Bodyguard Under the Mistletoe Read Online Free

Longbridge Security.”
    â€œYes, ma’am,” he said. “I’m Jesse Longbridge.”
    â€œI have your gun.”
    His gun? As she bent at the waist to catch her breath, he climbed down from his seat. His muscles were stiff from lying in a bed for three days, and his bandaged left leg trembled with the effort of supporting his weight as he stood in the road beside her. “What’s your name?”
    â€œFiona Grant.”
    Wyatt Grant’s widow. He never would have recognized this waiflike creature from the photograph her late husband kept on his desk. Wyatt had been proud of his young bride. In that picture, Fiona was as serene as the Mona Lisa. Her long hair fell around her shoulders in shining curls. A diamond necklace glistened against her smooth olive skin. He’d been hired to protect Wyatt Grant a little over four years ago. If he recalled correctly, Fiona had been pregnant at the time and on bed rest.
    When she caught her breath and looked up at him, he said, “I was sorry to hear about your husband’s death. Wyatt was a good man.”
    â€œYou have to come with me right away,” she said with a sense of urgency. “I think the kidnappers are at my house.”
    â€œDid you see them?”
    â€œLast night, I heard voices. And just a little while ago,I left the house and didn’t lock the door. As I was coming back, it slammed.”
    â€œBut you didn’t actually see or hear them?”
    â€œI saw something. A man.”
    â€œDescribe him.”
    â€œIt was only a fleeting glimpse. A shadow.” She shuddered. Whatever she’d seen had scared her. “I’m not even sure I saw anything. And the wind could have slammed the door. I might be overreacting.”
    He reassured her. “You’re right not to take any chances.”
    â€œDo you believe me?”
    Much of what she’d said was jumbled, especially the part about having his gun. But she was obviously distressed, and she didn’t strike him as being crazy. “We’ll make sure your house is safe.”
    After losing Nicole to the kidnappers, he wouldn’t take any more risks. Fiona needed his protection.

Chapter Three
    Jesse shifted his thinking from speculation to action. If there really was an intruder at Fiona’s house, they needed to act fast to make sure he didn’t escape.
    â€œWentworth, call the Carlisle ranch for backup. Tell them we’re heading to the Grant house.” He opened the back door of the SUV for Fiona. “Climb in.”
    In the few moments it took to reach the turnoff to her ranch, Jesse formulated a simple plan. He and Wentworth would cover the front and back of the house, keeping the intruder trapped until backup arrived. With more manpower, they could search the house, then spread out and search the entire property.
    Wentworth got off the phone. “Agent Burke and some men from the ranch are on the way.”
    â€œHow long until they get here?”
    â€œFive or ten minutes.”
    They drove up the packed dirt road leading to the house. Unlike the other ranches in the area, there was no fence circling Fiona’s property. Her long one-story log cabin nested in a stand of aspen that would be beautiful in the fall when the leaves turned to gold. Behind the cabin, he saw a barn and a couple of outbuildings.
    â€œFiona, how many entrances does your house have?”
    â€œOnly front and back.” Her voice was soft but not breathy. The tone reminded him of gentle notes played by a wooden flute. “But there are windows. If somebody wanted to escape, they could go out a window.”
    â€œStay in the car, Fiona.” Jesse glanced at Wentworth. “I’ll take the front. You go around back. Don’t enter until backup arrives.”
    As soon as Wentworth parked outside the detached garage, Jesse got out of the car. The adrenaline rush masked his pain. His gun felt natural in his hand. He could