Straight to the Heart

“Look out!” warned Ben.

Legs tangled, arms flailed, and a second later, Joanna was sprawled on the firm mattress with Callahan spread over the top of her.

The cool air from the air conditioning on her bare feet made her shiver – or was that from the heat from the heavy length of Ben’s body that was burning into hers?

“Um,” she said, licking her lips and looking up at him. He didn’t move. She didn’t ask him to. He felt good.

“Don’t do that,” he said, his breath sounding a little short.

“Don’t do what?”

“Lick your lips like that.”

“Oh, sorry,” she said, not sounding sorry at all.

“I should probably get up,” he said, his breath warm on her cheek. “But I really don’t want to.”

His words, his touch were pushing her too close to the edge.

And resisting temptation had never been one of her strong suits.

Dear Reader,

Straight to the Heart offered me the chance to write about my favourite of all law enforcement characters, the US Marshal. In this book, US Marshal Joanna Wyatt is the sister of Texas Ranger Jarod Wyatt, the hero from my Blaze, Hard to Resist. Joanna was raised by two strong Texas men—her dad and her brother, and she’s definitely carrying on her family tradition. It was a pleasure to get to know Joanna, a strong alpha woman, and to find her romantic match.

But what kind of hero would be right for such a heroine? Well, Ben Callahan, cowboy and former SEAL, suddenly appeared. He’s perfect for Joanna, and she for him, though romance isn’t easy for two strong people with similar personalities. Opposites may attract, but in my opinion, these two set off a lot more sparks on the way to their happily ever after.

Straight to the Heart was a fun book to write, and I hope you enjoy it. Let me know on Twitter, Facebook or email me at samhunter@samanthahunter.com, and thanks for reading,

Samantha Hunter

About the Author

SAMANTHA HUNTER lives in Syracuse, New York, where she writes full-time. When she’s not plotting her next story, Sam likes to work in her garden, quilt, cook, read and spend time with her husband and their dogs. Most days you can find Sam chatting on the Blaze boards at Harlequin.com, or you can check out what’s new, enter contests or drop her a note at her website, www.samanthahunter.com.

Straight

to the Heart

Samantha Hunter

www.millsandboon.co.uk

Thanks to Kathryn Lye for her encouragement on the

initial idea and while writing this book, and to the

Harlequin staff overall for all of their hard work and

support on every project.

To Jeannie Watt and Kari Dell, who were so generous

with their time helping this New York writer get a

handle on western life, cowboys and roadhouses. :)

As always, my love to Mike.

Prologue

“YOU THINK HE’S COVERING FOR someone?” U.S. Marshal Joanna Wyatt set the file down on her boss’s desk, meeting Don’s eyes squarely. She had no idea why he was asking her about his case—the murder of a rodeo official by an organized-crime thug—but maybe he needed to brainstorm ideas. The cowboy who had witnessed the murder wasn’t cooperating, but that wasn’t her problem. She was impatient, wanting to know about her own status and her next assignment.

“That or he’s being threatened. Someone might have gotten to him, scared him. That would explain why he refused to come into protective custody, didn’t want to leave his family exposed. But he also rejected the idea of a protective detail. Said he could handle it himself,” Don responded, sounding tired.

Joanna pursed her lips, grabbing the report and scanning it again. Former navy SEAL, covert ops, cowboy. She knew the type. She’d been raised by two men with similar backgrounds, her father and brother, both Texans, both Texas Rangers. Ben Callahan’s response to protective custody didn’t shock her; a man like that tended to face his trouble head-on.

“I imagine he’s probably not afraid of much, and he probably could handle it himself,” she acknowledged. “This guy must have some serious skills, and friends who might back him up.”

Don scowled. “That may be, but he doesn’t have the jurisdiction nor the blessing of the U.S. government to do so. He’s a civilian now.”

“Why refuse a personal detail?” Joanna mused aloud.

“He said having bodyguards would draw more attention to him, that strangers would stand out like sore thumbs, raise flags.”

