Lawfully Secure

She thought she knew love. Until she met the man hired to protect her.

Paige Bancroft lives a charmed life—the daughter of a billionaire, beautiful and intelligent, about to marry the man of her dreams. Things are going according to plan until her father unexpectedly summons her home and introduces her to Adam Wilder. He’s irritatingly polite and far too serious, and she hates herself for noticing how handsome he is. Worse, he’s the man her father has hired to protect her after a threat against their family.

After his years in the military, Adam Wilder never expected to work as a personal bodyguard for the heiress of the Croft athletics empire. Her sarcastic remarks and cold shoulder are easily overlooked, given the sudden inconvenience to her life, but when she’s open and real with him, he feels a connection with her that he’s never felt before.

The closer Paige’s wedding gets, the closer they get to each other, and the more Adam realizes he would do anything to keep her secure. Will he uncover who’s behind the threat before it’s too late?

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The Lawkeepers is a multi-author series alternating between historical westerns and contemporary romances featuring law enforcement heroes that span multiple agencies and generations. All books are standalone.

Paige stared across the expansive cherry-wood desk at Philip Bancroft, CEO of the Croft brand of athletic shoes and clothing.

He stared back from behind dark-rimmed glasses, his forehead creasing with concern as he ran a hand over his neatly trimmed salt-and-pepper beard. Everyone
in the world knew this man. The company had grown nearly as big as Nike over the past two decades. And
while Philip was a well-known public figure, Paige simply knew him as Dad.

She glanced around his home office with the morning light pouring in through the tall windows.
Paige had always loved the light in this room. As a girl, she used to sneak in and sit in the chair by the window with a book while her father worked at his desk. Even though her room had a window seat perfect for reading, she preferred to be close to him. His work ethic, brilliant mind, and faith in God were all things she
aspired to. She was Daddy’s little girl and always had been. She loved and admired him more than anyone
on the planet. But today, she stood before him feeling nothing but annoyance.

“Is this really necessary?” she asked, her brown eyes fixed on his.

“Absolutely,” he replied. “I will not risk your safety.”

“Why now? Why this time? It’s not like you haven’t had threats before.” She eyed him, waiting for him to
fill in the blanks. There had to be more that he wasn’t telling her.

“It’s not up for discussion.” He turned his attention back to his computer, and she knew the conversation
was over, but still she tried.

“This wasn’t a discussion. I’m twenty-five years old, and I think I’ve done a pretty good job of taking care of myself so far. And as a grown woman, you don’t have the right to dictate my life.”

His eyes narrowed as he looked at her again and removed his glasses. She knew when he did that, he was serious, and it brought back the nervous feeling she’d get in her stomach when she tried back-talking
him as a kid. But there was no discipline or reprimand, no disappointment on his face like in her teenage years. There were only deep worry lines forming around his
eyes.

“Daddy, what is it?”

“I need you to go along with this. For me. I can’t run this company and be there to watch out for you. This
guy came highly recommended. Very professional and capable. Spotless record. Numerous accolades. A police officer. Former military. His name is Adam Wilder, and
he’ll be here at the house in an hour to meet us, so I expect you to stick around.”

Because of her father's notoriety, their family had been no stranger to all variety of threats in the past. So why was this time different? Why did he insist on calling in a bodyguard to trail after her? She couldn’t imagine anything more humiliating.

“And I want you to move home,” Dad added.

Her mouth fell open, and her eyes nearly popped out of her head. “You have got to be kidding me.”

“Otherwise, he’ll have to stay with you at your place, and I don’t think your fiancé would appreciate that.”

“That’s not happening.”

“Was living here with us really so bad?” A hint of a smile crossed his face.

She smirked. “Seriously, what’s going on, Dad?”

He gave her a weak smile. “I’m taking care of my baby girl. Let me do that, all right?” He looked at her expectantly.

Paige let out a resigned sigh, giving in to his request, even though she didn’t want to. She knew it must be
serious if he was going to these lengths.

His shoulders relaxed, and he turned back to his work.

She rotated on her heel and marched out of his office.

“See you in an hour,” he called after her.

Anyone who saw her walking down that hallway would’ve known she wasn’t happy by the scowl on her
face. Having a stranger follow her around all day, every day was the last thing Paige wanted. She had a million
little things to accomplish in the six weeks leading up to her wedding, and while she understood her father’s overprotective side, this seemed to be taking things to
the extreme.