Two Souls Hollow - Paula Graves (HI #1564 - May 2015)

Series: The Gates (Book 6)

Her best protection came from an unlikely bodyguard

When secrets leak from The Gates, the hunt is on for a mole. All evidence points to Anson Daughtry, who knows their security inside and out. Only coworker Ginny Coltrane can help clear his name, but she's caught in the middle of a turf war between militants in the Smoky Mountains. More at ease behind a computer than with a gun, Anson makes for an unlikely bodyguard. But hunkering down in the Tennessee foothills, turns out Ginny's not exactly the "need to be protected" type. Still, with someone stalking their every move, Anson isn't about to let her out of his sight. Or, if he gets his way, out of his arms.

I loved this book. In the previous two books, Deception Lake and Killshadow Road, it was discovered that there was a mole in The Gates security firm. Anson is one of two people who was suspected of being the leak because of his work as the IT director. He has been placed on administrative leave while the investigation takes place. Not being the type to sit back and wait, he's doing his own investigating, which leads him to Ginny.

Ginny is the payroll person at The Gates. She also has access to a lot of information, making her a possible suspect for the leak. Anson is watching her one night as she goes to the local bar to retrieve her inebriated brother. He witnesses her being accosted by four very large men and steps in to rescue her, getting beat up in the process. Ginny is accustomed to taking care of herself, and isn't sure what to make of Anson's interference. She feels guilty about his injuries, but also grateful for his help. When additional attacks take place, Anson is determined to keep her safe.

I loved Anson and Ginny. Neither one is the stereotypical superman/superwoman security agency operative. Ginny is an office worker, trying to keep her brother out of trouble. But she is stubborn and independent and very smart and tries to keep Anson out of her troubles. Anson isn't a field agent, and hasn't been trained as one. He is a computer nerd, working his magic on the Gates' computer systems. He's in good shape, but not musclebound, so when he tries to stop her assailants he doesn't come out on top, but does manage to hold them off until help arrives. 

It quickly becomes obvious that the trouble Ginny is in has something to do with her brother. Anson is determined to keep her safe until they find out what the connection is, and also if there is a connection to the mole. There is a strong attraction between them that has them wanting to believe in each other, but both of them have some trust issues that stem from their own pasts. Those same issues have caused each of them to avoid relationships in the past, but with each other they want to believe that it's possible.

I really liked the buildup of the suspense, both from the previous books and in this one as the mystery continues. There are things that happen that make Anson and Ginny doubt each other's innocence even as their growing feelings insist that trust is possible. The emerging clues led me to bounce between a couple people as suspects, and I was glad to see that my initial suspicion turned out to be correct. The final confrontation was intense and I loved Ginny's quick thinking to help them save themselves.

As the investigation went on, I really enjoyed seeing how Quinn was always there to support his people. I also loved seeing his reactions as those same people don't always do as he wants or expects. There are a couple of pretty amusing places where his frustrations are obvious. I really hope that he ends up with his own story, with a woman that can stand up to him.

Killshadow Road - Paula Graves (HI #1558 - Apr 2015)

Series: The Gates (Book 5)

Nick Darcy thought he'd left his past behind…until McKenna Rigsby showed up wounded on his doorstep

Nick Darcy has always needed rules. So when he's temporarily suspended from a job he's dedicated his life to, the unstructured days ahead make him desperate for a distraction. That's when a blast from the past resurfaces on his front steps, bleeding and spinning a wild tale of assassins on her trail.

Their history is complicated. But Nick is still McKenna Rigsby's best chance when it comes to surviving. Her cover blown by a mole in the FBI, she needs a partner who can stay levelheaded in a firefight. She has no doubt they're headed for a showdown. And that this time, there won't be any rules left to break…

Good story. Nick is at loose ends because he's been temporarily suspended from his job at The Gates, suspected of leaking information about another agent (see Deception Lake). As he's wondering what he's going to do with his time, a wounded FBI agent shows up on his doorstep. And not just any agent, but one he has a history with. 

McKenna Rigsby has been undercover in the Tennessee mountains, trying to get information on a local militia group suspected of domestic terrorism. But her cover was blown by someone in the FBI and now she's running for her life. She hasn't seen Nick in eight years, but he's the one person she knows she can trust.

Nick goes into protector mode, determined to keep McKenna safe. She doesn't know who she can trust in the FBI, so she is on her own. But with Nick's help she feels that they can find out who is responsible. Because he's on the outs with the people he works for, he doesn't have quite as many resources as he would usually have. But he hasn't been locked out entirely, and uses the contacts he has to help figure out who is behind the attacks on her. 

