Travis “Hawk” Hawkins finds himself rescuing a damsel in distress.  Only real problem?  She takes her time in realizing she really is in distress.  Bigger problem? The heavy attraction between them that is getting hotter.......

Lila is not sure which is worse.  Having family that bosses her around and does not respect her or her ambitions, or meeting a man thousands of miles from home who seems just like them that she is enormously attracted to.  Maybe it really is a bit of both.  He just keeps turning out to be the good guy.

This was an incredible story right form the get go.  I was seriously stuck inside the book and had a hard time putting it down.  Each page brings more to the adventure, and even more sexy heat.  These characters are a treat to read.  I sure hope we visit them again.  What a great start to the new Aegis Security series.  I give this a 4/5 Kitty's Paws UP!

***This early copy was given in exchange for an honest review only.

After twenty-four years of radio silence, Martine Broussard once more sees Pauline, one of the four friends who'd abandoned their home town after a night gone awry. That same night Pauline is killed, her heart removed. The primary detectives on the case are Jack Murphy and his partner James "Jimmy" DiBiase, the man Martine loathes most.

But it's that same man who brings her comfort, offers his shoulder for her to lean and cry on, and vows to keep her safe no matter what, especially after they learn one other friend out of the four had ended up like Pauline.



I loved this one. As it happened with her short story A Family for Christmas, this one also had a mature, adult feel. There was no juvenile behavior (unless you count the hero's nonchalant, womanizing mask—which the heroine learns is really just a façade), the "misunderstanding" (if you want to call it that) was put to rest without much ado, the two communicated...The hero and heroine actually acted like adults, appropriate to their age.
And their romance was a real treat to behold. It progressed slowly, realistically, and as they got to know one another (well, as Martine got to know the depths of Jimmy's character) so the reader got to know them, root for them, and wish them the best.

The second big thumbs-up goes to the suspense angle of the plot. The mystery was intriguing, the red-herrings perfectly placed to keep the reader guessing and playing detective...The final reveal was quite a surprise, yet the motive was a bit of a let-down. I expected more than just a crazy person's crazy motivation.
Speaking of let-downs...The heroine's dipping her toes into the TSTL ocean was the second blemish on this otherwise great story.

Hmmm... The problem with being in a super secret spy/experimental program is you don't know who your friends are. Trinity sort of knows that Reese and Holly are safe, but the guy chasing her... And even after he rescues her, she still has doubts. She's also convinced she's self-destructing because she's feeling too much. And then there are the headaches, which mysteriously go away after he rescues her.

The other problem with being in a super secret spy/experimental program is the assumption on the part of your "handlers" that the virus/training makes you a mindless drone. So far, the growing band of escapees has been more concerned with a) getting off the grid and b) finding/keeping safe the seemingly random female who strikes their viral fancy. Of course, the people overseeing the program are trying to eliminate the pairs, because the females catch it, and they don't like that any more than they like their toys being distracted. I would guess that at some point in the past, they took out one of the females, and the male went nuts. I would also guess these were the ones that didn't survive induction. But nothing is said about that.

All I know is I'll be real disappointed if a book for Bey doesn't get written.

That was v. good. I picked it up after several readers were talking about it.

It's like they found the virus in Doom only it doesn't work at all on most (it kills them), and the survivors are supermen (and women). It's also like an STD, though the other person won't survive the infection unless they're a mate.

Guess what the h is?

The government (or someone) came up with this and implemented it. No clue how they picked their "volunteers" but if the H's account is any indication, it was much like one cyborg series - the recruit was severely injured/dying and had nothing to lose. The small issues they didn't quite account for were that the super agents were like everyone else - they had a conscience, and when the "emotional noise" started to interfere with the ability to do their job, they were eliminated. They also didn't account for the transference aspect, so when a woman that was associated with one was found to have it, they wigged out.

Our story exists because the h smells good to the H, so he's been watching her for some time. A Dr on the program didn't know what was actually going on, and when he finds out, he tries to take out the H. Someone grabs the h for questioning, the H rescues her, and they take off. Another agent is on their tail, but he has some issues too (a girl he was associated with was killed).

Transference occurs, saving the h's life (she's terminally ill). The other agent, having ditched his own tail, shows up. They get captured - after the h has recovered - and they escape.

The H was not the brightest crayon in the box prior to being recruited, and as a result, is somewhat lacking in social skills (he was apparently low enough IQ to be institutionalized). It's like someone gave the virus to Forrest Gump actually. So at times, he's smart, but dumb. It does improve intelligence. The government wants him back though because he held off the emotional noise the longest. Duh, he was the most lacking to begin with.

The h's ex informed her that he wanted a divorce the day she first got a clue that she was sick. I was a bit puzzled by a few statements there. I got the impression she never told him, but he'd said he'd handle the treatments (he was in med school). Since then, she's spent some time keeping everyone at arms' length - to protect them from themselves supposedly.

Thought to ponder: Is it still cheating if the only reason you're still married to the murdering, philandering douchebag is because he convinced the lawyer to destroy the divorce papers?

The backstory on this is that the h, while young, immature, and grieving, married a snake charmer. She decided she'd had enough after an undetermined number of years, filed for divorce, and...her brother came to help her gather her stuff to leave. DB walked in on them, yelled a lot, pulled a gun, and brother took the bullet meant for her. Died in her arms. She bolted.

Book begins with the H having found her. H is a PI of sorts. I say of sorts because that's what he later says. He's kinda like Leroy from Lethal Weapon in that he's not very effective at hiding. And...he spends time with her supposedly to keep an eye on her, which allows him lots of time to notice her spookiness, as well as confirm her disguise. None of this however, is enough to get the dumb ass to, you know, look deeper into the story, where, if he had, he would have known the man who'd hired him couldn't possibly be her brother (supposedly still alive). So, he's blindsided when she does figure everything out, tells him "her version", and then the person who hired him shows up, confirming that it's her supposed ex, and that brother is dead.

He does redeem himself by helping her escape, finally investigating the case, and with help from his late father's partner, tricking douchebag into a confession.

Thoughts - the H actually succeeding at being a PI is a bit of a stretch. I'd suggest he stick to trailing unfaithful spouses for proof but can't quite get the mental picture of him tapping on a window and yelling "Cheese!" out of my head. At least he's not a millionaire.

The h - tried. I suppose it never occurred to her to ditch the car preferably in a deep waterway and work on her disguise BEFORE getting on the bus. Also, a facial mole? (I'm having difficulty believing that the douchebag didn't have that removed, to be honest).

Note to self, if I need to hide from someone, a few tattoos and piercings might go a long way toward keeping me unfound.