Cornered in Conard County

by Rachel Lee

  George had already hurt Dory in ways she’d never recover from. If he’d killed her... Well, he was going to join her. He wasn’t fit to share the air with another living soul.

  * * *

  GEORGE CAME CHARGING ON, sure the cop would swerve. But he didn’t. There was no place to go except to drive around him. It was mowed flat on either side of the road, dry grasses waving. At the last second, he wrenched the wheel, expecting to bypass the oncoming vehicle.

  Except those evenly mowed grasses concealed a ditch.

  He jolted to a stop so hard his face hit the steering wheel. Searing pain erupted in his chest, but he ignored it. He pushed the door of the truck open and slid out, scrambling up the ditch and heading for the distant trees. He’d always been a fast runner. He could outrun some cop who lived on doughnuts and coffee.

  “Police dog,” shouted a male voice. “Stop or he’ll bite you.”

  He kept running, ignoring the command, then he heard a word that made no sense.

  “Foos!”

  He didn’t dare look back. He fixed his gaze on those trees and kept pumping his legs and arms, ignoring the pain in his chest.

  * * *

  CADELL WATCHED DASHER take off after the guy. Off lead, as fast as he could run. Cadell paused to look into the red truck. No Dory.

  He stared toward the dog chasing the man and knew he had to go after them. The guy might shoot the dog. His partner. Some things a cop couldn’t do.

  But he called the news in as he began to run and was assured cops were converging at his place, with a chopper standing by if needed. They’d find Dory. He had to finish his job.

  The sirens blared behind him. Then, to his great pleasure, other K-9s on the hunt fell into line behind Dasher. That meant not far behind them came their handlers.

  George didn’t stand a chance.

  * * *

  BACK AT THE RANCH, however, perplexity had set in. Several deputies stood around the ostrich pen, and they might as well have scratched their heads.

  “I’m fine,” Dory said, now sitting upright, legs tucked. “They didn’t hurt me. But they’re scared because that guy kept poking them with an electric prod. Just back away. Cadell will know what to do when he gets here.”

  “It might be a while, ma’am,” answered one. “He was last seen running with his K-9 after the guy who abandoned the red truck.”

  For the first time since early morning, Dory felt like smiling. “He is, is he? I hope Dasher shreds my brother. What about my dog, Flash? He got shocked, too.”

  “The one that was found in town?”

  “Probably.”

  At that the deputy smiled. “He’s fine. The vet’s going to look him over, but other than refusing to leave your house, he’s okay.”

  Dory breathed a huge sigh of relief, then felt a warmth in her heart. For Flash. For Cadell. Imagine the dog not wanting to leave her house. “Couldn’t coax him away?”

  “Not from what I heard. He snapped at anyone who tried.”

  “He’s had a tough morning.”

  “Seems like he’s not the only one,” the deputy answered.

  No, she thought, letting her head fall back against the ground. No, indeed. All she knew was Cadell had better come back here safe and sound, or she was going to do something she might regret for the rest of her life.

  * * *

  GEORGE DIDN’T GET far into the woods. Dasher bit him on the forearm and hung on, even after George collapsed. Cadell caught up to find his dog holding George’s arm like a stuffed toy, which he wouldn’t release until Cadell told him to. Cadell pulled his service pistol, took a bead on George and told Dasher to release him. Not that George had much fight left in him. He was having trouble breathing, panting hard.

  So instead of the pleasure of putting him in handcuffs, Cadell had to settle for allowing medevac to take him to the hospital. “Cuff him to the gurney,” he told the medics. They promised, accepting a set of flex cuffs from him.

  Then he and Dasher headed the rest of the way up his private road and found an almost fantastical scene. Under other circumstances he might have laughed.

  But there was only one thing he wanted to know. He trotted up to the pen. “Dory? Are you okay?”

  She smiled up at him from where she sat inside the ostrich pen. “I’m fine, but my new friends are going to need to see the doc. I don’t know how many times George shocked them.”

  Then, to his utter amazement, one of those ornery birds craned its neck downward and nuzzled Dory gently.

  Well, at least one of them had good taste.

  “So,” she asked, “do you think you can get me out of here?”

  * * *

  HE GOT HER out of the pen with surprisingly little trouble. The birds settled down in their hiding positions, which made him worry. Usually they seemed to take great delight in regarding him balefully from above. He hoped George hadn’t hurt them beyond repair.

  Though Dory claimed she was quite all right, the paramedics insisted on examining her for shock. When she seemed okay, they warned Cadell to keep an eye on her.

  “It could hit at any time,” Jess McGregor said. “If it does, bring her in to the clinic or the ER.” Then he limped on his artificial leg around to the front of the truck.

