Protective Duty

HIGH-RISK REUNION

Minutes into FBI profiler Bryn Eastman’s first case since a near-fatal shooting, a brazen serial killer sets his sights on her next. Now her life—and career—is in the hands of her new partner, Detective Eric Hale, the man she once loved and lost. Racked with nightmares of the shooting and regrets for the tragedy that tore her and Eric apart, Bryn doesn’t want Eric to discover the secrets she carries—but she needs him. Seeing Bryn brings back memories Eric can’t control. Memories of a once-in-a-lifetime love. But the tough detective knows their only path to a second chance goes straight through a relentless killer...one who won’t quit until he counts Bryn as his fifth victim.

“Do you have any enemies?”

Bryn closed her eyes. “No.”

“The killer’s treating you differently than the other victims. He never threatened them.” Or had they not confided in anyone? No, they were too smart to hide that. But Bryn hadn’t called the police.

He looked at her then as she neared the road, silhouetted by the headlights that came into view. It was the first car he’d seen since their walk in her neighborhood. In the darkness its headlights blinded him. Eric raised his arm over his brows. “What in the world…?”

But it was too late.

The engine roared and the truck barreled straight for Bryn, who stood frozen in the street.

“Bryn!” He sprinted toward her, threw his arms around her and hurled them into a ditch just as the truck disappeared around the corner.

He felt her breath against his cheek but he didn’t move. “You okay?”

She nodded. “You?”

Then it hit him and fear rumbled through him. “He knows where you live…and he’ll be back.”

JESSICA R. PATCH lives in the mid-South, where she pens inspirational contemporary romance and romantic suspense novels. When she’s not hunched over her laptop or going on adventurous trips with willing friends in the name of research, you can find her watching way too much Netflix with her family and collecting recipes to amazing dishes she’ll probably never cook. To learn more about Jessica, please visit her at jessicarpatch.com.

Protective Duty

Jessica R. Patch

www.millsandboon.co.uk

I know what I’m doing. I have it all planned out—

plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for.

—Jeremiah 29:11

For Bailey. I marvel at your strength, courage and determination to accomplish anything you set your heart on.

Thanks go out to

My agent, Rachel Kent, for always being in my corner and believing in my writing.

My editor, Shana Asaro. Thank you for your keen eye and amazing editorial skills.

Incredible critique partners: April Gardner, Jill Kemerer, Michelle Massaro and Susan Tuttle.

Huge thanks to “Mr. Anonymous” for taking time to help me with the law enforcement information. If something’s not right, it’s on me!

And to Jesus. For Your glory always. I adore You.

Contents

COVER

BACK COVER TEXT

INTRODUCTION

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

TITLE PAGE

BIBLE VERSE

DEDICATION

ONE

TWO

THREE

FOUR

FIVE

SIX

SEVEN

EIGHT

NINE

TEN

ELEVEN

TWELVE

THIRTEEN

FOURTEEN

FIFTEEN

SIXTEEN

SEVENTEEN

EPILOGUE

Dear Reader

EXTRACT

COPYRIGHT

ONE

Bryn Eastman refused to think about the bullet that had pierced her abdomen. She would not fixate on how her attacker’s gloved hands had wrapped around her throat or how she’d let down her guard and almost died a year ago.

Her nerves pulsed anyway as she slid into her FBI windbreaker. Her first case since the shooting.

Slivers of October moonlight snaked between the autumn leaves. Yellow crime scene tape beckoned her toward the grove of towering trees. Blue lights slashed the dark as flashlight beams swiveled across the ground. Camera crew vans lined the parking lot, morbidly eager for a story.

Special Agent in Charge Towerman had brought Bryn up to speed CliffsNotes-style. She hadn’t been back in Memphis long enough for the detailed version. Tonight’s victim made number four. She’d been left in Overton Park for families, children—the world—to view. An ache thumped in Bryn’s gut and spread into her chest.

She stared at the frenzy.

Would the lead homicide detective welcome FBI assistance? Welcome a female’s assistance? Experience told her he wouldn’t, but she hoped so anyway. This was a man’s world she maneuvered through. And while there were many who accepted her as an equal, there were just as many more who didn’t think a woman had any business in law enforcement.

She’d spent almost a decade validating that she was able, strong and brave.

Until Ohio had shaken her to the core.

This string of murders had Memphis, and the mayor, in a panic. Victimology was Bryn’s expertise. So here she was, even though SAC Towerman had been reluctant to send her in.

She needed this chance to confirm that she was still capable. Still brave. Still strong. Bryn yearned to bring justice for the victims whose lives had been tragically taken, and she needed to be in the field to accomplish that.

The question was, could she rise above the jitters and insecurity and give the grieving families her very best? She owed it to them. And she needed to prove herself to SAC Towerman. Then she could stay in the field, not chained to the desk where he’d planted her the minute she stepped foot in the Memphis field office.