Innocent Target Read online

  Kingsley cast an eye at Nick as he watched Alex Webb race Wolf Murdock over the course.

  It had been designed by Zack, Emme’s former boss at Fortis who was also an ex-SAS commander. They were some of the toughest bastards around, and this course showed why. With it built over the hilly terrain at the back of their new base of operations it meant the operators had to use agility and strength, not just brute force and muscle. It was why Caitlin, Emme, and Mercy—the three women on the team—had some of the best times on the leaderboard.

  Wolf raced over the ropes with speed, but Webb had the edge as they crawled through the wet tunnels with barbed wire overhead. It was neck and neck by the time they sprinted for the finish with Webb coming in a split second faster.

  Shane, who had been standing on the sidelines away from him and Nick, watching his recruits train, started to walk toward the competitors, a grin on his face as the two men bent at the waist and sucked in oxygen. They had been training together for a month now, and Kingsley could see they were starting to think cohesively as a unit. Kingsley knew Shane wanted everyone to be able to read each other. It could be the thing that saved their lives one day.

  “Gentlemen, that was piss poor.”

  It wasn’t, but Kingsley knew Shane had done it faster, and so had Zack and Lance when they tested it for him. Not by a lot but enough.

  Webb looked up, his bright blue eyes holding a mischievous twinkle. “What’s your time, boss?”

  “Three minutes nineteen seconds,” Shane said as he crossed his arms over his chest with a grin.

  Webb lost some of his arrogance, but Kingsley saw a determined light go on in the man’s eyes. That competitive spirit that lived in each of them, the same one that would give him the edge when he needed it most.

  “Again?” Wolf asked.

  “Again,” Webb agreed as the two men walked back to the start to rerun the course.

  Wolf Murdock was a thirty-seven-year-old former Texas Ranger. His specialty was infiltration and undercover work. The man looked like he belonged on a cattle ranch, and was often seen in cowboy boots and hat. He gave off a relaxed air that fooled most people into thinking he was safe, and they never realized he was the one hunting and stalking them until it was too late. It was how he’d got his name in the service.

  A woman’s scent filtered across Kingsley’s senses, even as he felt her come to stand beside him silently. It was easy to recognize Emme’s signature perfume.

  “What was their time?” Her British accent was a reminder he wasn’t home anymore and he felt homesick for just a minute.

  “Three minutes, twenty-seven seconds.”

  He watched her nod and then twisted around as they heard Cleo approach. Now, that woman had been a surprise. Tall, slim with pale purple hair, perfect skin and a sweet smile that made him think of candy and flowers. It was all a ruse though because their office manager was a shark in clownfish clothing underneath all that sweetness.

  She had already whipped the office into shape, sorting out payroll, taxes, invoicing, and setting up email accounts for everyone. She had even had a little training from Dee, one of their consultant hackers, on how to keep the website and emails secure above what an average person would know.

  Now, as she bounced across the field in a short, flowery dress that was sexy but demure, he wondered at the excited look on her face.

  “Cleo?” Emme asked the question.

  “We just had a case come in!” She was barely hiding her excitement.

  It was their first case, and Kingsley felt a twinge of excitement hit his belly.

  Cleo handed Emme a note with the necessary details as the others started to crowd around. Cain and Caitlin also joined them.

  “It’s a missing person case. Raymond Rutherford the third, no less, wants us to find his niece, Sydney Rutherford,” Emme read.

  “Do we have any more details?” Shane asked.

  “No,” Cleo shook her head, “but I have him coming in at eleven to meet with you.”

  “I know a bit about this guy,” Caitlin said as they walked off the field when Shane called time on the morning’s training.

  “How?” Shane asked as he watched her control the colossal dog at her side with a few barely perceptible hand movements.

  “He came to the attention of the LAPD when a woman who worked with him accused him of assault. All the charges were dropped, and he was exonerated.”

  “But?” Emme asked as they moved into the office space past the rear entrance leading directly to the conference room.

  “I don’t know, but he was off. I can’t say how. I couldn’t take to him at all.”

  “Okay. Let’s bear that in mind when we meet with him.”

  Kingsley followed the rest of the team and hit the locker rooms that housed separate showers and changing facilities for the men and women. The compound also had a breakroom that had a TV, pool table, and Xbox as well as three large couches. A small kitchen was next to the breakroom containing cooking facilities; there were also two large bedrooms—one for Shane and Emme, and a spare for clients if required—along with two additional rooms that contained a couple of bunk beds each for the times the team needed to sleep there.

  He had to give it to Shane and Emme, they’d planned everything for the comfort of the team, and he appreciated it. Kingsley knew too well that with the kind of work they did, safety and comfort weren’t a given. He didn’t want to think about his past; he wanted to focus on the future. That was the reason he’d accepted Emme’s offer and joined this team.

  He had a good feeling about his bosses, the Alliance Agency, and the other members of the team. The winds were shifting, he could sense it, and he was ready for whatever storm the next mission would bring.

  Alliance Agency: Book 1: Read about Kingsley Knight and Sydney Rutherford

  mybook.to/knightwatch

  Books In the Alliance Agency Series

  0.5 Deadly Alliance (Shane and Emme)

  01 Knight Watch (Kingsley and Sydney)

  02 Hidden Obsession (Mason and Cleo

  03 Lethal Justice (Malco and Frida)

  04 Innocent Target (James and Mercy)

  Thank You

  Thank you for reading Lethal Justice. If you enjoyed reading it as much as we enjoyed writing it, please consider leaving a review. Reviews can be as long or short as you wish and help other readers find new books.

  If stalking an author is your thing, and we sure hope it is, then here are the links to our social media pages. If you prefer your stalking to be more intimate, then check the group Maddie’s Minxes or India’s FB page that will welcome you with open arms.

  Once again thank you for reading this book, we look forward to sharing the next installment from the Alliance Agency with you.

  MADDIE WADE:

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  INDIA KELLS

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  About the Authors

  Maddie Wade

  Maddie Wade is a married mum of three children. She was born and raised in Hereford. Maddie lo
ves to spend time with her family and friends, eating out, going to the cinema, and generally just enjoying life. She is an avid reader and is never found without her kindle, or smartphone. Maddie is a huge advocate of all things martial arts and got her black belt at age 14 years. She has also studied Jujitsu and has encouraged her children to do the same.

  Read more from Maddie Wade

  http://www.maddiewadeauthor.co.uk

  India Kells

  India Kells is a romantic suspense and paranormal romance author from Montreal, Canada. Her idea of heaven is cozying up on her sofa during cold winter nights, reading lots and lots of books. Inside her wild imagination, she weaves stories filled with the adventures of kick-ass women and courageous alpha men. When India’s not writing about sexy thieves, dashing soldiers, and cunning villains, she’s traveling the world to find inspiration for her next stories. Human nature is her greatest muse!

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  https://www.indiakells.com/