by Janie Crouch
One perfect weekend changed his life
And now he’d die to protect his unborn child...
Two months ago, Roman Weber and Keira Spencer spent a breathless weekend together. But her sordid past and his privileged upbringing conspired against any happily-ever-after. When Keira is targeted by a killer, Omega Sector assigns Roman to safeguard her—and possibly win her back. Then Keira reveals she’s pregnant, and Roman knows the killer must be stopped...if they ever hope to become a family.
Omega Sector: Under Siege
“Are you hurt worse than you said? You need to tell me if that is true.”
“No. I...” She trailed off.
Roman studied her more carefully. “You what? You’re sick? Tired? Running the shelter and the salon is too much?”
“All of those things.” She held out whatever it was that had been grasped in her hand. It looked like some sort of white pen or plastic piece. “All of those things, and pregnant.”
Roman realized it was a pregnancy test in her hand just as she said the words. Now it was his turn for the world to spin slightly.
“Pregnant?”
“Yeah, about eight weeks if I’m not mistaken.”
“Okay, now we’re definitely getting you to a hospital. You need to be checked out.”
She looked over at him, a little surprised. “Aren’t you going to ask me if it’s yours?”
“You said eight weeks. I’m pretty sure that makes it mine.”
CEASE FIRE
Janie Crouch
www.millsandboon.com.au
JANIE CROUCH has loved to read romance her whole life. This USA TODAY bestselling author cut her teeth on Harlequin Romance novels as a preteen, then moved on to a passion for romantic suspense as an adult. Janie lives with her husband and four children overseas. She enjoys traveling, long-distance running, movie watching, knitting and adventure/obstacle racing. You can find out more about her at janiecrouch.com.
CAST OF CHARACTERS
Roman Weber—Omega Critical Response SWAT team member. Recuperating from an explosion that nearly killed him two months ago.
Keira Spencer—Hairdresser who runs a secret women’s shelter.
Andrea Gordon Han—Omega Sector behavioral analyst. Longtime friend of Keira’s.
Damien Freihof—Terrorist mastermind. Determined to bring down Omega Sector piece by piece by doing what they did to him: destroying their loved ones.
Mr. “Fawkes”—Omega Sector traitor providing inside information to Freihof.
Steve Drackett—Director of the Omega Sector Critical Response Division.
Grace Parker—Omega Sector psychiatrist.
Saul Poniard—New Omega Sector agent desperate to be part of the SWAT team.
Maureen Weber Donovan—Roman’s mother.
Annabel Jenkins—Keira’s employee and resident at the women’s shelter.
Heather McMurray—Resident at the women’s shelter with her infant daughter, Rachel.
Jonathan Cunningham—Keira’s ex-husband.
Bridgette Cunningham—Keira’s former mother-in-law.
Omega Sector—A multiorganizational law enforcement task force made up of the best agents the country has to offer.
This book is dedicated to Rob, who married my friend M. I despaired she would never entrust her heart to someone again, but your patience and unfailing love convinced her. I know you will stand by her side no matter what. You are everything I would’ve picked for her and more.
Contents
Prologue
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
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Excerpt from Two Dauntless Hearts by Elle James
Prologue
If you wanted someone killed right, you had to do it yourself.
He should stitch that on a pillow. Damien Freihof smiled as he watched guests enter the church.
He knew from “Mr. Fawkes,” his mole inside Omega Sector, that the church had already been swept for explosives and there were guards posted at all the doors. No one without an invitation, and a facial scan to prove their ID, was getting into the building.
It was at least nice to see the law enforcement agency was taking him seriously.
But Damien wasn’t crashing the wedding today. Even though it was Brandon Han and Andrea Gordon’s, both of whom Damien knew personally. They’d all come so close to dying with each other last year—didn’t that bring people closer together?
Damien wasn’t at all surprised they were getting married today, just a year later, after the way Brandon had fought to free Andrea. It had been remarkable, really; the other man’s passion—utter determination—to save her.
He’d saved her that day, but in the end it wouldn’t be enough. Thanks to Mr. Fawkes’s plan, they would all die. Every single member of Omega Sector’s critical response team.
But that was for later. Not today.
Today, Damien was just here to look around. To prove to himself how close he could get without anyone realizing who he was. Snap a few pictures.
Particularly of the woman he planned to kill within the next few weeks.
He’d already picked her out. Knew who would die. He hadn’t yet decided exactly when or how, but he knew it would be with much fanfare and would definitely garner the attention of those working at Omega.
They had to pay—had to pay for what they’d done to him and his precious Natalie.
Damien’s more subtle approach at revenge—convincing others to stalk and kill the people beloved by Omega Sector—hadn’t been enough. Yes, one Omega Sector agent had been killed and another put in a coma, but there should’ve been much more bloodshed by now. Much more grieving.
