Quinn's Woman. Susan Mallery

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      SUSAN MALLERY

      is a USA TODAY and New York Times bestselling author of more than eighty romances. Her combination of humor, emotion and just-plain-sexy has made her a reader favorite. Susan makes her home in Washington State, where the whole rain thing is highly exaggerated and there’s plenty of coffee to help her meet her deadlines. Visit her Web site at www.SusanMallery.com.

      To that young girl who grew up with

       broken wings, and somehow learned to fly.

      You are, as always, an inspiration.

      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 One

      “Try to bring this one back alive,” Sheriff Travis Haynes said as he nodded at the slightly built private waiting by the edge of the makeshift podium.

      “Alive I can promise,” D.J. Monroe said as she grabbed a rifle from the stack on the table. “In one piece may be more complicated.”

      The men standing around chuckled, but the private in question blanched. D.J. tossed him the rifle, grabbed a second one for herself, then started walking. She figured her partner for the next fourteen hours would come trotting along as soon as he figured out she wasn’t going to wait for him.

      Sure enough, in about thirty seconds she heard rapid footsteps on the damp ground.

      “What’s your name, kid?” she asked when he’d caught up with her.

      “Private Ronnie West, ma’am.”

      She gave him a quick once-over. He was tall—about six-three to her five-nine—skinny and barely shaving. His shock of red hair was bright enough to read by.

      “Are you even eighteen, Ronnie?”

      “Yes, ma’am. Nearly four months ago.”

      “You insulted about being paired with a woman?” she asked.

      “No, ma’am.” His pale-blue eyes widened as he glanced at her. “I’m honored. My sergeant said you were one of the best and that I was damned lucky to get a chance to watch you work.” He ducked his head and blushed. “Excuse me for swearing, ma’am.”

      She stopped walking and turned toward him. The annual war games between the emergency services of Glenwood, California—sheriff’s office, fire department and EMT units—and the local Army base were a chance for all concerned to practice, learn and have fun. The morning had been spent on obstacle courses, sharpshooting and tactical planning. D.J. didn’t care about any of that. She looked forward to the search and capture phase of the games.

      Between now and 6:00 a.m. tomorrow, she and her partner would be expected to bring in up to five enemy prisoners. For the past two years she’d won that section. It was a point of pride with her. The other players grumbled about her good fortune, not understanding it. Especially when she always took a relatively new recruit as her partner.

      “Ronnie, let’s get some ground rules set up,” she said. “You can swear all you want. I doubt you can come up with anything I haven’t heard. Or said.” She smiled at him. “Fair enough?”

      “Yes, ma’am.”

      “Good. On this mission, I’m in charge. You’re here to listen, learn and follow orders. You get in my way, and I’ll cut off your ear. Or something you’ll miss even more. Understand?”

      He swallowed hard, then nodded.

      “Last, but most important, you’ve got a good six inches of height on me and weigh about forty pounds more. Is there any doubt in your mind that I could take you right here, right now?”

      His gaze swept over her body from her Army-issue boots, past her camouflage pants and shirt, to her face.