Bodyguards
of L.A. County #1
By: Cate Beauman
Self
Published
Morgan
Taylor, D.C. socialite and wildlife biologist, leads a charmed life until
everything changes with a phone call. Her research team has been found
dead—slaughtered—in backcountry Montana.
As the case
grows cold, Morgan is determined to unravel the mystery behind her friends’
gruesome deaths. Despite the dangers of a murderer still free, nothing will
stand in her way, not even the bodyguard her father hires, L.A.’s top close
protection agent, Hunter Phillips.
Sparks fly
from the start when no-nonsense Hunter clashes with Morgan’s strong-willed
independence. Their endless search for answers proves hopeless—until Hunter
discovers the truth.
On the run
and at the mercy of a madman, Morgan and Hunter must outsmart a killer to save
their own lives.
Hunter Phillips had lost everything that meant so much to
him during his last tour in Afghanistan, his best friend and his team. All he
had left in his life was working as a
bodyguard, a deep sense of guilt that he survived and to fulfill his promise to
Jake that he would always be there to protect and care for Jakes wife and
daughter, Sarah and Kylee.
Morgan Taylor was many things; Daughter, a D.C. Socialite
but the biggest part of he was a Wildlife biologist for the Wildlife Protection
Agency. Her team had a mission to tag a Lynx. But that would mean half of her
team would go to Yellowstone and her and 2 other members would go to Maine. She
was confident in her team, but she was surprised and devastated to lean on a
supply pick up that 3 of her best friends that made up the Yellowstone team had
been murdered and the police we unable to find the killers. Morgan is
determined to complete their work and find out who murdered them. But her
father (who was also her boss) insisted that she take a bodyguard with her and
reluctantly she agrees.
So Hunter and Morgan head to Yellowstone with sparks flying
between them. But everything doesn't go as planned and their lives are in
danger! Will Hunter and Morgan manage to survive...
Wow! This story kept me gripped till the very end, but wow!
I wasn't expecting who the bad guys were at all!! Blew my mind! The writing in
this book was excellent, no fluff filling, no plot holes or useless details, it
was everything I truly enjoy about Romantic Suspence. The characters were very
enjoyable, though having more interaction between Morgan and her friends would
have been nice. You honestly can't help loving Morgan and Hunter, but I will
admit that Kylee steals the show a little.
I give Morgan's Hunter 5 stars!
Chapter One
September
2010
Helmand
Province, Afghanistan
Gunnery Sergeant Hunter
Phillips and his men drove toward their target: the hideout of Al-Qaeda’s
number three. Satellite imagery confirmed Abbas Muhammad Muhammad Tayi was
holed up in a small village ten miles away, but a source warned they had the
wrong man. Hunter and his Force Recon unit were about to find out. After a year
of searching, tracking, hunting, they would substantiate the evidence either
way. Bringing the fucker to justice thirty days before they departed this
godforsaken land would be the perfect end to their tour.
The caravan of two
up-armored Humvees moved swiftly down the endless, dusty road, dodging enormous
blast holes created by Soviet mines years before. They came past the blackened
remains of a truck three Marines died in yesterday. Like a mascot of death, the
burned vehicle welcomed the recon unit to “The Danger Zone.” In the last month
alone, ten soldiers had lost their lives along the eternal stretch of dirt.
Rocky terrain laden with
caves and deep crevices surrounded the Humvees. Insurgents roamed the area,
ever eager to take their shot at US forces. Although the route clearance team
had driven by twenty minutes ago, ten pairs of eyes scanned the road and dirt
beyond, watchful for mounds of sand and small rocks—telltale signs of IEDs.
“And as we drive through
the valley of the shadow of death, I would like to remind you all that God is
good, men. Keep Him with you today,” Hunter said into his radio.
Nine “Amens” answered
back.
Tension hung thick and
the vehicles were silent except for the hum of motors and the constant click of
Carson, Hunter’s gunner above, moving in half circles in his mechanical seat.
The unit had gone a year without a casualty—a miracle in direct action warfare.
But the law of averages told them they were due, and they all knew it.
Somewhere during the
last mile, the AC had petered out. Hunter, sweat soaked and miserable, tugged
at his collar, trying to ignore the one hundred degree heat and baking sun
boring through the windshield, zapping energy from him and his men like a
furnace straight from hell. Perspiration trapped by camouflage fabric and
bulletproof vests mixed with sand, chafing, burning, only adding to the
wretched conditions.
As the truck plowed
ahead, Hunter’s shoulder blades itched and his stomach pitched. His eyes
narrowed and his focus sharpened as he searched the rocks beyond. Something
wasn’t right. His gut instinct was never wrong, and his men didn’t question it.
“Men, I’ve got the itch. Stay alert. I repeat, stay alert.”
“Still glad you picked
this route, Gunny?” Jake Johnson said from truck two.