“He’s probably right. Texas towns are tight-knit communities. Everyone knows everyone, no exceptions.”

Don glared. Joanna shrugged. She couldn’t help it if Callahan was right.

“So what are you going to do? More importantly, when will I be clear to work? My shoulder is healed up well enough, and I’m ready.”

“The investigation into your last assignment hasn’t been closed. You won’t be back in fugitive apprehension until the assessment is complete.”

Joanna gripped the edges of the chair. “I’m on desk?”

Don smiled slightly. “Not quite that bad. You’re going undercover for WITSEC.”

“Witness security?” she echoed faintly. “But I don’t do witness protection. I chase bad guys, remember?”

Joanna lived for the chase. Always on the move, she’d taken down some of the worst of the worst. WITSEC, in her opinion, was nothing more than glorified babysitting. It was too slow and didn’t have nearly the excitement hunting down a fugitive offered.

“No way, I—”

“Listen, I know what you think of witness protection, but you go undercover to protect Ben Callahan or your backside is warming one of those chairs out there until the investigation into your last assignment is complete.”

“This sucks. I made one mistake, one small error in judgment—”

“You nearly got yourself killed and almost lost out on the apprehension of a dangerous suspect in the process. You pushed too hard, put yourself and the case at risk, and it’s not the first time. You need to dial things down a notch. Just for a while.”

“You don’t get the guys we’re after by backing off.”

“I know, and you’re one of the best we’ve got. But right now, you need to do this. Believe me, it took some wrangling for me to even get you this assignment, and that’s only because WITSEC is stretched to capacity. They need you.”

Suddenly it became clear to her why she’d been brought into this conversation.

“The cowboy? I thought he’d refused any protection,” she said.

“He did. And you seem to agree that a stranger would stick out like a sore thumb, but I think you could fit right in. He runs a roadhouse on his family ranch near Midland, and it just so happens they’re looking for help.”

“You’ve got to be kidding.”

He didn’t so much as crack a smile.

Joanna took a deep breath, settling back in the chair, trying to accept her fate. Undercover might not be too bad. At least it was out of the office, in the field, and if this is what it took to get the shrinks and administrators off her back, then fine.

“How long?”

“Three weeks. Keep him safe, let us know if there’s anything else going on—if you think he’s hiding something, if there’s a threat he’s not telling us about, some other reason he would refuse protection, anything. He can’t find out who you are—this is our only shot. If he makes you, we could lose him altogether. Don’t downplay this, Jo. And if things get messy, you call for backup—not like the last time.”

“Of course,” she said, crossing her arms. “But for the record, I did call for backup. It’s in the report. It’s not my fault they took forever to show up and I had to try to handle things myself.”

“Got it. But what happens next in your career rests on making this assignment work. I don’t want to lose you, so, like I said, make it work.”

Joanna could only nod. She was a professional, and an assignment was an assignment, but God help her, the next three weeks couldn’t pass quickly enough.

On her last case, she’d made a mistake. She’d decided not to wait for backup during a takedown—there wasn’t time, in her assessment, if they didn’t want a serial rapist to get away—and she’d taken a bullet for her trouble.

It was the only time she’d ever been shot, and it had almost been the last time. Missed a major coronary artery by an inch. She would have bled out so quickly she wouldn’t even have known what happened. The guy had been apprehended a little later, but it hadn’t been by her. That stung almost more than the gunshot.

Now, there was penance to be paid, and hers was babysitting Ben Callahan.

1

BEN CALLAHAN PAUSED IN THE doorway of the Lucky Break, the bar that he’d inherited from his grandfather, trying to figure out what was different. Scanning his surroundings, his senses honed by nearly eleven years as a navy SEAL, his gaze finally landed on the source of his curiosity.

Her.

A good deal of smooth, shapely feminine thigh was exposed by the short denim skirt that also showed off a spectacular bottom line. He wasn’t the only one who noticed. Men filing in for the lunch hour bestowed appreciative glances on the new waitress as she walked from table to table taking orders.

