Bodyguard With A Badge

Take the shot…or take a chance?

FBI sniper Andre Diaz saved Juliette Lawson from a deadly hostage situation. But only hours later, he receives the surprise of his life when she takes him hostage in order to escape Quantico. Now the federal agent knows just how desperate Juliette is to stay hidden from her dangerous cop ex-husband.

Putting her trust in another law enforcement officer is difficult. Yet Juliette senses Andre is definitely one of the good guys. Perhaps he truly can protect her from the secrets she’s been running from—unless her deadly past catches up with them both first.

The Lawmen: Bullets and Brawn

He stared directly into her eyes, intense and sincere. “I believe you.”

She stamped down the hope she felt at his words, tried to be logical. “Why?”

“My gut is telling me you’re innocent.” His gaze went to the gun and then back to her face. “Relatively innocent.”

A smile twitched her lips, and she felt the sudden, ridiculous urge to laugh at the predicament she’d gotten herself into. She’d never so much as gotten a parking ticket her whole life and in one day, she’d stolen a gun off one federal agent and taken another one hostage.

“Just level with me, Juliette,” Andre said, his deep brown eyes imploring, almost hypnotizing in their intensity.

A shiver worked its way up her body that had nothing to do with fear. Letting her attraction for this man lull her into trusting him was a bad idea. Whether or not he believed her story, he was still a federal agent.

Bodyguard with a Badge

Elizabeth Heiter

www.millsandboon.co.uk

ELIZABETH HEITER likes her suspense to feature strong heroines, chilling villains, psychological twists and a little romance. Her research has taken her into the minds of serial killers, through murder investigations and onto the FBI Academy’s shooting range. Elizabeth graduated from the University of Michigan with a degree in English literature. She’s a member of International Thriller Writers and Romance Writers of America. Visit Elizabeth at www.elizabethheiter.com.

For my amazing agent, Kevan Lyon.

Thank you for believing in me.

Acknowledgments

Thank you to Paula Eykelhof, Denise Zaza, Kayla King and everyone involved in bringing Bodyguard with a Badge to shelves. Thanks to fellow Intrigue authors Barb Han, Janie Crouch and Tyler Anne Snell for #AllTheWords. And thanks to my family and friends for their endless support, with a special thanks to my usual suspects for their manuscript feedback and support: Chris Heiter, Robbie Terman, Andrew Gulli, Kathryn Merhar, Caroline Heiter, Kristen Kobet, Ann Forsaith, Charles Shipps, Sasha Orr, Nora Smith and Mark Nalbach.

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

Introduction

Title Page

About the Author

Dedication

Acknowledgments

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Twenty

Epilogue

Extract

Extract

Copyright

Chapter One

Andre Diaz lurched upright, disoriented and unable to see through the thick smoke swirling in his bedroom. He sucked in a breath and instantly choked, even as his tired brain attempted to figure out what was happening.

“Andre! Get up!”

His older brother’s voice cut through his growing fear and Andre threw off his covers and jumped out of bed, almost tripping.

“We have to move,” Cole told him, his ever-calm voice laced with barely contained panic.

Andre stumbled through the dark room, each breath labored. Out in the hallway, light beckoned, but as he joined his brothers in the doorway, he realized it wasn’t because someone had flicked a switch.

The house was on fire.

“Hold on to me,” Cole insisted. “Marcos, grab Andre. Don’t let go. Come on.”

Andre clutched his older brother’s shirt and he felt his younger brother’s hand on his shoulder as the three of them hurried toward the stairwell. They ducked low to avoid the flames that seemed to be leaping all around them.

The walls were on fire. Andre looked up. The ceiling was on fire, too.

Finally, they reached the stairs and Cole picked up the pace. They were both coughing now, so whatever Cole yelled back at him, Andre couldn’t understand.

His eyes were watering, too, and he couldn’t see anything but flames lunging closer as he stumbled down the stairs, faster and faster, desperate for air. But every breath brought smoke deeper into his lungs.

Then, he could see it. The door was open. He could see outside.

But could he reach it? His lungs hurt, and his body was starting to shut down from lack of air. His eyes felt swollen and useless, and even though Cole was a step ahead of him, he knew it only because he still clutched his brother’s shirt. All he could see was that open doorway ahead, the sun beginning to rise on the horizon.

But finally, he was stepping into the fresh air, falling onto the newly cut grass, coughing and coughing, feeling as if he’d never get oxygen into his aching throat.

Through his haze, he heard Cole screaming. Then he saw one word form on his brother’s lips: “Marcos!”

Andre looked back and realized Marcos hadn’t made it out behind him. The doorway he’d come through was now engulfed, flames reaching for the front porch.

