A Holland Reads: Defender by Diana Palmer

Published: June 28, 2016

Number of pages: 384

Genre: Romance

Synopsis:

The man who shattered her trust is back to protect her… New York Times bestselling author Diana Palmer delivers a breathtaking story of second-chance love.

When Paul Fiore disappeared from Isabel Grayling’s life, he told himself it was for all the right reasons. She was young and innocent, and he was her millionaire father’s lowly employee. Three years on, Paul is the FBI agent assigned to Isabel’s case. Too late, he realizes what life in her Texas mansion was really like back then—and how much damage he did when he left.

Once love-struck and sheltered, Isabel has become an assistant district attorney committed to serving the law, no matter how risky it gets. But right now, the man she can’t forgive is the one thing standing between her and a deadly stalker. She knows Paul won’t hesitate to protect her life with his own. But if she can’t trust herself to resist him, how can she trust him not to break her heart all over again?

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About the author:

The prolific author of more than one hundred books, Diana Palmer got her start as a newspaper reporter. A New York Times bestselling author and voted one of the top ten romance writers in America, she has a gift for telling the most sensual tales with charm and humor. Diana lives with her family in Cornelia, Georgia.

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Excerpt:

Defender by Diana Palmer

Excerpt

Paul followed the small device’s signature to a hidden microphone in a potted plant. He traced the signal into Darwin’s study, to a small recording device in a drawer. Holding his finger to his lips, he cautioned Mandy not to say anything. He pulled out the recorder, made an adjustment and put it back, careful to wipe his prints first.

He led her outside. “I wiped it,” he said quietly. “But make sure you don’t say anything in the dining room that you wouldn’t like to share with the world. And tell the girls.”

“Maybe you should sweep their bedrooms, too, just in case,” she said worriedly.

“Good God, it’s like living in a camp of some sort!” he exclaimed. “What the hell is he so afraid of?” he added. “What does he think you might say?”

Mandy’s green eyes were old and wise. “I can’t tell you. But I don’t want to see my brother go to federal prison, and I’d rather not see you there, either. Just pretend you know nothing and do your job.”

He grimaced. “Those poor girls,” he sighed. “They have no life at all. No social life. How long does he think he can keep them prisoner like this?”

“As long as he wants to,” she said. “He does have a point, in one respect. He’s one of the richest men in the world, and there have been kidnapping attempts before. You foiled one yourself. The girls don’t have any street sense, especially Merrie. They’d be sheep among wolves, literally, if they had the kind of freedom you’re advocating.”

“They’re young and pretty. Surely they’ll want families one day,” he said, and his eyes darkened as he said it.

“Sari wants a career right now,” she said evasively. “And Merrie’s just graduated high school. She doesn’t know what she wants to do just yet.”

“It’s not a normal life,” he replied.

“It wouldn’t be, under the best of circumstances. They’re worth millions. Mr. Darwin would have problems if they ever wanted to marry, depending on who they wanted to marry. He’d be wary of men who wanted the money instead of the girls.”

He knew that. But he wouldn’t permit himself to think about it. Isabel wanted a career. She wouldn’t be interested in a future with anyone just yet, anyway. Not yet. It was…a relief, although he wouldn’t let himself wonder why.

He found the other two surveillance cameras. One was at the back door, one at the front door and the only bug had been the one in the dining room. Paul took note of where they were.

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