Dark-brown hair was caught in a loose ponytail that swished around her shoulder blades as she moved. The movement drew his attention to her strong, slim shoulders, tight waistline and long, graceful neck.

As she turned, he saw she wasn’t big on top, but she sure made the most of what she had. A tall drink of water, was the phrase his mother often used; it came to mind as he watched his new waitress.

Charlie, his best friend and second in command at the bar, had been in charge of hiring while Ben was out of town talking to the Feds. He didn’t want to be away any longer than he needed to, given the circumstances, but now he could stick close to home.

Fortunately, Charlie had been lucky with finding a new waitress for them. Interviewing new help wasn’t a job Ben relished, even as owner of the place, mostly because his mother was too likely to send in the daughters of her friends, who were better candidates for marriage than waitressing. Then there were former girlfriends who came around since he’d been back, some of them still single, others divorced.

That was the problem with returning to the town where you grew up. He still wasn’t completely used to it. It had only been a year, and leaving military life behind hadn’t been an easy choice.

Family, legacy and land often went together in Texas. Those ties meant something—it was a lesson he’d learned in the SEALs, where connections to your team meant everything. They meant your life. Connections to your family worked the same way, that was how Ben saw it, anyhow. He had served his country and now he served his family.

As well as copious amounts of beer to the locals.

When his grandfather had died, Ben hadn’t been home in over two years. He couldn’t change that, but he could do his granddad proud now.

Ben was slowly getting used to civilian life and he enjoyed it, for the most part. He’d moved into the old house behind the bar, and he had picked back up with rodeo, mostly bullriding and some roping. He was used to regular adrenaline highs, and rodeo satisfied that urge as well as possibly garnering championships for his parents’ ranch.

The last show he had been in had provided a little more excitement than he’d been looking for, though, when he’d seen a murder. One of the judges from the rodeo was shot, execution style. Ben had been in the wrong place at the right time, witnessing the whole thing—though he hadn’t been able to stop it.

It turned out it wasn’t a crime of opportunity, but had been connected to organized crime’s attempts to control large rodeo purses by drugging animals and by pressuring the judges. The man they’d killed had been one of the judges who had refused to play along. His three kids were now left without a father.

The killer was now in San Antonio, and Ben’s testimony was going to put him away. Or, as the U.S. Attorney’s office would have it, Ben’s testimony would give them the leverage to make a deal that would lead to the bigger players the killer worked for. The FBI was involved, and the U.S. Marshals, and who knew who else? That split second had turned Ben’s life upside down.

He knew from his military experience that a smaller evil was often the price of stopping a larger one. It was how the world worked, but he didn’t have to like it.

He was also perfectly aware that, because the deal or the conviction rested on his testimony, he was in a certain degree of danger right now.

So he’d canceled his late-summer rodeo appearances for this year, claiming he needed to be home to run the business. The government had offered him protection, which meant living at a safe house until the trial, but that wouldn’t help his family or friends. They’d even offered him Witness Protection, but he wasn’t about to leave the life to which he had just returned.

Besides, SEALs didn’t run.

The trial was in three weeks, the Justice Department had done a good job of keeping his identity out of circulation; they’d squelched any news stories about the incident, so Ben hoped they would get to the end of this without trouble. So far, so good.

“Welcome back, boss,” Charlie said, closing the space between them as he walked out of the kitchen, spotting Ben standing by the door.

Ben smiled and clasped his friend’s hand tightly.

“Good to see the place still standing, Charlie.”

“It was a lonely four days. We did okay. Good to have you back, though.”

“Thanks,” Ben said, and looked at the new waitress again.

This time, she noticed him too. Looking at him with big, dark-brown eyes, she smiled slightly and then turned back to her customer. “New girl?”

“Yeah. She’s doing a great job, so far, though it’s only day two.”

“Don’t recognize her from around here,” Ben said neutrally, but his mind was on immediate alert.

