Night Moves - Stephanie Tyler (Dell - Oct 2011)

Series: Shadow Force (Book 4)

Anything can happen under the cover of darkness.

Kell Roberts has walked the thin line between life and death for so long that it now feels like home. He is a soldier, a survivor, and a loner. Still, Kell cannot turn his back on the beautiful woman caught in his firefight against the drug lords of Mexico. She says her name is Teddie, but Kell senses there’s much more to her story -- and it’s about to pull him into a mission he didn’t sign on for: keeping her alive.

Teddie knows this lean, mean rescuer just saved her life, but the steel glint behind those soft gray eyes seem to be hiding something deep. The men after Teddie are deadly, but the man who holds her life in his hands and tempts her with his wicked touch is even more dangerous. He could make her dream about living and loving again. And if they can survive, maybe, just maybe, they can stop fighting the world and each other -- and simply surrender.

Good book with lots of action. Kell and his friend Reid are in Mexico on a black ops mission to take out a drug cartel leader. Just as they are ready to do so, a woman comes between them and their target. They take her captive until they can complete their mission, then plan to let her go. That is, until they hear her story.

Teddie has been in witness protection since she witnessed her father, stepmother and two half sisters get murdered. Disgusted with the lack of progress in solving their murders, she takes off on her own mission to do so. She has a good idea who is behind it and decides to face him on her own. But she has taken on more than she can handle and finds herself on the run from the same men who murdered her family. Getting captured by Kell was not in her plans, but she can't deny she needs his help.

The relationship between Kell and Teddie is a volatile one from the beginning. Neither one trusts the other. Kell senses that Teddie isn't being totally honest about everything that is going on, and that something is going to come back and bite them. Teddie doesn't trust anyone after everything that has gone on and his initial treatment of her didn't help. She quickly sees that he has demons of his own that are driving him. Added to the stress of their situation is an explosive attraction that threatens to bring down their respective protective walls around their hearts.

I really liked Kell. He's had a rough life and has really made something of himself. He's always had a protective nature, evident from the time he and Reid were in foster care together. They went on to join the military together, and with their friends formed their own black ops group. Kell is haunted by his last mission, which went horribly wrong, resulting in the capture of his friends and the death of one of them. He feels it is his fault and the guilt is eating him up. That protective nature is what has him taking on Teddie's problems. I liked Teddie also. She is an incredibly strong and independent woman. She realizes that she's outmatched when it comes to her plans, but she is determined to try. I liked seeing her sometimes get the better of Kell. I liked seeing them begin to open up to each other, as both attraction and trust started to build. I especially liked seeing how Teddie was able to help Kell deal with his guilty feelings.

The action of the story is very good. The initial mission that Kell and Reid are on doesn't go quite as planned, thanks to Teddie, but we get to see how easily they are able to adapt and overcome. Getting involved with Teddie is a complication they don't need, but Kell refuses to walk away from her. Teddie has two groups after her. The man who she thinks is responsible for her family's deaths, and the marshals whose witness protection she ran away from. The first wants to kill her and the second wants her back in their custody. Kell and Reid discover that they are in the crosshairs of a man who has it in for their boss, and plans to get there through Kell and his teammates. The trio is constantly under attack from one group or another. While all the confrontations are intense, there are some that have an amusing side also. I loved the encounter between Reid and Marshal Grier, when she caught up with him. I also enjoyed seeing the other members of the team as they all came together to bring down the man that's after them. The final confrontation is especially intense as the two bad guys combine forces. The conclusion is terrific, with a little bit of a hook for Reid's story.