Her Unlikely Protector Read online

  “We have no reason to believe anything untoward has happened,” Aubrey added in a hurry. She should’ve left this to Calvin. She pushed back from the desk and stood up. “What was your decision on the coffee?”

  “Yes, please,” Leo replied. Leaning forward in the chair, he rested his elbows on his knees, hands hanging loose.

  She was almost overcome with the need to soothe, to massage the tension from his neck and make him foolish promises about his finding his sister safe and happy. What a dumb reaction considering she hadn’t even run a background check on him yet.

  She deliberately turned away to find some coffee for him. Her compassionate streak would be the death of her career. Given the chance, her coworkers would put those rose-colored sunglasses on her face at her funeral.

  She would take his statement and finish her shift and, most likely, they’d never see each other again.

  Unless she found his sister.

  Dear Reader,

  It’s a joy to return to Philadelphia, PA, for another Escape Club adventure. Although the club itself took heavy damage in Braving the Heat, the commitment to community and the dedication of local heroes are as strong as ever.

  That is great news for Leo Butler when his younger sister, a college sophomore, disappears from her campus. Though the police are polite, filing a missing person report doesn’t leave him with much confidence. He turns to the freelance investigators at the Escape Club for help.

  Aubrey Rawlins adores her role as a Philly police officer. Sympathizing with Leo’s desperation, she soon finds herself caught between trying to help him and protecting him from his risky choices.

  As Aubrey and Leo continue to search, they stumble onto a bigger threat to the community. I hope you’ll enjoy their crash course in learning to trust, falling in love and their courageous fight for a happy future.

  Live the adventure,

  Regan Black

  HER UNLIKELY

  PROTECTOR

  Regan Black

  Regan Black, a USA TODAY bestselling author, writes award-winning action-packed novels featuring kick-butt heroines and the sexy heroes who fall in love with them. Raised in the Midwest and California, she and her family, along with their adopted greyhound, two arrogant cats and a quirky finch, reside in the South Carolina Lowcountry, where the rich blend of legend, romance and history fuels her imagination.

  Books by Regan Black

  Harlequin Romantic Suspense

  Escape Club Heroes

  Safe in His Sight

  A Stranger She Can Trust

  Protecting Her Secret Son

  Braving the Heat

  Her Unlikely Protector

  The Coltons of Grave Gulch

  Colton’s Dangerous Liaison

  The Riley Code

  A Soldier’s Honor

  His Soldier Under Siege

  Escape with the Navy SEAL

  The Coltons of Mustang Valley

  Colton Cowboy Jeopardy

  Visit the Author Profile page at

  Harlequin.com for more titles.

  For Mark and the countless ways you make me feel loved every single day of our happily-ever-after.

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Excerpt from The Negotiator by Melinda Di Lorenzo

  Chapter 1

  Take a deep breath. Keep an open mind. This was a mix-up, not a crisis. But by the dull thud of his heartbeat and the persistent prickle at the back of his neck, he knew his body wasn’t buying in to the theory. Leo Butler would have an easier time believing there had been a mistake if his sister, Lara, would just answer her phone.

  When the restlessness grew too big, he dialed her cell. Better to try again than stride up to the campus security information desk to ask how long he was expected to sit here doing nothing. In his ear, the call went to voice mail. The same result he’d had every day for the past eight days. He’d lost count of how many text messages he’d sent, but the last one—an hour old—was still unanswered.

  He shoved his phone into his jacket pocket. Right now he knew he personified the accepted definition of insanity, doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different outcome.

  There were times, like this one, when the nine-year age difference between him and his sister seemed as wide as a generational gap. Sure, he remembered what it was like to get caught up in the freedom and fun of college life and, yes, occasionally she’d ignored his messages before. This was different. Lara had never gone this long without so much as an emoji reply in the text message thread.

  The age gap and a thoroughly disinterested mother had created a stronger bond between them. They supported each other and were open about everything. Concerned, he’d used his access and checked her bank account and credit card. He paid the bills that her scholarships didn’t cover and the lack of activity was as out of character as her extended silence. That was the factor he couldn’t dismiss, the one that had had him hopping on a plane to knock on her dorm door.

  She hadn’t even placed an order for books—electronic or paperback—for the semester. This was the start of spring semester of her junior year. She was a political science major. There had to be some required books for her heavy class schedule.

  He’d been desperate enough, baffled enough, that he’d reached out to their mother. She had been courteous enough to tell him she hadn’t heard anything from Lara before ending the call.

  Naturally, Lenore Butler wasn’t concerned about Lara. The moment her daughter moved into her dorm for her first year of college, Lenore had considered motherhood a task fulfilled. She’d sold the house they’d grown up in, sending Leo scrambling to recover and store anything he and Lara were sentimental about. Gliding into the role of moderately wealthy widow unencumbered by parental duties, their mother moved to a condo on the Gulf Coast of Florida. Leo had only seen the pictures she’d sent to Lara.