Despite the situation, a
small smile ghosted Hunter’s mouth. “Don’t be a pussy, Johnson.” He lurched to
the right as the driver swerved around another blast hole. “The fastest route
isn’t always the safest. That’s why I’m lead truck. I’ll keep you safe, honey.”
Jake chuckled. “Fuck
you, man.”
Hunter grinned, forever
scrutinizing their surroundings. “You’ll be tucked in with your blankey before—”
The massive explosion
cut him off, shaking his vehicle with its deafening boom. “What the fuck?” He glanced in his rearview mirror
as smoke plumed from truck two. Oh
God—Jake.
Bullets pinged against
the armored trucks as the unit took on fire.
“Return fire! Return
fire!” Hunter instructed, peering back at Jake’s vehicle. “Truck two, do you
copy?”
Static crackled in his
earpiece as his heart pounded—in his chest, in his throat. His body revved from
the swift flow of adrenaline and fear coursing through his veins. He radioed
back to camp, struggling to remain calm. “Thunder Main, this is Patriot Zulu.
We have IED detonation—one truck hit. We’re taking fire. I need fire support
now and casualty evacuation on standby!”
“Patriot Zulu, this is
Thunder Main. That’s a good copy of last transmission. Scout weapons team is
inbound. ETA ninety seconds.”
With help on the way,
Hunter tried Jake’s Humvee again. “Vehicle two, do you copy?”
“Hunter, this is truck
two. We’re smoking and rattled, but we’re—” Another explosion roared, cutting
them off as a rocket-propelled grenade hit Humvee two. Metal smashed and
scattered through the air as Jake’s vehicle rolled twice.
“Shit! Shit! Fire
support, what is your location, goddammit? Carson,” he hollered to his gunman,
“suppress that fire so I can move toward those rocks.” He had to get to Jake’s
truck.
Carson gave him a nod,
pummeling fifty caliber rounds into the boulders, decimating rock and anything
behind them.
Hunter opened his door,
crouching next to the wheel well, assessing the unit’s dire situation. Help was
still sixty seconds away, and they were surrounded by insurgents. Truck two lay
on its side four hundred yards back as heavy black smoke plumed from the twist
of metal. Hot rubber and burning electrical equipment choked the air.
A movement in the rocks
caught Hunter’s eye. He fired his weapon, watching a man fall to the ground.
“Let’s do this,” he said
to the three soldiers waiting for his command. The men took his place at the
wheel well as he ran for the boulders in the distance. "Clarke, Tanger, I
need an update on truck two. Move forward.”
Carson continued
shooting from the Humvee roof while Hunter and Sergeant Smith laid down fire,
providing cover as the soldiers ran. Halfway to the vehicle, bullets rained
down from an unknown area in the rocks above. Clarke and Tanger stumbled,
falling to the ground.
“No! Cover me, Smith.”
Without a second thought, Hunter sprinted toward his fallen men as the rhythmic
thump of chopper blades echoed closer.
A Kiowa Warrior soared
overhead, dropping missiles among the crevices and caves, obliterating large
chunks of mountainous terrain. The helicopter banked right as the next aircraft
flew in, repeating the same procedure.
Fire support vanished as
quickly as it had appeared, and the air fell silent. The heavy breathing of his
soldiers filled Hunter’s ear. The firefight was over. For the moment they were
clear of danger, and a weight lifted off his shoulders, leaving him lightheaded
with relief.
Sergeant Tanger groaned
as a chunk of dangling metal fell from truck two with a deafening crash, and
reality rushed back like a punch to the gut.
Hunter ran to his men,
who were shot and bleeding, as Carson continued with precautionary fire into
the mountainside. “Smith, get the truck over here!” Hunter dug into Clarke’s
medical pack and applied a tourniquet to the unconscious man’s arm. As he
twisted the black fabric tight, the flow of blood ceased.
With Clarke as stable as
he could make him, Hunter crawled to Tanger, ripping Tanger’s pant leg,
exposing three bullet wounds. He glanced at Jake’s truck, desperate to get to
him. Distracting flashes of their childhood played through his mind, and he
ruthlessly squashed the memories. “Shit, man, you’re a mess,” he said to
Tanger, attempting to keep his soldier lucid and himself calm.
“It hurts like—shit!”
Tanger tensed as Hunter packed his first wound.
Sergeant Smith backed
the Humvee closer and crouched next to Hunter, waiting for orders.
“Smith, finish this. Get
them secured. I’m heading for truck two.” With his gun to his shoulder, he
peered through the sight, moving toward Jake’s vehicle. It had only been five
minutes since the attack began, but it felt as if it had been hours. “Truck
two, do you copy?” The air remained dead, and panic rose from his depths.
Everything he’d learned as a Force Recon escaped him. All the training on
procedure vanished as he thought of Jake and the other four men. “Jake. Jake,
do you copy? Can you hear me?”
