Linda Conrad - Covert Agent's Virgin Affair

Covert Agent’s

Virgin Affair

Linda Conrad

www.millsandboon.co.uk

Cover

Title Page Covert Agent’s Virgin Affair Linda Conrad www.millsandboon.co.uk

About the Author About the Author When asked about her favourite things, LINDA CONRAD lists a longtime love affair with her husband, her sweetheart of a dog named KiKi and a sunny afternoon with nothing to do but read a good book. Inspired by generations of storytellers in her family and pleased to have many happy reader’s comments, Linda continues creating her own sensuous and suspenseful stories about compelling characters finding love. A bestselling author of more than twenty-five books, Linda has received numerous industry awards, among them the National Reader’s Choice Award, the Maggie, the Write Touch Readers’ Award and the RT Book Reviews Reviewers’ Choice Award. To contact Linda, read more about her books or to sign up for her newsletter and/or contests, go to her website at www.LindaConrad.com.

Dedication To Marie, Jennifer, Cindy, Beth and Karen; What a pleasure it was to work with you! Let’s do it again! And to Patience Smith, who came up with the spark that started it all. You continue to be the editor extraordinaire! My many thanks to all of you for making this a great book and a fun time!

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

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Copyright

Dear Reader,

Once again Intrigue authors are happy to bring you a compelling story from the Colton family. This branch of the Coltons is headquartered in Montana, and we had lots of fun developing the intrigue between three powerful families living in the small town of Honey Creek.

Covert Agent’s Virgin Affair is the second story in the series and I really enjoyed writing it. Both my hero and heroine had damaging pasts and I wasn’t sure they could ever overcome them in order to find happiness together. But I love my heroine, who has just lost over a hundred pounds and is ready to start a new life. Mary’s a special person who deserves a special love, and I think she finds it in the man who is ready to die to save her life. But the trick for Mary is to open her eyes and see who the man she loves really is underneath his shell.

Thanks for coming along on the journey. Hope you enjoy reading the Coltons’ stories as much as we enjoyed writing them!

Happy Reading!

Linda Conrad

When asked about her favourite things, LINDA CONRADlists a longtime love affair with her husband, her sweetheart of a dog named KiKi and a sunny afternoon with nothing to do but read a good book. Inspired by generations of storytellers in her family and pleased to have many happy reader’s comments, Linda continues creating her own sensuous and suspenseful stories about compelling characters finding love.

A bestselling author of more than twenty-five books, Linda has received numerous industry awards, among them the National Reader’s Choice Award, the Maggie, the Write Touch Readers’ Award and the RT Book Reviews Reviewers’ Choice Award. To contact Linda, read more about her books or to sign up for her newsletter and/or contests, go to her website at www.LindaConrad.com.

To Marie, Jennifer, Cindy, Beth and Karen;

What a pleasure it was to work with you!

Let’s do it again!

And to Patience Smith, who came up with the spark

that started it all. You continue to be the editor

extraordinaire!

My many thanks to all of you for making this

a great book and a fun time!

As the first blow crashed into his right shoulder, FBI special agent Jake Pierson wasn’t thinking about self-defense. He’d been deep in his head, preparing and memorizing backstory for his latest undercover assignment.

Standing alone in the delivery zone behind a hotel bar after sundown without backup wasn’t the smartest move for a special agent, even one undercover. But Jake was waiting for the contact to let him know when his target had entered the bar.

He’d done his pre-mission checking and considered the medium-size western city of Bozeman, Montana, a safe place after dark. Apparently, he was wrong.

But it didn’t take him ten seconds to get back in the game. Jake’s body curved backward as the assailant pressed a thumb to his windpipe. If it hadn’t been such a surprise, Jake might’ve laughed at the amateurish attempt at overpowering someone like him, well-trained in martial arts. But the sudden knee to his kidney switched the mood from light to serious in a flash.

Planting his feet, Jake bent at the knees and burst upright with a roar. Power-lifting had been one of his specialties during training at Quantico, and he hadn’t tried a move like this in the many years since.

The assailant clung to his neck. Jake easily rolled him over his shoulder and slammed him to the ground.

In seconds the attacker jumped back to his feet. Jake had to hand it to him, the guy was resilient.

Suddenly a knife appeared, and the man was waving it in Jake’s face. In the low light it was hard to tell, but Jake figured this was a kid. At least ten to fifteen years younger than his own ancient age of thirty-five.

What was this? A robbery attempt? Or something more?

Jake would have to ask the asshole. As soon as he disarmed him.

The kid’s knife hand swung wildly, and when Jake sidestepped, the assailant threw himself off balance. Jake used the opportunity to grab him by the elbow and twist the attacker’s whole arm up and behind his back.

“Ow!” The kid screamed like a child on a Ferris wheel and dropped his knife.

Jake whirled him around and slammed the heel of his hand square in the assailant’s nose. The blow reverberated back up Jake’s arm, but the sickening sound of breaking cartilage told him his attacker would be hurting a lot worse than he was.

“My nose. You broke my frigging nose!” The kid started throwing punches without looking.

Jake sighed, wishing the kid would simply go down easy. He hated having to inflict more damage in order to subdue an obvious nonprofessional.

“Hey, what’s going on out here?”

A sudden bright light from the bar’s open back door, along with the sound of someone shouting, took Jake’s attention away from his assailant. For only an instant. But it was enough time for the kid to get in one last smash at Jake’s side and then break away. Jake stumbled to the left while the kid made a mad dash down the side of the building and out of sight.

It took everything Jake had in him not to chase after his attacker. The mission always comes first .

The bartender stepped beside Jake. “Are you okay? You want me to call the cops? “

Jake straightened up as he shot the wrinkles out of his lightweight leather jacket. “No need to call anyone. It was a simple misunderstanding.”

The last thing he needed was for the Bozeman cops to question him. If this attack had come twenty miles south in the little town of Honey Creek where Jake’s main assignment would be taking place, talking to the sheriff wouldn’t be a problem. The sheriff there knew the FBI would be in his town conducting an undercover operation. But here? Not worth all the effort.

“Well, if you’re sure.” The bartender shrugged. “Oh, yeah. The reason I stepped out here is that woman you were asking about is in the bar. She came in with several friends, but they’re gone now. She’s sitting at a small table all alone. Is that what you wanted? “