THE BABY MISSION
An illegal adoption ringusing kidnapped babieshas to be stopped. To gather the necessary evidence, U.S. marshal Serena Summers goes undercoveras a married woman desperate for a baby. Her husband is her own partner, U.S. marshal Josh McCall, whom Serena blames for her brothers death. How can she act like a loving wife when she has to constantly fight her feelings for a man she isnt sure she can trust? The closer they get to unraveling the dark web of deceit, though, the more being Joshs undercover wife means putting her lifeand futurein his hands.
Witness Protection: Hiding in plain sight
Glass shattered.
Serenas heart hammered against her ribs. The sound came from somewhere in the house.
Josh lifted a finger to his lips, indicating silence.
She nodded and withdrew her weapon from the holster at her hip. Moving in tandem they slowly made their way down the hall toward the main part of the house. At the T in the hallway, Josh gestured with two fingers for her to go right, while hed go left.
Hushed male voices came from the next room. At least two.
Adrenaline pumped through her veins. The nitty-gritty aspect of taking down the bad guys was a necessary part of the job. A part she had no qualms about performing.
Two men stood inside the dining room and another balanced half in, half out of the broken window on the side of the house.
Josh yelled, Stop. U.S. Marshals.
The guy half inside the window dropped back outside and disappeared. One of the remaining thugs reached behind his back to whip out a .357 and aimed the pistol at Josh.
Fear slammed into Serena. Gun!
* * *
TERRI REED
At an early age Terri Reed discovered the wonderful world of fiction and declared she would one day write a book. Now she is fulfilling that dream and enjoys writing for Love Inspired Books. Her second book, A Sheltering Love, was a 2006 RITA® Award finalist and a 2005 National Readers Choice Award finalist. Her book Strictly Confidential, book five in the Faith at the Crossroads continuity series, took third place in the 2007 American Christian Fiction Writers Book of the Year Award, and Her Christmas Protector took third place in 2008. She is an active member of both Romance Writers of America and American Christian Fiction Writers. She resides in the Pacific Northwest with her college-sweetheart husband, two wonderful children and an array of critters. When not writing, she enjoys spending time with her family and friends, gardening and playing with her dogs.
You can write to Terri at P.O. Box 19555, Portland, OR 97280. Visit her on the web at www.loveinspiredauthors.com, leave comments on her blog, www.ladiesofsuspense.blogspot.com, or email her at terrireed@sterling.net.
Undercover Marriage
Terri Reed
www.millsandboon.co.uk
MILLS & BOON
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I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength.
Philippians 4:1213
Thank you to the editors at Love Inspired for giving me this opportunity to work on this continuity series. Its been a pleasure to work with the other authors, Shirlee McCoy, Margaret Daley, Sharon Dunn, Liz Johnson and Valerie Hansen.
I also want to thank Leah Vale, Lissa Manley and Melissa McClone; without their support, wisdom and laughter my life would not be as rich.
Thanks and acknowledgment to Terri Reed for her contribution to the Witness Protection series.
Contents
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
EPILOGUE
DEAR READER
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION
Extract
ONE
U.S. marshal Serena Summers entered three-year-old Brandon McIntyres room with a packing box in hand. Her heart ached for the turmoil the McIntyre family had recently suffered. Danger had touched their lives in the most horrible of ways. A child had been kidnapped.
But thankfully Brandons older brother had been rescued by the joint efforts of loving parents and the Marshals Service.
Serena paused, taking stock of the signs that the McIntyre family had once lived in this home. Little clothes spilled out of the dresser, as if the furniture had burped. Toys were scattered across the floor, tiny land mines to avoid. A toddler-size bed, the sheets and covers thrown back as if Brandon had recently awokenand now the bed waited for the tiny body to once again claim slumber.
But the child wouldnt be back. At least not to this house.
The McIntyre family no longer lived in Houston. The U.S. Marshals Service had moved them for a second time when their location had been compromised.
Only a few people within the service knew where Dylan, Grace and the kids had been relocated.
Only a few people within the service knew where Dylan, Grace and the kids had been relocated.
Serena and her partner, Josh, were among them. It was their job to pack up the familys belongings and forward them through a long and winding path to their final destination. The McIntyres had been spirited away and deposited in paradise. Or as close to it as the U.S. Marshals Service could get them. Hawaii, to be exact.
Carefully picking her way around stuffed animals, train pieces and Legos, Serena went to work, gently folding clothing and stacking them inside the box. Her chest ached with empathy for the family that had almost been destroyed by the illegal activities of Dylans boss, Fred Munders, and his thugs.
Mr. Munders, a wealthy and well-connected lawyer in St. Louis, Missouri, had been implicated in several murders and in the illegal operation of a baby-smuggling outfit run through the adoption agency his wife, Matilda Munders, founded.
The only problem was the marshals and the FBI had found no hard evidence with which to shut Munders and the adoption agency down.
The word of several thugs and Dylan McIntyre, who worked as an attorney in Munderss law firm, Munders and Moore, wasnt enough to indict. The evidence Dylan had collected against his boss had disappeared from within the Marshals Services district offices, apparently stolen by someone within the service itself.
Serenas fingers curled with anger around the tiny tennis shoe in her hand.
So many deaths, so many lives thrown into chaos.
