d been holding. “Sheriff Johnson?” She turned and dropped her hands slowly. “I’m so glad you’re here.”

His hand rested on his gun, suspicion on his face at her and a strange man being in the street so close to her burning office. She didn’t blame him. Kayla explained what had happened and how Conner had been there when the fire was started. How he’d helped her get out.

“And you don’t know who was in the hall?”

“No.” Kayla shook her head. Conner did, but she didn’t.

“You didn’t actually see anyone?”

“No, but we heard them.” Her voice wavered with the questions that arose in her mind. Did he not believe they’d heard men talking in the hall? “They shot at us.”

“I called the fire chief when I realized there was a fire that hadn’t been reported.” The sheriff glanced up at the building, flames now coming through the window they had jumped out of. “Seems strange no one called it in.”

“I called it in,” Kayla said. “I talked to Miriam.”

The sheriff’s eyes narrowed. “And you?” He motioned to Conner with a lift of his chin. “You got a name?”

“Conner Thorne.”

Secret Service. She’d heard him say it a million times, but that was years ago. Kayla caught herself before she called Conner on it. His cover. Of course he had to stick with the story that he was no longer a special agent in order to protect himself and the investigation.

“Former Secret Service.”

But he didn’t mention being undercover. Didn’t he trust the sheriff? If he didn’t want to admit everything to the man, Kayla was going to trust he knew what he was doing. It was his job.

The sheriff opened his mouth to ask another question Conner probably didn’t want to answer, so Kayla cut him off. She grabbed Conner’s elbow and put her head on his shoulder. “He’s with me.”

Sheriff Johnson’s eyes darkened.

“Conner is living in Samson now, and we knew each other at the White House. How many people can say they have that kind of history?” Kayla laughed, and it sounded false even to her ears. She felt Conner’s chest jerk with surprise. It wasn’t a lie, but she left it open enough the sheriff had to draw his own conclusion. Everyone would put it together that they had known each other way back when. He’d told her Andis knew about their connection.

The sheriff cleared his throat. “I see.” He was handsome enough, Kayla supposed. Silver hair. Good at his job, which made sense, as he’d been doing it for thirty years now with no one ever running against him. “You’ll make sure she gets home okay?”

“Sure thing.”

That was it? Some man-to-man “take care of the little woman” thing she didn’t understand at all. Kayla wanted to roll her eyes, but she’d had enough of acting like a high school kid, more than a lawyer could reasonably take for one night. She needed to let go of Conner before she started to believe her own ruse and got used to holding on to him. Though, if they were dating for real, she’d be way cooler about it. Aloof. Mysterious. A puzzle he needed to solve.

Conner’s mouth had curled up. Kayla let go of him, but was stuck beside him until the sheriff walked away.

“I actually didn’t come here for the fire,” Sheriff Johnson said. “Though I’ll need formal statements from both of you after I talk to the fire chief. I have another case for you, Kayla. I wanted to tell you about this one in person, before I got the call about the break-in.” He paused for a second. “I’ll be talking to Miriam, because she didn’t mention you being in danger, or the fire.”

Kayla nodded. He waved her two steps away, and she joined him as he said, “Her name is Jan Barton. Got mixed up with a local guy she calls her boyfriend. I get the impression she needs somewhere to heal...and probably detox.”

“Sure.” Kayla’s shelter was set up for that. The house manager she had hired was a registered nurse. “She’s at your office?”

“Yep.” The sheriff nodded. “I guess you have a ride.”

“She does.” Conner didn’t look up from his phone.

She also had her own car, but neither man felt it necessary to point out that she was perfectly fine on her own. Or she would have been if not for tonight and the fact that she was still jumpy. Maybe it was just residual fear, but something was seriously not right.

The sheriff’s brow had furrowed at Conner’s statement. Why did she feel like the sheriff was not at all happy that Kayla had a “boyfriend”? It wasn’t like he’d ever given her the impression he was interested in her, so it could simply be fatherly concern. She’d have been polite, and flattered, but Sheriff Johnson knew some of her history. Not all of it, the way Conner did. The sheriff only knew she’d been the victim of an attack, and that was why she wanted to help women who needed safety. He’d even helped her set up the hotline.