There's a lot of off the record stuff going on in this story. Though Quinn suspended Nick, it's obvious that he still trusts him. He strongly suspects that McKenna is with Nick, and gives his unspoken support to Nick's plan to help her. However, being Quinn, he still attempts to keep an eye on what is going on, which doesn't always go over well with his agents. Because Nick and McKenna are wary of who they can trust, they find themselves frequently on the move. Each move brings them a little closer to finding the person responsible, until they finally decide on a plan to draw the person out. Again, because neither of them can do anything officially, they must depend on friends to make it happen. I loved seeing characters from previous books show up to help. Of course, the plan doesn't go quite as expected, and things get pretty intense for awhile. The resolution didn't go quite as I expected, and there are a few threads left hanging. I  hope to see them tied up in the next book.

I enjoyed the romance between Nick and McKenna. Because they had known each other before, it didn't feel as if it happened too quickly. I liked the few flashbacks that were included, as they gave a good sense of how they got to know each other. There had obviously been an attraction and a connection back then, but because of their jobs they weren't able to do anything about it. The attraction they had then is still there, and is getting harder to resist. I also loved how their longstanding friendship showed in things like their Brit vs.hillbilly teasing. It wasn't until the end, when they were afraid of losing each other, that they could finally admit their feelings.

Deception Lake - Paula Graves (HI #1553 - Mar 2015)

Series: The Gates (Book 4)

"I'm not who you think I am."

While his rodeo days have come and gone, cowboy Jack Drummond is in for the ride of a lifetime…with life itself hanging in the balance. An unexpected encounter with his old flame, Mara Jennings, triggers a series of events that Jack never could have predicted. There's just one problem: Mara isn't the same woman Jack remembers. She looks like Mara. And sounds like Mara. But reignited passions aren't enough to hide the fact that she's harboring a big secret -- and hiding out from an even bigger enemy. Now, learning the truth might be the only way to stay alive. Or it could tear them apart -- permanently.

Excellent suspense and enough romance to keep it interesting. Jack is in Tennessee on vacation with his family when he runs into an old flame, Mara. He feels that he has some amends to make with her, but she just keeps pushing him away. When he saves her from danger twice, he realizes there's something bad going on, and he refuses to let her face it alone. But there's something different about her, too, and he won't give up until he finds out what it is.

I really liked Jack a lot. He's a retired bull rider, who quit after he was badly injured. He hasn't quite made up his mind what he's going to do next, so he's thinking about it while he's on vacation with his family. He doesn't expect to run into an old flame, especially one that he feels he owes a huge apology to. The last time he had seen Mara, he was a huge jerk to her. At the time he was deep into alcoholism and had also scammed some money from her. Shortly after that he cleaned up his act and is living a better life. He wants to apologize to her and return her money, but she's acting like she doesn't remember it. As he arrives at her house to try again, he interrupts someone who is trying to kidnap her. When he rescues her again later from someone who is shooting at her, he's determined to stick with her and protect her, even if she doesn't want him to. But it doesn't take long for him to realize that there have been a lot of changes in her during the last four years - or have there? I really liked seeing the way that he stuck with her, even when she kept trying to push him away. The more he learned about what was going on, the more he understood her lack of trust, but it only made his need to help her that much stronger. 

MJ has been working for The Gates and Alexander Quinn, trying to track down a hacker who may know something about plans for a cyberterror attack. She also has some trouble in her past that may have some relation to the attacks on her. A couple years earlier her twin sister was killed in an attack that was meant for her and she has been on the run ever since, trying to stay below the radar. Working for Quinn has kept her in one place a lot longer that usual, and made her vulnerable to discovery. MJ has decided over the years that she can't trust anyone, and that includes the cowboy that just won't go away. But his persistence is wearing her down, and she starts to think that maybe she can trust him, at least a little bit. I have to admit that her paranoia irritated me at times, but she really did have reason to be.

There is a definite and intense attraction between Jack and MJ. However, it takes a bit of a backseat to the rest of the story as they are generally too busy or too exhausted to take advantage of it. There are a couple times when MJ seems to be using the attraction to distract Jack from pursuing a certain line of questioning, and it's pretty fun to see her confusion when it doesn't work. It isn't until they start to develop some trust between them that the attraction can start to grow into something more. I really liked the conversations that they had and how they added to the heat that was building between them. I liked seeing Jack step in at the end to give MJ a place that is safe for both body and heart.

The suspense of the story was really good. Quinn and company are still working to unravel the issues that began in previous books in the series. In this case, Quinn has MJ using her computer skills in secret because of the suspicion that he has a mole in his agency, but danger has come to her anyway. It was also fun to see Quinn with Riley and Hannah, who he knows outside of their relationship to Jack. They also know him well and the way that they thwart his plans a couple times were really funny. The final showdown on the mountain was pretty intense and I really liked how the trust that had grown between Jack and MJ made it all work.