âThank you again for defusing what might have turned into an even more unpleasant situation, Mr. Sinclair.â
âYouâre always so polite while youâre trying to get rid of me.â He smiled, a slow curving of the lips that gave his strong-featured face a devastating appeal. âWhatâs it going to take for you to call me Rory?â
Peggy slicked her tongue along her bottom lip. She didnât want to picture herself in his arms, breathing his name against his heated flesh, but she did. âI thinkâ¦â Her voice hitched, and she cleared her throat. âIt would be wise for us to keep things between us on a business level, Mr. Sinclair.â
He said nothing for a moment, but stared down at her with those off-the-chart blue eyes until she had to fight the urge to squirm.
âYouâre right,â he said softly. âThat would probably be the wise thing to doâ¦.â
Meet the Coltonsâ
a California dynasty with a legacy of privilege and power.
Rory Sinclair: Not the marrying kind. Having dedicated his life to researching chemical and biological warfare for the FBI, heâs not about to be distracted from his current mission. Until he comes head-to-head with a toothless toddler and her beautiful motherâ¦
Peggy Honeywell: Feisty single mom. When a town emergency forces a federal agent to move into her bed-and-breakfast, this proud widow suddenly has trouble remembering all the reasons sheâd vowed to avoid dangerous men at all costs.
Samantha Honeywell: Heartbreaker-in-waiting. This wise two-year-old knows that any man whoâd rescue a tattered pink bunny is a keeper!
Michael Longstreet: Beleaguered mayor. As the town of Prosperino faces its water crisis, heâs about to be tested in lifeâand love.
MAGGIE PRICE
Viewing the world from behind the badge of an FBI special agent hero wasnât a giant step for Maggie Price to take. A former civilian crime analyst for the Oklahoma City Police Department, Maggie possesses an insiderâs knowledge of cops and the workings of various law enforcement agencies. Add to that her having snagged assignments to several task forces alongside FBI special agents, and it was only natural that FBI forensic scientist Rory Sinclair would stride onto the pages of Protecting Peggy as a true-to-life cop with a microscopic eye for detail and a copâs dangerous edge.
Maggie loves to hear from readers! Contact her at 5208 W. Reno, Suite 350, Oklahoma City, OK 73127-6317.
To Pam Newell, in appreciation for your support, encouragement and, most especially, for your friendship.
A special thank-you for all the âkidâ advice youâve given me over the years.
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
As a member of the FBIâs elite evidence support team, Rory Sinclairâs hopping a flight from D.C. without much advance notice usually meant he was headed to a crime scene. His rainy-night arrival in California wasnât the case, although heâd stowed his computer and field evidence kit in the trunk of the car he had rented three hours ago at the San Francisco airport. For the first time in years, Special Agent Rory Sinclair was off the Bureauâs clock and on his own time.
Time, that Rory had agreed to spend posing as a civilian chemist while conducting a surveillance at a widowâs homey bed-and-breakfast.
With rain slanting down through the darkness, the sign welcoming Rory to Prosperinoâa town hailing itself as a touristâs mecca on the rugged northern California coastâglistened in the carâs headlights.
From what Rory could see of the flower-laden planters and neat benches that lined the sidewalks in front of a row of darkened storefronts, Prosperino looked picture-postcard perfect, everything calm and serene. Untroubled.
The urgent call Rory had received the previous day from Blake Fallon, his former college roommate, told Rory there was at least one imperfection on Prosperinoâs charming facade. That imperfection came in the form of the mysterious contamination of the water supply on Hopechest Ranch, the haven for troubled adolescents and teens where Blake served as director. The contamination had occurred weeks ago. Since then, Blake had watched a series of Hopechestâs staff and residents fall ill while the EPA inspector assigned to the case conducted his investigation at a suspicious snailâs pace.
Peering through the rain-spattered windshield, Rory spotted the road to Honeywell House marked on the map Blake had faxed him. Braking, he turned, then steered along a thin ribbon of road that curved up a hill. Although Rory had Blakeâs assurances that the widow Honeywell ran a first-class establishment, comfort wasnât the reason Rory was headed there. EPA Inspector Charlie OâConnell had checked into Honeywell House weeks ago. Rory wanted a close look at the man who had raised Blakeâs suspicions by conducting at least one clandestine meeting on Hopechest Ranch property.