Spencer: Campbell Agency, #5

By Clara Kendrick

This is the fifth and final book in the Campbell Agency series, with over 50,000 words of romantic suspense.

 

Sylvia Lyons is a freelance cartoonist who works in Jackson Square in the historical district of New Orleans. Her boyfriend, Ken, works as a security guard, but he doesn't tell her much more than that until the day he drags her from her caricature booth all the way to Campbell Agency where he proceeds to confess the fact that he's gotten in over his head with the worst criminal possible.

 

Their unhealthy relationship explodes, and Sylvia commits to helping Campbell Agency clean up the mess Ken created. When Spencer Nichols takes her under his personal protection, Sylvia is grateful, but both of them are wary of the intense connection between them and distracted by the threat on all of their lives.

 

Spencer Nichols is ready for resolution in the case that has dominated the agency's attention for months. With inside sources suddenly crawling out of the woodwork, he feels hopeful that they'll soon get answers. But he quickly discovers that keeping Sylvia Lyons safe is his first priority—something that comes as a shock to him.

 

Something about the woman captivates him, but he's terrified to make the same mistakes his father made, and he's even more afraid of losing her to the maniac out to kill them all. In the end, they can only save each other.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Clara Kendrick
• Release date: Nov 15, 2017
• ISBN: 9798224417742

Clara Kendrick

Discover the captivating world of Clara Kendrick's romantic suspense. With her masterful storytelling and skillful blend of intrigue, romance, and passion, Kendrick draws readers in and keeps them hooked until the very end. Get ready to be swept away by her thrilling and steamy tales of love and suspense. Signup and follow at: Books2read.com/ClaraKendrick Facebook.com/AuthorClaraKendrick

Book preview

PROLOGUE

Vince Ward paced the width of the underground basement that served as his current headquarters, oblivious to the footsteps in the house above him—footsteps made by the men he had hired to stand guard and Norah, the woman he had so long ago coerced into becoming his constant companion. Above ground, it was mid-morning and the world was going about its habitual way. Birds chirped, a light, January frost fell, and the wind whistled through the trees. His men were moving in and out of the kitchen, getting snacks and drinks while they waited for further orders, and Norah—well, it was likely that she was sweeping the barren floors and dusting the baseboards. The woman seemed to clean compulsively, but she did it silently, at least. An engaging companion, she was not.

Below them all, Ward dragged his hands over his thinning hair, his face pinched and drawn from stress. It was a rare occasion in which he felt out of control, but this morning was just such an occasion. The night before he had made a huge mistake—the mistake of doing his own dirty work.

Damn it!

The reason he had been so successful in his long criminal career was his commitment to never step out of the shadows, unless absolutely necessary. That was what the laymen were for. He was no layman.

But he had grown cocky. Arrogant. Reckless. The months of waiting out the men of Campbell’s Agency had worn down his patience, and he longed for action. He had missed the thrill of toying with Alex and his little band of veterans, knowing that they were sitting ducks for him. Waiting for them to let their guard down had gotten old, and fast. It had been his impatience that had caused him to decide to be the one to meet with the small-town arms dealer, Jasper.

Stupid!

Never would he have imagined that Jasper could be dangerous. He knew from word on the street and from previous interactions, from a distance, that the kid was still a bit green—eager, afraid of people he was selling to, and desperate not to get caught. Ward had assumed that meant the kid would play nice.

And he had—just with the cops. Ward had been able to smell the scent of rat almost immediately, and he’d run, but he was smart enough to know that if Jasper was working with the cops—and there was no doubt he was—Ward’s presence had been logged. How long before the figured out who he was? How long before they started making connections he didn’t want them to make?

This was entirely the fault of Alex Campbell and the men who worked with him. They were the ones who had helped Gwen track down her father, and Ward as a result, and they were the ones who had disturbed Ward’s perfectly-laid-out plan. They were the ones who had forced him to show them who they were messing with, and they were the ones who, after all these years, had finally distracted him into making a mistake.

Now there was so much less to lose. A few phone calls this morning had proven to him that Jasper was not only working with the police, but that the police were working directly with Campbell’s Agency. It was only a matter of time before they tracked him down, now, so he would have to go after them first.

This would be his final battle, and he was going to make it a big one.

