Camouflage Cowboy

Camouflage Cowboy
Jan Hambright

A single mother with a sick child was not something Agent Nick Cavanaugh was prepared to face. Unfortunately, his very special assignment included finding the woman and protecting her from learning the truth about his client and the vultures about to descend on her privacy.With no choice but to stick by Grace Marshall until all threats were neutralized, it took one little boy and his need for a cure no time at all to work their way into Nick's heart. Peeling back Grace's layers, Nick uncovers a mysterious past, and also a passion that stirs his soul and inflames his desire. As he struggles between what is dutiful and what is right, a killer unexpectedly makes his move.…

“I want you and Caleb to stay for as long as it takes.”

Grace stared at him, feeling the heat in his touch as it pulsed along her arm in an intimate connection she could feel growing between them.

“I’ll find a way to neutralize the creep stalking you.” There was absolute seriousness in the set of Nick’s mouth and the slight narrowing of his intense blue eyes.

A blade of fear knifed through her. “Be careful, Nick. He’s got friends with badges who don’t seem to mind helping him. He’s been able to trace me everywhere I’ve been for the past three years.”

“That’s when you ran?”

“Yes.”

“Who is he, Grace?”

Her emotions locked up, strangled with tension that wound tight like a cord inside of her. The whole truth could drive Nick away when she needed his help the most, but she couldn’t live with herself if she let him walk into a trap because he hadn’t been forewarned.

“He’s my ex-brother-in-law.”

“Your ex-husband’s brother?”

“My dead husband’s brother.”

Camouflage Cowboy

Jan Hambright

www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jan Hambright penned her first novel at seventeen, but claims it was pure rubbish. However, it did open the door on her love for storytelling. Born in Idaho, she resides there with her husband, three of their five children, a three-legged watchdog and a spoiled horse named Texas, who always has time to listen to her next story idea while they gallop along.

A self-described adrenaline junkie, Jan spent ten years as a volunteer EMT in rural Idaho, and jumped out of an airplane at ten thousand feet attached to a man with a parachute, just to celebrate turning forty. Now she hopes to make your adrenaline level rise along with that of her danger-seeking characters. She would like to hear from her readers and hopes you enjoy the story world she has created for you. Jan can be reached at P.O. Box 2537, McCall, Idaho 83638.

CAST OF CHARACTERS

Nick Cavanaugh—A former army ranger and member of Corps Security and Investigations, Nick is grateful for the second chance he has been given by CSaI founder Bart Bellows. But the object of his special assignment, Grace Marshall, could prove to be his toughest mission yet.

Grace Marshall—Given up for adoption as an infant, Grace is now desperate to find her birth mother in order to save her ill son’s life via a bone marrow transplant. Can she locate the woman before time runs out for her little boy, Caleb, and before a maniac from her past threatens both of their lives?

Caleb Marshall—Four-year-old Caleb was born with aplastic anemia. He needs a donor, but his rare blood type has narrowed his chances of finding a suitable match. Can one be found in time?

Wes Bradley—The soldier was reported killed in Iraq by an IED, but his name has surfaced in connection with some of the attacks against Governor Lila Lockhart. Could he still be alive?

Rodney Marshall—Bent on vengeance, he’s determined to make Grace Marshall pay for what she did.

Governor Lila Lockhart—Texas loves her, but a scandal from her past could destroy her chance of ever becoming the president of the United States. Only Nick Cavanaugh, her hand-picked CSaI agent, stands between the discovery of that truth and the highest office in the land.

Contents

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter One

Nick Cavanaugh rose from one of the park benches perched on the perimeter of Freedom’s town square, checked the traffic in both directions and jaywalked across Main Street, careful to keep his pace nonchalant.

Anticipation skated over his nerves, etching certainty into his brain. He’d learned it hard and solid on the battlefields of Iraq: stay one step ahead of your enemies, or two steps back for a clear shot.

His heart rate notched up.

The door of Potter’s Drugstore swept open just as Nick made the curb half a block to the east.

Funny. His target didn’t look like much of a threat. The observation gelled in his brain as he watched her step out into the early afternoon sunlight. She casually looped her arm in her purse strap and deposited it on her shoulder. She turned to her right and moved along the sidewalk, her blond ponytail swaying back and forth between her shoulder blades as she moved away from him.