TO PROTECT A CHILD
When Delta Force soldier Caleb Judd’s brother and sister-in-law are murdered, the killers turn their attention on his orphaned nephew. Caleb’s new mission: protect little Tommy—who hasn’t said a word since witnessing his parents’ deaths—and figure out who’s targeting his family. He needs help, and security expert Shelley Rabb is perfect for the job. But Caleb’s used to calling the shots, not taking orders…even when they come from a beautiful former Secret Service agent. Shelley knows firsthand what can happen when business becomes personal, so she vows not to get too close to Caleb and his nephew. She will risk her life to make sure they’re safe, but will that mean risking her heart, too?
“Each of us, no matter who we are in life, can make a difference.”
“Is that why you do what you do? To make a difference?”
“I like to think I am,” Shelley said softly, at last. “Helping people who are in trouble. Sometimes I succeed. Sometimes I don’t. But at least I know I’ve tried.”
Caleb wasn’t surprised at her answer. He was beginning to realize that Shelley Rabb was a special kind of woman. A warrior. A believer. She was all those things and more.
“For what it’s worth, you’re making a difference to me. To Tommy.” He hesitated. “Why is that so important to you? Making a difference.”
She didn’t answer right away, and he wondered if he’d gone too far, asking something so personal. She stilled, as though searching her heart as to how much she should reveal, how much she wanted to reveal.
As a man who guarded his own privacy, he understood. Giving away too much of one’s self left a person vulnerable. That was something Caleb had promised himself he’d never be.
JANE M. CHOATE dreamed of writing from the time she was a small child when she entertained friends with outlandish stories complete with happily-ever-after endings. Writing for Love Inspired Suspense is a dream come true. Jane is the proud mother of five children, grandmother to seven grandchildren and the staff to one cat who believes she is of royal descent.
The Littlest
Witness
Jane M. Choate
Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.
—Psalms 46:10
To all of America’s servicemen and women,
past and present, especially those wounded warriors. Thank you for your courage and service.
America owes you a debt that can never be repaid.
Contents
A muffled footstep awakened Caleb, setting him on high alert. There was no reason anyone should be here. No good reason, that is. Calmly, he slipped from the bed and stepped behind the draperies, just as an intruder entered the bedroom.
Another man might have panicked, but Caleb Judd was not just another man. Instinctively, he clicked into Delta mode, a heightened sense of awareness overtaking him, his vision sharpening, his hearing growing more acute. His breathing remained regular, his pulse steady, courtesy of training from the United States Army.
No one should have gotten in. Alfred Kruise had boasted about the state-of-the-art alarm system when he’d offered Caleb use of the guesthouse, insisting that both he and his nephew, Tommy, were safer here than they would have been anywhere else.
Kruise had been wrong.
The alarm system hadn’t gone off. Probably disabled.
A pro.
The stranger’s movements were nearly silent as he made his way toward the bed, his intentions clear. He wanted Caleb. But why? He had his share of enemies, but they weren’t personal. Fighting his country’s enemies was what he had been doing when he’d gotten the call about Michael and Grace’s murders.
But now here he was in Atlanta,