WANTED: NANNY
MUST BE GOOD WITH WET WIPES AND GUNS.
Lacey Miles becomes the unexpected sole guardian of her young niece. Knee-deep into an investigation of a sleeper cell, Lacey finds that motherhood is a lot more perilous than she expected, so she hires a nanny with an impeccable résuméâ¦whoâs a far cry from Mary Poppins.
Beneath his friendly demeanor, Jim Mercer is a former Marine turned undercover agent, tasked with ferreting out the terrorists targeting Lacey and her loved ones. Jim may be the ultimate caretaker, but the closer Lacey comes to blowing her case open, the more Jimâs true identity is revealed. And the deeper he falls for this vulnerable little family.
Campbell Cove Academy
Lacey Miles stared at Jim a moment, her only reaction a slight narrowing of her eyes.
âMs. Taylor said you had specified that you had no issues with hiring a male caretaker.â
âI donât,â she said bluntly in a tone that suggested just the opposite.
âYou seem as if youâve been blindsided.â
Her lips curved in a faint, perfunctory smile. âI guess I have been, in a way. I didnât have a chance to look over your credentials or even get your name. I just wasnât expecting a man.â
âOh.â
âIâm in a hurry to make a hire, you see,â she added quickly, as if she realized what sheâd just admitted made her sound ill prepared. âIn fact, youâre the first person whoâs even applied for the job.â
He was pretty sure he knew why. The story about the car bomb meant for her, the one that had killed her sister and brother-in-law instead, had made the national news. There werenât a lot of wannabe nannies willing to walk into a situation like that. Which made him the perfect person for the job.
For my nieces, Sarah, Kathryn, Melissa and Ashlee,
and my nephew, Nathan. Most of you arenât old enough to read my books, but maybe youâll look them up in a few years, see this dedication and smile.
Chapter One
The blue pickup truck was in her rearview mirror again. It had been there, off and on, since shortly after sheâd crossed the Potomac into Maryland. Of course, many vehiclesânot just the pickupâhad shared the road into Frederick with her, many of them staying behind her for miles at a time before turning off.
Maybe that was the problem, Lacey thought. The pickup had never turned off.
A soft whine from the backseat drew her attention away from the rearview mirror. She dared the quickest glance at the child seat belted in behind the passenger seat, reassuring herself that Katie was just being fussy. Her nieceâs bright gray eyes stared back at Lacey, reminding her so much of Marianne that she had to suck in her breath against a sharp stab of grief.
âAlmost there, sweet pea,â she said as brightly as she could manage. They were only a few minutes out of Frederick now, and early for the appointment for once.
She glanced in the rearview mirror. She couldnât see the pickup anymore.
Frowning, she looked forward, her gaze drawn to the green directional sign coming up fast on her right, informing her of an upcoming exit. It was a couple of exits before the one sheâd planned to take, but the prickling skin on the back of her neck made the decision for her.
She moved to the exit lane as quickly as she could and took the off-ramp. As she came to a stop at the bottom of the off-ramp, she spotted the blue pickup driving past her, continuing on the highway.
Blowing out a pent-up breath, she couldnât hold back a soft bubble of laughter. Talk about jumping at shadows.
âFirsty,â Katie announced from her car seat.
âI know youâre thirsty, sweetie. As soon as we get to the employment office, Iâll get your apple juice for you, okay?â Lacey wasnât sure how much her niece really understood at the age of two, but the little girl subsided into silence for the remainder of the slightly longer drive into Frederick.
Elite Employment Agency occupied a tall, narrow redbrick building near the end of a block of old restored row homes in the downtown area. To Laceyâs chagrin, there were no parking slots available on the street, but a small sign in front of the office indicated there was more parking available in the alley behind the building.
Lacey tamped down a creeping sense of alarm and followed the sign until she reached a narrow alley flanked on either side by what looked like large, sprawling garages. At the time some of these homes had been built, she realized, these garages might have been stables for carriage horses. Theyâd obviously been updated once automobiles became ubiquitous, but there was a quaint feeling here among the garages, as if she could pull open one of the doors and find herself immersed in the remains of the townâs rich history.