Andre tried to get to his feet so he could race back to the house, but his knees kept buckling. Then Cole’s arms were around him, holding him in place, even as Andre yelled for his younger brother. But no one else was coming through that flaming doorway, and suddenly sparks flew from the post on the front porch, and half of the roof collapsed.

Andre jerked awake in his bed, his heart thundering against his ribs. He was drenched in sweat, his breathing erratic, as though he was still inside that burning house.

“You got out,” he reminded himself, throwing his covers aside and getting out of bed on unsteady feet. “We all got out.”

The fire had happened eighteen years ago, when he’d been just fourteen. The first few years afterward, he’d woken up regularly, panicking until he remembered that his younger brother had escaped another way. He hadn’t dreamed about that night in years.

But he knew what had brought it on: the call he’d gotten last night at work. A family trapped inside their house. The father had set it on fire and was holding a gun on his wife and son, determined that they’d all die together. The firefighters couldn’t go inside to save them without being shot.

The FBI had gotten the call from the local police, whose only sniper was out of commission. Andre’s team had gone in, and he’d been the one to take the shot from the roof of the house across the street, through the second-story bedroom window.

He’d killed a man in front of his family, but it meant the firefighters had been able to enter the house. They’d gotten the wife and son out, alive and amazingly unharmed. Except for the nightmares they’d both surely have for years, too.

Beside his bed, a persistent buzzing caught his attention and he realized he’d been receiving texts. He swiped a hand over his forehead and grabbed the work cell phone he always kept close.

It was a triple-eight call from his boss at the FBI’s elite Hostage Rescue Team, where he’d worked for the past four years as a sniper. Triple eight meant an emergency.

Of course, at HRT, they were already part of what the FBI called their Critical Incident Response Group. So no call was low priority. But triple eight was as high as it got.

It meant no time for even a two-minute shower, so he tossed aside the boxers he’d been wearing and traded them for cargos and a T-shirt, yanking up his flight suit over it. His FBI-issued rifle and the rest of the gear he carried on a mission were in a lockbox in the trunk of his sedan.

Andre double-timed it down the stairs of his little house and hopped in his car, still trying to shake off his dream, and hoping it wasn’t an omen for what was to come today.

The information in the text was minimal, but it was enough to get his adrenaline going for a different reason. They were going to a hostage call at an office building not far from where he worked at Quantico. Multiple gunmen, multiple hostages.

At 7:00 a.m., the sun was just beginning to rise, and it instantly took him back to the dream he’d just left, those moments outside the house, frantic to get to Marcos. He slapped his siren on the roof, punched down on the gas and wove around a long line of cars. “Mind on the mission,” he told himself.

He dialed his partner, Scott Delacorte, and soon Scott’s gruff voice filled his car. “We don’t know much. The gunmen are in a marketing company office up on the third floor. Employees there start early and leave early, to avoid some of the rush-hour traffic. So we could have a lot of hostages, but we’re hoping none of the other companies in that building have started the day yet. Police are holding the scene.”

“Any news on what the gunmen are after? Any communications? Do we know if they’ve fired shots?” Was this a hostage-taking situation or an active shooter?

“The call came in to 911 ten minutes ago from a secretary who managed to hide in the storage room. She told the operator there were multiple armed men—at least three—and at the time of the call, they hadn’t started shooting. She thought they were searching for someone.”

That might be good or bad. Good if the person they were after hadn’t arrived yet; maybe the gunmen would leave, and HRT could nab them on the way out. Bad if the gunmen had a specific target they wanted to take out. Once they did, they might eliminate anyone else in their way.

Still, the setup was strange. A single gunman searching for a particular victim—maybe a spouse or stalking target—wasn’t that unusual. But multiple gunmen, after one target? That was overkill. What single target at a small, independently owned marketing company would warrant that kind of firepower? It didn’t quite fit.

“That’s odd,” was all Andre said aloud.

“Agreed. But the secretary’s in the storage room. Who knows how well she’s pegged the situation?” The screaming siren from Scott’s end stopped. “I’m here. Gonna set up and get on the scope. Northwest corner, we’ve got woods, a nice trail that actually leads right out the back door of the office building and up a little hill. The whole thing is pretty hidden. I’m looking through my binoculars right now and I see a good sniper perch about a quarter mile up. How far out are you?”

“One minute.”

“Make it faster,” Scott said and cut the connection.

Andre pushed the gas pedal down to the floor, blaring his horn over the siren and whipping around the few drivers obnoxious enough not to get out of his way. Thirty seconds later, he was at the office complex.

He flashed his badge to the police officers stationed at the entrance to the complex, which was nestled in the woods. Thankfully it was off the beaten track enough that they shouldn’t have to worry about the potential collateral of the pedestrians and gawkers they’d get if they were closer to the city.