So why was he bothered about Conner? Reservations would be justified if he knew Conner worked for Andis. If she could tell the sheriff Conner was undercover, it would allay his fears. When she looked up at Conner with the question likely in her eyes—he’d always been able to read her face—he shook his head.

The sheriff said, “Ms. Barton needs to get her things from her house while her boyfriend spends the night in one of my cells, and she needs to be clear of him before he gets out. Probably tomorrow, but it might be the day after.”

Kayla nodded. “Does she want to get free?”

Sheriff Johnson shrugged one shoulder. “That’s not my department. I find them, you help them.” He smiled. “It’s worked well so far.”

“It has.”

Sirens preceded the fire truck turning the corner. The rig drove past their huddle and stopped in the street in front of Kayla’s office.

“I’ll go run point with the chief and start a search for those men you saw. Let me know tomorrow how it went with Ms. Barton and I’ll take your statements about what happened here then. In the meantime, get somewhere safe and I’ll look into this. I’ll also talk to Miriam.”

Kayla watched him walk away.

“Huh.”

She turned to Conner. “What? You don’t like the sheriff?”

“Never met the man before tonight. Not sure he knows who I am, though he’s going to look me up when he gets back to the office. By tomorrow he’ll know my life story—or at least the one the Secret Service doctored for me when Andis looked me up. My identity as a disgraced agent is solid, so I’m not concerned. But the guy I’m pretending to be won’t make him less worried about you. Probably more.”

Kayla’s stomach churned. “I’m not sure I like that you’re getting close to men who would start a fire to try to kill someone. Whether their intended victim was you or me.”

Conner placed his hands on her shoulders. “I’m not going to lie and tell you it isn’t dangerous, but I’m good at what I do, Kayla. If there’s trouble, I’ll take care of it.” He didn’t add that now that his cover was blown, he was probably in more danger than ever.

Kayla didn’t feel better in the least, but she was willing to cover it so he wouldn’t worry about her when he left. “Let’s go. Can we do that? I don’t want to stay here if they’re still around. Once I help Ms. Barton, I can go home and rest.”

Conner waited for her to move first and then walked beside her. It was an old move she recognized. He’d fallen back into that protector/protectee relationship with her that would always color what was between them. And why was that? Maybe Kayla wanted to be the one to make sure he was safe, instead of him looking out for her all the time.

Why couldn’t that be a thing?

Kayla stopped so fast she almost tripped on her heels.

“What? What is it?”

She pointed. “That’s my car.” At least, it used to be her car. Now it was a body with no wheels, smashed-out windows and spray-painted vulgar swirls all over it. “Someone trashed my car.”

“Made sure you can’t go anywhere and made it look like teenagers did it at the same time.”

Kayla sighed. “We should tell the sheriff.”

Conner turned and looked all around them, at the deserted parking lot to the rear of the street. Dim light. A back entrance. She knew what he saw, and there was no way he’d have let her come anywhere near a place like this back in the day. But she wasn’t the current president’s daughter anymore. No one cared who she was now.

At least, they hadn’t until tonight.

“Let’s get moving. You can report it tomorrow. Right now you need to get somewhere safe.”

Kayla nodded and walked with him to his truck. He drove straight to the sheriff’s office and waited outside while she went in and spoke with Ms. Barton. Kayla told the deputy on the desk about her car and had him relay that information to the sheriff in case it was relevant.

Jan Barton was the priority now. Kayla had seen bruises like that before, and the residue of what looked like a bad night. Way worse than the one she’d had this evening, even considering her office was toast and she smelled like smoke.

At least she could help Jan Barton, and then something good would come out of this night. Kayla had been through too much to settle for an old crush reappearing and taking up all of her thoughts and emotions. Conner had been everything she’d ever wanted.

Now all Kayla wanted to do was help other women so that none of them ever had to feel scared again. She knew what real fear felt like, and it had nearly crippled her—until someone had shown up to help her. That was who Conner was to her, the hero he’d been all those years ago.

She didn’t need him in her life now. Kayla was too busy being that hero to others.

