Enter the world of the Military K-9 Unit
A riveting new series begins!
When the Red Rose Killer leaves his calling card for Staff Sergeant Felicity Monroe, she knows exactly what that meansshes on his revenge list. Her boss, Master Sergeant Westley James, and K-9 German shepherd Dakota become her guardians, but theyll have to act fast to escape the man who wants her dead.
TERRI REEDs romance and romantic suspense novels have appeared on the Publishers Weekly top twenty-five and Nielsen BookScans top one hundred lists, and have been featured in USA TODAY, Christian Fiction Magazine and RT Book Reviews. Her books have been finalists for the Romance Writers of America RITA® Award and the National Readers Choice Award and finalists three times for the American Christian Fiction Writers Carol Award. Contact Terri at terrireed.com or PO Box 19555, Portland, OR 97224.
Also By Terri Reed
Military K-9 Unit
Mission to Protect
Classified K-9 Unit
Guardian
Classified K-9 Unit Christmas
Yuletide Stalking
Northern Border Patrol
Danger at the Border
Joint Investigation
Murder Under the Mistletoe
Ransom
Identity Unknown
Discover more at millsandboon.co.uk
Mission to Protect
Terri Reed
www.millsandboon.co.uk
MISSION TO PROTECT
© 2018 Harlequin Books S.A.
Published in Great Britain 2018
by Mills & Boon, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF
All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. This edition is published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, locations and incidents are purely fictional and bear no relationship to any real life individuals, living or dead, or to any actual places, business establishments, locations, events or incidents. Any resemblance is entirely coincidental.
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www.millsandboon.co.uk
Version: 2020-03-02
MILLS & BOON
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What arent you telling me?
Westleys question jerked Felicitys gaze to meet his intense stare. She felt her heart pound as her instincts warred with Ians directive.
Felicity, I cant protect you if I dont know what is going on.
True. Westley was the only one standing between her and a potential killer.
Two killers, in fact.
And if Westley didnt know there was more than one threat out there, then how effective could he be?
She inhaled, blew out the breath and said, My fathers death wasnt an accident.
* * *
MILITARY K-9 UNIT:
These soldiers track down a serial killer with the help of their brave canine partners
Mission to ProtectTerri Reed, April 2018
Bound by DutyValerie Hansen, May 2018
Top Secret TargetDana Mentink, June 2018
Standing FastMaggie K. Black, July 2018
Rescue OperationLenora Worth, August 2018
Explosive ForceLynette Eason, September 2018
Battle TestedLaura Scott, October 2018
Valiant DefenderShirlee McCoy, November 2018
Military K-9 Unit ChristmasValerie Hansen and Laura Scott, December 2018
Dear Reader,
I hope you have enjoyed the first book in the Military K-9 Unit continuity series. When I was asked to be a part of this editor-created project, I was elated and nervous. This is my first foray into writing about military heroes, both two-legged and four. I have the utmost respect and admiration for our military-service women and men. In writing this novel, I called upon many experts and ex-military personnel for help and guidance. Please forgive any and all mistakes as some creative license was taken for the sake of the story.
Developing the characters of Westley and Felicity was both fun and challenging. I needed them to be strong, honorable and brave, but vulnerable enough to let down the walls around their hearts and fall in love. Each came to the story with old wounds that needed to be healed before they could find their happy ending. Westley was afraid he would repeat the patterns of behavior modeled to him by his parents. And Felicity battled with insecurity, which kept her from permitting anyone to get close. But love softened their hearts and allowed them both to be open to a future together.
Through the next seven books you will find more stories of romance and mystery as the men and women of the fictional Canyon Air Force Base fall in love and bring down the Red Rose Killer. Enjoy!
Blessings,
Terri Reed
Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.
Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.
Psalms 139:2324
This book is dedicated to the Military Working Dogs and the service women and men who defend our country.
