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  Shadow headed straight for the window and shoved his nose behind the drapes while Ben approached Jamie. “It’s okay. I’m here.”

  “Where did he go?”

  “Who? What did you see?”

  “A—a man.”

  “Up here? That’s impossible.”

  Jamie pushed herself into a sitting position and pointed. “Oh, yeah? Tell that to your dog.”

  Ben realized she was right. Shadow had stayed at the window, growling and pawing at the sill.

  Rocky Mountain K-9 Unit

  These police officers fight for justice with the help of their brave canine partners.

  Detection Detail by Terri Reed, April 2022

  Ready to Protect by Valerie Hansen, May 2022

  Hiding in Montana by Laura Scott, June 2022

  Undercover Assignment by Dana Mentink, July 2022

  Defending from Danger by Jodie Bailey, August 2022

  Tracking a Killer by Elizabeth Goddard, September 2022

  Explosive Revenge by Maggie K. Black, October 2022

  Rescue Mission by Lynette Eason, November 2022

  Christmas K-9 Unit Heroes by Lenora Worth and Katy Lee, December 2022

  Valerie Hansen was thirty when she awoke to the presence of the Lord in her life and turned to Jesus. She now lives in a renovated farmhouse on the breathtakingly beautiful Ozark Plateau of Arkansas and is privileged to share her personal faith by telling the stories of her heart for Love Inspired. Life doesn’t get much better than that!

  Books by Valerie Hansen

  Love Inspired Suspense

  Rocky Mountain K-9 Unit

  Ready to Protect

  Emergency Responders

  Fatal Threat

  Marked for Revenge

  On the Run

  Christmas Vendetta

  True Blue K-9 Unit: Brooklyn

  Tracking a Kidnapper

  True Blue K-9 Unit

  Trail of Danger

  Visit the Author Profile page at LoveInspired.com for more titles.

  Ready to Protect

  Valerie Hansen

  Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee.

  —Jeremiah 1:5

  I started to list the friends and colleagues who are special to me and discovered that the list was too long, so I’ll thank the Lord for all of them and for the opportunities He has given me and continues to offer. I never cease to be amazed and blessed.

  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

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Epilogue

  Dear Reader

  Excerpt from Fugitive Hunt by Laura Scott

  ONE

  Jamie London was so afraid she was trembling inside. She’d been on edge ever since witnessing a murder several months ago, but this was different. Worse. Her level of anxiety was climbing off the charts. She didn’t want to be in busy Denver. She didn’t want to be interrogated by the FBI. And she certainly didn’t want to be noticed or recognized. Not now. Especially not now. The sooner she could escape the imposing government offices the better. She just wished the agent in charge hadn’t ordered her to park in the dimly lit garage instead of on the street.

  The elevator taking her back to tier three of the concrete parking structure halted with a slight jerk. Doors whooshed open. Eyes widening, she peered out into the gloom. Traffic on the busy streets outside hummed in the background like a hive of angry bees, but up there where she felt so isolated nothing moved.

  There were no suspicious footsteps, no dark figures loitering in the shadows, no sounds that should have triggered foreboding. And yet she was so scared she could barely convince herself to take the first steps toward her car.

  “We’ll make it,” Jamie said, tenderly patting her stomach and believing that the unborn baby nestled beneath her heart could hear and understand. Pulling her hobo bag to the front, she held it like a shield and left the elevator.

  FBI Special Agent in Charge Michael Bridges had offered to summon someone to escort her to her car after her interview, but she had declined rather than wait around. All she’d wanted was to get out of there ASAP. To escape the building as well as the tragic memories his questions had dredged up. Being the key witness to Congresswoman Natasha Clark’s murder was not something Jamie could deny. Testifying was her civic duty. But she wished she could leave that part of her life as far behind her as she had her unfaithful husband.

  “It’s not your fault, honey,” she cooed to the baby. “You can’t help who your daddy was, can you? Of course not.”

  Speaking aloud calmed Jamie some. She truly was not alone. Not anymore. She and her little girl would stick together no matter what, and she’d do her very best to assume the roles of both parents. Lots of women did it. She could, too.

  Her jacket didn’t quite meet in the front anymore, but most of the time it kept her warm enough for early May weather in Denver. Tights beneath her tunic helped, too, yet she shivered in the gloom.

  Sounds of her own footsteps echoed down the aisle of the designated visitor area as she hurried to her car, unlocking it with her electronic key. Someone had pulled too close to the driver’s door so she tossed the bulky purse in ahead of her, turned sideways and started to squeeze through the narrow opening. Seven months’ worth of baby didn’t hamper her most of the time but in this case, it was a tight fit.

  Jamie held her breath as she strained to wiggle into the car. Silence surrounded her. The rapid beat of her heart echoed in her ears. A car door slammed in the distance. Jamie froze. Tried to listen past the thudding of her pulse, the raggedness of her breathing.