* * *

Conner waited outside Jan Barton’s house. Kayla was helping her pack her things, but only after Conner had checked that the house was clear. The woman seemed nice enough, if beaten up and exhausted from a life lived in fear of her drug-addicted boyfriend. Now Conner was outside in case one of the boyfriend’s friends showed up.

The two women exited the house, and Conner followed them to the truck. If not for the lack of a suit and earpiece, he’d have looked exactly like the Secret Service agent he was. But the casual clothes Andis’s men wore meant they would never trust an expensive suit. That was Andis’s dress code, not theirs. So Conner wore jeans and a shirt, like he did on a lot of his assignments. To blend in with the riff-raff.

Conner settled in the front seat and started the engine. He glanced back at Jan, just for a second, to make sure she was all right, but without scaring her by being an overbearing male.

His gaze snagged hers. Conner looked out the front windshield again. Something was very, very wrong.

“Ready?”

Conner glanced at Kayla and put the car in Drive. “Sure.”

She frowned, probably at the fact that his smile was completely fake. But Conner couldn’t do anything else. This was the kind of person Kayla wanted to help? Conner couldn’t decide which he disliked more, Kayla’s being in the car with someone as off as Jan Barton or the fact that the sheriff brought these people to her.

“So where is this place?” If they were taking Jan to the property Kayla had bought, he needed to know where he was going.

“The motel on Fourth Street.”

“A motel?”

“For tonight. I gave Jan a phone number, and she’ll call the house manager tomorrow. That way, I’m never directly connected to the place.” Kayla smiled. “Plausible deniability.”

And yet if Andis had found out that Kayla was helping women...

His wife and daughter. Of course. Conner wanted to kick himself. Andis’s wife and daughter had “moved away” a few months ago. What if Kayla had, in fact, helped them escape? The man might have lied to save face even while he began a search for them.

Was it that search that brought Manny to Kayla’s office? Had that same hunt meant Conner had blown his cover tonight? She couldn’t have known exactly how dangerous of a man Andis Bamir was. And if she had helped them, it gave the man a reason to want her dead. Andis wasn’t bothered at all that his wife and daughter had left. In fact, it had only given him the ability to do what he did overtly instead of hiding it for their sake. If Andis felt anything, it was likely only that he’d been bested by Kayla because she had successfully helped them escape. He could want revenge.

Could he have been looking for them and kept it under the radar?

Conner needed to find a photo of Andis’s wife and daughter online and show it to Kayla. If she had helped them, it would at least solve one mystery of the evening.

Kayla walked Jan to her motel room, and the two hugged. Still, even with that display of solidarity, Conner couldn’t help thinking something about Jan Barton was...out of place. He shook off the idea. It had been a weird day for sure. Now it was the middle of the night and he needed to get Kayla home. She could get some sleep and he could sit outside in his truck and keep watch. Just in case.

After she’d buckled herself back in, Conner said, “Long day ahead of you tomorrow.”

She nodded. “I’ll have to make that statement to the sheriff and call my insurance agent, see how much work I can salvage. I back up at home, but my laptop is at the office. Maybe I’ve lost all my files from today.” She sighed. “I really didn’t need this. It’ll be expensive to rebuild.”

Conner pulled out onto the road. “I’m sure your father will help you out.”

Kayla was his only daughter, and despite her wildness as a teen, he did dote on her. More so given that her mother had passed away. Some men distanced themselves from their loved ones after a loss. Conner had seen it in others—whether the loss was death or divorce didn’t matter. It was all a type of grief to admit it was the end of what they’d thought their lives were going to be.

Kayla’s father had been no different, though he had been an excellent president. Professional. Cordial to those who worked under him. Some presidents either ignored their Secret Service agents or treated them with outright disdain. It had been nice for Conner that the first president he had served under was a man who had respect for everyone, even those who could be construed as “beneath” him.

Conner hit the highway and pressed down on the gas, eager to get where they were going.

Kayla sighed. “Is it wrong that I don’t want my father to help me?” Her voice was softer than it had been. “I mean, I’m a grown woman. If I told him what happened tonight, he would send a detail of Secret Service agents my way and insist they didn’t leave my side until the threat against me had passed.”

