Code of Valor Read online

  Table of Contents

  Cover

  Endorsements

  Half Title Page

  Books by Lynette Eason

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  Dedication

  Law Enforcement Oath of Honor

  Epigraph

  Friday, October 18 1

  Wednesday, October 23 2

  Thursday, October 24 3

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  5

  6

  Friday, October 25 7

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  Saturday, October 26 14

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  Sunday, October 27 20

  Tuesday, October 29 21

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  29

  Excerpt from the next Blue Justice Adventure 1

  Acknowledgments

  About the Author

  Back Ads

  Back Cover

  List of Pages

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  Praise for C
alled to Protect

  “Eason’s page-turner is energetic and tense until the end.”

  Publishers Weekly

  Praise for Oath of Honor

  “Explosions, gun battles, and a terrifying, cop-killing criminal pepper the rocket-powered plot. Author Lynette Eason’s formidable female characters stand out, as do the male leads who trust the women’s judgment without question.”

  Bookpage

  “This nonstop, white-knuckled thrill ride will please devotees of police procedurals.”

  Library Journal

  “Although concerned and delicate with both grief and romance, Eason’s well-rounded story doesn’t spend too much time bogged down in either as the harrowing plot unfolds. Eason’s fans will enjoy this first installment of a promising new series.”

  Publishers Weekly

  “Lynette Eason once again pens a gripping thriller with her latest book, Oath of Honor. I can’t wait for her next installment of the Blue Justice series!”

  Carrie Stuart Parks, award-winning author of A Cry from the Dust

  “Lynette Eason’s Oath of Honor promises to be the beginning of another roller-coaster ride series. Readers are going to love Isabelle and Ryan’s story while getting to know the entire St. John family. This engrossing novel will have them hooked from page one.”

  Lisa Harris, bestselling and Christy Award–winning author of The Nikki Boyd Files

  Books by Lynette Eason

  WOMEN OF JUSTICE

  Too Close to Home

  Don’t Look Back

  A Killer Among Us

  DEADLY REUNIONS

  When the Smoke Clears

  When a Heart Stops

  When a Secret Kills

  HIDDEN IDENTITY

  No One to Trust

  Nowhere to Turn

  Nothing to Lose

  ELITE GUARDIANS

  Always Watching

  Without Warning

  Moving Target

  Chasing Secrets

  BLUE JUSTICE

  Oath of Honor

  Called to Protect

  Code of Valor

  © 2019 by Lynette Eason

  Published by Revell

  a division of Baker Publishing Group

  PO Box 6287, Grand Rapids, MI 49516-6287

  www.revellbooks.com

  Ebook edition created 2019

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—for example, electronic, photocopy, recording—without the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC.

  ISBN 978-1-4934-1663-9

  Scripture quotations are from the King James Version of the Bible.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.

  Dedicated to those who go above and beyond: To every law enforcement agency who fights for justice, to the firefighters and medical personnel who put their lives on the line for those they don’t even know. We thank you, we appreciate you, and we pray for you.

  Contents

  Cover

  Endorsements

  Half Title Page

  Books by Lynette Eason

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  Dedication

  Law Enforcement Oath of Honor

  Epigraph

  Friday, October 18

  1

  Wednesday, October 23

  2

  Thursday, October 24

  3

  4

  5

  6

  Friday, October 25

  7

  8

  9

  10

  11

  12

  13

  Saturday, October 26

  14

  15

  16

  17

  18

  19

  Sunday, October 27

  20

  Tuesday, October 29

  21

  22

  23

  24

  25

  26

  27

  28

  29

  Excerpt from the next Blue Justice Adventure

  1

  Acknowledgments

  About the Author

  Back Ads

  Back Cover

  For the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart.

  1 Samuel 16:7

  Friday, October 18

  1

  The broker rose from his chair and glared at the imbecile standing on the other side of the desk. “We paid you well to steal that boat. Where is it?”

  Jeremy Hightower smirked. “Well now, that’s the question of the night, isn’t it? I went to a lot of trouble to get that boat for you. It took planning and cunning. Finding a marina worker uniform that fit and a couple of guys to help. Unfortunately, the measly twenty-five grand you forked over isn’t going very far. I need more.” He looked around. “And it’s obvious you have plenty.”

  Rage pounded through him. He should have known better than to trust this worthless piece of an excuse for a human.

  The broker rounded the desk and jabbed a finger at the greedy man. “Planning? Cunning? I planned it down to the last detail and simply told you what to do! Now tell me where that boat is and I might let you live!”