CHAPTER ONE

SPENCER

The sharp peal of his ringtone startled Spencer out of a deep sleep, burrowed under the heavy, brown, suede bedcovering he pulled out of the back closet for the few weeks of the year that New Orleans got really cold. He hand lurched out, fumbling around the bedside table for the blinking device. When he grasped it, he peeked one eye open to look at the screen, groaning as he saw the time. He had his phone programmed to only ring for certain numbers between 10:00 at night and 7:00 in the morning. That’s why he preferred his Samsung to the iPhones that the other guys carried—it allowed him to customize with the device with his own codes. The guys he worked with—who he had served with for years in Afghanistan—knew that they could reach him at any hour of the day if they needed to, but they rarely took advantage of the privilege.

So why was Jason calling him at 2:43 in the morning?

’Lo? he managed.

Get down to the hospital. Juliette is in labor.

Spencer blinked, sitting up slightly. Huh? In labor?

Yeah, dude. Labor. You know ...having the baby ...

Shit!

Yeah. So get down here, already.

She’s not due yet! Spencer protested, sitting up and swinging his long legs over the edge of the bed. His toes wiggled against the plush rug beside his bed, the fabric cushioning him against the cold floor. How can she be in labor already? Juliette was Caleb’s girlfriend, and Caleb was one of Spencer’s best friends. They had served together in Afghanistan, along with Jason, Alex, and Mark, and now all five of them worked together, using their K9 handler training to run a search and rescue detective agency. They were like family to Spencer, and there was no way he was going to miss the birth of Caleb’s first child—early or not.

The thing about babies is that they do things on their schedule ...apparently. Hurry up, okay?

The phone went dead at Spencer’s ear, and he put it down, standing up and stretching his long, lanky body. Of all the men with whom he had served in Afghanistan and with whom he still worked, he was by far the one with the least stereotypically military frame. Oh, he was muscular, without a doubt, and in great shape, but his natural build was tall and slender. In an agility contest, he could beat out his friends, hands down, but when it came to brute strength, he was less likely to come out on top. That didn’t bother him though. Even in the military, his strength had been on the tech and communications side of things, and he had often manned the tech facility during the missions the other men went out on. Being a canine handler and a tech expert gave him a particularly unique set of skills that he was proud of. After all, his father had never thought he would amount to anything, but here he was, the backbone of the operations at Campbell’s Agency.

Spencer moved about quickly, pulling on a pair of jeans and tugging a sweatshirt over his head. His sandy hair was messy and sticking in different directions, but he wasn’t particularly concerned. None of the guys or their women would care, and he doubted that the baby would be concerned.

He reassured his canine, Prince, who wasn’t used to such late-night activity, and slipped out of the house, getting into his SUV and gunning it toward the hospital.

It was hard to wrap his head around the fact that Caleb, one of his best friends, comrade-in-arms, and colleagues, was having his first child tonight with the love of his life, Juliette. The fact that Juliette was Alex’s sister and Alex was the de facto leader of their band of brothers and search and rescue detective agency only added another layer of significance to the big event. Alex would be there with the love of his own life, Bridget, and her son, Wyatt. Jason and Gwen, set to be married in a matter of weeks, would be there, and Mark might even bring his new—and first—love interest, Rachel. Over the past year, their lives had all changed so much, and not just because of the constant threat of Vince Ward, psychotic assassin determined to destroy their lives. Four out of the five men had found love, family, and life-long companionship in the midst of all the fear.

Spencer didn’t mind being the last man standing. He was happy for his friends, and barely felt the pangs of jealousy and regret, though they did surface briefly now and again. It wasn’t that Spencer didn’t desire the kind of relationship he saw his best friends tumbling into head first. He enjoyed the idea of such a thing. It just didn’t seem practical. He had met a woman while he was serving in Afghanistan, and he had fall in love with her. He had thought she had fallen in love with him, too, but when it had come time for him to leave, the cultural differences between them had proved insurmountable. She wasn’t willing to move back to the United States with him, and he wasn’t willing to stay over there with her.

Perhaps that meant he hadn’t truly loved her. He imagined that if Jason, Alex, Caleb, and maybe even Mark, were in that situation, they would do whatever it took to be with their respective women. But Spencer hadn’t been able to uproot his life that way and stay in a place that, frankly, held far more dark memories than happy ones.

Still, he thought about her from time to time and wondered what might have been.

Spencer pulled into the hospital parking lot and went inside, giving the desk clerk Juliette’s name. He was informed that no visitors were welcome in the room, but that he could go to the waiting room on the third floor. When he got there, he found the rest of his friends crowded into the handful of chairs, looking sleepy but excited at the same time.

