Harlequin Love Inspired Suspense
Featuring: Chloe Howard; T. J. Davenport
ISBN: 0373445954 EAN: 9780373445950 Kindle: B00GPDUT16 Paperback / e-Book Add to Wish List
Paul and Mary Zimmerman are on a book tour through Texas
when someone sets fire to the auditorium where they are
speaking and signing books. The threats have escalated. In
Paris, it was only stink bombs. That's why their publisher
hires TJ Davenport and Chloe Howard from Guardians, Inc. to
be their bodyguards. The book tour is called off and they
return home to their ranch, but the threats keep coming and
even intensify. And no one even knows why.
TJ and Chloe worked together nine years ago, before TJ took
a Secret Service job in Washington, D.C. and left Dallas.
They also have a romantic past together; Chloe thought she
was in love with TJ, but he placed priority on his
promotion. Can they work through that past as they partner
together to keep the Zimmermans safe?
Margaret Daley is a gifted writer of inspirational
fiction. She weaves scripture and God's love, mercy and
grace throughout her stories to give her characters insight
into what is really important in life. TJ and Chloe are
strong characters who are not only guarding the Zimmermans,
but also guarding their hearts from getting hurt all over
again. BODYGUARD REUNION is action-packed and full of
suspense with themes of trust and self-reliance running
throughout the story. BODYGUARD REUNION is the final book
in Margaret Daley's Guardians, Inc. series, and I've
enjoyed every one of them.
Reunions can be deadly
Teaming up with an old flame is not what bodyguard Chloe
Howard would call a smart move. Nine years ago Chloe and T.
J. Davenport worked on a case together, fell in love, then
went their separate ways. Now she's reunited with the
fearless bodyguard to protect a controversial couple on a
book tour through Texas.
And the reunion reminds Chloe of
dreams best forgotten.
She knows she has to keep her
emotions in check so their clients' protection remains their
top priority. Protection that is the only thing keeping them
from falling prey to a stalker's deadly schemes.
Excerpt
Her first day on the job as a bodyguard for the Zimmermans
and Chloe Howard already wanted to quit. In a limousine
heading for the Dallas Community Christian Church, Chloe sat
next to her client, Mary Zimmerman. Across from her, T. J.
Davenport guarded Mary's husband, Paul. If Kyra Hunt, her
employer at Guardians, Inc., had told her she would be
working with T. J. Davenport, she would have declined the
assignment. Instead, she would be around the man for the
entire month of the Zimmermans' book tour.
Chloe kept her gaze trained out the side window, but
occasionally felt the brush of T.J.'s dark gaze. He was
probably trying to figure out how to back out of this
assignment, too.
She'd worked with him nine years ago when he was a Secret
Service agent and she was a police officer for the Dallas
Police Department. From the beginning she'd been attracted
to him, and when they had started dating, the attraction had
grown into loveÂ?or so she'd thought. But his job had taken
him away, and now she'd discovered he was back in Dallas, no
longer a Secret Service agent.
The limo driver turned onto the road that curved up to the
covered vestibule of a megachurch, where they would exit the
vehicle. People crammed the entrance, waiting for the couple
to arrive. Even on this windy, cold day, a large crowd was
here, hoping to get a glimpse of the couple whose book,
Taking Back America, had rocketed to number one on
the New York Times bestseller list. This was the
third such appearance by the Zimmermans, who wrote about
putting God back into daily life. Off-duty police had roped
off a path for the Zimmermans to the double glass doors, and
each officer had taken up a post every few feet to hold the
throng back.
Was it enough? Whoever had targeted Mary and Paul at their
second stop in the book tour could be in the multitude
waiting for them to climb from the car. So far, no
description had been obtained of the person or persons in
Paris, Texas, who had thrown stink bombs into the gathering,
scattering everyone. Mary had nearly been trampled before
her husband had gotten to her. Knowing what Mary and Paul
stood for and the effect it must have had on them tightened
Chloe's gut. That incident had led to the Zimmermans'
publisher hiring two bodyguards for the third stop and the
rest of their book tour.
Chloe straightened, scanning the area through the windows
while T.J. did the same, his large body poised and alert.
The Zimmermans had only reluctantly agreed to protection,
not totally convinced there was a threat against them.
They'd always had dissenters and had even received hate
mail. A particular nasty letter had arrived at their first
stop in Longview, Texas, and might be tied to the incident
in Paris.
Chloe had wanted to sneak the couple into the church through
a back way, but the Zimmermans didn't want to go that far.
They wanted to be accessible to the people who had come to
hear them speak. She'd tried to convince the pair of the
potential danger, and to her surprise, T.J. had agreed with her.
Their parting in the past had been intense, filled with
anger and hurt. He'd wanted to continue with a long–distance
relationship. She'd seen too many of those failÂ? like her
parents' marriage with her dad in the navy and gone a good
part of the year.