  The baby kicked, startling her and providing enough extra incentive to propel her the rest of the way in. Her hip hit the steering wheel and glanced off. Ouch! She pushed against the wheel in order to drag her left leg the rest of the way and slam the door. The key? Where was the ignition key? She’d just had it in her hand. Had she dropped it when she’d been struggling with the door? Or was it back in her purse?

  Muttering, “Key, key, key...” she patted the seat and slipped her fingers into the crack between it and the center console. Nothing.

  Her shoulder bag had slid to the floor on the passenger side when she’d thrown it in ahead of her. She reached to the right. Her fingertips brushed the strap. Almost had it. Almost, but not quite.

  Frustrated and sensing impending trouble, despite the comfort of her car, Jamie leaned to stretch farther.

  A boom with a whine split the silence. Hurt her ears. The car’s windshield shattered into a spiderweb of shards, held in place only by the layer of plastic laminated between two sheets of glass for safety.

  Jamie may have screamed. She wasn’t sure. What she did hear almost before the echo of the attack had died down was the wail of alarms and an automated voice instructing everyone to shelter in place. Well, duh, she thought. Like I’m going anywhere now.

  More shots reverberated through the tiers of the garage, this time with more bang and less whine. Tires were squealing. A motor raced.

  Jamie pressed herself to the seat until the sounds of immediate danger ceased, then slowly raised on one elbow, trying to keep her head below the level of the dashboard.

  Running feet pounded down stairways and elevators slid open. In minutes, armed men and women had deployed up and down the aisles and around her damaged car.

  She recognized SAC Bridges as he shouted orders and reached for her driver’s door with his free hand while the other pointed a lethal-looking handgun at the ceiling.

  “Are you hurt?” he yelled.

  “I... I don’t think so.” Jamie opened the door slightly. “What happened?”

  “Looks like you were shot at. Did you see the shooter? Can you identify the driver of the black SUV?”

  “I didn’t see a soul.”

  “Okay. We should be able to get info from our security cameras.” Bridges motioned to one of the nearby plainclothes officers wearing a plastic ID badge. “Stay with her until the ambulance gets here and make sure she doesn’t move until we’re sure she isn’t injured.”

  “Yes, sir,” the dark-haired agent said.

  Jamie didn’t argue. She didn’t have it left in her at the moment. Lying on her right shoulder she closed her eyes and caressed her baby bump with her left hand, apologizing to her child over and over. “Mommy’s so sorry, little one. So, so sorry.”

  Had pregnancy enhanced her senses? she wondered. Was that why she’d felt frightened even before the attack? Or was the fear simply a result of having to relive the congresswoman’s last moments for the FBI?

  “It doesn’t matter,” she whispered. Bile rose in her throat. Her whole body was trembling. Reality settled in her heart and
filled her mind with thanksgiving. If she hadn’t dropped the key and leaned down to retrieve her purse, the bullet might have injured her. Or worse.

  There was only one suitable reaction to that horrifying conclusion. Keeping her eyes squeezed shut she turned her thoughts and words toward heaven with a fervent “Thank You, Father. Thank You, Jesus” punctuated by silent tears of gratitude.

  * * *

  Five hours away, in the Wyoming foothills of the Bighorn Mountains, Ben Sawyer wasn’t as antsy about being officially sidelined as he might have been if the injury had been his rather than that of his K-9 partner, Shadow. The big black Doberman had been strong and healthy until an accident during training at the Rocky Mountain K-9 Unit headquarters in Denver had left him limping. Somehow, a gun fired during the exercise didn’t contain the standard blanks, and Shadow had been startled and landed badly. With plenty to keep Ben occupied on the vast ranch he and his father, Drew, operated, he didn’t mind being sidelined for a short time.

  As long as this hiatus doesn’t last too long, Ben told himself. The sooner Shadow was cleared to return to duty, the happier they’d both be.

  He ran his fingertips and thumb down his scruffy cheeks to meet at the cleft in his chin. It was nice to not have to shave daily while he was working on the ranch. And these well-worn clothes suited him far more than those he was expected to wear as a K-9 officer, too, although the badge, lanyard and Kevlar vest his unit used were better than having to adopt matching Colorado police uniforms. His allegiance was, after all, pledged to Wyoming first. The RMK-9 Unit was a relatively new mobile team comprised of handlers and their canine partners. They were under contract to the FBI and served the entire Rocky Mountain Region. Ben had been recruited from the local PD by his former military leader, who headed the unit.

  The cell phone clipped to his belt vibrated. Shadow alerted despite the muted sound, his ears raised to a point and attention focusing on his human partner. Ben smiled. “Take it easy, boy. I don’t think this is about work. You haven’t been okayed for active duty yet.”

  Noting the caller’s name and number, however, Ben was puzzled. It was Tyson Wilkes, his friend and boss.

  “Sawyer,” Ben said. “What’s up?”

  “I have a job for you.”

  “A job? I just told Shadow it was too soon. He’s going to think I fibbed.” Ben smiled at his K-9 partner as though the dog was capable of getting the joke.

  “I’m not asking you to come back to Denver,” Tyson said. “I’m sending you a witness to protect.”