  Dory didn’t want to leave until Mike Windwalker arrived to check the ostriches. Cadell didn’t argue with her, although the thing he most wanted to do was get her home and check her out from head to foot. He couldn’t believe she had come through this unscathed.

  But for the moment all she wanted to talk about was the ostriches, how they’d avoided hurting her even when George was torturing them. She took clear delight in the fact that Dasher had locked onto George’s arm and that her brother had been taken cuffed to the hospital. “I hope he has more than a bite,” she said.

  Cadell almost smiled. “I’m sure he has more. He crashed his truck in the ditch, and when I got to him he was having trouble breathing. I’m betting broken ribs.”

  “Good. I hear those hurt.”

  “Like hell,” he agreed.

  He watched her with appreciation and amazement. The woman he’d first met had seemed pinched, locked inside herself, stalked by fear. Gradually she’d been emerging from her inner prison, at least with him, but right now she seemed to have busted the doors wide-open. The closest she’d ever come to this much happy animation had been in bed with him. Now she was showering the world with it.

  He hoped, for her sake, it lasted. It could begin a whole new chapter in her life.

  As he drove her home finally, she grew a bit quieter. He could sense her eagerness to see Flash. Mike Windwalker had said he had a bit of singed fur but no burns. She was still on edge about it, though, which he could understand.

  But he was growing increasingly edgy himself. This morning, as he’d raced heedlessly over dangerous roads at unsafe speeds, he’d realized he wanted Dory Lake in his life from now on.

  All the flags he’d planted after Brenda—warning flags telling him to avoid long-term relationships with women—had become meaningless. Just like that. Unfortunately, you could waste years trying to avoid getting kicked in the gut until you awoke one morning and found yourself utterly vulnerable.

  So he was about to get gut punched again. Because now that George would be going to prison for a good long time again, she could pick up the threads of her old life, and he couldn’t imagine why in the world she might want to stay here.

  If she was emerging from her private hermitage, surely she’d want to test her wings, taste the world she’d been avoiding. Hell, she hadn’t even really dated, from what he could tell. Wouldn’t she want to do some sampling? Look for a life in a city with more action? Dang, she’d been in prison as long as her brother had.

  And she’d only come here
because she thought she could hide and she knew Betty. She’d be crazy not to look for something better.

  The signs were all around anyway. She’d set up her office, but she was still using a rickety dining table in her kitchen. She hadn’t prettied up even a single corner of the place by hanging a picture. Leaving almost no mark that she had been there.

  So, she was planning to move on quickly. Nothing was permanent, not even the high-speed internet she’d had installed, and that was a cord that could be severed with a phone call.

  Of course, he had only himself to blame. The flags had been there from the beginning. He should have known better than to break his own rule. Women couldn’t be trusted to stay. Brenda had proved that.

  When they got to her house, Flash was still on the porch waiting. Someone had put a bowl of water out for him, but he was concerned about only one thing.

  When Dory climbed out of the SUV, Flash dashed toward her, forgot all his training and jumped up on her, knocking her to the patchy front lawn.

  Cadell listened to her giggle as Flash licked her face, and he smiled faintly, poised to leave. She didn’t need him anymore.

  But then she freed herself from Flash’s attentions and jumped to her feet. “Come on in,” she said to Cadell. “I don’t know about you, but I could really use some coffee.”

  He hesitated. “I was just about to go.”

  She froze. “Why?”

  “You must have stuff you want to do.”

  “Stuff?” She tilted her head. “Okay, then. You’re on my list of stuff. Come inside.”

  He took his usual place at the rickety kitchen table while she fed Flash, then started the coffee.

  Then she faced him. “So tell me something, Deputy Marcus. Was I just a job to you?”

  He felt almost sickened by the question. “What?” He didn’t want to believe she’d just said that.

  “All the nights you spent here. Was that just protection, like Flash? You said you were a protector. Was that all I was? A job?”

  Her words punched him. “No,” he said hoarsely.

  “Then why are you in such a hurry to leave?”

  His self-control was usually pretty good, but after the stressors of that day, it had frayed. The words burst from him, almost angrily. “Because you’re getting ready to leave now that George is no longer a threat.”

  She frowned. “Did I say that? I don’t remember ever saying that.”

  “Well, why the hell would you want to stay here?”

  Her face changed, and he thought he detected a flicker of the fear that had once been there so often. When she spoke, her voice was small. “You?”

  Astonishment gripped him. Before he could respond, she’d turned her back to him, reaching for mugs.

  “I realize,” she said, “that you don’t want another woman in your life. I get it. Brenda must have been the witch of all witches. Anyway, maybe you’re done with me. Maybe I was just a job to you. Regardless, I’m not leaving. I don’t want to leave. I want joint custody.”

