Targeted

MARKED FOR MURDER

When photos of Stephanie O’Brien are found in a serial killer’s home, she must face the horrible truth that she’s the next intended victim. She has nowhere to hide, nowhere to run—except to K-9 cop Rick Powell. As her self-appointed bodyguard, Rick will do anything to protect the innocent teacher—even keep his attraction at bay. He’s known loss; he won’t lose Stephanie. But the killer seems to anticipate their every move. And Rick fears he’s never faced an opponent so cunning. One who won’t stop till he has his victim right where he wants her…six feet under.

Everyone was in danger because of her.

Stephanie scanned the crowd, assessing the damage. The blast had destroyed their hotel suite and the surrounding rooms. Paramedics worked on a number of people. But it could have been worse.

She turned to Rick. “When we were running, I kept wondering why it took so long for the bomb to detonate.” Nothing the serial killer was doing made any sense to her. There had been so many opportunities for him to kill her already. Why did he keep letting her live?

“Maybe the bomb was just a message,” Rick replied. “He’s telling us that when he is ready to do it, he’s going to do it his way.”

“By it, you mean kill me.”

“That’s not going to happen, Stephanie.” He reached for her hand. “You can’t let him get inside your head. Otherwise he accomplished exactly what he set out to do.”

He was right, but as she looked across the street, a man standing there pulled her attention. Hadn’t the police evacuated the area? Instead of looking at the spectacle around the hotel, he was staring at her. He raised a hand in a wave, and Stephanie’s insides turned to ice.

There he was. Her would-be killer.

BECKY AVELLAgrew up in Washington State with her nose in a book and her imagination in the clouds. These days she spends her time dreaming up heart-pounding fiction full of romance and faith. Becky married a real-life hero and follows him around begging him to give her material she can use in her stories. Together with their children, they make their home in the beautiful Northwest.

Targeted

Becky Avella

www.millsandboon.co.uk

A man’s heart deviseth his way:

but the Lord directeth his steps.

—Proverbs 16:9

To Pat, my hero and my happily ever after.

We both know this book wouldn’t exist without 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

EIGHTEEN

NINETEEN

TWENTY

TWENTY-ONE

Dear Reader

Extract

Copyright

ONE

Saturday

“Seattle Police, K-9 Unit. Announce yourself.” Officer Rick Powell’s voice boomed through the open door. “If you do not announce yourself, we will send in the dog. If you surrender now, you will not be harmed!”

Rick kept the leash taut and his hand steady on his K-9 partner’s back. The dog’s training held him still, but Rick knew the Belgian Malinois wanted to go, his muscles quivering to be set free to work again. Only absolute devotion to Rick held the dog back.

Kneeling beside him, Rick crooned the German command for stay and stroked the fur along Axle’s back. I understand, buddy. I’m ready to work, too.

The city block surrounding the early-twentieth-century brick town house had been cordoned off. SWAT team members were poised for action, waiting for the signal that would allow them to penetrate the building, too eager to capture the killer inside to mind the pouring rain running down their stoic faces. Intel indicated the suspect was home and hiding. If their information was correct, then he would soon be calling prison home. Rick believed it was more than he deserved, and it was about time.

“Ready?” Sergeant Terrell Watkins asked Rick.

“Very,” Rick answered.

Terrell was Rick’s supervisor, but the two had been friends for a long time. It was Rick’s first day back on regular duty after an extensive medical leave, and Terrell knew better than any of the others around him how important it was to Rick to be back in the field.

Rick nodded his head in the direction of a wiry man pacing the sidewalk behind the two of them. “But maybe not quite as ready as Shelton is to get this guy.”

Terrell’s gaze followed where Rick pointed and chuckled. “No kidding.”

Detective Gary Shelton deserved the credit for cracking this case. Three unsolved and particularly gruesome murders had terrified the city of Seattle for over a year. It was Shelton who had finally identified Julian Hale as the man responsible for the deaths of those women. And it was Julian Hale whom they believed was hiding inside this town house now.

Investigating the killings had consumed the detective’s life, and bringing Hale to justice had become Shelton’s personal mission. They were so close to making that happen. Rick leaned forward, anxious to serve this warrant. He hoped that capturing Hale would allow Shelton some much-earned peace.

Rick called his warning into the house once again, his voice even louder and deeper. “You are surrounded. Announce yourself