Anyone new was a question mark. Normally Ben wouldn’t question a stranger showing up for a job, but right now, things were a little touchier than usual.

“She broke up with her boyfriend, came down from El Paso looking for a job and a place to stay. Seems capable enough, and she sure is nice to look at,” Charlie said with a grin, his eyes noting some of the same attributes that Ben had been admiring. “Um, I rented her the apartment upstairs, too. Figured, what the heck? At least we know she won’t be late for work.”

Ben’s frown was his response to that news. Of course, Charlie didn’t know about Ben’s situation. Ben didn’t want anyone to worry when there might not be anything to worry about.

“I had to do it, Ben,” Charlie said, reading his expression. “When I came in yesterday, she was sleeping in her car in the parking lot. I couldn’t let her stay there until she had enough paychecks to get a place. Besides, she agreed to work extra shifts in exchange for no rent.”

“You check references, get her background?” Ben asked casually, walking toward the kitchen.

“Do I look like an idiot?” Charlie asked.

“Nope, but I know you and beautiful women, my friend,” Ben said with a smile. “She could be the worst waitress on the planet or a convicted felon, but looking like that …”

“Don’t worry, I checked her out. Joanna Wallace. Nothing significant, the usual history of dead-end retail and restaurant jobs. No convictions, clean driver’s license. Nice enough. Seems to have made a few bad choices about the men she takes up with, though she didn’t share too many details.”

Ben nodded, glancing through a stack of mail he picked up from the counter. It was easy enough to create a history, set up references, but he was also being paranoid. He’d put a sign out front and someone had come by to apply for the job. Why not her?

Besides, if the mob wanted to take him out, Ben doubted they would send someone like that, he mused. Still, he’d check her out through his own sources as soon as he could.

“Thanks, Charlie. I appreciate you taking that task off my shoulders,” Ben said.

“No problem. Lisa likes her, too, if that helps. I let her interview her as well before we made a final decision.”

Ben nodded. “That was smart.”

Lisa was his one full-time waitress, but her husband had recently left her with their two kids. While she took extra shifts, they needed someone else to cover gaps and help out during the busiest times. Lisa was worth her weight in gold, and it was important that she could work with whomever they hired.

“I’m missing a leg, not a brain,” his friend reprised jokingly, as he often did about the limb he was missing after repeated tours in Iraq. The last tour had seen his leg blown off in a roadside explosion. Yet Charlie never complained, more often using humor to make others comfortable.

“I didn’t balance the books this week. You know I suck at math, so I thought I’d leave that to you,” Charlie added.

“I knew I should have stayed away a few more days,” Ben said with a rueful shake of his head, making both of them laugh as Charlie returned to the grill.

Ben planned to hire a bookkeeper one of these days. For now, he was learning something new every day about running the business, and knowing the financials was as important as anything else. So, he did the books, the ordering, and everything else that came with running a roadhouse, and he was slowly learning the tricks of the trade. He’d hung out here all the time as a kid, helping his grandfather, and then as a teen, meeting here with his friends. The Lucky Break was a large part of his life, though he needed to upgrade some things. He now also appreciated all of the work it took to run a successful establishment.

It was a challenge he could dig into, focus on, and he owed his grandfather the best job he could do. To Ben’s amazement, as the months passed, he enjoyed it more and more. There was always something to keep him busy, and when he wasn’t doing something here, he was fixing up the house, working at his parents’ ranch down the road, or practicing for the next rodeo.

While he’d loved being a SEAL, real life definitely had its attractions, he thought as he walked out from the kitchen to the bar. Washing his hands, his gaze landed on the new waitress again.

Lisa, also working the lunch shift, winked at him and waved. Ben nodded back, slipping behind the bar to pitch in with the increasing lunch crowd.

Joanna approached the bar with an order. Close up, she was even more stunning. He almost wouldn’t have blamed Charlie if he had hired her for her looks.

“Two drafts and one cola,” she said, her brown eyes meeting his as she shot her hand over the bar in greeting. “Hi, I’m Joanna. Lisa tells me you’re the boss.”

