An Honorable Man by Margaret Watson, Silhouette Intimate Moments #708, April 2006, Rating: C

Ex-cop turned PI Luke McKinley would love to tell Internal Affairs officer Julia Carleton to get lost when she comes to him with work. She's the reason he was fired two years ago, but he could use the money and when he realizes one of the cops she's investigating is his ex-partner he's in to ensure his buddy does not get railroaded like he did when his turn before the review board came.

Luke McKinley is still pretty upset and bitter over the events from two years ago that led to his dismissal. Events that left him not only without a job but widowed and childless as well, a drunk driver having killed his wife and unborn child. As he spends time with Julia he realizes that everything may not be as black and white as he believed. On top of everything, the more time they spend together the more he realizes he's attracted to her. He has no room in his life for love, guilt ridden at the fact that he believed he was somehow responsible for his wife's death he doesn't think he deserves another chance. Particularly since the marriage to his high school sweetheart wasn't all it was cracked up to be. The deeper they get into the case involving bad cops involved with a gang the harder it is for him to resist her.

The last person Internal Affairs officer Julia Carleton wanted to bring a case to was Luke McKinley. His case two years ago had been a difficult one, one that she still didn't feel right about. She believes that if anyone can get to the truth it would be Luke. She does have a persona stake in this case, something she is unwilling to admit to him. As their feelings develop, Julia still is unsure how to say what she's been withholding, afraid in part saying it will make it true. She does manage to see past Luke's defenses and manages to bring some of his walls down by enabling him to talk about things he hasn't talked about before to anyone.

An Honorable Man was an enjoyable read. You were never 100 percent certain the cops being investigated were guilty, you were never entirely sure who Luke and Julia could trust. Did the corruption go as high as the chief of police? The situation throwing them together only added to the tension between them, something neither of them wanted. I rate it a C.

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