Witness Pursuit (Bodyguards #1)

“I could help with her correspondence study. Her nursing finals are so close.”


“I’ll help her.” He increased his pace. “And I think by the age of twenty-one, we can safely separate you two for a month.”

“We’re not twenty-one, yet.” Groaning, she rubbed her palms over her white cotton pants. The ship was so close. Another twenty feet and they’d reach the gangplank, and she was fresh out of arguments.

“This is where I leave.” Ben halted and leaned in. “This is your chance to see Tyler as you asked for after the shooting. I know you two were…close. I couldn’t grant your request then, but you’re not a victim, Lydia, you’re a survivor. You must live, even under confinement.”

Her heartbeat raced. A year ago, she’d begged Ben to allow her to see Tyler in hospital. She’d needed to see he’d survived.

“Stop thinking and start moving, and don’t forget, keep in touch on the sat phone. I expect updates as often as possible.” Ben handed over her case and turned her toward the ship. “That’s my girl. Now move.”

“I am not your girl.” Still, she flexed her fingers around the square handle of her suitcase, and taking the deepest breath, walked away from Ben for the first time in a year. She shivered. No, she could do this. A child was on board for her to look after. He was who she had to concentrate on, because her case was stagnant and the inaction wasn’t doing her any good. As much as she didn’t want to go, she understood Ben’s arguments. She needed this break to refocus, and the Fijian Islands, wow, what a dreamy location.

She tugged at the inside of her white blouse collar then lifted her chin and eyed the ship. Up close, the white panels sparkled in the sunlight. Oh no. She slammed to a stop as Tyler stepped out from behind darkened glass sliders on the second floor. He moved across the deck to the stern, and halted ten heart-stopping feet away.

He looked strong and well, his jaw angled as firmly as always. His midnight black hair blew over his ears and brushed his shoulders. The longer length suited him over the buzz-cut he’d had last. So cute.

No. She was here for Nico, not to dance with Tyler again. That’s right. Tyler must’ve moved on. It had been a year. She forced her thoughts under control.



Staring out over the harbor, Tyler tucked the tails of his blue button-down shirt into his black pants. The breeze was brisk, the dawn sun warm on his skin. A perfect morning to set sail, on a family holiday he’d longed for. Liam and Nico were on board, and Dylan and Luke wouldn’t be far away. These moments with his brothers and nephew mattered as much as his next breath.

Shifting onto his heels, he searched the marina for them, only his gaze landed on a young woman standing stiffly below.

Mmm, chocolate-brown hair, his favorite shade, and so long it touched her tiny waist. And those eyes, the same delicious shade, and now locked on him. Did he know her? She looked familiar, yet not. Leaning against the railing, he called, “Can I help you?”

“Um, yes. I’m after Liam Whitehall.”

She was after his brother? “Who are you?”

“My name’s–” Rubbing her neck, she glanced over her shoulder then back at him. “Lydia Sands. I’m Nico’s new caregiver while you’re on holiday. Ben Hammers arranged this job. It was short notice.”

She couldn’t be Nico’s new caregiver. Liam would never employ anyone without running it past him first. Tyler ran all security checks, and had this past year since stepping into the security role for Whitehall Shipping. “I don’t believe you.”

“You should check with Liam. I promise Ben sent me.” Her voice wobbled, a level of distress leaking through. “You do remember Ben, don’t you?”

“Ben’s impossible to forget. I worked alongside him for seven years.”

“He dropped me off.” She motioned toward the gated entrance, and sure enough under the intricate scrollwork of the wrought-iron arch, Ben Hammers waited. With a slow movement, Ben saluted him with just two fingers.

That salute was their team’s customary silent signal for handover. But handing over whom? This woman? He didn’t work for Ben, and hadn’t since the shooting. Which didn’t matter. The call for aid from one bodyguard to another went unquestioned, and Ben turned to leave, giving Luke a nod as he arrived.

Luke clapped Ben on the shoulder, and then continued toward him in his jeans and t-shirt. Ambling along, his youngest brother adjusted his brown leather duffel over one shoulder, as if he didn’t have a care in the world, and at twenty-three, he didn’t.

The woman, Lydia. He shouldn’t forget her. He gripped the second-floor rail then launched over it and landed on the peer next to her.

She gasped, and her gaze jolted over him. “Tyler, what are you doing? You can’t just jump off the side of a ship like that.”

“Bro.” Luke strode in, one brow cocked. “There’s a gangplank. You know, one can walk down.”