Keeping Her Safe. Myrna Mackenzie

      Praise for Myrna Mackenzie:

      “Mackenzie delivers a gripping tale—one packed with romantic conflict, electrifying sexual tension and unexpected twists.”

      —Romantic Times on Morning Beauty, Midnight Beast

      “Myrna Mackenzie pens a marvelous romance filled with love and humor, a truly enjoyable read.”

      —Romantic Times

      “Myrna Mackenzie treats us to a heartwarming, poignant and utterly satisfying romance as these marvelous characters go toe-to-toe in a battle of wills that leads to their own hearts.”

      —Romantic Times on The Daddy List

      “Readers will enjoy Myrna Mackenzie’s easy writing style, substantial conflict and appealing characterizations.”

      —Romantic Times on The Scandalous Return of Jake Walker

      Keeping Her Safe

      Myrna Mackenzie

      

www.millsandboon.co.uk

      Dear Reader,

      For years I’ve been thinking that I’d like to write a book about a bodyguard, so I was delighted when I was asked to write Keeping Her Safe and tell Vincent Fortune’s story. Vincent is the epitome of the protective hero, the type of hero that I love to write. Of course, the fact that he’s big and handsome and tough and has a reluctant soft spot for Natalie McCabe, the heroine, only added to the joy of writing about him.

      And Natalie is just the kind of heroine I can’t resist, one who gives the hero a run for his money. Strong and feisty, Natalie is pretty sure she doesn’t want a bodyguard, even though she realizes she might need one. And being a woman who likes to fight her own battles, she just can’t help but end up thwarting Vincent at every turn, causing the sparks to fly and the heat to build, even as the outside danger threatens to end everything.

      Writing Natalie and Vincent’s story was an adventure, being able to continue Ryan Fortune’s story made the experience even more exciting, and working with some of my favorite authors…well, I just couldn’t have asked for a more agreeable task.

      I hope you find abundant pleasure in reading this and all of the books in THE FORTUNES OF TEXAS: REUNION series!

      Best wishes,

      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 Eighteen

      Chapter Nineteen

      Bonus Features

      One

      Natalie McCabe stared up at the massive dark-haired man standing in the doorway to her apartment and wondered what she had gotten herself into. The man blocked the light from the hallway. His intense gray eyes and sharp-edged jaw were practically predatory. He looked very much like trouble, and right now she already had enough trouble in her life.

      “You’re not Vincent Fortune, are you?” she asked, unable to hide her concern.

      “None other,” he answered in a lazy voice. “Is there a problem with that?” He glanced down at her and then beyond her into her apartment.

      Yes, there’s a major problem, Natalie wanted to say, even as she bit her tongue. When Daniel Fortune, San Antonio’s assistant district attorney, had told her he was going to assign her a bodyguard, she supposed that she had expected someone big—just not someone whose eyes took in so much. Within two seconds of opening the door, she would swear the man had registered every aspect of her house and every inch of her person. A shiver of awareness ran through her. This was a man who was used to being in control.

      If there was one thing Natalie couldn’t deal with, it was having someone else trying to take her control away.

      “Of course there’s no problem,” she finally said, trying to calm herself.

      The man looked down, and Natalie realized that she had clenched one fist. “I’ve been hired to protect you,” Vincent said more gently.

      “Yes, I understand that it’s a necessity. I’m okay with that,” she finally said.

      The man looked amused, as if sensing her lie. “Mind if I come in, then?”

      Natalie thought about that for two whole seconds. There was no way she was letting Vincent Fortune into her apartment. It wasn’t just that he was big, he was also handsome, with a killer smile and a low, sandy voice that promised carnal pleasure. Men like that were the kind that many women allowed favors. Women in those circumstances gave up more power than they should. Because they were lusting, not thinking.

      Natalie was always thinking. Right now she was thinking that she had no business toying with the word carnal.

      “Is it really necessary for you to come in?” she asked, desperately hoping the man couldn’t read minds. “Aren’t you just supposed to sit outside my house in a parked car watching for danger? Isn’t that how it works?”

      He raised one dark brow, not smiling. When he looked down at her, Natalie felt small and frail, even though she wasn’t either of those things. At five-six, she wasn’t short, and she visited a club regularly and had taken self-defense courses.

      “You and I need to establish a working relationship and some basic ground rules before I can decide what the best course of action is, Ms. McCabe,” the man said. “To do that, we need to sit down and talk, and you probably don’t want to talk in a place where anyone can overhear us.”

      Okay, he had a point. Natalie took a deep breath, her options fading. Not for the first time she wished her situation were different. When she had been assigned to cover the party the governor had thrown to honor Ryan Fortune, noted philanthropist and head of the Fortune family, for his contributions to charity, it had been an ordinary day. Just as usual, her boss at the San Antonio Express-News had stuck her with the social circuit when she wanted the chance to cover hard news stories.

      Then she had witnessed Jason Jamison murdering his wife, and everything had changed. She was no longer just a reporter but also a witness to a crime.

      Not long ago, her tires had been slashed, and recently she had begun receiving threatening notes. She needed protection, and Daniel Fortune was convinced that his brother Vincent ran the best security firm available. Damn!

      “I don’t mean to be a pain, Mr. Fortune,” Natalie said, still not inviting him in, “but exactly how do I know that you’re who you say you are? Especially given my situation, I can’t just invite a stranger into my house.”

      Vincent nodded slightly. His eyes crinkled at the corners in a way that made Natalie’s stomach flutter. Don’t be stupid, she told herself.

      “You’ve just become my favorite