A seasoned cop becomes the target of a killer. And so does the woman heâs falling for.
Detective Lieutenant Thomas Watson had been off air force active duty so long, he thought he was safe. Until a gunman crashes his daughterâs wedding, reawakening the warrior inside him. He hires nurse Jane Boyle to care for his injured father so he can focus on bringing the gunman to justice. While Jane is the ideal caretaker, her dark past has landed her in witness protection. And the more sheâs embraced by this family of cops, the more danger sheâs in. For a shadow from Thomasâs own past might be willing to lend Janeâs stalker a helping handâ¦
The Precinct: Bachelors in Blue
âYouâve been shot.â
She unbuttoned his cuff and gently pushed the plaid chambray up his arm to inspect the graze across his skin.
âIâm so sorry you got hurt. I never meantââ
As she turned the wounds into the light, their heated words topped each otherâs. âYou could have been run down. You could have been shot. When I give you an order, I expect you toââ
âScrew your order. I wonât let anyone else get hurt. He was after me.â
ââdo what I say and stay safe. He was after me.â
Jane froze as they blurted the exact same words. She tipped her chin up to see the shocked look in his eyes that she imagined mirrored her own.
âIâm a cop. Bad guys donât like me.â Thomas spread his fingers over hers. He dipped his head to put his face in hers and demand she look him in the eye. âBut why would someone want to hurt you?â
JULIE MILLER is an award-winning USA TODAY bestselling author of breathtaking romantic suspenseâ with a National Readersâ Choice Award and a Daphne du Maurier Award, among other prizes. She has also earned an RT Book Reviews Career Achievement Award. For a complete list of her books, monthly newsletter and more, go to www.juliemiller.org.
For the Dixons and their Ruby, who taught our Maggie
that not all big dogs are scary.
Thanks for always saying hi to your shy neighbor.
Iâve loved all our conversations about the dogs.
Prologue
Thomas Watsonâs face hurt from the effort it took not to cry when he saw his daughter in her wedding gown.
âItâs okay, Dad.â Olivia Mary Watson had packed up all her tomboy clothes, her gun and her badge and put on a beaded ivory gown that made her look every inch the grown woman he reluctantly admitted she had become. She reached up to cup his cheek and smiled, reminding Thomas of the wife heâd lost to a drugged-up thiefâs bullet when Olivia was a toddler. âI will always be your little girl.â
Sheâd stopped being his little girl the day sheâd become a Kansas City cop, like him, his father and her three older brothers. But a daddy was entitled to indulge his sentimental side on a day like this. They stood in the doorway of the changing room at the church while the pre-ceremony music played, but Thomas was remembering skinned knees, annoying big brothers and broken hearts that had required his advice, his patience and a hug.
âYouâre beautiful. You look so like your mother.â He fingered the veil of Irish lace his bride had worn thirty-five years earlier when heâd been a raw lieutenant stationed in the UK on his first overseas assignment. Mary Kilcannon had been a civilian working on the base. A late-night rescue from a drunk fellow officer in a bar had led to them talking until dawn, a first kiss and true love. A month later he and Mary were married, and what should have been a lifetime together began. Thomas didnât mourn his wife anymore, but he missed her. There were a lot of life moments he wished he could have shared with Mary. Like the wedding of their youngest child and only daughter. He kissed Oliviaâs cheek. âShe would have loved to have been here today. I know sheâs watching over us.â
âItâs been twenty years. Youâve done your duty by us. We never wanted for anything with you and Grandpa and Millie to take care of us. But Mom would want you to find someone and be happy again.â
âI date,â he insisted.
âEscorting a female work friend to the annual police officerâs ball does not constitute dating.â She straightened his red silk tie, an homage to the February 14 date that all the men in the bridal party except for the groom himself were wearing. âYouâre a handsome man. Youâre fit. Youâre smart, a rock of dependability and caring. Maybe you could ease up on the whole alpha male of the pack thing youâve got going on. But thatâs SOP for any senior detective I know, and besides, you probably needed that to raise the four of us. You have a nice house and a good job consulting with KCPD. The right woman is out there waiting to snatch you up if youâd let her.â