Bodyguard Under the Mistletoe. Cassie Miles
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Название: Bodyguard Under the Mistletoe

Автор: Cassie Miles

Издательство: HarperCollins

Жанр: Ужасы и Мистика

Серия: Mills & Boon Intrigue

isbn: 9781472057860

isbn:

СКАЧАТЬ

      

      Bodyguard Under the Mistletoe

      Cassie Miles

       www.millsandboon.co.uk

      MILLS & BOON

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      Table of Contents

       Cover

       Title Page

       Dedication

      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

       Chapter Twenty-One

       Chapter Twenty-Two

       Copyright

      Though born in Chicago and raised in L.A., CASSIE MILES has lived in Colorado long enough to be considered a semi-native. The first home she owned was a log cabin in the mountains overlooking Elk Creek with a thirty-mile commute to her work at the Denver Post.

      After raising two daughters and cooking tons of macaroni and cheese for her family, Cassie is trying to be more adventurous in her culinary efforts. Ceviche, anyone? She’s discovered that almost anything tastes better with wine. A lot of wine. When she’s not plotting Intrigue books, Cassie likes to hang out at the Denver Botanical Gardens near her high-rise home.

      To Rick. I thought about you a lot when I was writing this book.

       Chapter One

      He wasn’t dead yet.

      The darkness behind his eyelids thinned. Sensation prickled the hairs on his arm. Inside his head, he heard the beat of his heart—as loud and steady as the Ghost Dance drum. That sacred rhythm called him back to life.

      His ears picked up other sounds. The beep-beep-beep of a monitor. The shuffle of quiet footsteps. The creaking of a chair. A cough. Someone else was in the room with him.

      The drumming accelerated.

      His eyelids opened—just a slit. Sunlight through the window blinds reflected off the white sheet that covered his prone body. Hospital equipment surrounded the bed. Oxygen. An IV drip on a metal pole. A heart monitor that beeped. Faster. Faster. Faster.

      “Jesse?” A deep voice called to him. “Jesse, are you awake?”

      Jesse Longbridge tried to move, tried to respond. Pain radiated from his left shoulder. He remembered being shot, falling from his saddle to the cold earth and lying there, helpless. He remembered a gush of blood. He remembered…

      “Come on, Jesse. Open your eyes.”

      He recognized the voice of Bill Wentworth. A friend. A coworker. Good old Wentworth. He’d been a paramedic in Iraq, but that wasn’t the main reason Jesse had hired him. This lean, mean former marine—like Jesse himself—always got the job done.

      They had a mission, he and Wentworth. No time to waste. They needed to get into the field, needed to protect…

      Jesse bolted upright on the bed and gripped Wentworth’s arm. “Is she safe?”

      “You’re awake.” Wentworth grinned without showing his teeth. “It’s about time.”

      One of the monitor wires detached, and the beeping became a high-pitched whine. “Is Nicole safe?”

      “She’s all right. Arrests have been made.”

      Wentworth was one of Jesse’s best employees—a credit to Longbridge Security, an outstanding bodyguard. But he wasn’t much of a liar.

      The pain in his shoulder spiked again, threatening to drag Jesse back into peaceful unconsciousness. He licked his lips. His mouth was parched. He needed water. More than that, he needed the truth. He knew that Nicole had been kidnapped. He’d seen it happen. He’d been shot trying to protect her.

      He tightened his grip on Wentworth’s arm. “Has Nicole Carlisle been safely returned СКАЧАТЬ