Every mission has a price. He never meant for her to pay it.
Aiden has never left anyone behind. Not a comrade and certainly not an innocent. But when an undercover mission goes wrong, he’s forced to abandon a woman trapped in a human trafficking ring. Violet learned brutally that no one is promised a happy ending. She knows Aiden blames himself for his part, but she refuses to let her abduction define the rest of her life.She won’t be a victim again. And she’s going after what she wants: Aiden.
Watching Violet transform herself into a fierce warrior is the sexiest thing Aiden has ever seen. The honorable plan would be to stay away from her–let her heal and grow without the shadow of his mistakes clouding her progress–even though every instinct tells him to claim her for his own.
But when they discover the danger they thought they’d left behind is closer than ever, they’ll have to face their deepest fears and fight side-by-side in order to survive.
Violet knew what she wanted. No more being passive. No more agreeing to what might, in fact, be good for her but wasn’t what she really wanted.
“You respect me,” she said gently.
The relief flashed and Aiden’s hazel eyes. “Yes. I have nothing but respect for you.”
“Thank you,” she whispered, trailing her fingers through his thick hair. “And thank you for getting me home safely last night. And like I said before, thank you for getting me out of that hellhole a month ago, for figuring out that I was in trouble when to anyone else it just looked like a normal part of that situation.”
His brows furrowed. “You’re welcome for all those things. But there’s no need—”
She put her finger up to his lips. “I just wanted to say it one more time to make sure I’d been clear. Because now I’m done saying thank you. And I think you better take me inside. Otherwise, Mrs. Mazille and her neighborhood watch might get quite an eyeful with what I’m planning to do to you.”
There was only so much a man could take. A line where he snapped. A great deal of his Special Forces training had been spent learning how to push that line as far back as possible.
But when Violet’s fingers reached for the hem of the T-shirt covering her body and began pulling it off, Aiden found his line very clearly.
How do you write a review about a book that surprised you, shocked you and left you breathless all at the same time? Yes, Shamrock did that to me. Now, I read a bunch of romantic suspense/thrillers but I will have to say that Ms. Crouch is fast becoming my favorite author in the genre. Just when I think, okay, the woman in peril. Big, hunky, military man to rescue her and then the HEA, Ms. Crouch surprises me.
Her characters have so much depth to them. They are not cookie cutter. The hero’s bleed, have real fears, actually have emotions and fear falling in love, just like everyone else. Her heroines are just the same. Violet stands out for me, though. Younger than the others but forced to grow up a bit faster, she is no shrinking violet. Pun intended. I loved watching her grow as a person throughout the book. Never weak but needed the nudge that she was already strong. Aiden kept his distance and I actually liked that. He understood that she, Violet needed to do things on her own and work it out for herself. He didn’t need to “rescue” her and it was beautiful.
That said, I wanted to slap the crap out of her brother Gabe at times. Look, I get the whole, I left the SEALs to raise you but sometimes the heavy hand is just too heavy. I can’t wait to read his book with Jordan has his heroine. Talk about someone that needs to tell the town to just shut up. Wow! Anne is a warrior queen in the scenes at the end. Wow, just wow! And Charlie is there, too for the friendship and understanding that Violet needed.
The guys at Linear still crack me up at times. Gavin is an absolute hoot and Dorian is still mysterious. The suspense element was right on target. I never figured it out and it was worth it in the end. The twist is almost legendary. However, I will warn you that what Violet goes through in the beginning isn’t for the faint of heart. It is necessary, however, for her later growth in the book.
Y’all, you need to pick up this series. Every book is a stand-alone so you can jump in at any time. I’ve read all of them and I can’t wait for the next 3.
Janie recently relocated with her husband and their four teenagers to Germany (due to her husband’s job as support for the U.S. Military), after living in Virginia for nearly 20 years. When she’s not listening to the voices in her head—and even when she is—she enjoys engaging in all sorts of crazy adventures (200-mile relay races; Ironman Triathlons, treks to Mt. Everest Base Camp) traveling, and movies of all kinds.