  Now he was confused. “Joint custody of what?”

  “Itsy and Bitsy.”

  That did it. Circuitous as she was being, he got it. Being willfully dense would serve nothing. He shoved the chair back so hard it tipped over.

  She whirled, startled by the sound, and he was amazed to see tears rolling down her cheeks.

  “Those ostriches,” he said firmly, “don’t come without me.”

  She wiped the tears away with her sleeve, but her smile still hadn’t appeared. “You’d better mean that.”

  “I never meant anything more in my life. We’re a package, me and those birds. Take it or leave it.”

  The smile began to peek out. “I’ll take it,” she said quietly.

  He grabbed her then, forgetting finesse, drawing her into a hug so tight she squeaked. “You take it, you can’t leave it.”

  “I couldn’t possibly leave those birds,” she said shakily.

  He closed his eyes, pressed his lips to her hair and muttered, “So I have to keep them?”

  “If you want me.”

  “I guess I’m stuck with them. Because I love you.”

  She threw her arms around his neck, and he felt his uniform shirt dampen with her warm tears. “I love you, too, Cadell. I want you, the dogs, the ostriches... I want it all.”

  “Babies?”

  Her head tipped back. “Babies,” she agreed firmly. “But you get joint custody.”

  Finally he laughed. It was the most joyous sound that had escaped him in a long time. “I’ll help with it all.”

  She pressed her lips to his, giving him a salty kiss. “Forever.”

  “Forever,” he repeated. “Forever.”

  * * * * *

  If you loved this suspenseful story by

  New York Times bestselling author Rachel Lee,

  don’t miss out on previous books in the

  CONARD COUNTY: THE NEXT GENERATION

  miniseries:

  UNDERCOVER IN CONARD COUNTY

  CONARD COUNTY MARINE

  CONARD COUNTY SPY

  A SECRET IN CONARD COUNTY

  Available now from Harlequin Romantic Suspense!

  Keep reading for an excerpt from PROTECTION DETAIL by Julie Miller.

  Join Harlequin My Rewards today and earn a FREE ebook!

  Click here to Join Harlequin My Rewards

  http://www.harlequin.com/myrewards.html?mt=loyalty&cmpid=EBOOBPBPA201602010003

  We hope you enjoyed this Harlequin Intrigue story.

  You crave excitement! Harlequin Intrigue stories deal in serious romantic suspense, keeping you on the edge of your seat as resourceful, true-to-life women and strong, fearless men fight for survival.

  Enjoy six new stories from Harlequin Intrigue every month!

  Connect with us on Harlequin.com for info on our new releases, access to exclusive offers, free online reads and much more!

  Other ways to keep in touch:

  Harlequin.com/newsletters

  Facebook.com/HarlequinBooks

  Twitter.com/HarlequinBooks

  HarlequinBlog.com

  Join Harlequin My Rewards & Instantly earn a FREE ebook of your choice.

  Earn points for every Harlequin print and ebook you buy, wherever & whenever you shop.

  Turn your points into FREE BOOKS.

  Don’t miss out. Reward the book lover in you!

  Register Today & Earn a FREE BOOK*

  *New members who join before December 31st, 2017 will receive 2000 points redeemable for eligible titles.

  Click here to register

  Or visit us online to register at

  http://www.harlequin.com/myrewards.html?mt=loyalty&cmpid=EBOOBPBPA201602010001

  Protection Detail

  by Julie Miller

  Prologue

  Thomas Watson’s face hurt from the effort it took not to cry when he saw his daughter in her wedding gown.

  “It’s 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 he’d lost to a drugged-up thief’s bullet when Olivia was a toddler. “I will always be your little girl.”

  She’d stopped being his little girl the day she’d 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.
r />   “You’re beautiful. You look so like your mother.” He fingered the veil of Irish lace his bride had worn thirty-five years earlier when he’d 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 didn’t 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 Olivia’s cheek. “She would have loved to have been here today. I know she’s watching over us.”

  “It’s been twenty years. You’ve 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 officer’s 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. “You’re a handsome man. You’re fit. You’re smart, a rock of dependability and caring. Maybe you could ease up on the whole alpha male of the pack thing you’ve got going on. But that’s 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 you’d let her.”

  Thomas laughed. “Let your old dad get through marrying off my baby girl today before you start matchmaking for me.”

  “Old dad, nothing. You’re a catch.” Thomas gave her a stern look he couldn’t sustain in the glow of that bemused smile. “All right. I’ll allow you today.”

  Thomas walked her to the foyer outside the church’s sanctuary. “Gabe makes you happy?”

  “You know he does.”

  “I’d be pitchin’ a fit if I thought you were marrying a man who didn’t love you as much as you love him.”