Harlequin Romantic Suspense April 2021 Karen Whiddon (best fiction books to read TXT) 📖

Mind racing like a jet-engine supercar, Connie was lying on her stomach, her arms out where they could be easily seen. Cold from the tiled floor seeped through her thin blouse and pants, but it did nothing to tamp down the fear spreading through her body like a wildfire.

The whole scenario was playing out like a bad dream as the thieves yelled instructions to the tellers, rushing them to stuff money into their bags. Connie had never felt so helpless in all of her life. Somebody needed to do something.

Through lowered lashes, she peeped out at the gunman who had been the closest. He swept his gun back and forth anxiously, while his partners gathered money from the tellers.

“Hurry up. We have three minutes,” one of them roared to the other two.

Movement to Connie’s left caught her attention. Richard, who’d been lying an arm’s length from her moments ago, was doing a very slow belly crawl backward toward his office. He was barely moving, but if she noticed him, the robbers might, too.

Connie wanted to scream at him to stop. What was he thinking? These guys had weapons and looked as if they meant business. Before she could think her next thought, one of the masked men roughly yanked Richard up by the back of his collar.

Connie screamed, and she slapped her own hand over her mouth. Heart racing and throat tightening, she quickly turned her head and slammed her eyes closed. Panic rocketed through her body. Curling into a ball with her arms covering her head, she tried making herself appear as small as possible.

Please don’t let them come over here. Please, please, please... Her pulse pounded in her ears like a locomotive roaring down the track as she lay frozen with fear.

“So you want to be a tough guy, huh?” the gunman growled.

A scuffle broke out. Richard cried and howled in pain as the sound of fists hitting skin pierced the air. Tears filled Connie’s eyes. She felt so helpless, and her heart broke as he pleaded with his attacker.

Two gunshots, thundering like fireworks, echoed through the air.

Connie could hear her screams mingling with the others in the room, and her heart stopped when a loud thump rattled the floor.

Oh, no... Richard.

“Dammit! What have you done?” one of the robbers yelled. “We gotta get out of here. Hurry! Go! Go! Go!”

Loud footsteps echoed by Connie’s head. She lifted her face from the protective barrier of her arms and chanced a glance just as the last man reached the main door. He started removing his mask but stopped...and turned.

Startling gray eyes met hers.

Held.

One second...then two... Then he was gone.

The breath Connie hadn’t realized she was holding whooshed through her mouth, and her body went limp.

Oh. Dear. God.

CHAPTER 2

The moment Trace climbed into his Chevy Camaro, he yanked his tie back and forth with more force than needed to loosen the knot. Anger vibrated deep inside him at the crap that Kya tried to pull.

How the hell did he end up in situations like that? Did he have some damn sign on his forehead that said Feel Free to Touch Me at Will? Had he been the one to touch her inappropriately, his ass would’ve been hauled off to jail. It was bad enough months ago, when she walked around naked in front of him and his team member, but this time she had crossed the line.

Just let it go, man, he told himself and tossed the black tie into the passenger seat. But that was easier said than done. Even after he’d started his car and it roared to life, his mind kept going back to Kya’s little stunt. He hadn’t been able to get away from the woman fast enough, and he was using the word woman loosely. The A-list pop star was only twenty-two. A child, in his book.

Still, she had to know better than to grab a grown man’s package without permission. But what if his reaction had been different? What if he had accidentally hit her in the process of getting out of her grasp? He had instinctively, and roughly, grabbed her wrist and pushed her away, practically knocking her down without thinking. It had been a knee-jerk reaction, and what angered him more was that she, apparently, had thought it was funny.

Trace shook his head, not even wanting to think about how the situation could’ve easily spiraled out of control. Lucky for him Riley had been there to witness the incident. The other thing that gave Trace a little peace was knowing that Connie had just terminated Kya’s account with LEPA. He would never have to worry about getting assigned to her detail again since she wouldn’t be able to hire their services in Las Vegas or at their Los Angeles location.

Trace hadn’t meant for the situation to result in a lost contract. He knew the company would lose a substantial amount of money. He mainly just wanted to be removed from Kya’s detail. But Connie insisted that terminating the agreement was protecting both him and the company, especially since Kya refused to have female guards. She would never be able to put their team in a compromising position in the future.

Connie had come through again.

Trace felt the tension in his shoulders start to ease and a slow smile spread across his face. His spitfire supervisor might be small in stature, but she carried herself like a badass boss. She didn’t take crap from anybody. Something he more than respected.

Lately, it was hard to think of her without remembering that amazing night they shared. Trace had been secretly in lust with Connie since the first time they’d met a year ago. Their friendship over the last few months had blossomed into something much more than boss and direct report. At least for him. Connie, though? Not so much. After their passionate night together, she mentioned they could be friends but never anything more. Yet the