Her First Vacation

Colin Montgomery has been living a life of lies for so long that he isn’t sure

he recognizes who he really is any more. All he knows for certain is that

pretending to be someone with an utter lack of even the smallest shred of

moral fiber has become much too easy. He’s losing himself, and he knows it. He

needs some time off, maybe even a complete change of vocation. Then his mentor

is murdered on the job, and Colin knows that he has no choice but to bring the

killer down. So he goes under one more time, playing a role that is far too

easy to slip into. Garret Palmer is a sadistic narcissist with a talent for

making loads of money while facilitating the running of drugs and guns between

the US and Mexico. He’s also a cold-blooded murderer. To get close to him,

Colin will have to convince Garret that he’s a kindred spirit. Easy enough if

he doesn’t mind giving up the last shreds of his humanity.

Claire Abernathy has been living in the shadow of her mother and sister for so

long that she’s long forgotten what it feels like to stand in the sun. She

knows that she doesn’t have their beauty or sparkle, and she’s well aware of

the fact that she never will. At thirty, the chances of her suddenly

outgrowing her physical and social awkwardness are practically nonexistent.

She has buried herself in her work as an elementary teacher, resigned to

spending the rest of her life being the responsible one in her family while

her mother and sister bask in the adoration of every man who crosses their

paths. Desperate to escape from the sad reality of her life, she takes a wild

risk and books passage on a cruise. Her sister and mother immediately laugh at

the absurdity of her on a cruise, but she refuses to give in to their cutting

barbs or her own self-doubts. For the first time in her life, she’s going to

do something strictly for herself.

Colin has a very specific role to play if he hopes to get close enough to

Garret to be there to nail him for the crimes he’s committed. A woman like

Claire is the direct antithesis of the sort of female his working persona

would be interested in. She could be a poster child for frumpy introverts

everywhere. Yet, he finds that the more he gets to know her, the more he’s

drawn to the woman hidden beneath the shapeless dresses and absurdly long

hair. Claire has never had a man like Colin show any interest in her. She

knows it’s too good to be true, but finds that she can’t bring herself to walk

away from him. Not even when he makes it abundantly clear that he isn’t a man

who wants anything more than fast, hard sex. She isn’t the kind of woman who

has affairs, but then she hasn’t ever been the kind of woman who goes on a

cruise, either. Maybe it was time for some changes in her life, starting with

her views on casual sex between consenting adults.

Colin is walking a deadly line between burnout, rage, a desperate need to

bring Garret Palmer to justice, and an inexplicable attraction for a woman

that he knows is far too innocent for the likes of him. She deserves a man who

hasn’t been permanently tainted by decades of living with the scum of the

earth. Even if he could somehow convince himself that taking her to bed

wouldn’t make him even more of a bastard than he already was, there was no way

he could pretend that openly pursuing her wouldn’t torpedo his chances of

bringing Garret Palmer down. Will he be willing to let Garret slip through his

fingers if it means he can have Claire, or will he sacrifice her to put an end

to one of the largest drug and weapon pipelines between Mexico and the US?