Undercover Protector

He lives by the law.

She’s dodging death at every turn.

Craving closure from the blaze that took her father and her memory, Nadine Stuart returns home hoping to find peace. But the nightmare begins and the only thing that saves her from being pulled into the inferno is Anderson Somers’s determination to protect her. The undercover detective’s hot on the heels of a killer—and every instinct insists Nadine will be the next victim.

Amazon bestselling author MELINDA DI LORENZO writes in her spare time—at soccer practices, when she should be doing laundry and in place of sleep. She lives on the beautiful west coast of British Columbia, Canada, with her handsome husband and her noisy kids. When she’s not writing, she can be found curled up with (someone else’s) good book.

Also by Melinda Di Lorenzo

Undercover Justice

Captivating Witness

Undercover Protector Worth the Risk Last Chance Hero Silent Rescue Trusting a Stranger Deceptions and Desires Pinups and Possibilities

Discover more at millsandboon.co.uk

Undercover Protector

Melinda Di Lorenzo

www.millsandboon.co.uk

ISBN: 978-1-474-07863-4

UNDERCOVER PROTECTOR

© 2018 Melinda Di Lorenzo

Published in Great Britain 2018

by Mills & Boon, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF

All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. This edition is published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, locations and incidents are purely fictional and bear no relationship to any real life individuals, living or dead, or to any actual places, business establishments, locations, events or incidents. Any resemblance is entirely coincidental.

By payment of the required fees, you are granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right and licence to download and install this e-book on your personal computer, tablet computer, smart phone or other electronic reading device only (each a “Licensed Device”) and to access, display and read the text of this e-book on-screen on your Licensed Device. Except to the extent any of these acts shall be permitted pursuant to any mandatory provision of applicable law but no further, no part of this e-book or its text or images may be reproduced, transmitted, distributed, translated, converted or adapted for use on another file format, communicated to the public, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher.

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www.millsandboon.co.uk

To those who have overcome, and to those who are still fighting the battle.

A heartbeat later, Anderson was standing inside the supposedly secure staff lounge, his eyes on the glass door at the rear of the room.

Through it, he could see just what he needed to.

Nadine Stuart.

She was planted on the edge of the sidewalk in the taxi zone, her head down, her cell phone pressed to her ear. Anderson walked toward the door, watching as she hung up, stuck the phone into her bag, then fixed her eyes straight ahead. When she started to cross the narrow strip of pavement in front of her—presumably toward the bench she had in her sights—a navy-colored car on the same side of the road started to move, too. First at a crawl. Then a little faster.

Worry hit Anderson like a truck.

He threw himself against the door, slamming it open so hard that he half expected it to shatter or at least crack. He wrapped his arms around Nadine’s waist. And he pulled her out of sight and just before the navy car screeched through the spot where she’d just been standing.

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Undercover Justice: Four brothers-in-arms on a mission for justice...

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Dear Reader,

One of my favorite parts about being a writer is being able to create characters with rich background stories. When a hero and heroine hit the first page, they’ve already had a lifetime of experiences—some heartache and tragedy, uplifting times, and memorable events. It’s this lifetime that’s made them into the woman or man you find between the chapters, and oftentimes, as an author, it’s my job to layer those stories. Though the pivotal moments are still to come, it’s important to know how they got there, even when every birthday cake or skinned knee isn’t explained.

In Undercover Protector (book two of the Undercover Justice series) Nadine Stuart is one of those characters whose background I thought a lot about. We’re introduced to Nadine in book one, and she’s definitely a prickly pear with a troubled past. But in spite of that exterior, we also know she has a soft side because she’s a well-liked third-grade teacher. Thankfully, our hero, Detective Anderson Somers, is willing to take the time to peel back her layers. He’s as kind and patient as he is protective. He knows a thing or two about loss, too.