  “Me? Here?”

  “Yes, you. I know it sounds odd but she’s a special case. We suspect there has already been at least one attempt to silence her and she’s refusing to shelter in Denver.”

  Ben blew a sigh. “So, arrest her and keep her in protective custody.”

  “Not that easy, I’m afraid. Since the incident with Shadow at the training center indicated an internal problem and the fact that this murder witness was ambushed in our parking garage, I’m hesitant to keep her within a system that might be compromised at present.”

  Scowling, Ben cupped the phone more tightly. “What are you not telling me?”

  “I’m getting to that. We’ve been investigating the training mishap in-house. A wire to the alarm system on the armory room had been tampered with and we suspect that somebody on the inside got in and replaced the normal blank cartridges of the gun with a homemade version that was intended to cause real harm. That’s likely what rattled the rookie during the training exercise and inadvertently caused the hip injury to your dog. We’re just fortunate nobody was actually shot. Including your Shadow.”

  “When could anyone have done all that tampering without being seen?”

  “We don’t know. Naturally there were no prints and it looks like whatever tools were used came from right here.”

  “Terrific.”

  “Yeah. So, getting back to business, do you want to drive down and pick up the witness I mentioned, or shall I just send her to you?”

  Ben rolled his eyes and sighed again. “I suppose it makes more sense to send her. Otherwise I’ll be facing a ten-hour round trip.”

  “Okay. As soon as the medics give her a clean bill of health, I’ll get someone from the local PD to chauffer her to your place. I assume there’s plenty of room?”

  “I’ll arrange to give her the whole loft and move my office downstairs for a week or so. I hope this assignment isn’t going to take a lot longer than that.”

  “Trial is set for the end of the month. Can you last three weeks?”

  “I’ll manage. My dad hasn’t been himself lately so I won’t mind spending a little more time with him. Mrs. Edgerton comes every day to cook for us and I can increase her hours, too. Just keep me posted, will you? I want to know what Forensics learns about that dummy ammo.”

  “So do I,” Tyson told him. “Hang in there, buddy. Sorry I can’t give you hazardous-duty pay for this job like we used to get in the army.”

  “I’ll manage. Anything else?”

  “Not off the top of my head. Keep in touch.”

  “Right. Bye.” Ben didn’t see any reason to remind his old friend and current boss that the Double S cattle ranch provided a more than adequate income. He hadn’t entered law enforcement for the pay; he did it because it was right, something he’d learned years ago serving as an army ranger with Tyson and several of the others who had been recruited for the Rocky Mountain K-9 Unit—men like Nelson and Lucas. They were good guys, good handlers and, for Tyson’s sake, Ben hoped the team he’d assembled would pass their year’s probationary period and be made permanent.

  “Shadow, stay,” Ben commanded as he headed for the stairs.

  Clearly disappointed, the Doberman laid his chin on his front paws and gave Ben such a sad look he was tempted to rescind the order. “Maybe tomorrow, boy. The vet said to keep you from using that sore hip for at least one more day. Climbing stairs isn’t good for you.”

  The mournful expression on Shadow’s face made Ben laugh and extend a hand. “All right. But take it slow, okay? We want you healed and back to work as soon as our babysitting job is over.”

  Panting and trying to wag his almost nonexistent tail, the sleek, well-muscled dog took three measured steps at Ben’s side, then broke and leaped up the stairs to the loft, bridging two and three at a time. When he reached the top he wheeled and looked down at his favorite human while giving a perfect canine imitation of a big grin.

  Ben had to laugh. “Guess you’re feeling fine, huh?”

  Shadow barked once, his tongue lolling, his whole body quivering with excitement.

  A voice called from the direction of the kitchen. “Everything okay out there?”

  “Fine, Dad,” Ben shouted back. “Just fixing the loft for company. When Mrs. E. gets here, tell her we’ll have an extra mouth to feed for the next few weeks. I’ll fill her in later.”

  Drew Sawyer stuck his head through the doorway. “You’re not giving up your office, are you?”

  “Only temporarily. Our visitor is work related, and I want her to be comfortable, and the loft is like a separate apartment.”

  Besides, that will keep her out of our hair. Looking down on his dad from the second story, Ben thought Drew looked even older than his sixty-plus years. Truth to tell, he hadn’t seemed like himself since finding out he had an older son who’d been kept a secret from him all these decades and Christopher Fuller’s continuing refusal to speak to the father he had never known.

  Ben had done all he could to bring them together, but nothing had helped. Drew’s depression was another reason why Ben didn’t mind spending more time at the ranch. He might not be able to reunite Drew with his estranged son, but he could at least demonstrate his own devotion to the man and their ranch. That had to count for something.

  * * *

  The car trip would have been more tedious for Jamie if she hadn’t dozed off almost immediately. That was another drawback she’d discovered with pregnancy. She was tired all the time and had started actually taking naps. The whole premise of sleeping in the middle of the day rankled her, but she was willing to do whatever was necessary to nurture her unborn daughter.