Jennifer Morey - Executive Protection

AN FBI AGENT TAKES THE BIGGEST—AND MOST DANGEROUS—RISK OF HIS CAREER: LEAVING BACHELORHOOD BEHIND

Crime investigator Thadius “Thad” Winston must protect his high-ranking political mother after she is shot and nearly killed. He is prepared for risks. What he isn’t prepared for is Lucy Sinclair. Hired as his mother’s nurse, Lucy is capable, compassionate and entirely inconvenient for Thad. He doesn’t enivision a life of shared love or commitment, yet he can’t deny the intense attraction growing between them. And when a stalker sets his sights on Lucy—possibly the same man who tried to kill his mother—Thad realizes just how much he has to lose.

His grin faded as they continued to stand close and look at each other. Her gut instinct yearned for him to stay, not to leave. He should leave, though.

“I should go.”

“Yes.”

Neither one of them moved.

Lucy breathed a wry, awkward laugh. He reacted with more heat going into his eyes. The awkwardness fell away and suddenly it became incredibly important to her to explore where this would lead.

He took a single step toward her. She lifted her head, his face close to hers. Her skin flushed and a shaky breath eased out of her. His face lowered, maybe an inch. His gaze fluttered from her mouth to her eyes, where it stayed. And then as quickly as the heat had rushed upon them, he withdrew and stepped back.

“Good night,” he said, and walked out the door.

Lucy went there and turned the dead bolt, resting her forehead against the wood until her heart calmed and the excitement of Thad kissing her reduced to a warm memory.

Dear Reader,

Continuities are one of my favorite types of books to write. There’s always something titillating going on, and the stories span more than one book. In this second installation of The Adair Legacy, I am fortunate to have Thad Winston as my hero. He’s a crime scene investigator who’s in the thick of an assassination attempt and a struggle with his feelings for Lucy Sinclair.

Other than weaving the tale of Thad and Lucy’s love, one of my favorite parts of writing this book was tossing a character like Sophie into the mix. She challenges Thad’s ideals and enriches his relationship with Lucy. See if you agree!

Jennifer Morey

Executive Protection

Jennifer Morey

www.millsandboon.co.uk

JENNIFER MOREY

Two-time 2009 RITA® Award nominee and a Golden Quill winner for Best First Book for The Secret Soldier, Jennifer Morey writes contemporary romance and romantic suspense. Project manager par jour, she works for the space systems segment of a satellite imagery and information company. She lives in sunny Denver, Colorado. She can be reached through her website, www.jennifermorey.com, and on Facebook.

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To Susan LeDoux and Laura Leonard for their ever dependable proofing.

Contents

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

Extract

Chapter 1

Thadius Winston left the muggy, late-February air and stepped into the Raleigh, North Carolina, police department. Bright fluorescent lights shone over the reception area, closed off to the rest of the station. Gladys saw him from her post behind the desk straight ahead and gave him her customary once-over. She’d been after him for a couple of months now. And though he never encouraged her, she hadn’t gotten the hint he wasn’t interested, and he wouldn’t hurt her by telling her.

“Mornin’, Thad,” she greeted, flirting again. Maybe it was her nature. Maybe she flirted with all the cops.

She wore a lot of makeup. Blue eye shadow, heavy mascara, caked-on foundation that embedded in the wrinkles forming around her eyes and mouth. She dyed her hair blond and used too much hairspray. Hurricane force wind wouldn’t ruin her style for the day.

He’d heard her husband had left her for someone younger. She was about twenty years older than Thad. If it made her feel good to flirt with younger men, what harm did that do? It sometimes made his stomach turn, but he could tolerate a few moments of discomfort every now and then.

“Good morning, Gladys. Is Darcy Jenkins in yet?” He always kept their interaction to business.

“Yes, he is, handsome. He’s waiting for you in the first conference room.”

Slipping the lanyard holding his badge over his neck, he nodded his thanks and strode to the double glass doors. Entering through those, he followed a sterile white hall to the conference room at the end. The door was open.

Darcy’s five-eleven frame leaned over some photos. He always wore a dress shirt and tie with slacks. Never a jacket. He looked up when Thad entered, his thick black hair cut short and dark eyes intuitive and a little haunted, but not from all he’d seen as a special victims unit detective.

Straightening, he moved around the table. “Hey.” He gave Thad’s back a firm pat.

“Does Gladys flirt with you?” Thad asked.

“She flirts with everybody. Don’t let it go to your head.”

Thad grunted a laugh, not offended by his friend’s sarcasm. They’d met at the police academy and had been friends ever since. There wasn’t anyone Thad trusted more than Darcy. Thad had trained for crime scene investigation. Darcy had grown up aspiring to become a detective. Thad wasn’t sure if it was catching killers that had drawn him as a kid, more likely it was the heroism. Reality had overruled. Darcy did the most good in Homicide, the closest to a superhero he’d ever get. Thad was more interested in the science behind solving crimes. Superheroes had never enchanted him. Maybe that was due to the fact that there had never been anyone in his childhood who’d fooled him into believing in them. As with Darcy, reality had overruled.

He looked down at the photos Darcy had studied more than once and picked up the images of the conference room where Thad’s mother had been shot.

“How’s your mom?” Darcy asked.

As one of his closest friends, Darcy knew how much these photos bothered him. “Out of ICU.” Finally. Things had been touch and go for a week. “Doctors are going to keep her a few more days.”

“That’s good news.”

There was nothing good about his mother being shot. Thad should have seen it coming. He should have been able to protect her. There had been a lot of hype about the possibility that she’d run for president. A well-liked former vice president, she was a viable candidate. That also made her an open target for anyone against her views, anyone who wasn’t sane. He should have been more vigilant, should have been aware of the danger. Had his lukewarm sentiments toward politics made him too lax?

Thad didn’t relate to his mother’s thirst for politics. It consumed too much of her time and energy for one thing, and made her skirt direct answers. His mother was a good politician. While he wasn’t fond of her chosen profession, he knew her in a way the public never would. She was his mother. He loved her with all his heart. If she’d have died, the grief would have crushed him. And he’d have never been able to get over the feeling that he hadn’t done enough to save her.