Conner didn’t think that was a bad idea but got the feeling it wasn’t what Kayla wanted to hear. “What do you want to do?”

“I’d like to live my own life and make my own decisions. I have to be strong enough to get through this on my own, or when a stiff wind blows through, I’ll fall over and my life will disintegrate.”

“I don’t think a lack of strength has ever been your problem, Kayla.”

She shifted in the seat. “Do you really mean that?”

Conner shrugged. “Of course.”

Kayla slumped back down in her seat. “Sure, I guess.”

“You don’t think so?” He’d seen her weather things that would have broken most people, and yet here she was. A lawyer. A beautiful woman who could hold herself together when her office was burning and people were coming after them. Why couldn’t she see that?

“You of all people know that what we show the world is usually not what’s underneath the surface. No one wants to know the dark things, the parts of us that are terrified to show themselves.”

She thought there was darkness in her? “Kayla—”

“Don’t worry about it, okay? I do what I can for women who need help, and I like my job. I make a small difference, but it’s still a difference.” She glanced out the window. “It just has to be enough for me. That’s what I’m struggling with.”

Conner frowned. Perhaps it was fatigue making her doubt herself. He didn’t see where she got the idea she didn’t do enough. His whole existence right now consisted of pretending to be a bad guy—which meant he had to do bad things so they wouldn’t figure him out—all for the chance to catch a real bad guy. He wasn’t a force for good in the world, just justice.

Lights in his rearview mirror.

Conner switched the angle down so they didn’t glare in his eyes and distract him.

The lights moved to the left and shone in his wing mirror. Some guy with a problem. Conner slowed a little and moved to the side of his lane so the person could pass if he wanted to. But he didn’t.

The vehicle sped up, close enough to clip their back left bumper, and then backed off. Then sped up again.

Now they were on the right side.

“Not good.”

“What?” Kayla shifted to face him. “What is it?”

“Just some idiot tailing us. Probably kids having fun with a lone truck on the highway.” But he didn’t believe it. After the night they’d had, there was no way it was a coincidence.

FOUR

Months ago a group of teens had tailed a woman on this highway, late at night. They’d taunted her before they ran her off the road. She’d hit a tree and suffered major injuries but didn’t remember anything except that they’d driven a truck and jeered as they drove past her.

Kayla glanced back. The truck behind them could be the same truck of kids who’d hurt that woman. It was all she needed after her office was set on fire, and she’d had a long day before that happened. Now it was nearly midnight and she was exhausted.

Conner, on the other hand, was dressed like he lived for the rush of a late-night car chase. It was a far cry from the suits she was used to seeing him in, but it kind of worked. In a serious bad-boy way.

Kayla was in trouble—in more ways than one.

The truck burst forward and slammed into their back bumper. Kayla screamed and grabbed the dash of Conner’s considerably older vehicle. It would crumple under the newer, heavy-duty truck right behind them. Nearly on top of them.

“They’re coming again!”

Conner gripped the wheel, his eyes intent. “Hold on.”

“I am! What are you going to do?” She looked back. The truck had backed off, but it wouldn’t be long before it came at them again. Could they outrun a more powerful truck? Kayla tried to remember if there were any side roads they could pull off onto. If so, they might escape, or the other truck could simply follow them. Stop them. Hurt them. Kill them.

The engine revved.

Kayla’s knuckles turned white on the dash. Conner’s truck jerked forward and he let off the gas. Metal scraped against metal. The tires caught on the road again, and he put his foot down. He drove like this was a mental exercise—a game of chess. They were either the king or simply pawns expendable in the grand scheme of the game. Kayla had never liked chess. She was much better with five-thousand-piece puzzles.

What was in Conner’s head? He had to have a plan. He was a Secret Service agent. Only this threat was against both of them—not just her. Kayla flipped the glove box open to see if there was a gun. It was stuffed with papers, and took two tries to get it closed again.

“You don’t need a weapon.”

“What about a phone? Mine is dead, remember? Give me yours and I’ll call for help.”

He shifted and dug it out of his jeans pocket.

“What’s your handler under in your contacts?” Locked. “Wait...first give me your passcode.”

