Book excerpt: My dad prepared me for everything… except falling for his best friend. PORTIA Running from homicidal gangsters wasn't on my weekend to-do list—and neither was getting steamy with a man more than twice my age. But even with the threat of death hanging over our heads, I've never felt safer than I do with Jake, the fiercely protective FBI agent who happens to be my dad's military buddy. Every touch makes the idea of giving him up feel more impossible, but what other choice do I have? My dad taught me how to protect myself from danger. I just wish he'd told me what to do when the one I'm fighting is me. JAKE The moment I laid eyes on Portia after all these years, I suspected I was in serious trouble. And the moment we shared our adrenaline-fueled first kiss, I knew it. Everything in me is screaming to hold her, protect her, give her the world. But if my best friend finds out how I feel about his daughter, he'll make sure I never go near her again—and I wouldn't blame him. But knowing she's off-limits isn't making it any easier to let her go. There can't be a future for us—we both know it—but I'm not sure that a future without her is one I can survive…