Texas Bodyguard--Luke


 
 
 
 Luke checked over his shoulder. Still no sign of the attackers.
 This almost felt worse than actually seeing them. If they weren’t in sight, Luke didn’t know where they were, and he liked to always have an eye on his enemies.
 He and Claire crossed not far from where he’d parked when gruff male voices from around the corner made them freeze. Luke yanked her down with him behind the side of a dumpster.
 Claire let out a low whimper and shrank into herself. Luke put a hand on her arm and pulled her to his side. But her cat, Kahn, decided he’d had enough of being held and slipped through her crooked elbow. As Claire gasped, Kahn jumped onto a nearby trash can, toppling it with a loud crash.
 “What was that?” one of the men asked.
 Claire reached out for Kahn, but Luke wrapped his arm around her shoulders and held her back. She loved that cat, but he wasn’t letting her get killed for it.
 
 
 TEXAS BODYGUARD: LUKE
 USA TODAY Bestselling Author
 Janie Crouch
 
 
 
 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.
 Books by Janie Crouch
 Harlequin Intrigue
 San Antonio Security
 Texas Bodyguard: Luke
 The Risk Series: A Bree and Tanner Thriller
 Calculated Risk
 Security Risk
 Constant Risk
 Risk Everything
 Omega Sector: Under Siege
 Daddy Defender
 Protector’s Instinct
 Cease Fire
 Visit the Author Profile page at Harlequin.com.
 
 
 CAST OF CHARACTERS
 Luke Patterson—One of the four boys adopted as a teenager by Clinton and Sheila Patterson. Before being adopted, he lived at one of the worst San Antonio group homes that was later shut down. Owns San Antonio Security with his brothers.
 Claire Wallace—Introverted software designer who spent some time at the same group home as Luke. Likes Khan, her Maine coon cat, much more than she likes people.
 Brax Patterson—Most charming and outgoing of the Patterson brothers. Don’t let the smile fool you.
 Weston Patterson—Most quiet and serious of the Patterson brothers. Often underestimated.
 Chance Patterson—Oldest of the Patterson brothers, and the most strategic. The caretaker.
 Vance Ballard—Claire’s employer and CEO of Passage Digital. Willing to do whatever it takes for power and wealth.
 Maci Ford—San Antonio Security’s office manager.
 Sheila and Clinton Patterson—Adoptive parents of the four Patterson brothers.
 
 
 Since this book is about family, it’s dedicated to Kiddo #1. What a talented, beautiful and resourceful woman you’ve become—you amaze me constantly. Thanks for making me a mom.
 
 
 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 Danger on Maui by R. Barri Flowers
 
 
 Prologue
 Everything in this house was clean.
 The kitchen had been recently mopped and wiped down to almost sparkling. The bedsheets were freshly laundered; soft, not scratchy like what he was used to. The shower was clean, his clothes were clean, the walls were clean. Everything was clean.
 But Luke was dirty.
 He’d been at the Pattersons’ house for a month. Hadn’t been hit or kicked by adults or the other three boys who lived here. Kids could sometimes be the most vicious, especially ones feeling like they needed to defend their territory. But not these guys.
 Luke had his own room in this giant old house. He definitely hadn’t had his own room at the group home. Or on the streets when he’d run away.
 And his door locked. Clinton Patterson, the guy here with his wife, had shown Luke how to use the lock.
 That was all great, but Luke still put the wooden desk chair under the doorknob every night. It wouldn’t keep someone out, but it would at least warn him if someone was trying to get in.
 The three other boys living here seemed okay. They were all foster kids, and all close to fourteen like Luke. Luke had seen one of them, Brax—what a stupid name—last year for a few days at Skyline Park group home, before Luke had sneaked out again as soon as possible. By the time the cops had caught him and brought him back, Brax was gone.
 The other two boys were okay, too. Weston was the quiet Black kid. He hardly ever said anything, but always let Luke play video games with him. The Hispanic kid, Chance, was supersmart. Luke didn’t mind him, either.
 This place was way better than Skyline Park. It was probably temporary—great foster parents like Clinton and Sheila didn’t keep kids like Luke long-term. They adopted babies or sweet blonde angels who floated into group homes for a few months and needed someone to look out for them.
 At least that was one good thing Luke had done. Maybe a few months in the Patterson house was his reward for helping out the little girl.
 He sat up in his bed and swung his legs over the side. He was hungry. It was late and Clinton and Sheila were old as dirt—like forty or something—and had probably gone to bed. He could sneak some stuff like he’d been doing every night.
 Because if being here was a reward, he might as well take advantage of it as long as he could. There were no locks on the pantry or fridge here. There was so much, no one even noticed that Luke was stealing food.
 Going to bed not hungry had been nice, he wasn’t going to lie.