As she did a final check of the huge crowd before exiting
the limousine, her gaze collided briefly with T.J.'s. Not
one emotion showed on his face, creating what she had come
to think of as his professional facade. Cold. Determined. At
one time she'd known a side to him apart from work. His
laughter and smiles had always fulfilled a need in her for
more of that in her life. There had been little of that
growing up with a mother who hadn't been happy her husband
was gone so much.
Chloe had even begun to picture what it would be like
married to himÂ?the children they would have. She'd wanted a
family since she'd worked as a teenager in the church
nursery each Sunday. She'd fallen in love with caring for
children. No, she wasn't going to think about what could
have been with T.J. if circumstances had been different.
She quickly focused on Mary Zimmerman, who had insisted on
being addressed by her first name. "We need to escort you
inside as fast as we can. Keep moving. I'll be right behind
you."
Dressed in a powder-blue suit with a pencil skirt, Mary
uncrossed her legs, her forehead crinkling. "But these
people are out here because they want to hear us speak. The
seating inside has been sold-out for weeks. I can't ignore
them when they took the time to come here."
"Someone in that crowd might want to harm you and your
husband." T.J. slid closer to the door and gripped the
handle. "Stink bombs may seem like a prank, but two people
were hurt seriously enough to go to the hospital. Thankfully
you all took care of those hurt, but if your husband hadn't
gotten to you when he did, you might have needed to be
hospitalized, too."
"But what if that was kids in Paris and our publisher
overreacted? I know that sort of thing happened at my high
school several times when I was a teenager." Paul Zimmerman
took his wife's hand.
T.J. looked from Mary to Paul. "How about the threatening
letter delivered to your hotel in Longview? Another teenage
prank?"
Chloe swiveled her attention to T.J. He plowed his fingers
through his thick, wavy black hairÂ?one of the few habits
she'd noticed before that indicated he was worried about
something.
T.J. continued, "It described in detail what he wanted to do
with you two, beginning with torture. That doesn't sound
like a teenager. I've read some of your hate mail, and that
one had a different feel to it."
He'd read some of the Zimmermans' hate mail? When? How had
he gotten it? She'd been assigned this case only hours ago.
Other than being apprised of what had happened in Longview
and Paris, she had nothing else to go on. Not even the hate
letter they'd received in Longview. Time had been limited
when she had met with Kyra this morning.
The thought that T.J. knew more than she did irritated her,
but mostly she felt she didn't have all the information to
do the best job possible because this job had come up so
suddenly. When this event was over, she would have a few
choice words with the man. Just because he'd been the team
leader on the one case they had worked on together didn't
mean that was the situation now. The only way she could do
this job was to be totally professional and an equal partner.
Paul frowned. "This is curtailing our mission to reach the
masses as personally as we can, and that certainly isn't
from behind bodyguards and police lines. They need to see we
aren't afraid to fight for what is right."
"Honey, maybe that's the point of the threats. To keep us
from connecting with the people." Even in the midst of a
tense situation, a smile graced Mary's lips. "The Lord is
our protection, but our publisher will cancel this tour if
we don't agree toÂ?" she waved her hand toward Chloe and
T.J. "Â?them being our bodyguards. I think spreading our
message is too important to cancel the tour."
A long sigh escaped Paul's lips. "Fine, but I'm having a
talk with the publishing house after this is over with.
Let's go."
Chloe studied T.J.'s reaction to the declaration, and not
one emotion crossed his face. She'd worked with him and knew
that expression, but she'd also seen its opposite. When he'd
been waiting for a chance to protect someone on the level of
the vice president and finally got his promotion, she
wouldn't move to Washington to be with him. Anger, hurt and
disappointment had swirled between them that day.
She'd had her reasons. He'd had his. They'd parted. After a
few calls from T.J. trying to persuade her to come to
Washington, she'd never heard from him again until this
morning when Kyra had introduced her to her partner in this
assignment.
Before he could catch her staring at him, Chloe busied
herself with opening the door and exiting the limo. The wind
whipped through her, its cold sting biting. She surveyed the
crowd, looking for any potential threats. Too many people
pressed together. Too many possibilities.
Cheers rose from the spectators, the din assailing Chloe's
ears as the crowd closed in around the Zimmermans, who
started toward the entrance. This beloved couple's message
touched many people. Chloe herself was a fan of their
grassroots movement to take back the family and this
country. They were full of integrity, compassionate and
straightforward in what was important. Who wouldn't believe
in their ideas?
But someone out there wasn't a fan. And she knew firsthand
how hate could fester, exploding outward to include
everyone. She'd seen more than her share, to the point that
she wondered how much longer she could do what she was
doing. But this was what she was good at.
Chloe moved forward on Mary's right toward the massive
double glass doors. T.J. took the left side of Paul,
steering him through the people wanting to shake hands with
the couple before they headed into the church.
Every sense on alert, Chloe kept her hand near her holstered
gun. Something didn't feel right. Or was she confusing this
with an assignment she'd had a year ago under similar
circumstances? Her shoulder still ached where she'd taken a
bullet defending her client.
Mary had stopped and leaned close to an older woman, taking
her hand. "I'll be praying for you and your family."
Tears glistened in the fiftysomething spectator's eyes.