“Hunter,” Jake answered,
coughing.
“Oh, thank God. You
scared the sh—”
“I’m hit, Hunt. I’m
hit.” Jake wheezed, coughing again. “And they’re all dead, man.”
Pain sliced his heart as
he yelled into his radio once more. “We need casualty evac, ASAP! Get them here
now! I have four confirmed KIAs and three wounded.” Hunter whirled when
footsteps approached from behind. Sergeant Smith’s face lined up in the
crosshairs of his scope.
“Clarke and Tanger are
secure.”
“Let’s go then,” Hunter
said, running to what was left of the vehicle. “Jake, I’m here.”
Jake gasped for air, coughing
violently.
Hunter climbed to the
top of the heap, burning and cutting his hands, peering down at Jake’s battered
face. Gashes riddled his cheeks, dribbling blood. He glanced at the remains of
his four other men, burying the fisting pain deep. Jake was all that mattered
now—the only one he could help.
Hunter locked his legs
around mangled metal, anchoring himself. He reached his arms through the
opening, grabbing hold of Jake. “Come on, man, I’m going to get you out of
here. Evac’s on its way.”
Jake tried to sit up on
the console and yelled out. “I can’t do it. I can’t get up.”
“Yes, you can. I don’t
know how long we have before they fire on us again.”
Taking a deep breath,
Jake hollered, clenching his fists as he sat up.
Hunter hoisted him up,
and Jake screamed. “I’m sorry, man. Almost there.”
With Jake’s head and
torso freed from the wreckage, Sergeant Smith climbed up, grabbing hold of
Jake’s legs, helping Hunter lay him on the ground.
“Sergeant, get me a
kit,” Hunter said, assessing Jake’s injuries as Smith ran for their truck.
Blood saturated Jake’s plated vest, and sweat covered his face as he grew pale
with every heartbeat. Hunter ripped through his friend’s armor and cloth to the
wound, fighting to steady his breathing, horrified by the injuries. He applied
pressure to the gaping hole in Jake’s abdomen as blood pooled over his fingers.
Helplessness consumed him and desperation clawed at his throat as he yelled
into his radio, “We need casualty evac now, goddammit! Do you hear me? Right
now!”
Sergeant Smith hustled
back with a kit, but there was nothing among the first aid supplies that would
help. The medics on their team were dead or gravely injured, and Jake’s entire
midsection was full of shrapnel.
“I’m not going to make
it,” Jake gasped.
“Don’t you fucking say
that!”
He coughed again,
violently. “I’m not. Take care of them. Take care of Sarah and the baby.”
Hunter pressed harder as
blood oozed over his fingers, pooling in the sand. “No, you’re going to take
care of them. They’re coming.” The rhythmic sound of chopper blades echoed off
the mountains. “Listen, they’re almost here.”
Jake’s body shook.
“Promise me. Promise me, goddammit.” Tears streamed from his brown eyes. “Tell
them I love them, that I’ll always be with them.”
“I promise, Jake.” It
was too late. There was nothing the medics could do.
White as a sheet, Jake
convulsed, even as Sergeant Smith tried to help keep him still. “Kiss Kylee for
me.” His voice grew weaker. “Tell her it’s from her daddy. I never got to…I
never got to hold her. Tell her about me.”
“I will. I will.” Hunter
was losing him. Life seeped from his best friend, his brother. “I love you,
Jake. I’ll take care of them.”
“I love…take care of...”
Jake stopped moving, stopped breathing.
“God, no! No!”
Desperately, Hunter started chest compressions. “Don’t you leave me!”
The chopper landed in
the distance, and gunfire broke out. Heat seared through Hunter’s left
shoulder.
Bullets sprayed from
Sergeant Smith’s weapon. “I got him, Hunter. I got the fucking bastard.”
Smith’s brow furrowed as he crouched behind the rocks. “Shit, you’re shot.”
Hunter sat in the sand
and dust with Jake while blood dripped down his arm.
International bestselling author Cate Beauman is known for her full-length, action-packed romantic suspense series, The Bodyguards of L.A. County. Her novels have been nominated for the National Excellence in Romance Fiction Award, National Indie Excellence Award, Golden Quill Award, Writers Touch Award, and have been named Readers Favorite Five Star books. In 2015, JUSTICE FOR ABBY was selected as the Readers' Favorite International Book Award Gold Medalist, while SAVING SOPHIE took the Silver Medal. SAVING SOPHIE was also selected as the 2015 Readers Crown Award winner for Romantic Suspense and FALLING FOR SARAH received the silver medal for the 2014 Readers' Favorite Awards.
Cate makes her home in North Carolina with her
husband, two boys, and their St. Bernards, Bear and Jack. Currently Cate is
working on Deceiving Bella, the eleventh novel in her popular bodyguards
series.
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Great review! Thank you for sharing!
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