Protector for Hire
Entangled: Lovestruck | book 4 | June 2015
Keeping her safe is crucial. Guarding his heart is impossible.
Haunted by his time in Iraq, former soldier Schwartz Patton goes off the grid, retreating deep into Montana’s untamed wilderness. Now, ten years into his self-imposed solitude, his brother tracks him down and asks for a favor. A woman is in danger, and she needs help…and Schwartz is the only one who can protect her.
Designer-loving city girls like Janelle Keebler don’t belong in the wilderness. Unless, of course, they’re witnesses to a murder by their psycho drug-trafficking ex-husbands. Still, Janelle can’t help the immediate physical response she has to her sexy-as-sin protector that leaves her wanting more than she could have ever imagined. Even if he does make terrible coffee…
Every word, every touch, every kiss ignites a need Schwartz thought he’d lost forever. He can’t stop the desperate attraction simmering between him and Janelle, even if he wanted to. Even if it means it could get them both killed.
“You were gone a long time,” she said. “Did you have trouble finding something?”
He frowned, not wanting to admit he’d been pacing around the damn store avoiding the inevitable moment he’d have to go back and face her and accept the fact that he’d probably never touch her again. “Not everything,” he said, poking the meat loaf with his fork but not taking a bite. “I got the milk.”
“No cond—coffee filters?”
“They were all out of cond—coffee filters.”
“All out?” She frowned. “I swear I saw a box when we were there the other day. They were right up by the register.”
He shifted on the bench, not wanting to admit he’d stared at the same damn box of condoms and thought about having her again. Maybe just one more time before she walked out of his life forever. Instead, he’d forced himself to walk away. “The box was damaged. Can’t risk having holes in coffee filters.”
Across the table, Gordy wiped his chin with a napkin. “You like the kind with the pointy tip, or the big wide ones?”
Schwartz blinked. “Uh— ”
Laverne beamed. “Oooh, I like the new ones they’re making now with the flavor-enhancing micro-perforations.”
Schwartz dared a glance at Janelle and saw that her face had gone from pink to bright red. She opened her mouth to say something, but Laverne cut her off.
“You know, I just love the ones with the extra-large base. The box says it makes for a deeper, bolder experience.”
Janelle choked on her drink, and Schwartz turned to see her sputtering into a glass that looked suspiciously full of moonshine.
“How much of that have you had?” he asked.
“Not enough,” she said.
“Protector for Hire is able to go from laugh out loud funny to scorchingly hot in a way not many books are able to achieve. I loved Schwartz’s journey and Janelle’s influence. If this is truly the end of the Front and Center series it went out with a bang.” – Ashley, Books on Migs
“Protector for Hire is truly one of the best romantic suspense books I have read so far this year!” – Cara’s Book Boudoir
“Schwartz is hands down my favorite Patton sibling.” – Musings and Ramblings
“The story is well written, and the dialog is brilliant, with the humor, word associations, and felicitous marks. The characters are developed, the family unit tight and a bit nuts, just over all truly enjoyable tale.” – Books and Spoons