“Call 911, Kayla.”

She’d rather have a team of trained Secret Service agents, not the sheriff. Though the sheriff could probably get here faster. She’d seen the Secret Service in action so many times, but she hadn’t wanted them there to protect her earlier. Not when it had been only her in danger. They were way past that now. For the second time that night, their lives were at risk.

Kayla pushed aside the questions that swirled in her mind—questions about why his phone was off-limits to her—and used the emergency feature to call for help.

No ringing sound.

She looked at the screen. Had the call connect—

Slam.

The truck lurched and Kayla dropped the phone. She needed two hands to hold on, or the next time they were hit, she’d slide out of her seat belt.

Kayla had no intention of dying tonight.

She checked behind them. The truck was neck and neck with them, and she could see a man inside. “It’s not teenagers.” She reached down and snapped up the phone. The call was still connected. “Hello?” Nothing. She tapped the screen. “Why is this thing not working?”

Conner gripped the wheel. “It’s Andis’s lieutenant. Manny.”

“Manny.” The man looked mean and was dressed...kind of the way Conner was. “So you know who he—Wait. That’s who was in my hallway, wasn’t it?” When Conner didn’t answer, she said, “Can’t you tell him to back off?”

“He’s not going to back off. And no, it was one of his buddies earlier. He was probably outside. Now he’s too busy trying to run us off the road so he can shoot us,” he said through gritted teeth. “Manny must have followed us from your office and waited until now to try again.”

“Give me your gun. I’ll shoot out the window and get him to back off.” The truck was on Conner’s side, but she could make it work.

He didn’t. “You’re not shooting a gun right by my face. And you aren’t going to hang out the window.”

Okay, so she hadn’t thought it through all the way. What was wrong with winging it? This was a crazy situation. “So you shoot at him then.”

“That’s the best idea I’ve heard so far.” He pulled his gun out. “Grab the wheel.”

Kayla’s hand darted out and she took hold of the steering wheel. He rolled the window down with the handle and air blew in. It dried out her contacts so that she had to blink moisture back over her eyes. Kayla held her breath as Conner fired off shot after shot.

The boom was so loud. It had been forever since she’d practiced with a weapon she’d forgotten it was that loud.

“Kayla!”

She glanced out the front window of the truck. The road bent to the left. She pushed the wheel toward Conner’s door and they careened around the corner so fast the truck started to tip over.

Conner pulled his hand back in and the other vehicle backed off. Conner’s truck scraped Manny’s all down the side. He grabbed the wheel and she let go. But Manny didn’t leave them alone. The truck angled into the back left side and clipped them.

Conner fought the spin, both hands on the wheel. The old truck shuddered and lost traction and they started to slide. Kayla screamed. She scrabbled around by her feet for the phone.

The truck was being pushed, forced off the road.

“He’s going to kill us!” That was the point, but she didn’t have to like it. They were going to die. The other truck would ram them one too many times and they’d flip. Conner’s truck would crumple under the impact—with Conner and Kayla inside. There probably weren’t even any air bags.

The sheriff would find them off the road, truck upside down. Bleeding. Dead.

Kayla tried to rein in her tendency to look at the catastrophic outcome first, but it was too hard. Things were bad. Really, really bad. They probably weren’t going to make it. She was going to die in a truck with Conner Thorne and he’d never even know how much she’d cared for him for so long.

He’d been the light in her days. When she’d felt alone, he was in all the sweet memories she’d drawn up. On those dark days when she’d needed to feel the peace his presence brought, thinking of him had comforted her. Sure, he’d frustrated her to no end, and he’d never called. But he’d been it for her. She’d tried to date other guys, but no one had ever come close to even the dream of what could have been with him. All that stuff about wanting someone who didn’t know her was baloney. She wasn’t even looking for anyone else.

The truck jerked and her forearm slammed down on the dash. Kayla screamed and lost her hold on the phone. It fell down by her feet and slid under the seat. Help. God, help us.

The truck jerked again, and they spun more. Off the side of the road and down a ravine. The truck hit a dip. Dirt sprayed and they lifted up. Airborne. Stars winked down at her as they rattled around in the cab, trying not to slam heads. Conner’s face hit the steering wheel.

