DYING FOR YOU – Beverly Barton
The Protectors Series, Final Book
HQN
ISBN-13: 978-0-373-77317-6
December 2008
Romantic Suspense

Atlanta, Georgia – Present day

The Protectors series has endured for sixteen years, with thirty stories detailing the activities and cases of the Dundee Private Security and Investigation Agency. Let's revisit some of our old friends in the Dundee Agency and see what is happening as the series concludes.

For Cara Bedell, president of Bedell, Inc., making money seems to be something she can't avoid. Her company is about to make a deal to purchase oil from the country of Ameca and one of the two oil producing companies there. Cara's interest is that part of the profits be used to help the Amecan economy, and so far, only one of the companies is open to that proposition. Cara has been in love with police Detective Bain Desmond, and he is equally attracted to her, except for one thing. Bain won't live a fancy lifestyle, and he doesn't dare ask Cara to share his middle class life. Before she goes to Ameca, Cara needs a bodyguard, which is where the Dundee Agency comes into play.

Sawyer McNamara runs the Dundee Agency, and his choice to guard Cara is Lucie Evans. Only thing is, Lucie just quit after years of dissension between them. In her last job, Sawyer assigned Lucie to a man who tried to rape her, and though Lucie could take care of herself, that was the last straw. Sawyer and Lucie knew each other as children, and somehow Lucie's relationship with his younger brother has come between them since then. Sawyer just can't forget Lucie, and after years of trying to get her to quit, Sawyer has finally succeeded. But he recommends Lucie for work at Bedell, Inc., just as Cara goes to Ameca.

Daisy Holbrook is Sawyer's right hand in the office. Without her expertise, nothing would run as smoothly as it does, but she is not a perfect machine. Geoff Monday is an agent she has been in love with for years, but he keeps trying to keep it light. He's almost old enough to be her father, and she needs someone fresh and young, not an old warrior like him.

When Cara goes to Ameca to talk with the two oil companies, Lucie is mistaken for Cara and kidnapped. Despite his desire to stay away from Cara, Bain immediately volunteers to hide out with Cara after she is brought back to the States. She will have to stay hidden so nobody finds out the kidnappers don't have the real Cara Bedell. When Sawyer finds out Lucie has been taken, he immediately decides he will trust her safety to no one but himself. Geoff Monday goes along to help find Lucie and get her out of the country as quickly as possible, no matter what condition she may be in. Despite these men’s fears of commitment and the reasons they can't be with the women who love them, in times of danger all other thoughts escape them and only one thing is on their minds—find and protect their women. Will these men be able to protect Cara and Lucie, and what will happen when they are safe again? Will the men in their lives go back behind their shells, or have their masks come off and can they attempt to come to terms with their individual issues?

Beverly Barton has entertained me for years with The Protectors series; I have read most of them and thoroughly enjoyed them all. Each story is a gem, and those of us who have read and saved the older books can enjoy the anticipation of rereading a beloved favorite any time we want. As usual, each character tells the story in his or her own voice, even the evil men get a chance to let us know what exactly they are looking for, even if we're not sure who they are. Ms. Barton always tells an excellent story and gets the blood rushing through our veins, deep into the dynamics of each and every agent. She excels at having more than one story line in each book, and handling them all with precision and attention to detail.

DYING FOR YOU features Lucie and Sawyer, friends since childhood, and their years of trying to fight their feelings for each other because of their history with Sawyer's younger brother that ended badly. Sawyer's assistant, Daisy Holbrook, has tried to catch the attention of Geoff Monday for years. Because he is older than Daisy and an ex soldier-of-fortune, he feels Daisy needs someone not as battle hardened. And Cara Bedell and Bain Desmond have been fighting their attraction for years also, sure that their different lifestyles could not stand the pressure if they got together. But the question is can any of these couples survive without the ones they love?

DYING FOR YOU is written by one of the best writers of romantic suspense. I look forward with anticipation to what direction Beverly Barton will go in next and feel assured that her high level of excellence will continue to be reached with each book she writes. This exciting book with intertwined heroines will end The Protectors series as one of the finest in her repertoire.

Carolyn Crisher