Fantastic conclusion to the series. It begins with Shelby's grandfather arriving at Kate Winston's home to ask her for help locating Shelby - after all, she's Kate's granddaughter too. Kate and her entire family are stunned by this news. Kate had been told that her baby died and had no idea that it was a lie. The rest of the family was just surprised to find out that their mom had had another child. As one of Kate's Secret Service agents, Daniel takes charge as they rush to interrogate another agent who had been arrested for being one of the bad guys. They manage to get the information they need just before the man dies of suspicious causes.

Shelby had been held captive for two weeks, but had not given up hope. She is an independent and determined young woman and has been working to escape her bonds. Just as she is about to escape her abductors set the house on fire and run, leaving her unconscious. She is, of course, rescued just in time by Daniel. She is surprised to learn of her grandmother, but doesn't agree that it should have any effect on the way she lives her life.

The sparks between Daniel and Shelby are instant and strong, but not very welcome. Daniel recognizes right away that he is attracted to Shelby, but his job is protection not seduction. He doesn't want to be a glorified babysitter, but he can't deny Kate when she asks for his help. Shelby is just plain irritated by Daniel. She is stubbornly independent and hates the idea of someone following her around everywhere. She doesn't believe she's really in any danger anyway. Daniel's attitude just makes her mad, and being around him makes her twitchy and she doesn't know why. She finally gives in to her grandfather's pleas that she cooperate, but she isn't happy about it. I have to say that I got quite a chuckle out of the fun that Daniel had with getting Shelby ticked at him. It also made it a little easier for him to keep her at a distance when she was angry at him.

The action was almost constant as Daniel tried to keep Shelby safe from the frequent attacks. He was determined to keep her safe, and Shelby was just as determined to keep her life normal. I got really irritated with her as she tried ditching him at the university and almost got taken again, and then the next day went off jogging alone and was attacked again. I was surprised that Daniel didn't either lock her in her room or spank her like the brat she was acting like. At least she finally realized that she was truly in danger and Daniel was her only protection.

The attraction between them really starts to heat up, fueled by the danger they are in. Daniel tries hard to resist because getting involved with the person he is trying to protect is a really bad idea. But when Shelby decides that she wants him too, his resistance is futile and the chemistry is explosive. They both think that whatever they have together can't last, but they're going to enjoy it while they can. Shelby soon realizes that she wants more than just short term, but has no idea if Daniel is interested in anything more. Being with Shelby makes Daniel realize that there is more to life than devotion to his career, but he does have a few issues with what he sees are the differences between them. I loved seeing Shelby fight him on those.

I enjoyed getting to know Daniel better. In previous books he was always the dedicated, serious agent. In this book he takes Shelby to his parents' home in Maine in an attempt to keep her safe. There we get to see him interacting with his brothers and parents, showing a loving and fun side to his personality. It was great to see him laughing and teasing his brothers, and the sweet way he treats his mom. I also loved the way they embraced Shelby, and how she enjoyed being part of a family unlike her own.

The constant fight that Daniel and Shelby had to stay ahead of the bad guys showed Daniel that there was something going on that allowed them to get so close. I thought that particular culprit was pretty obvious. There was more to the story than just him, and the efforts made by Daniel and the others to uncover the whole mess kept me going. The final confrontation was great as Daniel came riding to the rescue again.

There were a couple really nice twists at the end besides Daniel and Shelby getting their HEA. I loved seeing Kate make her announcements, and was really pleased with her own personal announcement. ( )