Kayla gripped the door handle, but it was no use.

The tree came out of nowhere. The truck slammed into it, and pain exploded through Kayla like a firework.

* * *

Conner blinked. He lifted a shaky hand to touch his face. His head pounded like a kick drum, and his hand came back wet with blood from his nose. The truck. He hated this truck anyway. The truck was probably almost totaled now, but he was alive.

Conner shifted. The movement sent pain shooting through his skull. Kayla was slumped in the corner against the door. Hair had fallen over one side of her face, and blood matted the blond strands against her skin. What breath Conner had left got caught in his throat. She was so pale she almost looked...

He pressed two fingers to the skin beneath her jaw. Tha-thump. Tha-thump. Low but steady. His body sagged and he moved his hand to touch her cheek. “Kayla.” She needed to wake up. She had to open those eyes, those swirling blue depths that made him want to pull her close and draw strength from the way she looked at him. He needed to see her smile. The way her lips curled up and made it feel like the world melted away.

Conner had been undercover so long, starved for genuine conversation or real affection. Having Kayla here was like an oasis in the desert—but weren’t those always the mirages of weary travelers? Dreams but not real. Just like the relationship he’d never have with Kayla, because he could never confess his feelings to her and keep her safe. This time together was a gift, but it wasn’t their life. And it would be over soon.

Headlights lit the cab of the truck from behind. Conner glanced one more time at Kayla and then pulled out his gun.

Manny’s truck stopped beside them, six feet of grass separating the two vehicles. Would he simply roll the window down and shoot them? Conner had to play this the right way, though he figured his cover was shredded now. Manny probably thought Conner was betraying them. He had to shift the man’s focus. This had to be all about Kayla and who they had been to each other years ago. The only hope of keeping them alive was to make this about a woman and not about threatening Andis’s business.

Kayla had implied to the sheriff that there was some kind of relationship between them, and he could do the same with Manny. Andis likely already knew he and Kayla were acquaintances, but not that Conner hadn’t seen her again until tonight. If they thought Conner was starting a relationship with her, then he’d seem like he was just distracted, not working against them. Only interfering in Andis’s activities—like warning her they were on their way—could get him in trouble.

It was the dance of every undercover assignment. Balancing who knew what and how much of the truth was necessary to strengthen the lie that was his whole life. He had to be the man the Secret Service had portrayed him as, the disgraced agent willing to share what he knew about counterfeit money in order to solidify his place as a bad guy.

Kayla would never know what it had meant to him to see her tonight. For her to realize the truth his own Secret Service colleagues couldn’t know. Everyone he used to work with thought he’d been fired for misconduct. There was only one man in the Secret Service who knew Conner still worked for them—his handler, Greg.

A door slammed.

Conner looked at Kayla again and pulled on the handle.

Manny rounded the hood of his truck. Armed. If this didn’t go right for him, it was going to go even worse for Kayla.

Her father wasn’t doing well. Conner had asked his handler for updates after he’d read in the paper about a hospital stay for the former president. If Kayla was hurt—or worse—it wouldn’t be good for the old man. Then again, it wouldn’t be good when he found out his daughter was facilitating a battered-women’s shelter either. Sure, she helped women and children feel safe, but Kayla had never once backed down when it was a fight she could win. He’d had that conversation with her father what felt like a lifetime ago now, and they’d agreed her stubbornness would get her in trouble one day.

Now it looked like that day had arrived.

“Let’s go, Thorne. Andis will want to speak to you.”

“Who says I’m going in? I have something to take care of first.” Conner waved at the truck.

“Don’t worry about that. She’s coming, too. Andis wants to talk to her, and you’d better be ready to explain why you spooked Pete. He tore out of that building so fast. Said you shot at him... Like, what on earth, man? You weren’t supposed to be part of this.”

“Part of what? Burning down a lawyer’s office? She doesn’t even represent criminals. And I didn’t shoot first—Pete did.”

“Being a lawyer isn’t what Andis wants with her.” Manny pulled out his gun. “And I wasn’t asking.”

