Bodyguard Pursuit

Alone at sea. On the run from a killer . . .

It’s been a year since Saria Sands entered The Program, her last chance to stay one step ahead of a relentless killer. When bodyguard and weapons expert Ben Hammers sends her to a private yacht in the South Pacific, Saria agrees. But confined in close quarters together on the yacht, Saria can’t help desiring more with her mysterious protector.

Ben Hammers will do anything to protect Saria. She’s more than just a job. Protecting the innocent is Ben’s only way to right a wrong he’s kept hidden his whole life, a secret that has kept him from forming a connection with any woman, let alone the one he wants more than anything.

Ben knows he can’t let his guard down. But the more time he spends with Saria, the further he finds himself slipping...

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Bodyguards Series

Witness Pursuit

Bodyguard Pursuit

Magio-Earth Series

Protector

Warrior

Enchanter

Published by Kensington Publishing Corporation

Bodyguards Series

Joanne Wadsworth

LYRICAL PRESS

Kensington Publishing Corp.

www.kensingtonbooks.com

Lyrical Press books are published by

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Copyright © 2015 Joanne Wadsworth

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First Electronic Edition: August 2015

eISBN-13: 978-1-61650-746-6

eISBN-10: 1-61650-746-2

Printed in the United States of America

I grew up surrounded by books. This one’s for all those authors who opened up a world of adventure and inspired me to write the same.

Huge thanks go to my hubby, Jason, and kiddies, Marisa, Caleb, Cruise and Rocco, an incredibly supportive family who allow me so much time to write. My love for you is endless.

I also have the most amazing editor, Penny Barber. The absolute best.

For my readers, I can’t thank you enough for joining me, and taking this journey to where imagination and magic soar.

“How can you laze about and not want to get up and move?” Saria Sands paced the glorious top poolside deck of Tyler Whitehall’s luxury super-yacht as it cruised the warm waters of the South Pacific toward Fiji. Her identical twin lay sprawled on a lounger before her, so cool and calm, while her anxiety level kept rising.

“This is called a holiday. The whole point of one is to embrace the peace and solitude.” Lydia propped her aviator sunglasses up with one finger and eyed her from underneath the dark rims. “The baddies got locked away and there’s no longer a killer chasing us. You need to sit, kick back, and relax.”

“I keep looking over my shoulder, expecting Ben to be right there. Don’t you miss him?” She and Lydia had spent the past year in a safe house with a full time bodyguard, and Ben Hammers had guarded them with his life. Comfort and security only came when he stood at her back.

“No, Saria, but then you depended on him far more than I ever did. I’ve also had Tyler guarding me these past two months while you and I’ve been apart, and yes, I’d miss him like crazy if he weren’t here. Or in my bed.” Smiling, she cast a glance at Tyler and his brother as they swam lengths.

“I can’t believe you’re getting married, or that you’re pregnant.” That had been the last thing Saria had expected to hear when she’d finally reconnected with her sister two days ago.

“Neither can I, but both events are nice surprises.” Lydia frowned as she eyed her. “Look at you. You need to chill, and the only way that’s going to happen is if you give Ben a call. He’d understand if you did, and the sat phone’s just across the way in the captain’s control room.”

“I’m tempted.” Beyond tempted. She itched to run across the deck, grab that phone and jab in his number.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if he felt as lost as you.” Lydia tucked her white cotton swimsuit cover-up under her bare legs and wriggled her toes.

“Ha. That’s doubtful. He’s always been a complete professional. Feeling lost isn’t even an emotion on his radar.”

“I’m not sure. I’ve seen the way he looks at you.” Lydia tapped her chin.

“He looks at me because watching one’s client comes with the job.” Still, temptation ground at her. She nudged her sister’s stretched legs and Lydia wriggled over. She sat next to her and arched a brow. “Okay, exactly how does he look at me? And be specific.” A loaded question, but she needed an answer.

“As if he’s both fascinated and frustrated.” Grinning, Lydia sat straighter. “At times I’d see him standing behind you, his hands lifted and his fingers a whisper away. He’d inch closer as if he wanted to touch you, then when he realized what he was doing, he’d grimace and back away.”

“Are you certain? I never saw any such thing. He touched me only if necessary.”

“I’m positive. And let’s not forget he started sleeping with you while I was away, which goes way beyond touching in my book.”

“He slept with me for a very good reason, to allay my fears when you went through re-identification. And still, he didn’t touch me, unless you count the odd pat on the back when I was sobbing my heart out.” Which couldn’t have been more vexing. How she’d wanted him to hold her, to embrace his strength and siphon some for herself. Yes, he was her bodyguard, but also her friend. Friends hugged from time to time. Even now fear gripped her in its icy hands, no matter she was safe and amongst family she trusted.