Thank you to my editors, Tina James and Emily Rodmell, for including me in this series and for your support and patience. Thank you to the other authors who gave me so much encouragement during a difficult time. Thank you to Leah Vale for your never-ending friendship. And thank you to my family for your unconditional love.
Contents
Cover
Back Cover Text
About the Author
Booklist
Title Page
Copyright
Introduction
Dear Reader
Bible Verse
Dedication
ONE
TWO
THREE
FOUR
FIVE
SIX
SEVEN
EIGHT
NINE
TEN
ELEVEN
TWELVE
THIRTEEN
FOURTEEN
Extract
About the Publisher
ONE
The back door of Canyon Air Force Bases military working-dog training facility stood open. It should have been closed and locked tight.
Alarm slithered through lead trainer Master Sergeant Westley James like the venomous red, yellow and black coral snake inhabiting this part of Texas.
Something was wrong.
As he entered the building an eerie chill went down his neck that had nothing to do with the April early-morning air. The stillness echoed through the center as loud as a jet taking off. His pulse spiked. He rushed to the kennel room and drew up short.
The kennels were empty. All of them.
Lying on the floor in a pool of blood were the two night-shift dog trainers, Airman Tamara Peterson and Airman Landon Martelli. Each had been shot in the chest.
Grief clutched at Westleys heart. Careful not to disturb the scene, he checked for pulses. None.
They had both been murdered.
Under the left arms of Tamara and Landon were a red rose and a folded white note, the calling card of a notorious serial killer.
Horror slammed into him. The news report hed heard this morning on his way to work had become reality.
Boyd Sullivan, aka the Red Rose Killer, had escaped prison and was back on base.
* * *
Staff Sergeant Felicity Monroe jerked awake to the fading sound of her own scream echoing in her head. Sweat drenched her nightshirt. The pounding of her heart hurt in her chest, making bile rise to burn her throat. Darkness surrounded her.
Where was she? Fear locked on to her like a guided missile and wouldnt let go. Panic fluttered at the edge of her mind.
Memories flooded her system.
Her father!
A sob tore from her throat.
The familiar scent of jasmine from the bouquet of flowers on her bedside table grounded her. She was in her bedroom of the house on Canyon Air Force Base in southwest Texas. The home shed shared with her father before his accidental death a month ago.
Her breathing slowed. She wiped at the wet tears on her cheeks and shook away the fear and panic.
Just a nightmare. One in a long string of them.
According to Dr. Flintman, the base therapist, she suffered mild post-traumatic stress disorder from finding her father after his fall from a ladder he had climbed to clean the gutters on the house. Knowing why her brain was doing this didnt make the images seared in her mind any less upsetting.
She filled her lungs with several deep breaths and sought the clock across the room on the dresser.
The clocks red glow was blocked by the silhouette of a person looming at the end of her bed.
Was her mind playing a trick on her again? Or was she still stuck in her nightmare? She blinked rapidly to clear the sleep from her eyes.
Her breath caught and held.
No trick.
Someone was in her room.
Full-fledged panic jackknifed through her, jolting her system into action. Self-preservation kicked in. She rolled to the side of the bed and landed soundlessly on the floor. With one hand, she reached for the switch of the bedside-table lamp, while her other hand searched for the baseball bat she kept under the bed.
Holding the bat up with her right hand, she flicked on the light. A warm glow dispelled the shadows and revealed she was alone. Or was she?
With bat in hand, she went through the house, turning on every light. No one was there.
She frowned and worked to calm her racing pulse.
This wasnt the first time shed thought someone had been in the house.
But this time had seemed so real.
Back in her bedroom, she looked again at the clock. Wait a minute. It was turned to face the wall. A shiver of unease wracked her body. The red numbers had been facing the bed when shed retired last night. She was convinced of it.
And her dresser drawers were slightly open. She peeked inside. Her clothes were mussed, as if someone had rummaged through them. She wasnt a neat freak or anything, but her military training and her air force father had taught her to keep her things in proper order.