Natural-Born Protector / Saved by the Monarch Read Online Free PDF

problemsas she did, people with attitudes and criminal records, not the kind of people who will likely cooperate with anyone in law enforcement. They’ll talk to me.”
    Hank thought about the blood he’d cleaned up. So much blood. Whoever had killed Lainie had been enraged. The violence that had taken place in that bathroom sickened him.
    He wanted to talk Melody out of whatever it was she intended to do, but he could tell by the fervent glow in her eyes that she was determined.
    “That could be dangerous. Do you have a plan?” he asked.
    “The first place I’m going to start asking questions is at the Edge,” she replied. “Maybe Lainie’s boss or one of her coworkers will know something.”
    Hank scowled. “That bar is no place for a woman to go by herself. Why don’t I tag along with you?”
    “I can’t ask you to do that,” she replied.
    “You didn’t ask. I offered.”
    Once again she stared at him for a long moment. He’d thought her eyes were a clear, sharp blue like Lainie’s, but he realized now they were deeper, darker and far more enigmatic than her sister’s.
    “I was planning on going tonight,” she finally said.
    He nodded. “Maddie can stay at my mother’s.”
    “How do I know I can trust you?” she asked. Some of the fervor left her eyes and she suddenly looked small and vulnerable.
    “You know any of the West family?” he asked.
    “I know them on sight and by reputation. I know they work in the bodyguard business. Why?”
    “Dalton West is an old friend of mine. One of the reasons I decided to make the move from Texas to Cotter Creek was so I could go to work for them. At the moment I’m waiting to be assigned to my first job with them.”
    Maybe four months of boredom was getting to him, or maybe he was jumping into her drama because he had genuinely grown to care for Lainie. “Maybe we could help each other,” he continued. “It sounds to me like you intend to talk to people and go places that might put a single, attractive woman at risk. You could use a bodyguard, and I could use some practice at being a bodyguard.”
    “So, you want to be my bodyguard in training?” A small smile curved her lips.
    He returned her smile. “Something like that.”
    Once again she wrapped her fingers around her coffee cup and eyed him soberly. “I’ll think about it,” she said finally.
    He nodded and told himself it really didn’t matter to him whether she took his offer of help or not. Eventually the killer would be caught and Melody Thompson would return to her life in Chicago.
    And he’d keep putting one foot in front of the other and try to figure out how to keep going when the only woman he’d ever loved was gone.

Chapter Three
    M elody stared at her reflection in the bedroom mirror. She scarcely recognized the woman who looked back at her. Tight jeans molded to her and the bright turquoise blouse fit her like a second skin, the plunging neckline revealing far more flesh than she was used to showing.
    If she was going to hang out at the Edge, then it was important for her to blend in with the clientele that frequented the bar on the edge of town. Her conservative clothes would set her apart, draw attention that she didn’t want, so she’d raided Lainie’s closet for something appropriate.
    Her hand trembled slightly as she raised it to smooth an errant strand of hair away from her face. She knew that she might be asking questions tonight that could make somebody nervous.
    She turned away from the mirror and checked her wristwatch. Almost nine. Hank would be here soon to accompany her to the bar.
    She wasn’t sure why she trusted Hank Tyler, but she did. There was something solid about him. She liked his direct gaze and the straight answers he’d given her over coffee. Besides, he was working for the West family. That went a long way in alleviating any fear she might have that he was a nut.
    After she’d left the café and Hank that afternoon, she’d gone straight to the