He nodded, his eyes drifting to her lips. She wore no lipstick, just some gloss, and her skin was also unadorned, no cosmetics marring her clear, tanned complexion.

“Ben, Ben Callahan,” he offered calmly enough, though her touch and her eyes had almost turned him hard with immediate lust, right here behind his bar. She had a strong grip for a woman, those long, slim fingers closing around his, but her skin was like satin.

Ben cleared his throat, letting go of her hand and turning to pull down some glasses for the beer and the soda, loading them up on a tray and handing them back to her. He wasn’t used to losing control, certainly not from one touch.

“Thanks,” she said, starting to turn away.

“Joanna,” he said, stopping her, his mind clearing.

“Yes?”

“Make some time to talk for a few minutes after your shift? Maybe catch a bite? I like to touch base with new employees, you understand,” he said.

She nodded, seeming unfazed. “Sure, no problem.”

Watching her walk away, the little alarm in his brain just wouldn’t settle down. He couldn’t quite figure out why, but there was something about her that didn’t scream down-on-her-luck. She also didn’t seem like a woman to take up with the wrong kind of guy. Self-confidence and intelligence practically crackled in the air around her as she moved.

She exuded an earthy sexuality that had likely brought more than one man to his knees. The vision of what he’d like to do on his knees before Joanna Wallace made him shake his head, and he got back to work, turning to greet and take the lunch orders from a couple of local ranch hands who pulled up to the bar.

He supposed his physical reaction to a beautiful woman wasn’t out of the usual. Ben hadn’t been with anyone in a while. Life had been too crazy.

He’d had a one-nighter on his last military leave, and that was well over a year ago. Since then, things had just not lined up in the right way. Not that he hadn’t had some offers since he’d come home, but he didn’t want to make things more complicated in his own backyard. And truthfully, none of the women he’d met had inspired him that way.

Joanna Wallace definitely inspired him. Still, lust was mingling with caution in a very uncomfortable way.

As he conducted his work at the bar, he watched her interact with a table of customers who seemed captivated by her. She joked with them, smiling broadly, her laugh rising over the din of the room. Her eyes met his across the space again, as if she’d felt him watching her. She was aware of him, too.

Interesting.

Her posture, the slight apprehension in the way she held her shoulders when she looked at him, told him what he wanted to know. Part of it, anyway. She was hiding something, and by the end of the afternoon, he intended to know what it was.

JOANNA DIDN’T REMEMBER ever being so nervous that her palms were as sweaty as they were when she walked into the employee lounge to meet Ben Callahan.

She’d had to fight her instinct to cover up the generous amount of skin exposed by the halter top she was wearing. Definitely not her usual style. Lacey, her brother Jarod’s wife, had insisted it was perfect for a job at a roadhouse. In truth, Joanna had felt pretty comfortable in the get-up until Ben Callahan had looked at her. Then she had been distinctly uncomfortable in a couple of different ways.

Getting by Charlie and Lisa had been easy, but when Ben looked at her, she had the feeling he knew right away that she wasn’t who she said she was. Not a waitress, not Joanna Wallace. She half expected him to call her out on it right then and there, but her background cover was solid, even if they checked.

Now she was going to meet with him privately, and she had to convince him she was the real deal. Tom’s words about her career hanging on her success rang in her head and as she closed the door, walked toward the thick wooden table where he sat with two of the cheeseburger specials that she’d been serving all during lunch. Her stomach growled. She was hungry. Waitressing, something she hadn’t done since college, was hard physical work.

“Hi, hope you don’t mind a burger,” Ben said congenially, though his eyes were telling her a different story. He wasn’t sure of her yet, and he was suspicious.

That was good. Of course, given his military background, she assumed he would be cautious. He knew the score, knew that what he’d seen put him in a certain amount of danger. He’d be particularly careful about anyone he didn’t know. She’d expected that.

“This is great, thanks,” she said with a smile and took the chair across from him.