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Colby Agency #3
Protective Custody
Ian Michaels was one of the best investigators at the Colby Agency--also one of the most gorgeous. Nicole Reed knew...all too well. Together they had worked to protect a federal witness. In close quarters, desire erupted and distracted and caused the death of their client. Or so Ian thought. But it was Nicole who had been sent to see that Ian--the best protector money could buy--failed and that the witness was secreted into hiding. Losing her heart to Ian wasn't part of the assignment.Now Nicole needs the help of the man she had once betrayed in order to stay alive. Only this time, would that all-consuming passion cause Nicole and Ian's demise?
233 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 1, 2001
23 people are currently reading
209 people want to read
About the author
Debra Webb
544 books2,337 followersDEBRA WEBB is the USA Today bestselling author of more than 170 novels, including reader favorites the Finley O'Sullivan and Devlin & Falco series. She is the recipient of the prestigious Romantic Times Career Achievement Award for Romantic Suspense as well as numerous Reviewers Choice Awards. In 2012 Debra was honored as the first recipient of the esteemed L. A. Banks Warrior Woman Award for her courage, strength, and grace in the face of adversity. Recently Debra was awarded the distinguished Centennial Award for having achieved publication of her 100th novel.
With more than four million books in print in numerous languages and countries, Debra’s love of storytelling goes back to her childhood when her mother bought her an old typewriter in a tag sale. Born in Alabama, Debra grew up on a farm. She spent every available hour exploring the world around her and creating her stories. She wrote her first story at age nine and her first romance at thirteen. It wasn’t until she spent three years working for the Commanding General of the US Army in Berlin behind the Iron Curtain and a five-year stint in NASA’s Shuttle Program that she realized her true calling. A collision course between suspense and romance was set. Since then she has expanded her work into some of the darkest places the human psyche dares to go. Visit Debra at www.debrawebb.com.
With more than four million books in print in numerous languages and countries, Debra’s love of storytelling goes back to her childhood when her mother bought her an old typewriter in a tag sale. Born in Alabama, Debra grew up on a farm. She spent every available hour exploring the world around her and creating her stories. She wrote her first story at age nine and her first romance at thirteen. It wasn’t until she spent three years working for the Commanding General of the US Army in Berlin behind the Iron Curtain and a five-year stint in NASA’s Shuttle Program that she realized her true calling. A collision course between suspense and romance was set. Since then she has expanded her work into some of the darkest places the human psyche dares to go. Visit Debra at www.debrawebb.com.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
January 24, 2018
I loved the fast paced action with bullets flying, explosions and two guys trying to keep up with Nicole. Ian and Nicole was trying to find and bring down a killer that had killed two government agents. It was Nicole’s case. People that she worked with were dying. She had a target on her back. She knew anyone around her, was also a target. She was determined to do what she had to do alone. Ian was just as determined to keep her safe, and protect her. Problem was she had just as much training as he did, and was good at her job. She knows she can't out run him. Nicole has to outwit him, and she had me laughing at some of the clever ways she escaped. Ian was never down for long, but I did feel sorry for him from time to time. Nicole made this a fun book. The romance was hot, and steamy. The two had a past, and walked away from one another years ago. The chemistry is still there burning HOT! The two parted on bad terms, so they don't want to act on the attraction, but sometimes in tense situations the passion over takes them. The two did make a good team. I was shocked at who was behind the attacks. I love a story that takes me by surprise.
July 11, 2019
This book starts with a prologue, and a discussion between Victoria Colby and her latest client, Nicola Reed. The latter trusts only Ian Michaels, one of Colby's experienced investigators and after previous book's Nick Foster's retirement, the former's second-in-command. Nicola Reed is working on the WitSec Program and already her Director is dead along with a fellow agent. She specifically seeks out Ian Michaels to protect her, they have a three-year-old history. A history where he hates her because she deceived him. He refuses to work for/with her, but when an explosion endangers her life, he changes his mind.
Another explosive beginning! She seduces him, for those old memories, for her desire for him, and also hoping that she could give him the slip and face the dangers alone. Protect herself and her witness. I know Nicola's a federal agent but I felt sad for all that she had to witness, the murders, people in pain. One of my favourite romantic suspense plots is where hero and heroine, either one of them having deceived the other, meet after a few years, working in a similar scenario about the same case as before.