The thought that someone she worked with, trusted, could have stolen the evidence and could have been leaking information to the bad guys sent Serenas blood to boil.
If her brother were alive, hed know how to compartmentalize the anger and pain gnawing at her day in and day out.
But Daniel was gone. Murdered.
A sharp stab of grief sliced through her heart. Followed closely by the anger that always chased her sorrow.
She tossed the shoe in the box and abruptly rose. Restless, she moved to strip the bed. She had to keep busy, keep her mind occupied, or her emotions would overwhelm her. Something she refused to let happen. She needed to stay professional. She needed to keep up the front that her world hadnt collapsed with her brothers death.
Hey, you okay in here?
Serena glanced up at her current partner, U.S. marshal Josh McCall. Theyd been paired to work the illegal adoption case. His six-foot-three frame filled the doorway. Hed taken off his navy suit jacket and rolled the sleeves of his once crisp white dress shirt up to the elbows. His silver silk tie was askew, and his brown hair looked as if hed been running his fingers through it again, the ends standing up, making him appear as if hed just rolled out of bed rather than put in a ninety-hour week. His soft brown eyes, shadowed by signs of fatigue and grief, tugged at her heart. Shed always found him appealing. But that was before. Now she refused to allow her reaction to show. Not only did she not want to draw attention to the fact that shed noticed anything about him, she didnt want him to think she cared.
She didnt. Josh was the reason her brother had been alone when hed been murdered. Instead of having his partners back, Josh had been out on a personal day at the time Daniel needed him, leaving Daniel on his own to chase a lead, where he was struck on the head and left to die. Alone.
A traitorous thought niggled: Daniel shouldnt have gone off by himself. Doing so went against protocol and logic. If he hadnt, he would still be alive. She pushed back her musings. Her brother must have had a good reason. But nothing absolved Josh of the responsibility he had to protect Daniel. Theyd been best friends as well as coworkers.
Her fists bunched up the bedding. Her soul cried out with Why, Lord? as it always did anytime she allowed her mind to go down that road.
Turning away from Josh, she said briskly, Im good.
Taking the two ends of the sheet in each hand, she spread her arms wide and attempted to fold the sheet in half. The material didnt want to cooperate.
Here, Josh said, stepping all the way into the room. Let me help.
He reached for the sheet, his hand brushing hers.
An electric current shot through her. She jerked away, letting go of the ends as if shed been burned. The sheet fluttered to the floor between them. I dont need your help.
His hand dropped to his side. Serena. Joshs tone held a note of hurt.
Inhaling sharply, Serena berated herself for not being professional. Shed allowed her personal grief and bitterness to show. She stiffened her spine, raised her chin and let out a long breath.
Keeping her voice neutral, she asked, Hows the kitchen coming along?
Resignation shuttered his expression. Almost done.
Good. I finished the kids bathroom and the daughters room. Those boxes are ready for transport.
Well be out of here in time to make our scheduled flight, Josh stated, his tone flat. Itll be good to return to St. Louis and get some rest.
Serenas mouth pressed tight. Rest was something shed had little of the past year and a half, ever since her brothers unsolved murder. Not to mention the trips to various locations around the country as she and Josh worked to track down leads on the illegal baby-smuggling scheme. Each lead only brought more confusion and chaos. They badly needed a break in the case.
Glass shattered.
Serenas heart hammered against her ribs.
The sound came from somewhere in the house.
Josh raised a finger to his lips, indicating silence.
She nodded and withdrew her weapon from the holster at her hip. Moving in tandem, they slowly made their way down the hall toward the main part of the house. At the T in the hallway, Josh gestured with two fingers for her to go right, while hed go left.
Dipping her chin in acknowledgment, she peeled off to enter the empty kitchen. Her pulse beat a frantic tempo.
Hushed male voices came from the next room. At least two.
The muscles in her shoulders tightened. Adrenaline pumped through her veins. The nitty-gritty aspect of taking down the bad guys was a necessary part of the job. A part she had no qualms about performing. As a woman in a field historically dominated by men, shed worked hard to prove herself. Just as other women in the service had done as far back as the late 1800s, when Ada Carnutt first put on the badge. Serena admired her predecessors as well as the current female director of the U.S. Marshals Service, whod been appointed by the president. Serena would do them proud.
Skirting around stacked boxes, she made her way to the dining room just as Josh entered from the living room.
Two men stood inside the dining room and another was balanced half in, half out of the broken window on the side of the house. All three men, dressed in black, were big guys in their late twenties.
Josh yelled, Stop! U.S. Marshals!
The guy half inside the window dropped back outside and disappeared. One of the remaining thugs reached behind his back to whip out a .357 and aimed the pistol at Josh.
Fear burst within Serena. Gun!
Josh ducked behind a stack of boxes as the guy holding the gun fired in his direction. A bullet tore through the cardboard box, nearly taking out Joshs eye, and smashed into the wall. She dove behind the love seat.
Knowing the boxes wouldnt provide enough cover for Josh, Serena had to do something. She popped up, aimed at the intruder with the gun and squeezed off a round. The rapid beat of her heart thundered in her ears, drowning out the retort of the weapon in her hand. The bullet slammed into the guys leg. He screamed and crumpled to the floor. His buddy jumped through the broken window and escaped.