Protecting His Own. Lindsay McKenna

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      “Nice to see you again, Lieutenant,” Roc drawled.

      “Liar.”

      Stunned, Roc stared at Dr. Samantha Andrews. “Excuse me?”

      Sam met and held his surprised gaze. “You’re a liar, Captain Gunnison. And don’t try and sweet-talk me, because it won’t work. I call a spade a spade.”

      Lips tightening, Roc stared at her. “Okay, Doctor, have it your way. I was just trying to be social.”

      “Yeah, right. I saw the look you gave me. I know where I stand with you on this mission.”

      He glared down at her. “We need to talk. But not here. And not now. Once we get to Area Five, you and I are going to chat. Alone.”

      Giving him a cutting smile, Sam said, “Fine with me, Captain. Because frankly, you’re the last man on earth I’d ever want to have with me on a mission.”

      Dear Reader,

      Things are cooling down outside—at least here in the Northeast—but inside this month’s six Silhouette Intimate Moments titles the heat is still on high. After too long an absence, bestselling author Dallas Schulze is back to complete her beloved miniseries A FAMILY CIRCLE with Lovers and Other Strangers. Shannon Deveraux has come home to Serenity and lost her heart to travelin’ man Reece Morgan.

      Our ROMANCING THE CROWN continuity is almost over, so join award winner Ingrid Weaver in Under the King’s Command. I think you’ll find Navy SEAL hero Sam Coburn irresistible. Ever-exciting Lindsay McKenna concludes her cross-line miniseries, MORGAN’S MERCENARIES: ULTIMATE RESCUE, with Protecting His Own. You’ll be breathless from the first page to the last. Linda Castillo’s A Cry in the Night features another of her “High Country Heroes,” while relative newcomer Catherine Mann presents the second of her WINGMEN WARRIORS, in Taking Cover. Finally, welcome historical author Debra Lee Brown to the line with On Thin Ice, a romantic adventure set against an Alaskan background.

      Enjoy them all, and come back again next month, when the roller-coaster ride of love and excitement continues right here in Silhouette Intimate Moments, home of the best romance reading around.

      Yours,

      Leslie J. Wainger

       Executive Senior Editor

       Protecting His Own

       Lindsay McKenna

      MILLS & BOON

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      LINDSAY McKENNA

      A homeopathic educator, Lindsay teaches at the Desert Institute of Classical Homeopathy in Phoenix, Arizona. When she isn’t teaching alternative medicine, she is writing books about love. She feels love is the single greatest healer in the world and hopes that her books touch her readers’ hearts.

      To Lynda Curnyn, my editor, who works so hard

       on my behalf and always makes my day.

      Contents

      Chapter 1

      Chapter 2

      Chapter 3

      Chapter 4

      Chapter 5

      Chapter 6

      Chapter 7

      Chapter 8

      Chapter 9

      Chapter 10

      Chapter 11

      Chapter 12

      Chapter 13

      Chapter 14

      Chapter 15

      Epilogue

      Chapter 1

      February 2: 0700

      “How do you get oil and water to mix?” Morgan Trayhern asked out loud as he stood looking out the window of his office at Camp Reed. The marine base near Los Angeles had been operating twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week since an earthquake registering 8.9 on the Richter scale, had hit the Orange County area on New Year’s Eve. The devastation had left millions of people without food, water or medicine. Only this base had the air facility and personnel to even begin to try and save lives in that destroyed region. As an ex-marine and the head of Perseus, a covert agency that provided top-secret assistance to the government, Morgan had signed on to help with the recovery efforts. It hadn’t been easy. And with this next problem on his plate, his job had gotten a bit tougher.

      Tucking his hands into the back pockets of his jeans, Morgan scowled. How was he going to get two very strong, bullheaded people to work as a team out in area 5 without killing one another? Morgan studied the faint pink color along the desert horizon, the sight of the new dawn filling him with hope.

      The airport, a mile below the hill where the headquarters and logistics buildings sat, hummed like a stirred-up beehive. Fifty helicopters, mostly Sea Stallions and UH-1N Hueys, were lined up for takeoff—the backbone of the relief fleet. They had all been loaded the night before, and today two pilots would man each one, to fly goods into assigned areas. The flights would continue nonstop all day. Hardworking marine crews were also unloading huge Air Force cargo planes coming in regularly from points east. It was backbreaking work.

      Absently, Morgan adjusted the collar on his red Polo shirt. Even though it was winter in Southern California, with temperatures dropping down to the thirties and forties at night, he wore short-sleeved shirts most of the time. His wife, Laura, always teased him about being so warm-blooded.

      Turning, Morgan sighed, glancing around the tiny room and taking in the standard-issue green metal desk, the maps tacked to every inch of wall so he could plan and organize the flights. The radio on his desk was connected with each of the supply and rescue camps they’d already established in the devastated area. Each channel was designated for a specific region. It was also connected to the brain of the operation, in HQ, where the generals convened to create workable strategies along with federal and local government officials.

      “Knock, knock?”

      Morgan lifted his head. He smiled when he saw Dr. Samantha Andrews peek her head around the corner of his partially opened door. Seemed he was going to have that oil and water problem sooner rather than later. “Good morning, Sam. Come on in.” He lifted his hand.

      “Thanks, Morgan. How’s Laura? I haven’t seen her since her last official checkup with me, a week ago. How’s her ankle doing?”

      “She’s now on crutches. She hated that wheelchair, but she also hated being in bed with her leg suspended. I think the surgery you performed was successful.”

      Frowning, Sam muttered, “Yes and no. When she got that blood clot later, that was a bump in the road to her recovery. I’m just glad we were able to fly in the drugs to get rid of it, since drugs of any kind