"That means so much to me. I don't know what else to do
anymore."
"Praying is important. I'll be addressing some of the issues
you're dealing with today. I know our talk will be piped out
here for the people who couldn't get seats." Mary lifted the
rope standing between her and the woman. "But I'm sure we
can find one extra place for you."
Chloe inched closer to Mary, especially as the crowd surged
forward with the vacant spot left by the lady. Several
people nearby shouted various problems they were dealing
with, but the words jumbled into incoherent sentences.
"We need to keep moving," Chloe whispered to Mary while her
full attention remained fixed on the throng. "Your husband
is at the door waiting."
Mary nodded and replied to a few close to her as she
shuffled forward, shaking hands with as many as she could.
They were only yards away from the entrance now. The feeling
of being watched tickled up Chloe's spine, leaving goose
bumps in its wake. She'd learned not to ignore that
sensation. She glanced back, but couldn't tell anything
because everyone's eyes were on them.
Then a middle-aged man, going bald, pushed past the off-duty
officer and grabbed Mary, making her stop. "I want to sit
inside, too. Take me."
Chloe stepped forward, putting herself between Mary and the
man, forcing him to let go of her client and back away.
Anger flashed across his face. Tension whipped down Chloe as
others began to shout they wanted inside.
Mary smiled, although Chloe could see the corners of her
mouth twitching from holding it in place. "I'm sorry. The
fire codes are specific about how many people can be in the
auditorium."
Finally, Mary and the older lady entered a large church
foyer with lots of windows and skylights. Mary paused to
talk to one of the coordinators to make sure someone took
care of the lady and to see about letting the crowd outside
stand in the foyer, where it was warmer.
Having no time to do a walkthrough beforehand, Chloe swept
her gaze around her surroundings as she crossed the
threshold, noting where everyone stood, where the doors and
exit signs were, as the floor plan she'd seen indicated. "I
don't think that's wise under the circumstances," she
whispered to Mary, imagining the chaos that could cause.
The young coordinator called over an older gentleman, who
must be the person in charge, and they talked together.
The man turned to Mary. "We'll try to accommodate as many as
we can."
"Will they be able to hear our talk?"
"We can pipe your speech out into the foyer. But we can't
fit everyone in here."
"I understand. I'd appreciate anything you can do to make it
better for the people outside. Bless you for trying." Mary
made her way toward her husband, taking his offered hand.
The love that flowed between them made Chloe wonder when she
had given up on her dream of having a familyÂ?a husband who
loved her like that and at least two children. But everyone
she'd dated since T.J. hadn't been right, especially her
last boyfriend, Adam. He'd cheated on her. At least T.J.
hadn't done that.
The noise of the crowd in the massive auditorium at the end
of the lobby grew to a deafening roar the nearer they came.
With every seat taken, there were over fifteen hundred
cheering people here to listen to the Zim-mermans. Chloe
wouldn't relax until they were all back at the house where
the couple was staying.
The young coordinator escorted the guest speakers toward the
stage area. As the Zimmermans stepped out to greet the
crowd, the people all rose, clapping and yelling. A wall of
sound assaulted Chloe. As the audience finally quieted,
Chloe stationed herself behind the Zimmermans, positioning
herself so the lights didn't obscure her view of the
spectators. Her quick glance took in where T.J. was. He
tipped his head toward her, his signal he would take the
left side of the auditorium while she cased the right. Even
with her and T.J. each taking half the auditorium, it was
hard to keep an eye on everyone since people crammed the place.
After the presentation by the Zimmermans, T.J. paced the
room above the church auditorium like a bear he'd seen at
the zoo. He should be used to waiting. It was a big part of
his job, but this assignment was differentÂ?and all because
Chloe Howard prowled the other side of the room. From the
surprised look that had flashed across her face this morning
before she masked it, he was sure she hadn't known he was
the other bodyguard on this case.
In fact, he was positive she hadn't or she wouldn't have
taken the case. Not after how they had parted nine years
ago. He'd been falling in love with her when he'd been given
a choice assignment to be part of the detail covering the
vice president. He had been a Secret Service agent at the
time, assigned to Dallas working counterfeiting cases and
financial crimes, sometimes in coordination with the Dallas
Police Department. He couldn't turn down a chance to move
into the protection part of the United States Secret
Service, a move that would make his career in the agency.
He'd wanted Chloe to move to Washington and see if their
relationship would grow into a lasting one. He'd known from
his fellow agents how hard being a law enforcement officer
could be on a marriage, and that a marriage would only
survive if it was based on a deep friendship. He'd decided
he would only marry once.
She wouldn't leave Dallas. Her widowed mother had been
fighting cancer, going through chemo, and she'd needed
Chloe. He'd understood that, but she also hadn't wanted to
have a long-distance relationship. He'd realized it would be
difficult, but he'd been willing to try it, even though he
had trouble trusting othersÂ?collateral damage of his law
enforcement days. He'd never found someone like Chloe. Was
that the reason he'd decided to settle in Dallas when he'd
left the Secret Service?
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