But Damien had left the killing to others and they had not been able to live up to their commitment. He wouldn’t make that mistake this time. Now he would take matters into his own hands.
But not just yet.
Damien was nothing if not a patient man. It had been a while since he’d last struck and it would be a while before he struck again. Just enough time for the law enforcement agents to wonder if he was still here or if he was gone for good.
He hadn’t gone anywhere.
And soon, while their defenses were down, he would strike again. Strike at the very heart of them.
Everyone might survive the wedding today.
But they wouldn’t survive much longer.
Chapter One
Everyone wore their sidearm to the wedding.
Given that at the last wedding, two months ago, a maniac had burst in and tried to kill the wedding party, firearms were understandable.
Every member of the elite law enforcement task force known as Omega Sector remained determined not to be caught unawares again.
The psychopath at the last wedding had been arrested, and fortunately, no one had been hurt. But e
veryone knew that as long as Damien Freihof, the mastermind behind the recent attacks against Omega, remained at large, none of them would be safe.
So every agent at Brandon Han and Andrea Gordon’s wedding had some sort of holster. Waist, shoulder or ankle for most. A few of the female agents probably had weapons strapped to their thighs or in their evening clutch bags. None of the sidearms were noticeable, but they were there.
Roman Weber had one at both his waist and his ankle. And there was no way he was letting his guard down tonight.
Thanks to Damien Freihof, Roman hadn’t even been able to attend the last Omega Sector wedding. He’d been too busy coming out of a coma from an explosion Freihof had carefully planned. Another Omega Sector agent had been killed. If Roman had been two feet closer to the blast, he would’ve been killed, too.
So no, Roman wasn’t interested in laughing and drinking and dancing, even if many of his closest friends were in the room. Instead, he kept finding his eyes drawn to the multiple entrances to the ballroom of the ski resort here in Colorado Springs, where the reception was being held.
Two main doors leading into the resort, three separate kitchen entrances, and a set of double doors heading out to a terrace. Freihof could attempt to make his way through any of them.
He was around. Roman hadn’t seen the man anywhere, but knew in his gut that Freihof was nearby today. The man was so good at disguise it was possible he already waited here inside the room, although Roman didn’t think so. There were too many trained agents looking for Freihof for him to risk it.
The guy was a psycho, but he wasn’t stupid.
Still, Roman walked over to the shadows closer to the main doors. Just in case.
“See anything suspicious?”
Roman knew Steve Drackett, director of Omega Sector’s Critical Response Division, was present before he spoke. Grace Parker, Omega’s head psychiatrist, stood beside him.
“No. But it doesn’t hurt to keep looking.”
Steve nodded. “Damn right about that.”
Something inside Roman eased slightly. His boss didn’t think he was paranoid. Didn’t think searching for Freihof in the shadows of a wedding was being overly cautious.
Steve slapped Roman on the shoulder. “But you do know that watching for Freihof isn’t solely your responsibility.”
“Maybe not. But it’s definitely something I take personally.”
Grace smiled at him, tucking a strand of her silver hair behind her ear. “If you didn’t take it personally, given what happened, I’d be a lot more concerned.”
Roman had spent a lot of time talking to Grace over the past few weeks. The older woman would ultimately be the one who cleared him for active duty once he was cleared physically.
The required sessions with her had been pretty agonizing at first. Roman wasn’t a sit-around-and-get-in-touch-with-his-feelings sort of guy. But Grace had made him feel comfortable. She had an air about her that never judged or condescended.
She’d helped him realize how damn pissed off he was that he’d almost died. That Damien Freihof had almost killed him. That it was only sheer blind luck Roman was alive today.
And that all those feelings were normal.
“Am I acting crazy, Doc?”
Grace gave a delicate shrug. “You’re acting aware and vigilant. Again, nothing wrong with that.”
“I just want to catch this son of a bitch.” Roman gritted his teeth just thinking about Freihof.
Steve squeezed his shoulder. “Your medical doctor said you would be clear for active duty next week.”
Roman noticed Steve didn’t say anything about Grace clearing him mentally. His behavior here tonight wasn’t helping. He all but itched with the desire to get back out with his SWAT team on active missions. Desk work was killing him one minute at a time. But active duty was a no-go until he was cleared by both the Omega physician and the psychiatrist.
“Okay, I’ve got a beautiful family who need my attention.” Steve grinned as he looked to where his new wife held their two-week-old son at one of the tables surrounding the dance floor. “Roman, you let me know if you think something’s not right. But on the other hand, you’re not the only one on duty tonight. Hell, you’re not even on duty at all.”
