Tempted By The Bodyguard. Elle James

       Chapter 1

      Daniel Henderson stood with his hand on the butt of the HK40 pistol resting in the shoulder holster beneath his suit jacket, his gaze locked on the man standing in the middle of the room.

      “I repeat, your granddaughter has been missing for two weeks,” Patrick O’Hara insisted, worry lines etched deep into his weathered face. “I’ve pursued all other options. I’ve filed a missing persons report, but the police have no leads. I’m at my wit’s end. That’s why I came to you.”

      “What do you mean, I have a granddaughter?” Former vice president Kate Winston stood straight, her shoulders squared, her lips tight. The only indication that the man in front of her had disturbed her normal calm was how pale her face had become. She glanced around the room at her three sons, Trey, Thaddeus and Samuel. “Is there something you three haven’t told me?”

      The three men shook their heads as one.

      O’Hara, who’d made the shocking statement, shook his head. “Not the child of one of your sons, the child of your daughter. Our daughter.”

      “What the hell are you talking about?” Trey, the oldest son, demanded.

      Patrick O’Hara’s eyes narrowed. “Maybe you should ask your mother.”

      Kate closed her eyes and pressed a hand to her chest.

      “You’re upsetting her.” Thad slipped an arm around Kate’s shoulders. “Perhaps you should leave, before we have you escorted out.”

      “No.” O’Hara stood firm, his gaze locked on Kate. “I need help finding my granddaughter and you are my last hope. Unless you’re going to throw her away like you did our daughter.”

      Samuel lunged forward. “Get the hell out.”

      Kate’s arm shot out. “No, wait. Let him speak.”

      Patrick glanced from Trey to Samuel and back to Kate. “Shelby was at the university library Tuesday night two weeks ago, working on some research paper for her graduate program. She said she’d be home by midnight. At two in the morning, I closed the bar and went home. She wasn’t there. Her car wasn’t parked out front. I got worried and drove all the way into Beth City, to the university. I found her car in the library parking lot, but not Shelby.” He scrubbed a hand down his haggard face. “I don’t know what else to do.”

      Daniel’s heartstrings were tugged by the desperation in the man’s tone and eyes. Two weeks might as well be forever. A woman missing for that long had little chance of being alive.

      “How old is she?” Kate pressed her fingers to the bridge of her nose.

      “Twenty-three. She’s never late for anything.” Patrick stepped forward.

      Daniel walked between Patrick and Kate, holding his gun out. “That’s far enough.”

      Patrick’s glance shifted to Daniel. “I just wanted to show her the picture of Shelby.” He looked back at Kate. “She looks just like her mother. And Carrie looked just like you. Brown hair, bright blue eyes.” He smiled, then the smile quickly faded. “We have to find her. She’s all I have.”

      Daniel took the photo from the man’s hands and held it out to Kate.

      Trey intercepted it. “The man is crazy. You’re not really going to help him, are you? He’s preying on your weakness—” Trey shot a glance at the picture, his eyes widening. “Damn.”

      Kate held out her hand. “Give me the photo.”

      Trey handed it across. “It has to be a forgery. You can do almost anything with computer graphics these days.”

      Patrick’s lips turned up. “She’s her mother’s daughter.”

      Kate stared at the picture for a long