The cops let him pass, and he flew into the parking lot, screeching to a stop next to his boss’s big green SUV. He yanked his gear out of the trunk as his boss gave him the rundown.

“We don’t know much more than what Scott already gave you,” Froggy told him. The guy had been a navy SEAL before joining the FBI, and the nickname was a humorous nod to his past. “Go join Scott and get me some more intel.”

“You got it.” Andre slung his rifle over his back, slipped his gear bag over his shoulder and slid his Glock pistol out of the holster he’d put on while he drove. He popped his earbud in, and turned on the bone mic at his neck. It nestled against his voice box, so all he’d need to do was speak and his whole team could hear him. Then, he was on the move.

He ran around the corner of the office building, Glock ready in case one of the gunmen decided to try to rabbit out the back. Then he spotted the half-hidden trail Scott had mentioned and jogged onto it, increasing his pace even as the incline up the hill got more and more steep. Every minute counted for the hostages inside.

“I cleared you a spot,” Scott said, not taking his eyes off the scope as Andre settled into the patch of dirt his partner indicated.

Andre dropped his gear beside him and set up his rifle, dialing in the specifics for wind and altitude that Scott read off to him. And then he was peering through his own rifle scope, into the third floor of the office building.

He scanned from left to right across the whole floor, taking in the situation. A gunman stood in the front room, a Bluetooth receiver in his ear and tattoos climbing out the top of his shirt. He clutched a semiautomatic pistol with both hands, but he kept checking the paper he held crumpled against the stock of his gun. On the floor around him were eight men and women in business clothes. Some held on to one another, two were in tears, and they were all avoiding the gunman’s gaze as though he’d already warned them not to look at him. But no one appeared to be injured. Not yet.

Andre pulled back up to the gunman, dialing in a little closer, trying to see what was on the paper that was so interesting. He was speaking angrily, but Andre didn’t think he was talking to the hostages.

“Phone’s on,” Scott said, seeming to read Andre’s mind.

They’d been partners for two years now, and Scott had become practically a third brother to Andre. Half the time on missions, they didn’t need words at all. “We know who he’s talking to?”

“I think it’s the second gunman.”

Andre swung farther right and found the other guy. He, too, had a cell phone, clipped to his waist, with an earphone in one ear. He held a semiautomatic, and he kept glaring down at a piece of paper as he wrenched open one door after the next, clearly searching for someone.

He pulled open another door and aimed his weapon at the woman cowering inside on the floor, surrounded by stacks of paper and printer cartridges. She yanked her hands up over her head, a phone dropping to the floor.

“Shit,” Scott said as the gunman’s grip shifted and Andre was able to zoom in closer and get a glimpse of what was on the paper he held.

“It’s not her he’s looking for,” Andre said, keying his mic so the rest of the team could hear. “This guy’s carrying a picture of a woman. Mid-to late-twenties, blondish-brown hair.” A beautiful woman, with a sad smile. Not an easy face to miss. “She’s not one of the hostages in the front room.”

Andre widened his view again as the gunman waved the woman in the storage closet toward the other hostages. She scurried out of the room, then dropped down next to her coworkers, as the second guy continued to open doors, looking angrier and more frustrated with every empty room.

“I thought the secretary told us there were at least three shooters,” Andre said, continuing his search.

“She did, but I’ve only seen two. We’ve got operators in place right outside the front door. They’re ready to storm the building if these guys start shooting, but ideally we identify the location of all the shooters first. If this goes bad, I’ve got the one with the hostages, okay? You take the other guy.”

“Got it,” Andre affirmed. But only Froggy could give the word to take any shots. If that happened, he’d have to shoot through the window and time it when the second gunman was in his line of sight, which could get dicey. The guy was heading into the back of the office now, where Andre didn’t have an angle on him.

Scott swore and Andre asked what was wrong at the same time as Froggy.

“I found the last gunman.”

“Where is he?” Andre asked, continuing his methodical search.

“He slipped out the back door. He’s heading up the trail right now, straight for us. And the woman they were hunting for? She’s with him, and he’s got a gun pointed at her head.”

Chapter Two

He’d found her. After all this time, she’d finally started to feel safe again, as if she didn’t have to constantly look over her shoulder. But somehow, he’d found her and sent his goons after her.

These stupefied thoughts ran through Juliette Lawson’s mind as she put one foot in front of the other. Her body had gone numb, but she could still feel the exact spot where the cold metal of a gun barrel pressed against her head.

The thug walking behind her had grabbed her just when she’d thought she was going to escape. She’d been in the bathroom when she’d heard screaming that morning. She’d peeked out in time to see three men enter, holding pictures of her. She’d never seen any of them before, but she knew why they’d come.

