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 résuméwhos 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 Jims 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.
Ms. Taylor said you had specified that you had no issues with hiring a male caretaker.
I dont, she said bluntly in a tone that suggested just the opposite.
You seem as if youve been blindsided.
Her lips curved in a faint, perfunctory smile. I guess I have been, in a way. I didnt have a chance to look over your credentials or even get your name. I just wasnt expecting a man.
Oh.
Im in a hurry to make a hire, you see, she added quickly, as if she realized what shed just admitted made her sound ill prepared. In fact, youre the first person whos even applied for the job.
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 werent a lot of wannabe nannies willing to walk into a situation like that. Which made him the perfect person for the job.
Operation Nanny
Paula Graves
www.millsandboon.co.uk
PAULA GRAVES, an Alabama native, wrote her first book at the age of six. A voracious reader, Paula loves books that pair tantalizing mystery with compelling romance. When shes not reading or writing, she works as a creative director for a Birmingham advertising agency and spends time with her family and friends. Paula invites readers to visit her website, paulagraves.com.
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For my nieces, Sarah, Kathryn, Melissa and Ashlee,
and my nephew, Nathan. Most of you arent old enough
to read my books, but maybe youll look them up in a
few years, see this dedication and smile.
Contents
Cover
Introduction
Title Page
About the Author
Dedication
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
Epilogue
Extract
Copyright
Chapter One
The blue pickup truck was in her rearview mirror again. It had been there, off and on, since shortly after shed crossed the Potomac into Maryland. Of course, many vehiclesnot just the pickuphad 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 nieces 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.
Almost there, sweet pea, 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 couldnt 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 shed 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 couldnt hold back a soft bubble of laughter. Talk about jumping at shadows.
Firsty, Katie announced from her car seat.
I know youre thirsty, sweetie. As soon as we get to the employment office, Ill get your apple juice for you, okay? Lacey wasnt 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 Laceys 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. Theyd 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 towns rich history.
But as she parked in the small gravel lot behind the employment agency, some of the alleys charm faded, for she found herself hemmed in between two large garages on either side and also behind her, where garages for the buildings on the next street closed the alley in like a narrow gorge.
Sunlight struggled to penetrate the steel-gray winter sky overhead, reminding Lacey that snow was expected later in the week. She hoped the interview with the prospective nanny would go quickly and well. The sooner she could get a nanny hired and settled into the old farmhouse, the better.
Firsty? Katie ventured from the backseat as Lacey turned off the car.
Just a second, baby. She reached across the seat for the diaper bag, praying shed remembered to pack the apple juice. And extra diapers.
With relief, she found the cup of apple juice and snapped off the drinking-spout cover. Here, sweetie.
Katie grabbed the cup and upended it, drinking with greedy sucking sounds. Lacey took advantage of her nieces preoccupation to gather up the bag and her purse. She checked twice to make sure she had the car keys before she got out and walked around to the trunk to retrieve Katies stroller.
The crunch of gravel was the only warning she got. It was just enough for her to reach into the trunk before a pair of arms wrapped around her and started dragging her away from the car.
She fought to stay with the car, wrapping her fingers around the first thing they foundthe cold metallic bite of a tire iron. As the arms around her tightened like a vise, she twisted to one side and swung the tire iron downward. It wasnt a solid hit, but the iron connected with her captors leg, and she heard a loud bark of pain and a stream of profanities in her ear.
The arms around her loosened, just a bit, but it was enough for her to jerk out of his grasp. Her first instinct was to run as far and as fast as she could, but the sound of Katies cries, muffled by the car windows, stopped her cold.
She swung around to face her captor, wielding the tire iron in front of her like a club. But whatever small bravado she could muster faltered as she saw the barrel of a large black pistol aimed straight for her heart. All of the earlier ambient noises of the daythe rustle of wind in the winter-bare trees, the hum of nearby trafficwere swallowed by the thunderous throb of her pulse in her ears. Her entire focus centered on the dark, black hole of the pistols barrel and the masked man who wielded it.
Hey! A mans voice broke through the swoosh of blood in her ears, and the pistol barrel swung quickly away from her, aimed at the newcomer.
Jerking out of her frozen trance, she swung at the man as hard as she could, hitting his shoulder and sending him stumbling toward the alley. The pistol went flying under a nearby car as the man caught himself against its trunk. He pushed upright again, staring at Lacey for a moment, then at something down the alley.
Stop! The voice that had broken through her paralysis belonged to a tall, broad-shouldered man in a neat charcoal suit who was running toward the man in the mask. He was still several yards away but gaining ground.
The masked man bolted down the alley, moving fast for someone his size. The man in the suit tried to pick up speed, but his dress shoes slipped and slid across the slick surface of the alley, and the man whod pulled the gun on Lacey outdistanced him easily. There was a green van waiting halfway down the alley. The man in the mask jumped into the passenger seat and the car sped down the alley, took a turn and drove quickly out of sight.
Lacey opened the back door of her car and unbuckled her sobbing niece from the car seat, pulling her close and murmuring soft words of comfort to her as the man in the suit returned to where she stood, giving her a look of apology.
Are you okay? he asked, stopping short as she backpedaled away from him. Youre not hurt, are you?
She tucked Katie closer, keeping a wary eye on the newcomer. Just because hed tried to come to her rescue didnt mean he was anyone she could trust. Especially not now.
Im fine.
He reached into his pocket slowly and withdrew a cell phone. He waggled it toward her as if to reassure her that it wasnt any sort of weapon. Ill call the police.
She looked behind her, where the back door of the building posed an almost irresistible temptation. She didnt want to deal with the cops. Shed had her fill of the police in the past few weeks since her sisters death. She knew they were just doing their job. Intrusive questions and suspicious minds came with the territory. Her own line of work shared some of those pitfalls; the people she interviewed were often emotionally distraught or shattered by the events theyd witnessed.
But knowing those facts didnt make it easy to be on the other side of the interrogation. Especially when what was left of your sister and brother-in-law had just been zipped into body bags and carted off to the morgue.
I dont remember anything about him, she murmured, feeling sick. Katie sniffled against her shoulder, but at least her wails had subsided.
Not much to remember, her rescuer said gently. Did you see where his weapon went?
Yes, she said quickly. Under that car. She nodded toward the late-model Buick parked next to hers. But dont try to retrieve it. He might have left trace evidence.
I know. He punched numbers into the phone as he crouched beside the Buick and looked under the chassis. A woman was just accosted by an armed man in the alley behind Elite Employment Agency on Sixth. No, nobodys injured. The man lost possession of his weapon. Im looking at it right now.
Laceys knees began to shake, and she had to lean against the side of her car. Katie began to feel like deadweight in her arms, and, to her horror, she felt herself losing her grip on the little girl.
Whoa, now. The man rose quickly to his feet and caught Katie as she started to slide out of Laceys arms. Ive got her.
Lacey waited for Katies wails to start, but to her surprise, the little girl just stared up with bright, curious eyes at the man in the suit. Bracing herself against the side of the car, Lacey held out her arms. Im all right. I can take her back now.