  “Not until you wire another one million dollars to this account number.” He tossed a piece of paper onto the desk. “I had to hire some help to get it done and they demanded payment up front. When I have confirmation the money’s there, I’ll tell you where the boat is.”

  “Do you know what happens to people like you? People who betray me? They die. Just ask Reuben Kingman. Oh wait.” He laughed. “You can’t ask him. Because he’s dead!” He slammed a fist on the desk and leaned forward. “And I’ll kill you just like I killed Reuben.”

  “Then you’ll never get the location of the boat.”

  The fact that his outburst and threats didn’t seem to faze Hightower didn’t sit well. His blood churned faster. He needed those pictures in the boat’s safe. Pictures that showed him wielding the knife and killing yet another who’d betrayed him. “You had help. I’ll find them and get it from them.”

  “Good luck with that. They’re dead.” This time it was a picture he flung onto the desk.

  The broker studied it. Two very dead men stared at him with sightless eyes. He returned to his chair behind the desk, pausing a moment to draw in a breath and consider his options. The picture told him a lot. “You planned this from the beginning,” he said.

  Hightower shrugged. “It was hard not to.”

  “I’ve killed men for less.”

  “So have I.” Hightower’s stare remained solid. Unwavering.

  And the broker knew this latest traitor wouldn’t back down. “So. It’s come to this, has it?”

  “I’ve been your go-to boy for a long time now,” Hightower said. “It’s time for me to branch out.”

  “Pay him.”

  The two men turned at the voice that came from the corner of the room. The broker scowled. “Stay out of this. It doesn’t concern you.”

  “Of course it does. If it concerns you, it concerns me. Now, wire Jeremy the money.”

  He reluctantly considered his friend’s advice, then opened his laptop with one hand. With the other, he pulled his weapon from the holder he kept attached to the underbelly of the desk. He raised the gun and aimed it at the man who would dare try to blackmail him. At the brief flash of fear in Hightower’s eyes, satisfaction flowed. “Are you sure you don’t want to tell me now?”

  “If you pull th
at trigger, you’ll never find it.”

  “Oh, I’ll find it.”

  “Put the gun down.” His friend rose to his feet. “Think about this.”

  “I have.”

  Hightower laughed. “You shoot me and you’ll all go to prison.”

  “What are you talking about?” the broker asked.

  “I was followed. She had a tracker on my car that I found later.”

  “And?”

  “She took pictures of me on the boat. She’ll report it and the location, the cops will go get it and return it to its rightful owner, who’ll then have access to the contents of the safe—and the pictures—and you’ll be done.”

  For a moment, he thought his blood pressure might actually do him in. His eyes closed for a moment. “I’ll find it,” he muttered.

  “No, you won’t. I disabled the GPS, as you’ve probably already discovered.”

  The broker turned to his friend, who sat still, hands clasped loosely between his knees. “What do you think?”

  His friend’s jaw tightened, the only indication that he was affected by the scene playing out before him. “Pay him. And he and I will work together to get rid of anyone who knows anything.” His eyes studied Hightower. “Don’t make me regret this.”

  “No regrets. I get my money, you get your boat.” Jeremy nodded at the man. “But we’d both better make sure that nosey reporter dies. She’s the one who can bring everything down for all of us.”

  “We’ll take care of her,” the broker’s friend said.

  “I have a guy who can get it done and he doesn’t ask questions.”

  With a scowl, the broker picked up the paper with the account number on it and turned back to Hightower. “Seems like you need her dead as much as we do. When it’s done, let me know and I’ll transfer the money.” He jabbed a finger at Hightower. “And so help me, if you betray me again, I’ll take my chances and just kill you. Am I clear?”

  “Clear.”

  “Get out of here.”

  Hightower smiled as he exited and closed the door behind him.

  “I want him dead,” the broker said. “No one crosses me like this and lives. Have him killed.” He paused. “No, don’t.”

  “Don’t?”

  The broker snapped his fingers. “New plan. Keep Jeremy away from that reporter until you can get the location of the boat from her, then let him get rid of her. Once she’s dead and we have the boat, I want you to bring Hightower to me so I can take care of him myself.”

  Wednesday, October 23

  2

  Heather Gilstrap glanced over her shoulder as she pulled her keys from her pocket. With a click, she unlocked her car and heard the chirp—and something else.

  She stopped to listen.

  Yes, that was a footstep behind her. Not for the first time that day. For the past week, she’d felt watched. When she’d asked Emily, her best friend, if she felt the same, Emily had simply shaken her head.

  Heather turned and saw no one. But someone was definitely behind her. Following. Stalking. But who? She’d been so careful to cover her tracks.