There is a kind of an interlude where they both go to a secluded cabin in the mountains to draw out the enemy, but what they find there, especially Ian's reaction, is just so hilarious. I loved how the author, Debra Webb, gave voice to both his and her kinks. And this was more thrilling than any other, a secret criminal stalker, oh my! What a routine of seduction, ah! This was an out and out erotica at some places. Their jibes at each other are too amusing. The cutest, naughtiest, and deadliest couple ever! Though it's never revealed how Ian got that sexy European accent. Sigh!
What a terrific ride this book was! This one's a keeper.
I love the Cast of Characters Harlequin Intrigue always does before getting into the story, and the maps too. Except Victoria Colby, no other characters from the previous book carry over. Being the head of the agency, she's the only constant. I love the epilogues too, in this series. They provide closure to the story as well as introduce the next one. Another thing I am really liking about this series is the introduction and weaving of the main character of the next book into the current book's story. It's like providing a background for the lead character. In this one, Trevor Sloan is introduced.
Another explosive beginning! She seduces him, for those old memories, for her desire for him, and also hoping that she could give him the slip and face the dangers alone. Protect herself and her witness. I know Nicola's a federal agent but I felt sad for all that she had to witness, the murders, people in pain. One of my favourite romantic suspense plots is where hero and heroine, either one of them having deceived the other, meet after a few years, working in a similar scenario about the same case as before.
There is a kind of an interlude where they both go to a secluded cabin in the mountains to draw out the enemy, but what they find there, especially Ian's reaction, is just so hilarious. I loved how the author, Debra Webb, gave voice to both his and her kinks. And this was more thrilling than any other, a secret criminal stalker, oh my! What a routine of seduction, ah! This was an out and out erotica at some places. Their jibes at each other are too amusing. The cutest, naughtiest, and deadliest couple ever! Though it's never revealed how Ian got that sexy European accent. Sigh!
What a terrific ride this book was! This one's a keeper.
I love the Cast of Characters Harlequin Intrigue always does before getting into the story, and the maps too. Except Victoria Colby, no other characters from the previous book carry over. Being the head of the agency, she's the only constant. I love the epilogues too, in this series. They provide closure to the story as well as introduce the next one. Another thing I am really liking about this series is the introduction and weaving of the main character of the next book into the current book's story. It's like providing a background for the lead character. In this one, Trevor Sloan is introduced.
April 17, 2018
Not For Me
April 25, 2001
Debra Webb's Colby Agency is back for a third case in "Protective Custody," a distasteful romance with a nasty edge. Years ago, it was Agent Nicole Reed's job to see that Ian Michaels failed at his mission. Now she needed him to keep her alive. The last case they worked together was coming back to haunt them. Could Nicole trust Ian with her life?
I was looking forward to this, Webb's most original Intrigue so far. This is a talented author and I was curious to see what she could do without secret babies or amnesiacs involved, so I was surprised at how strongly I disliked this story. First the good points. I liked that Webb didn't drag out the secret of what really happened on the case Nicole and Ian worked together. The truth came out early and exactly the right time (early enough that it didn't feel like the back cover was ruining anything by revealing it). The book is well-written with a number of exciting action sequences. The new Colby agents who are introduced are likable and interesting, which is a good sign for their upcoming stories.
Unfortunately, those secondary characters only helped to show how unsympathetic and unlikeable the main characters were. What ruined the book for me was Ian and Nicole and the nasty edge to their "romance." Those who appreciate stories where the couple gets to know each other and falls in love won't find it here. "Protective Custody" falls in the dreaded category of the "I hate you-I want you-I hate you-I want you-I hate you..." romance, where the characters do nothing but yell at each other, then have sex, then yell at each other, then have sex, etc. for the whole book.
Ian is the kind of "hero" I dislike the most, a domineering control freak who tries to run the heroine's life and does everything he can to keep her from making a decision for herself. I would have enjoyed the way Nicole got the better of Ian time and again, except that most of her actions make her seem foolish and constantly put her in danger. What bothered me the most was the way their antagonism fueled their sexual relationship. Every time they had sex (and there is quite a bit in this book), it was out of anger or revenge or trying to trick or manipulate the other person by turning them on, never about trust or affection or mutual desire. I don't know which bothered me more, the scene in the cabin or in the woods. I don't consider myself a prude, but reading about two people using and abusing each other this way wasn't sexy, it felt sleazy. Nicole refers to it as making love. Where was the love? After watching these two be cruel and hateful to one another for most of the book, the deeper emotions they suddenly display toward the end did not ring true. Reading about characters who refuse to let the other person "have the satisfaction" of knowing how they feel doesn't do much for me, especially when I don't believe what they think they're feeling. In the end I didn't believe they liked each other, let alone loved each other. I also didn't have any idea why they should.
