Series: Maximum Security #3
Publication date: December 29th, 2020
Synopsis:
To prove her father's innocence, she'll have to turn a killer's sights on herself.
When her father is accused of espionage and treason, journalist Jessie Kegan has no doubt the man she looked up to her entire life is innocent. Worse yet, before Colonel Kegan can stand trail, he's found dead of a heart attack... but Jessie knows it was murder. Forcing aside her grief, she's determined to use her investigative resources to clear her father's name. But going after the truth means Jessie soon finds herself in the crosshairs of a killer who wants that truth to stay buried with her father.
Protecting Jessie Kegan is a job bodyguard Brandon Garrett can't refuse. Jessie isn't just a client at Maximum Security--she's the sister of his best friend, Danny, who was killed in Afghanistan. With dangerous enemies gunning for Jessie from every angle, keeping her safe will mean keeping her close, and Bran finds their mutual attraction growing, though being Danny's sister puts Jessie out of bounds.
With their backs against the wall, Jessie and Bran will have to risk everything to expose her father's killer--before his legacy dies with his daughter.
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Excerpt
"Who hired you and Digger to kill Jessie Kegan?"
Petrov shook his head. "We didn't have to kill her. We just had to convince her to quit sticking her nose into other people's business."
"And if you couldn't convince her?"
Petrov shrugged his thick shoulders. "Then we'd have to do something that would." He was built like a bull, and with that pale, scraggly beard, he was ugly.
"What? Like make her head?" Bran pressed.
Petrov didn't answer, just gave another shrug as if killing her was no big deal. Jessie shivered. She gasped when Bran drew back his fist and punched Petrov hard in the face, sending a spray of blood into the air and his body flying backward into the dirt.
"Bran, stop!" Jessie grabbed his bicep, which was bunched hard as steel, ready to deliver another brutal blow.
He shook his head, fighting for control. "He's lucky I don't kill him." Instead, he jerked Petrov upright. "I need a name. Who hired you?"
Petrov spit out a wad of blood. "Weaver. That's his name. Just Weaver."
"How do I find him?"
More blood trickled from Petrov's nose. The way it was swelling, by tomorrow, both eyes would be black.
"I don't know. He phones us on a burner, tells us what he needs, we call him back after the job's done. Weaver tells us where to pick up our money. That's the way it works."
Bran swore foully. "What's going to happen when Weaver finds out you didn't finish the job?"
Petrov grimaced. "He ain't gonna like it, that's for sure."
"Then I'd strongly suggestthe first chance you get, you and your buddy leave town. I've got friends on the base. I'll be texting them your photos. You don't leave, I'll know and you'll be dealing with me instead of your buddy, Weaver. You won't have a second chance to walk away."
Petrov stared up at him. Jessie knew Bran was talking about soldiers in the 10th Special Forces stationed at Fort Carson, where he had friends.
"You understand what I'm saying?"
Petrov swallowed and nodded.
Bran turned to Jessie. "Time to go."
"What about them? We can't just leave them out here. They could die of exposure."
"We'll call the sheriff once we're on the road."
"I thought you were letting us go," Petrov complained.
"You're lucky you're still alive." Bran closed Jessie's car door, rounded the hood, and slid in behind the wheel.
"Maybe we should call the MPs instead of the sheriff," she suggested as the engine roared to life. "Since it involves a CID investigation."
Bran shook his head. "These guys aren't active duty, plus we don't know who we can trust on the base."
Unfortunately, that was true. Her dad had been murdered on the base. The military was somehow involved.
As soon as the SUV reached the highway, Bran called 9-1-1 and anonymously reported that two men had assaulted him and were now tied up in an empty field. He gave the location using GPS coordinates.
"Sheriff will be there in ten," he said, ending the call. "We need to be long gone by then." He punched the gas and the Expedition picked up speed, heading back to Colorado Springs, forty miles away, and their motel.
"What will the sheriff do to them?" Jessie asked.
"For starters, they're probably driving with a stolen license plate. There's also a good chance there'll be warrants out for them. Guys like that... could be anything from a speeding ticket to a felony. Might get them locked up for a while."
There were few cars on the back road Bran was driving toward town. The wind had picked up, blowing dust and dry leaves into the air. The night was dead black, no moon no stars. Jessie shivered, though it was warm in the SUV.
She thought of the man who'd come after them. "Once they're released, do you think they'll actually leave town?"
"I'd say chances are better than good. Men like that go after the easy money." He cast her glance that held a trace of arrogance. "Turned out getting to you wasn't as easy as they thought."
She almost smiled. No, not nearly as easy with Bran Garrett acting as her bodyguard.
"I'll text those photos to a couple of SF guys I know, have them spread the word to their buddies, keep a lookout, give me a heads-up if anyone spots them."
She nodded. At least they might get some kind of warning if the two men stayed in the area.
Silence began to stretch between them. Neither of them spoke until town drew near and Bran's gaze slid back to her.
"You okay?"
Was she okay? Men had been hired to stop her--one way or another--from finding out what had happened to the stolen munitions and clearing her father's name. Since she had no intention of quitting, no, she wasn't okay. But she didn't say that.
"I will be. Once we clear my father's name."
"Be smarter to quit before things get worse."
"You think they will?"
"Good chance they will."
She fixed him with a stare. "You sticking?"
His mouth faintly curved. "If you are."
As Jessie settled back in the seat, she found herself smiling. "Glad that's settled."
Bran just shook his head. "Well, you sure as hell aren't boring." He flashed one of his devastating grins. "Can't remember when I've had a better time with a lady."
Jessie scoffed. "Not counting sex," she said dryly.
His look turned scorching the instant before he glanced away. "Yeah," he said. "Not counting sex."
Jessie's whole body went warm, and in that moment she made a decision.
She decided she was going to seduce him.
Currently living outside Missoula, Montana, Kat Martin is the New York Times bestselling author of over sixty-five Historical and Contemporary Romantic Suspense novels. Before she started writing, Kat was a real estate broker. During that time, she met her husband, L.J. Martin, an author of Westerns and high-action Thrillers. Kat is a graduate of the University of California at Santa Barbara where she majored in Anthropology and also studied History. She spends her winters in Arizona.
"I love to travel and especially like visiting the places where my books are set," Kat says. "I love history and enjoy spending time in museums and art galleries. My husband and I often stay in out-of-the-way inns and historical houses. It's fun and it gives a wonderful sense of a by-gone era."
To date, Kat has over seventeen million copies of her books in print. She is published in more than two dozen foreign countries, including Germany, France, Norway, Sweden, China, Korea, Bulgaria, Russia, England, South Africa, Italy, Spain, Argentina, Japan and Greece.
Kat is currently writing her next Romantic thriller.