  On breaks and holidays, Lara came to his house in Cincinnati, where they were both happier without the strain of old family drama and threadbare emotional baggage. They had new traditions now and built cheerful memories with friends gathered around the table for good food and pleasant conversation.

  What else could he have done but come pound on Lara’s dorm room door when she had gone silent for so long? In the midst of the ruckus, a pajama-clad girl from across the hall informed him that Lara, the residence assistant on the floor, hadn’t been around much since winter break.

  Much wasn’t real, actionable information. Granted, classes had only been back in session for a week, but his sister never ghosted him. Stalking up and down the dorm halls, on each of the floors in her building, he tried to find someone who could tell him more. Plenty of people recognized her name or the picture he showed around. Not one of them had seen her lately.

  He needed facts and timelines. He needed something to go on, something to give him a direction. What he didn’t need was this current intervention.

  Apparently, in Philadelphia, the city of brotherly love, a man couldn’t search a school for his sister without drawing the ire of campus security. Their assertive and competent response would have been more reassuring under different circumstances. If, say, she’d been mugged. Instead, he rushed to show his identification and explain his fear that something worse
had happened to her.

  Reluctant to test the patience of the responding team or endure a jolt from the Tasers they carried, Leo allowed them to walk him here, to the main office. He would’ve stopped here first if he’d known he was walking into a crisis. The administration building was a fine example of classic architecture. He vaguely recalled being impressed when he’d accompanied Lara for her college visit and tour.

  The glossy grandeur she’d been thrilled with had dulled significantly in Leo’s view. Today he caught the stale whiff of mustiness under the polished marble, high-tech upgrades and museum-quality displays.

  He supposed it was a courtesy, allowing him to sit here, pretending he was a normal visitor, but he just wanted to get back out there and find his sister. Talk to the police, chat with the few friends he knew by name. She had to be somewhere on the campus.

  And if she wasn’t?

  He couldn’t dwell there.

  As an operations officer at the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport, he worked to find solutions. He and his team persistently searched for ways to improve the everyday processes and ways to overcome any crisis. He excelled at problem solving, even in the worst-case scenarios. Given a chance, he knew he could track down Lara. Admittedly, a lead would help.

  A whiny hinge protested from the hallway beyond the waiting area. Rubber-soled shoes squeaked on the polished floors, coming his way. A tall, barrel-chested man wearing the campus security uniform appeared and stopped at the desk. Completely bald, the guard had ebony skin, marred by one thin scar that started at his cheekbone and curled around behind his ear. He exuded authority, though Leo couldn’t pick out any obvious differences in this man’s uniform and that of the team that hauled him in here.

  They were less than twenty feet from him but all Leo could hear was a low murmur. The uniformed receptionist nodded and handed the man a few papers stapled together.

  He read through each page, his lips pursed. After rolling up the pages, he tapped them on the desktop as he turned toward Leo.

  “Mr. Butler?”

  The deep voice filled the waiting room with measured authority. This man knew his job, his role and his effect on others. Leo appreciated that. He was sure this man would help him find Lara. The cramped muscles of his shoulders eased as he stood and crossed the room.

  His extended hand was gripped firmly and released. “Campus Security Chief Jones,” the other man said by way of introduction. “The incident report states you caused a disruption in one of our dorms.”

  “My apologies for that.” Leo smothered the surge of desperation stinging the back of his throat. “I was looking for my sister.”

  “Come on back and let’s talk about it.” Jones and his squeaking shoes led the way down the hall to his office. He gestured to a chair in front of the desk and closed the door. “Mr. Butler, you upset several students.”

  “Again, I apologize,” Leo repeated in the weighty silence that followed. He sank into the chair. “I only want to find my sister.” Didn’t anyone else care that she hadn’t been around much or lately?

  Jones set the papers on his desktop. “This is only a cursory report,” he said, taking his seat behind the desk. “From what we’ve gathered so far, I don’t believe your sister is currently on our campus.”

  “She wouldn’t move out of the dorm.” She wouldn’t have made a drastic decision like that without talking to him. “She was an RA,” Leo added. Surely, the housing and security departments had some overlap or cooperation. “Is it possible for me to speak with her professors?”

  Jones tapped the paperwork with his blunt fingertips. “Mr. Butler, your sister withdrew from all of her classes last week.”

  What? No. That wasn’t possible. He saw the chief’s lips moving but he couldn’t make out any more words with his pulse pounding in his ears. He couldn’t swallow, his throat dry as sand. There had to be another Lara Butler. It was a common name.

  “A—a mix-up,” Leo managed. “Her tuition was paid.”

  Jones slid the papers across his desk, nodding for Leo to take a look. “Yes, it was. At her request, the money will be held as a credit on her account until next semester. As I said, she’ll need to make a final decision about her future here at that time.”