I'm giving "Protective Custody" two stars. It's well written and half of the romantic suspense formula is there, but I can't say that I enjoyed reading this book. I think it's possible to show a strong hero and equally strong heroine without making them hateful. Some recent examples are "Midnight Remembered" (Intrigue 591), "To Die For" (Intrigue 595), and "Mystery Bride" (Intrigue 604), books with courageous heroes and smart, capable heroines. "Protective Custody" is a reasonably good story about two people who enjoy "doing it." An emotional story about two people falling in love, this is not.
April 25, 2001
Debra Webb's Colby Agency is back for a third case in "Protective Custody," a distasteful romance with a nasty edge. Years ago, it was Agent Nicole Reed's job to see that Ian Michaels failed at his mission. Now she needed him to keep her alive. The last case they worked together was coming back to haunt them. Could Nicole trust Ian with her life?
I was looking forward to this, Webb's most original Intrigue so far. This is a talented author and I was curious to see what she could do without secret babies or amnesiacs involved, so I was surprised at how strongly I disliked this story. First the good points. I liked that Webb didn't drag out the secret of what really happened on the case Nicole and Ian worked together. The truth came out early and exactly the right time (early enough that it didn't feel like the back cover was ruining anything by revealing it). The book is well-written with a number of exciting action sequences. The new Colby agents who are introduced are likable and interesting, which is a good sign for their upcoming stories.
Unfortunately, those secondary characters only helped to show how unsympathetic and unlikeable the main characters were. What ruined the book for me was Ian and Nicole and the nasty edge to their "romance." Those who appreciate stories where the couple gets to know each other and falls in love won't find it here. "Protective Custody" falls in the dreaded category of the "I hate you-I want you-I hate you-I want you-I hate you..." romance, where the characters do nothing but yell at each other, then have sex, then yell at each other, then have sex, etc. for the whole book.
Ian is the kind of "hero" I dislike the most, a domineering control freak who tries to run the heroine's life and does everything he can to keep her from making a decision for herself. I would have enjoyed the way Nicole got the better of Ian time and again, except that most of her actions make her seem foolish and constantly put her in danger. What bothered me the most was the way their antagonism fueled their sexual relationship. Every time they had sex (and there is quite a bit in this book), it was out of anger or revenge or trying to trick or manipulate the other person by turning them on, never about trust or affection or mutual desire. I don't know which bothered me more, the scene in the cabin or in the woods. I don't consider myself a prude, but reading about two people using and abusing each other this way wasn't sexy, it felt sleazy. Nicole refers to it as making love. Where was the love? After watching these two be cruel and hateful to one another for most of the book, the deeper emotions they suddenly display toward the end did not ring true. Reading about characters who refuse to let the other person "have the satisfaction" of knowing how they feel doesn't do much for me, especially when I don't believe what they think they're feeling. In the end I didn't believe they liked each other, let alone loved each other. I also didn't have any idea why they should.
I'm giving "Protective Custody" two stars. It's well written and half of the romantic suspense formula is there, but I can't say that I enjoyed reading this book. I think it's possible to show a strong hero and equally strong heroine without making them hateful. Some recent examples are "Midnight Remembered" (Intrigue 591), "To Die For" (Intrigue 595), and "Mystery Bride" (Intrigue 604), books with courageous heroes and smart, capable heroines. "Protective Custody" is a reasonably good story about two people who enjoy "doing it." An emotional story about two people falling in love, this is not.
March 30, 2024
Usually love Debra Webb books and any involving the Colby Agency are big favorites. Not so much this one. Not a bad book but it felt little slow. Not one of her best
March 30, 2017
I'm totally liking this series, while I did have to skip #2 - I really liked Nicole's character and Ian's / they were.both stubborn. Hard to believe that she did play him while she was also being played!
Loved how it ended up and what they ended up with. Knew the first time it happened That it would probably be the result!!!
Loved how it ended up and what they ended up with. Knew the first time it happened That it would probably be the result!!!
July 27, 2013
I really liked this read. It was a fast paced, keep you guessing kind of story with a little surprise at the end. This is another book that's been on the shelf for a while but sure was glad I picked it up this time. I believe I got this at the local library book sale. I give this a 4 1/2.
August 31, 2013
i finished this book a few days ago.and i really enjoyed it.i liked the banter between nicole and ian.and there was alot of action from the start.car explosion,fire some gun fire and some romance..
not to mention intrigue and finding out people you trusted were liars and crooks
not to mention intrigue and finding out people you trusted were liars and crooks
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews