Guarded by the Marshal, page 1
GUARDED BY THE MARSHAL
IN CLEAR SIGHT
BOOK 1
KENNEDY L. MITCHELL
CONTENTS
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Epilogue
Also by Kennedy L. Mitchell
About the Author
Acknowledgments
© 2022 Kennedy L. Mitchell
All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places and events are products of the author's imagination, and any resemblances to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
* * *
Cover Design: Bookin It Designs
Editing: Hot Tree Editing
Proofreading: All Encompassing Books
Photographer: Wander Aguiar Photography
Model: Andrew Biernat
Created with Vellum
PROLOGUE
RACHEL
The shouts and laughter from the earlier packed crowd slowly faded after the call for closing time from one bartender, his voice somehow carrying over the noise. Wet lines of sweat streaked the back of my neck, making me regret leaving my long, dark hair down as I hurried to help close the remaining tabs for the impatient customers who were clearly eager to move on to a different location to keep drinking.
Blowing out a hard breath to move a wayward lock of hair from my eyes, I slapped a credit card slip and the accompanying card on the sticky bar top in front of a customer before turning back to the register, though her annoying high-pitched tone stopped me halfway.
“Do you, like, have a pen?” the tall blonde girl whined, snapping her fingers in my direction as if she were getting a dog’s attention.
A male chuckle met my ears as I stretched to grab one that lay on top of the bar a few stools down. I shot Kyle an eye roll with a smirk before slapping the pen into the girl’s awaiting palm.
“Busy tonight,” Kyle commented, that smile that made my knees weak pulling up his cheeks.
“Always,” I responded. Grabbing a clean cloth from beneath the bar, I picked up a few empty glasses and wiped away the water left behind. “Glad you could make it.”
My heart raced, admitting that out loud. I met him two weeks ago, right here in this bar, when he came in as a customer one night, and I’d started looking forward to seeing his friendly face while working these crazy shifts. I’d never worked at a bar before and had only been here as a barback since school let out in May. Until he showed up, it felt like I was drowning. The past several shifts, he’d perched along the bar, sipping his drink, watching and sometimes chatting with me when I had a brief second. He distracted me by his presence alone, which helped me not feel so overwhelmed by the constant swell of obnoxious college kids who loved this dive bar.
I shouldn’t say kids considering they were around my age, after all, but it wasn’t their age that had me calling them kids in my mind. The college in the growing town of Waco, Texas, was stuffed with students who had families bankrolling them—hell, had families supporting them—which showed in the way they treated those of us behind the bar and how they spent money like they had zero financial concerns.
Not like me.
Growing up in the foster system aged me. Which was why they seemed so young, or maybe I felt way older in my soul than twenty-two. So yeah, my birthdate might state I was the same age as those I was surrounded by here and in my college classes, but in my mind, in my heart, I was basically ancient. I’d seen too much while being bounced from one foster home to the next before aging out of the system.
I would’ve ended up like so many of those in my situation, alone and lost with no help to make something of myself, if it weren’t for an amazing guidance counselor my senior year. She had worked with me for months, helping me apply to various colleges, taking advantage of every grant and scholarship available to people like me. That was how I landed here in Waco with a full-ride scholarship, which was amazing, but that didn’t pay for the everyday necessities, so I worked two jobs during the summer to help bridge that financial gap.
Sleep didn’t matter when I needed to earn the money now so I didn’t have to work during the school year; then I’d put all my focus on taking as many hours as possible and making good grades. I wasn’t one of those kids who learning came naturally. I worked hard to maintain my 3.5 GPA and was damn proud of what I’d done so far.
Hard work and perseverance got me this far in life, and it would keep pushing me forward.
“What do you say we hang out tonight?”
My fingers tightened around the clean pint glasses I was stacking beneath the bar. Gaze locked on the floor mats, I swallowed, giving me a second to process Kyle’s words. Words he’d never said before.
Sure, we flirted some, and I was attracted to him. Okay, maybe not attracted, but he was interested in me, which made him attractive. That sounded terrible, and it probably was, but I’d never had a guy show interest like this. Hell, I’d never even been kissed.
But now… now this nice guy wanted to hang out.
With me.
Yeah, Kyle was a little on the scrawny side, but that didn’t mean anything, did it? For the first time, someone was actively pursuing me. He didn’t make my heart race or my palms sweat, but he made me feel special—wanted, even.
And that was new. After being overlooked most of my life, it felt amazing to be pursued.
“Rachel?”
The tip of my tongue snuck out and licked my dry lips. After setting the last glass in its place, I turned to face down the bar, hip pressed against the rounded wooden edge. “Hang out?”
“Yeah, you know,” he said, smile falling slightly as if he were as nervous as I was with this recent development. “Away from the bar.”
“And do what?” My cheeks heated. I sounded like the naïve little virgin I was. But I’d never gone to prom or even on a movie date, so I was lost on what he expected if we left here together.
Full dark brows pulled together, forming a deep line while he studied me as if contemplating my question. “You know, just hang out. Maybe grab some food, talk.” He fiddled with an empty beer bottle, spinning it between his hands. “It’s not like you have other plans.”
I flinched at the truth in his words. During one of our many conversations, I’d admitted to not having a boyfriend, or friends even, but his words still stung. A reminder that my only friend was a guy I barely knew. He was a student, too, attending a local community college, working his way toward a four-year school. Surprisingly enough, his childhood was like my own.
Alone.
Unwanted.
Maybe that was why I felt a kinship with him. We knew what it was like to fade away with no one noticing or caring that you were gone. Maybe that was why I felt bad for not being as attracted to him as he seemed to be to me. I wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt. Plus, it was nice to be wanted.
Sure, drunk assholes made passes and comments, a job hazard when working at a bar, but those jerks never really saw me, just boobs and long legs. They forgot about me the second they turned around to flirt with the next woman who crossed their path. I was nothing special to them.
But Kyle was different. He made me feel wanted by the way he waited for me to be free, happy with just talking and joking around. Almost as if he knew my vulnerabilities and did everything he could to smooth those jagged edges.
Maybe hanging out with him wouldn’t be that bad. People did it all the time. Not that I was afraid of him, just nervous of what the night would bring. But I had to break out of my shell at some point. Best to do it with someone who seemed to understand me.
“Sure,” I said, pushing strength into my voice. “But it’ll be close to three by the time I’m done with closing duties. That all right?” I asked, biting my lower lip.
“Yeah. You Uber again?” he asked, staring intently at the bar as he slid his empty beer bottle toward me.
I grabbed it before it could topple over the edge, the glass warm beneath my palm. I tossed it into the trash and rang up his three domestic beers. Most people came here to drink until they puked, but not Kyle. He would only nurse a couple light beers during my shifts, three at the most. It was a little curious.
At night, when lying in bed alone, I let myself imagine that he sat at the bar just because he couldn’t stand to be away from me. That just being in my presence was enough for him. Which made me beyond desperate, but that dream of someone out there thinking of me was something I never had.
“No, I didn’t Uber tonight.” His expression seemed to harden at my words. Tilting my head to the side, I studied his tight fe
“Oh, right,” he said, his signature wide smile now splitting his face. “Great. So you can just hop in with me. I can take you home later.”
My pulse raced. “Sounds good to me.” I guess it did, even though being alone in the car with a man I really didn’t know made me a little apprehensive. But I’d seen women meet random men at the bar and leave with them, only to be back the next weekend unharmed and ready to repeat the cycle.
There was no reason to be nervous.
Kyle was a good guy.
“Great.” Wrapping his fingers around a black flip phone, he held it up in the air and gave it a shake. “I’m just going to make a few calls—”
“At two in the morning?” I cut in while wiping down the deserted bar.
The hand resting on the bar curled into a fist while his lips pressed into a tight line, making me regret my comment. I really didn’t want to piss off my only somewhat friend.
“I’ll meet you out in the parking lot when you’re done. Do not leave without me.”
My hair swept over my shoulder as I tilted my head, studying Kyle. What an odd thing to say when I’d already agreed to ride with him.
Alarm flashed over his features. “Sorry, I’m not trying to tell you what to do,” he blurted, holding both hands out in front of him. “I just want to make sure you're safe.”
The building tension and alarm vanished. I forced a smile and nodded. “Right. Yeah, I’ll wait for you, don’t worry. No accepting rides from strangers. Stranger danger and all that.”
What is wrong with me? Sealing my lips shut to cut off my rambling, I shot him a thumbs-up.
“Good,” Kyle said, smiling and shaking his head like he found my quirkiness funny. “See you soon, Rachel. Looking forward to it.”
I watched his retreating back as he strode to the front door and disappeared outside.
Grinning to myself, I turned to the ancient cash register to start the long list of closing procedures that needed to be done before I could leave. Going through the motions, I allowed my mind to wander.
Maybe tonight was the night I’d finally let a guy behind my thick walls. Open up about the dreamer hidden behind the cautious exterior I’d erected long ago to protect myself. Tonight could be the first of many that I wouldn’t have to spend alone, wishing I wasn’t.
I crossed my fingers and closed my eyes, sending up a silent wish.
Hopefully tonight would be a turning point for my lonely existence.
ONE
MAX
“You said if I gave you next month’s child support early, you’d let me see them,” I said through gritted teeth into the receiver, the words more of a hiss. My anger was clear despite the fact that my ex-wife couldn’t see my red face and clenched fists. “I want to see my girls, Hanna.”
Desperation leaked through my tone, giving her all the power like always. The woman knew I’d do anything for just a few minutes with our girls and used them to manipulate me since the divorce.
“Yeah, well, it’s not like you’d be free even if I said yes. You’re on another assignment, right?” she mocked.
The hot Texas sun burned my already flaming cheeks. Stepping away from the growing crowd lining the courthouse steps, I stood on the outskirts, eyeing those waiting for the witnesses to arrive.
“It won’t take long. I’ll grab the witness, drop her off, and—”
“And what? Come here?” She laughed.
“Oh, Hanna, you know I’m never coming anywhere near you again,” I taunted.
Yes, taunted, because I was a fucking idiot and said the dumbest shit that came to mind. In the Army, it didn’t matter; we all said dumb, inappropriate shit. But stateside, back in real life, not everyone found my humor as funny as my Ranger brothers did.
“The fucking stupid shit you say. How in the hell you’ve kept this job is beyond me.”
Because I was a damn good babysitter for the witnesses assigned to me. It helped that the job was so fucking easy I could do it hungover as hell. Like today.
“I’ll let you know when you can FaceTime them.” I could practically hear her haughty smile through the phone.
My heart plummeted into my stomach. I needed more than a fucking FaceTime call with my girls. I needed to see them, hold them in my arms, and make sure they were okay. Hanna wasn’t abusive to them, just a manipulating bitch to me. My Army buddies all saw through her fake smiles and laughs when we first met, but me—I bought all her lies and promises and married her.
That lasted all of six years, three of those with me on various deployments as an Army Ranger.
Out of the corner of my eye, movement drew my attention away from the rage and disappointment growing in my chest. Three black Suburbans parked along the curb in front of the courthouse, pulling my focus back to the reason I stood in the September heat outside the Waco courthouse for hopefully my final assignment as a US marshal.
Sure, this gig was easy as hell compared to my time in the Army, but that was one reason it wasn’t for me. Though I loved the small West Texas town where I was currently stationed as a deputy marshal, I missed the action of the Army. I only retired because Hanna said if I did, we could salvage our dumpster fire of a marriage.
Obviously, that didn’t happen, and things turned even shittier after the divorce. All because Hanna didn’t want me yet didn’t want to stop making my life miserable either.
“My witness is here,” I grumbled into the phone as I raked my fingers through my curly, dark hair. “We’ll finish this conversation later.”
“This is why I left you. Always putting the job above your family.”
I tightened my grip on the phone, the metal digging into my palm, to keep from throwing it against the stone steps. More lies that she spouted as truth. I divorced her cheating ass when I caught her fucking my commanding officer.
Still bitter about that one.
“Call back when you actually care about Chasity and Kiera.”
If it weren’t for the female marshal stepping out of the SUV’s passenger-side door, I would’ve snapped something back about me being the only parent who did care about them. Instead of responding to Hanna’s taunts, knowing it would rile me up more than I already was, I ended the call and slipped the phone into the front pocket of my jeans.
The marshal gripped the back door handle and pulled it open, my angle preventing me from seeing inside the SUV. Though I didn’t have to wait long for a tall brunette to step out and move around the door, putting her in my line of sight.
Even the ill-fitting slacks didn’t hide her long, shapely legs that seemed to go on forever. Same with the baggy button-up shirt that the state department no doubt bought her for today’s court appearance. The woman squinted into the sun, her cute button nose scrunching as she held up a hand to shield her eyes. Long, dark hair flowed down to her mid-back, shifting with her movements. Despite the yelling now filling the air among the crowd that had grown since I started the earlier call with Hanna, I couldn’t pull my gaze away from her.
When she faced the mob that covered the courthouse steps, a look of determination passed over her features as she rolled her shoulders back. I frowned, turning to face the group of people surrounding me. The shouts came roaring into focus, the swelling crowd shifting with the growing agitation.