  No. Leo’s mind latched on to the one thing he could. No way he was letting that kind of money just sit in the school’s account. “And what is the interest rate you’re offering to keep her money for all that time?”

  Jones’s black eyebrows lifted and then settled back into place. “She is welcome to make alternate arrangements with the finance office.”

  “If she was here,” Leo said through gritted teeth, “I’d feel better about the prospect of that conversation.”

  “Your sister is an adult, Mr. Butler. A quick look at her campus employment history shows she’s a valued member of the residence life staff.”

  At the end of last year, though, Lara had been frustrated with her res life supervisor. Leo had reminded her she didn’t need the tuition discount and housing perks that came with her role as an RA. Leo had been helping her search for off-campus housing until she decided to keep her RA post for one more academic year. This year.

  Another two semesters. What had changed? Why the hell wouldn’t she talk to him about it? “Chief Jones, may I please have a list of the classes she took last semester?”

  Jones reached out and tapped the papers in front of Leo. “I’m afraid not. Your sister did not update the release of information authorization. Officially, her business with the school is just that—her business.”

  Leo couldn’t have heard him correctly. The knot of temper in his throat turned hot and oily, burning a trail down past his heart and deep into his belly. He dried his palms on his jeans.

  “An oversight,” he said, jaw clenched. “Her behavior has changed. All of the family support materials say I should seek help if I’m concerned for her.”

  Jones linked his hands, his thumbs tapping slowly. “I do understand your concerns, Mr. Butler. Unfortunately, there isn’t much I can do. She is not on campus and my records show she made that choice on her own. It happens,” he finished, not unkindly.

  A picture of Lara’s freshman move-in day flashed through his mind. At eighteen, she had been so bright and eager to dive into this new chapter of her life. “She had plans.” Leo didn’t recognize the rasping sound as his voice. “This isn’t right.”

  “In my experience, Mr. Butler, a withdrawal for a semester can clarify a student’s goals and ambition.”

  “She didn’t leave because she was struggling with the coursework or clarity.”

  “I agree with you there,” Jones allowed. “She had excellent grades.”

  “Then what do you think happened?” Lara had not run off or walked away from her carefully constructed plans without good reason. The finances were in order and the coursework and grades were fine, leaving Leo with a big pile of questions no one seemed inclined to answer.

  The big man studied Leo. Coming to some conclusion, he reached into the top drawer of his desk and pulled out a book of matches. “Your sister is not on this campus. At least not legally, if she’s crashing with a friend. I will talk with my staff and keep an eye out for her.”

  “Thank you.”

  Jones’s dark gaze intensified. “I assume you intend to keep looking for her?”

  “Of course.” His next stop would be the police department. He couldn’t go back home without answers. She was the most important person in his world. When tragedy tore their family apart, they leaned on each other. He knew her. When either of them needed space, they asked for it. None of this made any sense. Lara would not willingly stop communicating without warning. “I still have access to her bank records. She hasn’t bought a ticket for a plane, bus, or train. She hasn’t rented a car or taken out any cash. In the past week there hasn’t been any activi
ty at all.”

  Jones pushed the matchbook across the desk. “You should file a report with the police, but I doubt you’ll make much headway there.”

  “Because I’m the only person who gives a damn about Lara,” Leo snapped.

  “I’m sure it feels that way.” Jones shook his head. “Though it isn’t true,” he countered gently. “Like many police departments these days, they don’t have the manpower to track down every adult who decides to behave out of character.”

  Leo wanted help finding just one missing adult. Was that such a big demand? He picked up the matchbook, turning it over in his fingers. Escape Club was emblazoned on the front in bold, neon letters. Inside the flap was one word. A name: Alexander.

  “What’s this?”

  “That nightclub is owned by a former cop. He’s a good man and he has a reputation for helping resolve cases that slip through the cracks in the system. The club is on the pier at the Delaware River. They had some trouble a while back, but I’ve heard they plan to reopen soon.”

  “They’ll help me find Lara?”

  Jones nodded slowly. “If the police don’t have a better idea, it’s worth the cab fare to go out and ask.”

  Not much to go on, but more than he had a few hours ago. “What can you tell me about the area around the campus?” Leo asked.

  A pained expression crossed Jones’s face. “We keep our space as safe as possible. You’ve noticed we don’t live in a bubble. There are pockets of trouble that try to encroach and occasionally succeed.” He swiveled around and pulled a printed map of the campus from a pad on the low filing cabinet behind his desk. With a highlighter he outlined two areas that abutted its borders.

  “Nothing I’ve found indicates that your sister was ever mixed up with the kind of activity that occurs in these pockets. We encourage our students to avoid these areas. Drugs and homelessness are peak issues here and here.” He tapped the highlighted circles on the map. “I wouldn’t recommend walking into these areas alone, Mr. Butler.”