***Book four in a series, please read the others first! After the whirlwind that was last winter, Nat thinks she's evolved out of the spy world. It's been eight months, after all, and it's hard to think about spies when it's August and school is about to start. So she focuses instead on enjoying her summer and the occasional presence of a super-hot, still-super-mysterious boy. Nat thought she had finally figured out Zach Sullivan during the blizzardy winter. But it's during the heat-drenched days of summer that the truth comes out about something that only ever existed as a rumor in CIA files: Zach's mother. What happened to Zach when he visited home in July? What caused the CIA to suddenly jump back onto a rumor they'd left alone for almost ten years? Who or what exactly is Zach's mother? Everyone has questions about her, and the only place that could have the answers is Boston, home to Harvard and the Red Sox and generations of Zach's family. So Nat finds herself walking the cobblestone streets of the North End, strolling through the Boston Commons, and wading in Cape Cod as she fights between her loyalty to Zach and the creeping doubt that he will always be hiding something from her. And then the biggest surprise hits...and it's up to Nat to fix it. Spies in sandals? The heat is on.

***Book three! Please read "Spies in Saddles" and "Spies in Stilettos" first! :) By this point, Nat thinks she's used to the whole spy thing. So her sorta-kinda-not-really boyfriend is now wanted by the same agency her brother leads. So the crazy murderer who almost killed her is still out there somewhere. So no one will tell her anything that's going on. At least it's Christmas break. And then that boy shows up in her life, bringing as much mystery, suspense, terror, and head-over-heels feelings as the last time. As the freezing polar vertex sets in, sending buckets of snow and ice and negative temperatures over the town, Nat finds herself out on another spy adventure. This time the stakes - or should we say the skates - are much higher. Nat and the gang are treading very thin ice. Pazzini isn't just the conniving gangster he seems: he's got darker dreams. Zach isn't just the troubled teen he seems: he's got bigger secrets. But Nat isn't just the lost, confused girl she seems: she's got spy genes. Spies in skates? It's a slippery career.

**This is a sequel!! Please read "Spies in Saddles" first, don't spoil it! Thanks** Nat thinks she has it all figured out - so her best friend, brother, coach, etc, are all spies and her whole life has basically been a lie. So what? Now that she knows that, life can go on normally. Or, as she will soon find out, about as normally as is possible for a teenaged girl very involved in the life of spies. Nearly two months after the Alley Cat fiasco, Nat finds herself snared in another problem, regarding the same painting the Alley Cat wanted, the one that apparently holds some kind of code. What is it about this painting that has the espionage world screaming? It's not even a Picasso! But when she attends a Christmas party and discovers a very big secret in her midst, she realizes that normal life really doesn't mean anything anymore. There are secrets everywhere: from her friends to her family to the boy whose past is shrouded in the most mystery. Among the appetizers and evening gowns, Nat discovers that almost everyone there is hiding something. Spies in stilettos? That's more like it!

Nat has always joked about one of her best friends, Molly, being a top-secret CIA agent. After all, it always fit in with her many absences from school, distant trips on the weekends, and unexplained injuries. But Nat never considered the truth behind those jokes, because how could someone from an all-girl, Catholic school that wore saddle shoes possibly do any wrong? And then one day in algebra-two, when a gun is shoved in her face, everything she thought she knew about Molly flies out the window. With the help of her other best friend Kate and, of course, several attractive males, Nat finds herself caught up in a plot of kidnappings, gunshots, and high-scale adventure, all taking place right inside what she had thought was her comfort zone. Spies in saddles? Who'd have thought!

"How dare you bring me aboard this ship without so much as telling me what you are?" She yelled. Kincade let out a smug grin, one that infuriated Astryd even more. She took a few more steps toward him so that they were mere feet apart. He looked down at a doubloon he was holding and slowly turned it over in his hands as he spoke. "I saw a troubled woman in a sailor's pub, obviously hiding from the royal guards. Surely you must have gotten yourself into a sticky situation. And you don't expect me to assume what you are?" Astryd fumbled for words. What was he getting at? He lifted his head to look her in the eyes. "You're a thief and now a sailor. You know what that makes you, sweetheart?" "I am not a..." she shouted, but she stumbled at the last word. She pointed her finger in Kincade's face and whispered, "pirate." -------------------------------------------- I would like to acknowledge Thompson Editing Services, who is responsible for being my editor and proofreader for this book as well as an amazing writing mentor. I own the story as well as all of the characters inside it. This book is copyrighted to me. I own the book cover art (illustrated by myself) but I do not own any of the images featured throughout the story. Highest rankings: #1 in Sailor, #1 in Sailing, and #10 in Pirate This is the first draft. This story is currently in the process of being edited.