UNDER THE BODYGUARDâS PROTECTION
When Elle Philips witnesses an armed robbery while standing in line at the bank, she sets into motion a deadly game of cat and mouse. Mark Denton, a security contractor and former navy SEAL, also witnesses the robbery, and is hired by Elleâs father to keep his daughter safe following the incident. And while Dentonâs desire to protect Elle goes beyond professional bounds, he cannot let personal desires cloud his judgmentâjudgment heâll have to rely on when the robbersâ true motives are revealed...and Elle becomes a target in the ultimate plot of revenge.
âDenton? What are you doing here?â
âIâm escorting you to the debate.â
Her eyes narrowed. âEscorting me to the debate?â
âThatâs right. In light of the recent threats against you, your father has hired me as your bodyguard. He didnât mention it?â
Her eyes narrowed further. âNo, he did not. Iâd say I donât need a bodyguard, but I think weâd both know I was lying if I did.â
Good, she knew the reality of the situation. That made his job somewhat easier.
Senator Philips strode into the room. âDenton! Thanks for coming out at such short notice. I begged Elle to take a long vacation somewhere until all of this passed, but she refused.â
âThereâs a chance she wouldnât be safe on vacation, either, Senator. We still need to figure out who weâre dealing with here, but my gut feeling is that these guys arenât going to let anything stop them.â
Elle shivered, her cool confidence leaving her gaze a moment, replaced with fear.
CHRISTY BARRITT
loves stories and has been writing them for as long as she can remember. She gets her best ideas when sheâs supposed to be paying attention to something elseâlike in a workshop or while driving down the road.
The second book in her Squeaky Clean Mystery series, Suspicious Minds, won the inspirational category of the 2009 Daphne du Maurier Award for Excellence in Suspense and Mystery. Sheâs also the coauthor of Changed: True Stories of Finding God in Christian Music.
When sheâs not working on books, Christy writes articles for various publications. Sheâs also a weekly feature writer for the Virginian-Pilot newspaper, the worship leader at her church and a frequent speaker at various writersâ groups, womenâs luncheons and church events.
Sheâs married to Scott, a teacher and funny man extraordinaire. They have two sons, two dogs and a house-plant named Martha.
To learn more about her, visit her website, www.christybarritt.com.
Wherever you set foot, you will be on land I have given you.... No one will be able to stand against you as long as you live. For I will be with you as
I was with Moses. I will not fail you or abandon you.
âJoshua 1:3â9
This book is dedicated to all of the wonderful people whoâve believed in me and pushed me
to follow my dreams throughout the years. Your encouragement hasnât gone unnoticed or unappreciated.
A special thanks goes out to the brave, brilliant and inspiring gang over at the Norfolk FBI Field Office. Thanks for giving me a glimpse into your world
and patiently answering my questions.
ONE
âEveryone down! Any quick moves and weâll shoot. Understand?â
Elle Philips dropped onto the marble floor of the bank. The contents of her purse scattered everywhere as she hit the ground, but she didnât care. She remained frozen, not wanting to draw attention to herself.
At the sound of approaching footsteps, her heart rate quickened. She raised her head, just enough to take a quick inventory of the situation. Two men. Black masks. Guns.
Elle knew that only two tellers were working right now, and that the manager had just left for a late lunchâElle had passed him on her way in. Three other customers had also sunk to the floor. A frail-looking older woman, a college-aged girl and Denton. The dark-haired man had been in line behind her today. She knew Dentonâs name, only because they often came to the bank on the same days, same times. Over the weeks, theyâd been flirtatious as they passed time in line.
Today, theyâd only begun their casual teasing of each other when the robbers had burst through the doors of StoneCrest Bank on General Booth Blvd. in Virginia Beach, Virginia. At the moment, Elle glanced at Denton. He sat only a few feet away. His perceptive eyes met hers, silently communicating the urgency of the situation. Something about his calm gaze made her racing heart slow for a moment.
The shorter of the two robbers locked the glass doors at the front of the bank. He then stepped between the customers, the barrel of his gun bouncing against his black pants. The second robber, the one whoâd ordered everyone to the ground, rushed toward the tellers, a bag in hand. âIf you do what we say, no one will get hurt.â