Initially, she’d darted back into the bathroom, hoping to hide, praying they wouldn’t find her, that they’d just leave. But it soon became clear hiding wouldn’t work, so she’d tried to slip down the back stairs. Just as she’d been reaching for the door to the exit, this one had come up behind her and put a gun to her head. He’d led her out the back door, out of sight of the police officers gathered in the distance and farther away from help.

She’d considered screaming, but fear had trapped it in her throat and then she’d realized if she did yell for help, he’d probably shoot.

Now, the gunman jabbed her with his weapon every few steps, pressuring her to move faster up the little dirt trail through the woods. But they were moving uphill at a steep angle, and she was wearing heels. If she picked up her pace any more, she was going to stumble. And the faster she walked, the less chance she had of figuring out a way to escape before he reached the next step of his plan.

Juliette knew the next step of his plan was to do one of two things: either get her somewhere secluded and kill her, or take her back to Dylan. It was like comparing a death sentence to life behind bars. She wasn’t sure which was worse.

But she did know that if Dylan had hired him, this guy had training. Even if by some miracle, she managed to wrestle the gun away from him, he’d be able to take her down. If she ran, he’d probably shoot. And he wouldn’t miss.

She tried to push aside all the regrets she felt, to focus on survival, but one regret kept surfacing. If only she’d never met Dylan Keane. Then maybe she’d still be back in Pennsylvania, still trying to sell the paintings she loved in galleries, instead of trying to be invisible as a graphic designer and spending her days buried in a cubicle.

Now there was a very good chance she wouldn’t even be buried in a shallow grave. There was a good chance she was about to bleed out in the woods, and those cops who’d surrounded the office would eventually find her body. She prayed she’d be the only casualty, and the other gunmen wouldn’t hurt her colleagues.

They had no idea who she really was, no idea what danger they were in just being near her. She’d never thought she’d been putting them in harm’s way, because she’d never expected Dylan would send goons to her work. She’d always figured that if he tracked her down, he’d simply grab her out of her apartment one day and drag her back. Force her to live in that house again, like a prisoner. Or just kill her right there and leave her dead in her apartment until one of her neighbors noticed the smell.

Stop it, Juliette told herself. Morose thoughts weren’t going to get her out of this. She needed a plan. And even though running was pointless, it was probably her best chance.

Up ahead, the trail curved. That was the spot. She’d pretend to stumble, ditch the heels. She’d be able to run faster barefoot.

Her heart started pounding so hard she could hear the blood pumping in her ears. It seemed to block out the other noises off in the distance—the birds chirping, the FBI agent in the parking lot yelling over a loudspeaker at the gunmen, even the big, furious guy behind her insisting she pick up her pace.

The curve got closer and closer, until she knew it was time. Her heart felt out of control as she let out a squeak and pretended to trip on a protruding branch, going down on her knees and sliding out of her heels as though they’d come off in the fall. The guy’s hand closed around her arm, but the gun came down. It was no longer pointed at her head.

This was her chance.

She readied herself to shove upward, to knock him down and run as fast as she could, zigging and zagging the way Dylan had taught her, back before he realized he might not want her to escape a bullet. But she never had the chance to try.

A figure flew out of a tree, crashing past her and onto her attacker in a tangled blur of arms and legs and guns.

Juliette yelped and scurried free. The new man was armed too, a Glock strapped to his hip, and a whole slew of other equipment attached to his body that suggested he was in the military. He was all motion, just smooth brown skin and bulging muscles and full of confidence as he drew back a fist and sent it crashing into the gunman’s jaw.

The gunman took the hit with a growl and tried to flip the new guy, but Juliette didn’t wait around to see who’d come out on top or how long the fight would last. She caught a glimpse of intense, dark brown eyes on her rescuer and decided he was some kind of Special Operations soldier. She had no idea what he was doing in the woods, but she said a silent thank you and stumbled to her feet, darting off the trail.

She was pretty sure the soldier was going to prevail in the fight happening behind her, but even if he wasn’t with the law enforcement surrounding the office complex, he’d surely turn her over to them.

And then there was no question what would happen next: she’d be headed straight back to Dylan, straight back to the life she thought she’d finally escaped.

* * *

“WHAT DO YOU think you’re doing?”

A strong hand closed around her arm, bringing Juliette to a stop. Her bare feet almost slid out from underneath her on the trail, which was slippery from the leaves that had begun falling off the trees a week ago. Before she could go down, her rescuer dropped his hand from her arm to her waist, catching her.

“It’s over,” he said, his voice reassuring. His fingers pressed into the top of her hip, keeping her from making another run for it, away from everyone. “The guy’s in handcuffs. You’re safe.”

Juliette stared up at him. He probably had four inches on her height of five foot six, just enough so she had to tip her head back to look him in the eyes. They were deep brown, almost hypnotizing the way they were locked onto hers as though he didn’t see anything else in the world right now.