“You could’ve killed both of us.” He motioned behind him to the truck, where Kayla was still passed out. “You wanna explain how breaking into her office escalated to burning us out and trying to kill us?”

“You shouldn’t have interfered. Pete freaked,” Manny huffed. “The idiot decided to smoke you both out, so he got Earl on it. They figured you were there to get to the info faster and you’d be the one who’d give it to Andis instead. So the two of them caused a scene that’s going to take days to iron out with the police.”

Conner had wondered if Andis had some kind of arrangement with the local cops. Maybe not the sheriff himself. It could be someone who worked for him who was paid to look the other way, like the dispatcher who hadn’t reported the fire. It was hard to be a good criminal with too many honest cops hanging around, and Andis wasn’t above much—least of all bribery.

Manny lifted his chin. “So you can either tell me what that was about, or I can shoot you and tell Andis whatever I want. Kayla Harris goes to him either way.”

“Not without me.”

“Back off, Thorne.”

“You don’t touch Kayla Harris. No one does. Whatever Andis wants, I’ll get it for him.”

The sound of Kayla’s screams still echoed in his ears. He was supposed to protect her, to give his life to save hers. Every second for the rest of his life, he would remember that feeling, that split second when he wondered if today was the day he would fail in his duty.

Conner folded his arms across his chest and said nothing.

“So you have betrayed us for a woman.” Manny’s laugh held no humor. “I wouldn’t have believed it if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes.”

“I haven’t betrayed anyone.”

“No, it’s more like sold us out.” Manny motioned to the truck with his chin. “She worth it?”

“We’re not talking about this. What does Andis want with her?”

Manny’s eyes flashed. For a second Conner saw an edge. Did he want to kill her, or did he want Kayla for something else? It seemed like he had a personal stake with Kayla, but how could that be? She was nothing to Manny but a job.

“She and I knew each other in the White House.” Conner’s tone suggested they were imbeciles for not having figured that out themselves. “Kayla and I go way back.” Conner jerked his shoulder in the direction of his truck.

“Fine. Andis wants her brought in.”

Conner didn’t much care for Manny’s tone. He needed to stake his claim. It was the only way these guys would accept his bone-deep need to keep her safe. Conner needed to at least try to remain in good standing with these guys and their boss if he was going to complete this assignment. Then he could get back in good standing with his boss at the Secret Service.

It meant everything to him that Locke knew he wasn’t a disgraced agent.

Or it had. Until he walked into Kayla’s office and saw her again.

Men like Manny and Andis understood possession. They understood lines men didn’t cross, though often knowingly crossed them. The consequences would be real, and Manny knew that, too. Kayla was off-limits whether they were having a relationship or not. Manny, any of Andis’s men and the boss himself had to know that this business didn’t touch Kayla. There was no way he would let her get involved, even if she’d already done something inadvertently.

He stepped closer to Manny. “Kayla isn’t going anywhere but with me.”

It was a risky game, pushing Andis’s number two. Conner was under him as far as the hierarchy was concerned, but they all knew what it was like being tied up in knots by a beautiful woman. Even bad guys fell in love. And it didn’t matter what they thought about him being caught by her; it only mattered that they believed he’d fight for her.

Because he would.

Manny’s gaze darted over Conner’s shoulder. The truck door opened, then slammed shut.

Kayla.

“Conner?”

Conner didn’t turn. Instead he watched Manny’s eyes flare. He saw the man shift his stance, reacting to Kayla’s presence in a way Conner didn’t like at all. Manny glanced at Conner. “She’s coming with me.”

Conner stepped toward her. “I’m not going to let that happen.”

Manny lifted his gun. Conner did the same, and they faced off as he moved to stand in front of Kayla. “Whoa,” Kayla said. “I didn’t see the gun.”

Huddled behind him, she gripped the sides of his jacket. With her head down, she’d be out of sight so that she wasn’t a possible target. She remembered.

Conner faced his so-called friend and held the gun tight even as he guided them back. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Kayla’s hand trace the hood of the truck as they went.

“Kayla isn’t going anywhere.” Except where Conner put her, behind cover so he could keep her safe.

Manny fired at them.

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