Roman and Grace watched Steve walk across the room to his family. Neither of them said anything right away. Roman was going to try to outwait the older woman, but knew that she would win that battle. The psychiatrist had much more practice at the waiting-out-silence game.
“I noticed Steve said that I’d be physically cleared for active duty next week, but he didn’t say anything about being cleared by you,” Roman finally said, not looking at Grace.
“Do you think you’re ready for duty, mentally? Emotionally?” she asked.
“I know that sitting at a desk is doing more harm to my mental health than being active and back out with the team would do.”
“And is that what you think I should say in my report?” Grace raised one eyebrow.
Roman had long since learned that almost every statement he gave to Grace would result in another question from her. It didn’t bother him anymore. He knew it was just her way of getting him to think through answers for himself.
Grace Parker was a brilliant psychiatrist. She worked with all sorts of people at Omega Sector: agents, victims, and had even acted as the SWAT team’s medical doctor in a few emergency situations. If she wasn’t twenty or so years older than his own thirty-one, he might have made a move on her long before now. Not that she would’ve taken him up on the offer.
“You want me to say whether I think I’m ready or not,” Roman said.
“Ultimately, that’s what really matters, isn’t it?”
“Not on the piece of paper, it’s not. Only your opinion matters, not mine.” Roman trusted Grace to give an honest judgment and not hold him back if she thought he was fit for duty.
But damn it, he wanted so badly to be back out in the field he could practically taste it.
“Do you think that I think you’re ready?” she asked, turning toward him.
“I would hope so.”
“Do you think I think you think I think you’re ready?”
Roman tried to wrap his brain around that statement, until he realized Grace was grinning.
“Now you’re just messing with me,” he said, shaking his head.
Her soft laughter rang out. “Guilty.”
Roman smiled now, too, the tension broken. “That’s not very nice, you know.”
“If it helps, I wouldn’t tease you about it if I didn’t think you were prepared to join the team in active missions.” Grace said.
“Really?” Roman turned to face her more fully.
“Steve didn’t mention me clearing you for duty, because I cleared you over a month ago.” She smiled at him. “Mentally, I think you’ve been ready for a long time. You just needed to give your body some time to rebuild and restrengthen.”
“So I’m cleared?” Roman felt tension he’d held for weeks melt off him.
“Yep. As soon as your physician says so.”
“You don’t think it’s a little odd that I’m wearing two weapons here tonight, and wandering from shadow to shadow to make sure Damien Freihof isn’t somewhere in the building?”
Grace shook her head. “I’ll admit it might be a little bit hyperdiligent. But I promise you, you are not the only person here with two weapons. And you are not the only person here searching the shadows every few minutes. Including the groom.”
Roman looked around the room. Grace was probably right. He’d been so caught up in his own need to be sedulous that he hadn’t realized there were a dozen others being just as watchful.
“Now, believe it or not, I actually have a date to get back to.” Grace smiled again, tilting her head toward a man in his early sixties sitting at
a table nearby. Grace’s husband had died a few years before and Roman was glad she was seeing someone socially.
“Thank you, Grace. Sometimes it’s hard to stay centered.”
“That’s what I’m here for. That’s what we’re all here for. For each other. You’ve got to remember you’re not in this alone. I think that is what Damien Freihof most wants to do—isolate us and fracture us. It’s important that we don’t let that happen.”
Roman nodded. “You’re right. I’ll try to relax, at least a little bit tonight.”
“Aren’t your mother and stepfather here? Do you want to spend some time with them?”
Roman refrained from rolling his eyes. Barely. “No, I’d rather sit here and look for invisible bad guys than go hang with my mom and Maxwell, and listen to all the reasons why I should be rubbing elbows with the bigwigs in the room.”
Grace laughed. “Well, the state political VIPs are definitely here en masse. And I know you’ve said your mom would much rather you had gone into politics than be a member of the Omega SWAT team.”
“Whether I wanted to or not.”
Grace shrugged. “Regardless, they are family. Don’t cut them out.”
“Trust me, I couldn’t cut them out if I wanted to. If you see my mom, don’t tell her where I am.”
Grace grinned again. “Will do. And Roman, it’s a wedding. It’s okay to have fun, maybe talk to a girl—like that gorgeous one you’ve been checking out all night whenever you let your guard ease enough to think about something other than Freihof.”
Roman knew exactly who she meant. Keira Spencer. The raven-haired, curvy, petite bridesmaid. One of the bride’s friends from high school or something. His attention had been drawn to her tonight like it had at the last few social functions he’d seen her at, as friends of Brandon and Andrea. He would’ve asked her out long before now if his plans hadn’t been waylaid by the whole coma thing.
His eyes left the shadows and sought out the dark-haired beauty now. Like him, she was standing mostly away from the action of the wedding, although he doubted it was for the same reason.