Hard Line

She didn’t want a bodyguard. He didn’t want a complication.Investigative journalist Maren Cole is just three days away from publishing the story that could define her career: an explosive exposé uncovering a $412 million fraud involving one of the country’s most powerful defense contractors. Months of interviews, leaked documents, anonymous sources, and sleepless nights have brought her to the edge of the truth.Then someone breaks into her apartment.Nothing is stolen.Instead, a single voicemail is left behind-one that threatens not her life, but her family’s.Within hours, her editor pulls the investigation, her sources disappear, and a private security firm is hired to keep her alive until the danger passes.That’s how Eli Voss enters her life.Former Delta Force.Calm under pressure.Painfully disciplined.The kind of man who notices every exit, every shadow, every lie.He’s spent years protecting diplomats, executives, and politicians. Babysitting a stubborn investigative reporter who refuses to follow instructions isn’t part of his plan.Neither is finding himself unable to stop thinking about her.Relocated to a secluded safe house in rural Maryland, Maren and Eli are forced into close quarters with limited internet, one unreliable laptop, and far too much time together.She refuses to stop investigating.He refuses to let her get herself killed.She challenges every rule he sets.He quietly breaks every emotional boundary he swore he’d keep.Morning begins with coffee and perfectly cooked eggs. Days are spent chasing encrypted files, interviewing frightened sources, and trying to stay one step ahead of people who have already proven they’re willing to intimidate, threaten, and kill to protect their secrets.At night, storms roll across the countryside, the electricity flickers, and conversations that begin as arguments slowly become confessions.The closer they come to exposing the truth, the more dangerous the investigation becomes.And the harder it is to remember where professional duty ends... and something much more personal begins.Hard Line is a gripping contemporary bodyguard romance filled with slow-burning chemistry, razor-sharp banter, emotional vulnerability, and high-stakes suspense. It’s the story of a fearless journalist who refuses to be silenced, a man trained to protect everyone except himself, and the impossible choice between completing the mission and following the heart.Perfect for readers who love protective heroes, intelligent heroines, forced proximity, and romances where every stolen glance carries as much tension as the danger outside the door.Tropes:• Bodyguard Romance• Forced Proximity• Slow Burn• Investigative Journalist Heroine• Protective Alpha Hero• Romantic Suspense• Only One Safe House• Opposites Attract• Touch Her and You Die• Found Trust• Emotional Healing• Strong Heroine• Happily Ever After