Debra & Regan Webb & Black - Her Undercover Defender

Mission or not, the idea of rumors circulating about him and Terri didn’t bother him in the least.

Now all he had to do was come up with a plan for a stellar evening. This had to be different. Something special just for her. He wanted to give her an experience she’d never had, one that would leave her with fond memories, in case his assignment destroyed their friendship.

After everything she’d told him, the least he could do was show her what an amazing woman he saw when he looked at her. Pulling up the tide charts, he set to work figuring out the details. He would give her an evening she couldn’t dismiss later as a tactic or trick, no matter how the case with her brother ended.

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DEBRA WEBB, born in Alabama, wrote her first story at age nine and her first romance at thirteen. It wasn’t until she spent three years working for the military behind the Iron Curtain—and a five-year stint with NASA—that she realized her true calling. Since then the USA TODAY bestselling author has penned more than one hundred novels, including her internationally bestselling Colby Agency series.

REGAN BLACK, a USA TODAY bestselling author, writes award-winning, action-packed novels featuring kick-butt heroines and the sexy heroes who fall in love with them. Raised in the Midwest and California, she and her family, along with their adopted greyhound, two arrogant cats and a quirky finch, reside in the South Carolina Lowcountry, where the rich blend of legend, romance and history fuels her imagination.

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With special thanks and love for Alysan, who never stopped believing.

Contents

Cover

Introduction David leaned in close and kissed her. Softly and not too quickly. In front of the hospital where they both worked. Mission or not, the idea of rumors circulating about him and Terri didn’t bother him in the least. Now all he had to do was come up with a plan for a stellar evening. This had to be different. Something special just for her. He wanted to give her an experience she’d never had, one that would leave her with fond memories, in case his assignment destroyed their friendship. After everything she’d told him, the least he could do was show her what an amazing woman he saw when he looked at her. Pulling up the tide charts, he set to work figuring out the details. He would give her an evening she couldn’t dismiss later as a tactic or trick, no matter how the case with her brother ended.

Title Page Her Undercover Defender Debra Webb & Regan Black www.millsandboon.co.uk

About the Authors DEBRA WEBB , born in Alabama, wrote her first story at age nine and her first romance at thirteen. It wasn’t until she spent three years working for the military behind the Iron Curtain—and a five-year stint with NASA—that she realized her true calling. Since then the USA TODAY bestselling author has penned more than one hundred novels, including her internationally bestselling Colby Agency series. REGAN BLACK , a USA TODAY bestselling author, writes award-winning, action-packed novels featuring kick-butt heroines and the sexy heroes who fall in love with them. Raised in the Midwest and California, she and her family, along with their adopted greyhound, two arrogant cats and a quirky finch, reside in the South Carolina Lowcountry, where the rich blend of legend, romance and history fuels her imagination.

Dedication With special thanks and love for Alysan, who never stopped believing.

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Epilogue

Extract

Copyright

Chapter One

Washington, DC Thursday, October 2, 5:25 p.m.

David Martin had the training pool to himself. The fading sunlight filtered through the windows near the ceiling, casting long pale slashes across the deck. While other people finished paperwork or made dinner plans, he soaked up the peace and quiet of the water. It was his sanctuary, the one place he could always get away from any worries. The only thing better would be time out on the ocean—or under it. He hadn’t had a real dive in months, and since his boat was stored closer to his family in Georgia, the pool would have to suffice for today.

He pushed his body through a freestyle sprint the length of the pool, filled his lungs on the turn and then dove deep, dolphin-kicking the return lap on that single breath. He repeated the process until the timer on his watch went off. Switching to backstroke, he let his body cool down. As his lungs recovered, his mind drifted over the implications of his upcoming meeting with his boss, Director Thomas Casey.

The brief email had bordered on cryptic, which wasn’t unusual considering the unique covert operations team he’d joined two years ago. One specific phrase in the email had brought David down to swim and think: lifetime assignment .

He understood commitment as it pertained to career, family and country, having completed his education and given six years to the Coast Guard. Unfortunately, the phrase reminded him too much of the matchmaking his three oldest sisters kept attempting on his behalf. They used words like stability , comfort , nieces and nephews . As if their own kids didn’t keep everyone busy enough. Curse of being the youngest and the only boy in a big Southern family, he thought. He loved them all and appreciated the buffer of distance his skills and career choices had given him. The Coast Guard had been a smart fit, and not even his sisters had ever worked up the nerve to argue about his professional dedication. Now, believing he worked a normal day job in DC, they manipulated blind dates and chance meetings every time he was home, hoping to reel him back in and settle him down near the family home.

They seemed impervious to his personal timetable. At thirty, he wasn’t ready to do the wife and kids thing. He liked the excitement and the challenge of being a Specialist on Thomas Casey’s elite team. While he understood that going out and making a difference in the world didn’t rule out relationships—plenty of Specialists had personal lives—it sure put a damper on permanence. He wasn’t ready for that. Not yet. There was plenty of time to find the right woman.

Lifetime assignment . The two words echoed through his head as his strokes sliced through the water. What kind of threat had Director Casey taking that kind of measure? He bounced around the pros and cons, despite the lack of specific information. It couldn’t be anything anonymous like witness protection. Casey knew David maintained close ties to family, despite his near-obsessive meddling sisters. Whatever prompted this type of precaution, David knew he couldn’t accept a permanent assignment in a landlocked area. Being raised on the Georgia coast, he needed the ocean as much as fresh air and sunshine.