Baby Battalion
Dying had been his best chance at protecting her. Coming home was the only way to keep her alive.Nolan Law is a dead man. Five years ago, his pregnant wife buried him–a soldier cut down in a desert war, a man who would do anything to protect those he loved. Even fake his death. His beloved Tess was safe as long as he was gone. Now a new assignment thrusts him back into her life–and puts her at risk once more. When Tess looks at him, Nolan knows she sees a ghost. Tess deserves to know why this stranger stirs her passion so intensely, why her husband's eyes stare back at her from his unfamiliar, scarred face. Yet discovering the truth will only resurrect the danger Nolan "died" to protect her from.…
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Tess kept her eyes closed. She had no idea how or why this miracle had occurred, but she didnât want it to end.
His voice was a whisper. âTess, I need toââ
âDonât talk.â
For five long and desperate years, sheâd been alone. She was a widow, a single mom. Those years were a famine. And now, she was hungry. She wanted to touch every part of himâon the inside and on the surface. He was back. Joe had come back to her.
Am I losing my mind? Logically, this could not be. She reached higher until she was holding his face in her hands. Eyes still closed, she kissed him again. Oh my God, it was him. She knew. Without the slightest doubt, she knew. He was the love of her life, her soul mate, the father of her son.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
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? Sheâs discovered that almost anything tastes better with wine. When sheâs not plotting Harlequin Intrigue books, Cassie likes to hang out at the Denver Botanical Gardens near her high-rise home.
CAST OF CHARACTERS
Tess Donovan âA single mom and successful events planner in Washington, D.C., she was widowed five years ago.
Nolan Law âScarred by battle injuries, he was the first man hired for CSaI and usually takes charge.
Joe Donovan âTessâs deceased husband and the love of her life.
Joey Donovan âThe 4-year-old son of Tess and Joe, he was born after his father died.
Trudy Bensen âThe office manager and assistant for Tessâs business.
Bart Bellows âThe 75-year-old founder of CSaI, who has been kidnapped.
Victor Bellows âBartâs son is supposedly MIA.
Wes Bradley âThe alias used by Victor Bellows.
Lila Lockhart âThe Governor of Texas hired Tess to plan her event at the Smithsonian.
Stacy Giordano âThe governorâs aide keeps everything running smoothly.
Zachary Giordano âStacyâs son.
Omar Harris âNolanâs CIA contact.
The Zamir family âClients who use Tess to plan events.
Pierre LeBrun âThe haughty chef is nothing but trouble for Tess in her event planning.
Greenaway âA powerful drug and weapons dealer who has sworn to take violent revenge on Bart Bellows and Joe Donovan.
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
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter One
Five years after her husbandâs death, Tess Donovan still sometimes imagined that she heard the sound of his laughter in a crowd. Whenever she saw a marine in dress blues, she remembered Joe standing at attentionâso handsome with his perfect profile and fine features. If he hadnât been involved in so many secret operations, they could have used his gorgeous face for recruitment posters.
Her cab drove along Constitution Avenue, and she peered through the rear window, trying to see the National Christmas Tree in the Ellipse outside the White House. During the holiday season, she missed Joe like crazy. They had always attended the ceremonial lighting of the tree. Theyâd shopped together for presents, danced together at dozens of holiday galas. Their Christmases had been all about silver bells and snowball fights and hot buttered rum in front of the fireplace.
That was then. This was now.
She sank back in the seat. Starting with the New Year, she vowed to get on with her life. Not that sheâd been standing still for five years. As the single mother of a four-and-a-half-year-old son, she seldom got the chance to sit down, and her small catering business had grown into a successful event-planning enterprise. When it came to mothering and working, she was holding her own. It was her personal life that sucked. In five years, sheâd only been on a handful of dates, none of which had turned out well. None of those men were Joe.
This year would be different. Sheâd give herself the chance to meet a special man. It shouldnât be that hard; she was only thirty-two and not bad looking, with black hair and blue eyes. She deserved a mate. And her son deserved a father.
Exiting her cab outside the National Museum of American History, she heard a group of strolling carolers. The tenor sounded just like Joe; he had loved to belt out a rock-and-roll version of âSanta Claus is Coming to Town.â
Dusk came early in December. She glanced over her shoulder toward the towering Washington Monument, already lit and gleaming. Then she saw something that made her look twice. Her eyes were lying. This couldnât be. She looked again.