“Take a deep breath and see if that helps you relax. Nice and slow.” Lydia squeezed her hand, concern radiating in her gaze.

“What will help is seeing the bodyguard I don’t need any more now our case is almost closed up.” She fidgeted with an unraveled string dangling from her shirt’s cotton hem, wound it around her finger then tugged it off. It snapped in the right spot but then loosened another inch. Stupid cotton. Huh, even it matched her unraveled thoughts. During her time in the safe house, Ben had erected a professional wall between them and she hadn’t had a hope of tearing it down, not when doing so would have meant him being pulled from her job. Something she’d never allow when she’d needed him just as much as she’d needed Lydia.

As she relaxed her cheek against Lydia’s shoulder, her sister’s sweet vanilla scent surrounded and comforted her. “At twenty-one, I should’ve been able to handle a little separation from you, but it wasn’t possible. Your life was on the line, and the danger you were in was all I could think about.”

“Those were the hardest weeks for me too.” Lydia wrapped an arm around her shoulders and sniffed. “There were nights where I’d lie outside in the dark and stare at the sky wondering if you were looking at the same stars as me. Re-identification was incredibly painful, and I hated you’d soon have to suffer the same loneliness as me.”

“I felt lonely anyway, re-identification or not. The pain went both ways.” Their twin bond was strong and always had been, no matter any distance separating them. She pulled a lock of Lydia’s glossy brown hair, now dyed back from the bright red her handler, Agent Gilchrist, had disguised her with. “I missed you, badly. Losing you was like losing a part of me.”

“I missed you too, and I’m glad you’re here with me now rather than still at the safe house. I wish our family were as well.” A tear slid down Lydia’s cheek and Saria wiped it away with her thumb.

“Don’t cry, or you’ll make me start. Ben said its best they remain at home until all the loose ends in our case are tidied away. We’ll all be back together again soon.” It wasn’t fair her sister had to get married without their parents and brothers here, but their continued safety had to be maintained.

“What do you think of Tyler’s family? At least they get to be here.”

“I love how they watch out for you. They’re so attentive.” Tyler and his three brothers owned Whitehall Shipping, and this super-yacht formed part of that fleet. Unfortunately, they were here though, because they’d gotten caught up in hers and Lydia’s case only a few short weeks—

“Excuse me, ladies.” Henry, one of the wait staff, stood over her in his crisp crew whites holding a silver tray with drinks.

She patted her thumping heartbeat. “You shouldn’t sneak up on a girl like that.”

“My apologies, Miss Saria. I didn’t mean to frighten you.”

“No, it’s not you. My nerves are shot.” As they had been for months now.

“Perhaps I might whistle then the next time I approach. Master Tyler did warn me to take extra care.” Henry had worked for the Whitehalls for years, and when Ben had handed her over into Tyler’s care, he’d made sure all on board were aware of her fears.

How she hated those fears. She should have been able to break the excessive worrying now she and Lydia were back together again, but it appeared it would take more than two days to override the year of complete agitation running from a killer had caused her. “Whistling would be perfect. Thank you, Henry.”

“Then that’s what I’ll do. I have your drink.” Henry passed her a lemon and lime bitters, and her sister a glass of iced tea before stepping across to the wooden slatted side table and setting the men’s drinks down on black leather placemats for when they finished swimming in the pool. He arranged a bowl of nuts and snacks on the table center then whistled a jaunty tune as he strolled to the stairwell.

“I think you should ring Ben.” Lydia playfully dunked her ice with the bright red straw then sipped her drink. “It’d give you some peace of mind, and it’s clear you need to hear his voice.”

“It’d be more relaxed if I had him here. Surely bodyguards need to unwind too. He should have come.”

“See, you do like him.”

“He’s also thousands of miles away in Auckland.”

“Then I’ll call him for you.” Lydia yawned and patted her mouth. Her eyelids fluttered and she shoved them back open.

“Are you getting enough sleep? It is your first trimester and you need to rest.”

“It’s not so much the baby but Tyler who enjoys keeping me awake at night. Which I quite like by the way.” She set her drink down and smiling, curled onto her side and slid her hand under her cheek. “I might just have a nap though while he’s busy burning off some energy.”

“Then I’ll leave you to your rest.” If only Saria could sleep herself. Her worry over the killer, even though he’d been caught, still kept her awake no matter the hour of the day or night. She rose, straightened her yellow tank top over her blue cutoffs and wandered to the top deck’s waist-high glass railing. Four floors below, the waves sloshed against the side of the ship.

Ben would love the solitude here, along with the miles upon miles of endless ocean. Not one possible killer gunning for her in sight. She lifted her face to the heavens and let out a heartfelt sigh. The sun shone high, the sky a soft blue with only a wisp of cloud on the horizon. The ocean breezed played over her skin and lifted her brown hair with a gentle flutter at her back.