The Listener

The Listener
Kay David

A SWAT team is only as good as its weakest link. The Listener works hard to make sure that no link breaks. She's constantly watching the team, testing to see if anyone's getting too close to the edge. But she can't do much when her help is refused.Dr. Maria Worley is the Listener.Maria's latest case is the hardest she's ever had. In her experience, no patient has walked closer to the edge than Ryan Lukas. Worse, he's convinced himself that he's just fine. And to make things even more complicated, Maria–and her teenage son–need Ryan as much as he needs them.The Listener is about to learn that helping others is easier than helping yourself.The Guardians: This time the good guys wear black

“Let me do my job.”

Maria kept her expression flat in the face of Ryan’s angry glare. “I can’t. Not until I feel confident that you’re recovered from the stress of your wife’s death.” She pulled her calendar toward her. “I have this same time open next Thursday.” She held out an appointment card to him, her hand in the air a full ten seconds before he took the offering.

Rising to his feet, Ryan clenched his fist around the card without looking at it. “You’re making a big mistake.”

Even though he was giving her a hard time, his gaze was so full of pain and grief, a wave of sympathy hit her.

“I’m sorry you see it that way. I believe if we work together, I can help you.”

“And if I don’t want your help?”

“I’m afraid you don’t have a choice, Lieutenant.”

He gave her a look that would have made a lesser woman quail. Maria simply stared back. A second later, he stalked out. As he reached the hallway, she heard the sound of paper ripping. The scraps of her card fluttered gently to the carpet.

Dear Reader,

The Listener is the last book in the SWAT team trilogy that I wrote for Harlequin Superromance. It follows The Negotiator and The Commander. Each story has presented a different view of a SWAT team. It’s dangerous, emotional and draining work, the likes of which few “civilians” witness or understand.

This last book tells the story of Maria Worley, a psychotherapist, and Ryan Lukas, the sniper for the SWAT team.

When I started this series I knew I wanted to delve into the emotional life of a sniper. What could be more fascinating than the motivations and conflicts of a man who must take one life to protect another? Then I started to think…. What if that sniper had just suffered a tremendous personal loss? And what if the therapist who was supposed to treat him discovered she was more attracted to him than she should be? How could these people handle that kind of stress? How could they deal with all the possibilities? Just to make the story a little more interesting, I decided Maria should be a single parent, too.

I hope you enjoy reading The Listener, and I hope you find it a satisfying conclusion to THE GUARDIANS series. If you’d like to contact me, please visit my Web site, kaydavid.com, or write to me at kaydavid@kaydavid.com.

One last thing…don’t forget that May is Get Caught Reading month. Obviously, if you’re reading this, you love to read, so why not share your passion? When you finish The Listener, pass it on to a friend or a relative…or even a stranger! Reading is one of the greatest pleasures we can give ourselves, and encouraging others to “get caught reading” is a gift to them, as well.

Sincerely,

Kay David

The Listener

Kay David

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

This book is dedicated to all the wonderful listeners

I’ve had the great pleasure of knowing through the years.

While some have been professional,

like Dr. Amelia Kornfeld or Max LeBlanc,

others have listened because that’s what they do best:

my mother, Pauline Cameron; my best friend,

Marilyn Amann; my husband, Pieter Luan.

We all need people to listen to us—

there’s nothing more important—

so my thanks and my love go to the people

who always have time to listen.

CONTENTS

CHAPTER ONE (#ub67daf68-72b3-5ebb-88d5-6ac4a8547fe4)

CHAPTER TWO (#u975b18f5-7f4d-52ac-92e2-b31c5f9e25f0)

CHAPTER THREE (#u6c7c400e-852a-5e36-9066-8a500344d372)

CHAPTER FOUR (#u347c8c30-ae01-5c82-8506-1cc0e2c3c7a3)

CHAPTER FIVE (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER SIX (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER SEVEN (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER EIGHT (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER NINE (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER TEN (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER ELEVEN (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER TWELVE (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER THIRTEEN (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER FOURTEEN (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER FIFTEEN (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER SIXTEEN (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN (#litres_trial_promo)