You made it, Bridget said, rocking a sleeping Wyatt gently in her arms. Good! She’s been in labor for several hours, so it could be anytime ... or it could be tomorrow.

Tomorrow? Spencer winced, sitting down on the arm of Jason’s chair, the only free space to sit. Can it really take that long? Why is she giving birth early?

It’s only a few weeks early, Gwen told him, her head resting comfortably on Jason’s shoulder. We think the baby just wanted to be here for the wedding.

Spencer chuckled slightly, then looked up and caught Mark’s eye from across the room. Mark was sitting there, holding Rachel’s hand, but he didn’t look half as relaxed as the rest of the group. Spencer knew exactly why. Just two days ago, Mark had seen Vince Ward—at least, he was 99% sure that he had—when he was helping Rachel with an investigation regarding her nephew’s arms dealing business. Not wanting to upset anyone—namely Alex—before he knew for sure, Mark had only told Spencer, and had sworn him to silence.

Spencer knew his friend well enough to understand that Mark hated that they were all out in the middle of the night, sitting ducks for whatever games Ward decided he wanted to play. The two of them had agreed that Ward was smart enough to understand that it was likely that someone from Campbell’s Agency would get wind that he had been involved in the deal with Jasper, Rachel’s nephew, even if he didn’t know that Mark had actually been on-site in the camera room. Neither of them knew what that would mean for them. Would Ward retaliate? Would he lie low? Why was he trying to buy guns from Jasper?

They didn’t have any answers, and that just made the anxiety worse.

Spencer nodded at Mark, indicating that he was on the same page. Mark nodded back briefly, but then bent his head down to whisper something in Rachel’s ear. She slipped from the room, phone in hand, touching Spencer’s shoulder on the way out.

The rest of the group was too focused on the baby to notice the silent communications between the three, something Spencer was grateful for. This wasn’t the time to bring up Vince Ward.

Caleb popped his head into the room suddenly, looking harried. We’re not close yet. Juliette is struggling.

Then why are you in here? Bridget asked, covering Wyatt’s ear so he wouldn’t be disturbed. You should be with her!

She asked me to leave while they ... Caleb grimaced slightly. Adjusted something. I don’t know. They’re just saying that it’ll be quite a bit longer. Thank you guys for being here.

Alex nodded, standing up and gripping Caleb’s shoulder in a show of solidarity. Of course. How’s her pain?

It could be better, Caleb admitted, gamely trying to put a positive spin on things. The doctors aren’t too concerned yet, but if things don’t progress significantly, they may do a C-section.

Bridget winced sympathetically. Oh, dear.

Gwen looked up at Jason, arching an eyebrow. What do you say to waiting a few years before we jump into this business?

Chuckling, Jason kissed her forehead. I think that once you see this little bundle, you might think twice about that.

Is her ...history a factor here? Alex asked quietly. Spencer winced slightly at the question, knowing that Juliette would hate her brother’s reference to her past with drug abuse. Under other circumstances, Alex would probably know better than to bring it up, but he was ever the concerned, older brother, looking out for his thoroughly rehabilitated but still somewhat fragile little sister.

Caleb, luckily, didn’t take offense, knowing Alex as well as Spencer did. He clapped him on the shoulder and squeezed. No. It’s just that first babies can be difficult, I guess. I’ve got to get back there, but I’ll come out and let you guys know more as soon as I can.

The waiting room was empty, except for their group, which was lucky, considering the size of their group. A few of the guys went down to the all-night cafeteria and got coffee and pastries, bringing them back up to the cramped space. Several of the group, including Spencer, sat on the floor, leaning up against the faded wallpapered walls.

Since they were all gathered, Gwen took the opportunity to give them the rundown for the wedding. So, as you know, this is all just two weeks away. I can hardly believe it, but Jason keeps telling me that’s true, so it must be. Because Jason’s always right.

Chuckling, Jason rolled his eyes at his fiancé, putting his arm around her. That’s the first and last time you’ll hear her say that.

Oh, they know I’m joking, Gwen teased, patting his leg. Anyway, Alex, as the best man, and Bridget, as the maid of honor, we’ll need you two to—

Spencer tuned out, well aware of his role as groomsman. He basically just had to show up the night before for the rehearsal dinner and bachelor party, then keep Jason calm and distracted on the day of the wedding. That was all the easy part. It was everything else going in in their lives that might prove difficult. Gwen and Jason wanted to ignore it all and have their big day, which