Excerpt of Covert Agent's Virgin Affair by Linda Conrad

Mary was pleased she and Jake were talking over the
past—sort of.  She liked that he cared and was curious.  But
she wasn’t entirely sure that digging up the past was a
smart thing to do.

Deciding to go with being happy about his attention, she
said, “My father had a lot of help in the early days of the
family business.  My mother and Craig did most of the real
work putting that liquor business on the map.  And there’s a
story that Darius Colton lent my father some money just when
he needed it the most.  I simply can’t believe that the mob
would do business with my dad.  He was…”

“Difficult.”  Jake’s chuckle was for real this time.  He
glanced over at her and winked.  “I know.  But I think it’s
fun to sort through all the suspects who might’ve done the
crime.  Like a mystery murder game.”

Mary laughed out loud.  “Well, it would be a lot more fun if
it wasn’t my father we were talking about.  But yes, we
could do that.  You’d need to meet the people involved,
though.  Maybe we could have a party out at the farm and
invite most of the town.  Would you like that?”

Jake reached over and touched her hand.  “Sounds good.  I
want to meet your friends.  But don’t you think we should
check with your mother?”

“Sure, but Mom…”  Mary stopped talking and gasped.  “Oh,
look at that.”

They’d rounded a hairpin turn and caught the tail end of a
spectacular sunset.  Jake pulled the SUV out onto a look-out
point and put the transmission in park, idling the engine
and watching the sun going down through the windshield.

This was why she’d wanted to come the long way.  This sight.  Even though the sun was setting behind their backs, the road they were traveling had enough twists and turns to afford terrific views of both mountains and skies.

Streaks of copper, peppered with raspberry points, spread
out to the indigo heavens from a cheddar-colored base of
sun.  Beautiful sunsets never lasted long in the mountains. 
But as this one eased over the bumpy horizon, it shimmered
with colors reminiscent of the best rainbow she’d ever seen.

Mary sighed.  “This trip was definitely worth the extra
time.  Thank you, Jake.”

When she looked toward him, he was already watching her.

“Definitely worth it.”  He leaned in and surprised her with
a sensual kiss.  Warm and tender, but also full of longing
and promise.

It was everything she’d ever hoped to have from a man she
could love.  Her lips tingled and her heart fluttered in her
chest.  She had to fight the daydreams of a rosy future
playing over in her mind.  She was inexperienced, but not
stupid.  Jake was still holding back for some reason.

As he pulled away and sat back, he whispered, “You are every
bit as beautiful as that sunset, Mary.  Damned straight it
was worth the…”

Mary felt the jolt before she heard the screech of tires. 
“Jake!”  Someone had hit them from behind—hard.

“I’m on it!  Hang on.”

The SUV roared to life as Jake threw it into gear and took
off.  He stepped on the gas and sped around the rest of the
curve, barreling toward the crest of the mountain.

“What are you doing?  You can’t leave the scene of an
accident.  What if someone was hurt?”

“That was no accident.  Tighten your seat belt.”

What?  Not an accident?  Then that had to mean someone deliberately ran into them.  But why?

As she tugged at her seatbelt, she looked into the outside
mirror but saw nothing.  Nothing but the blackness of after
dusk in the mountains.  Turning to Jake, she started to
question what he’d said.

But before she could open her mouth, he thundered out
another order.  “Brace yourself.  They’re closing in.”

She didn’t need to flick another glance in the mirror to
notice bright headlights suddenly close behind them.  Too close.

And too bright.  The whole inside of their SUV lit up like a
sunshine-filled morning.

“Jake!”

He didn’t answer as he fought the wheel and stepped down
harder on the gas.  In the glare of their own headlights,
Mary could see one more hairpin turn coming up ahead.  If
they got hit from behind there, it was a five hundred foot
drop over the side.

Mary held her breath while Jake urged the SUV to go faster
down the hill toward the turn.  She noticed the headlights
behind them growing slightly dimmer as they raced on in the
dark.  No one could take these turns at high speeds. It was
insane.

But Jake never slowed as he entered the next turn.  Mary
closed her eyes and put her hands over her mouth to keep
from screaming.  She heard the brakes, felt the tires
skidding sideways and waited for the worst.