Duty Bound Guardian

FRAMED

When a priceless artifact is stolen, museum curator Lana Gomez becomes the prime suspect. How can she hope to adopt her orphaned nephew if she’s a person of interest in a crime? Cooperating with Capitol K-9 Unit officer Adam Donovan doesn’t get her very far—the handsome cop thinks she’s hiding something. But when the real thief returns set on silencing Lana, it is Adam and his Doberman pinscher, Ace, who become her only defense against a madman who wants nothing more than to see Lana eliminated.

“You didn’t even know you had a little nephew?” Adam asked.

Lana’s heart pinched. She shook her head, wishing things had been different. “My sister and I were estranged.” The hurtful things Rosa had said cut so deep and were never far from Lana’s mind. There was so much about her sister she hadn’t known.

Adam stared intently at her, his Doberman pinscher—his partner—sitting patiently by his side. “What caused the rift between you?”

She bristled as a tidal wave of guilt swamped her. “That has nothing to do with what’s happening now.”

He stared at her. “Let me be the judge of that. It seems a little too coincidental that your sister meets an untimely death and then a month later there’s a break-in at your place of employment where you’re attacked, struck over the head and left for dead.”

* * *

CAPITOL K-9 UNIT:

These lawmen solve the toughest cases with the help of their brave canine partners

Protection Detail—Shirlee McCoy, March 2015

Duty Bound Guardian—Terri Reed, April 2015 Trail of Evidence—Lynette Eason, May 2015 Security Breach—Margaret Daley, June 2015 Detecting Danger—Valerie Hansen, July 2015 Proof of Innocence—Lenora Worth, August 2015

Duty Bound Guardian

Terri Reed

www.millsandboon.co.uk

For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.

—2 Timothy 1:7

Continuities are a team effort so I’d like to thank my fellow authors Shirlee McCoy, Lynette Eason, Margaret Daley, Valerie Hansen and Lenora Worth, for all the feedback and support. I learn so much from working with you. Thank you also to the team at Love Inspired for making our books shine.

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

Introduction

Title Page

Bible Quote

Acknowledgment

ONE

TWO

THREE

FOUR

FIVE

SIX

SEVEN

EIGHT

NINE

TEN

ELEVEN

TWELVE

THIRTEEN

Dear Reader

Extract

Copyright

ONE

A soft thud, out of place and unexpected in the after-hours silent museum, broke Lana Gomez’s concentration. Her heart revved into overdrive and a shudder of fear scraped along her limbs. Her hand convulsed. Ink from the quill pen she was using to craft display labels created a blotched blob of black against the parchment-colored paper, completely ruining the effect of the old-fashioned script.

She wanted everything to be perfect for the upcoming gala. A thank-you celebration and to show off the recently acquired artifacts for the American Museum, a newer, privately held institute in the metro Washington, DC, area.

“Ugh!” Mad at herself for overreacting to the sound, she crumpled up the square sheet of card stock and grabbed a clean, blank one from the stack sitting on her mahogany desktop. “It’s Brad doing his rounds.”

Any second now the older gentleman would pop his graying head inside her office to check in with her. There was no reason to freak out.

Yet, the fine hairs on her arm slowly stood on end. A voice inside her mind mocked, Girl, as long as Mark draws breath, there will always be a reason to freak out.

On a shudder, she whispered, “Lord, I need Your peace right now.”

Blowing out a cleansing, calming breath, she refocused. She had so much work to do to make the gallery party a success. Her boss had gone on a weeklong vacation that morning, leaving her to do the majority of the planning. As the junior curator, part of her job was to seek out donors as well as valuable collectibles such as the ones currently on display.

The crown jewel of the newest collection was the beautiful Golden Arrow. The gold-plated, two-foot-long relic had once belonged to General George Washington, the first president of the United States of America.

A priceless piece of history.

Glass shattering jerked her attention to the closed office door.

Had Brad fallen? She needed to go help him.

Stepping out of her office into the gloomy innards of the museum, she faltered. Which part of the vast building did she check first?

The low lighting helped preserve the numerous relics and artifacts that lured many tourists and visitors away from the more famous galleries, but did little to dispel the shadows in the hall. She wished she had a flashlight.

All was quiet. Still. A chill hung in the air. The surreal sensation of being frozen in time and space, surrounded by bits of history dating back to the first settlers in Jamestown, assaulted her.

Normally, she loved to roam through the gallery, loved knowing the story behind each piece of art, loved presenting the story to the world so others could enjoy the heritage that came before them. But a strange eeriness invaded the space, leaving her breathless. Fear crept up her spine.