A Guarded Heart

Lauren Douglas never imagined she would wake up one day and find herself the star of the hottest soap on daytime television, Dr. Kate. But as she is about to sign a bloated new contract, the closeted actress is publicly outed. Scrambling for damage control, her network writes her out of the show and her father, who's running for the Senate, banishes her abroad. As if the slavering press doesn't have enough to report, a creepy fan enraged by the revelation, shoots Lauren. All of which means zip to FBI Special Agent Pat Roussel whose hunt for the Kiddy Pageant Killer has consumed every waking moment for three years. Suffering from burnout, and hoping fresh eyes might come up with a break in the case, Pat reluctantly elects to take a few months leave without pay. The last thing she expects to be doing in her time off is an illicit private security gig babysitting a celebrity. Her first assignment sounds like hell—a stint on a tropical island guarding a TV star with a bullet wound. It should be the easiest money she ever made, only Lauren is not the spoiled narcissist Pat was expecting.