Thursday, October 10, 2013

Catch, Release - Carol Ericson (HI #1458 - Nov 2013)

Series: Brothers in Arms: Fully Engaged (Book 4)

Beau Slater once enjoyed an unforgettable night with a woman who matched him in brains, passion and black ops skills. Three years later he's gone rogue to help the sexy Prospero agent find top secret weaponry plans--and rescue her kidnapped toddler from a vengeful arms dealer. What Beau doesn't know is that Deb Sinclair's son is his. 

But for this mission, the freedom-loving bachelor will lay his life on the line for a child in danger and the woman he's never forgotten. Yet how can he trust the cunning spy who's already deceived him?


Very good book and excellent conclusion to this series of Brothers in Arms books.  Since having her son Deb has been doing mainly desk work for Prospero.  When her son is kidnapped by the arms dealer the team has been trying to capture she has to try to get him back.  Zendaris wants the plans that went missing in exchange for her son.  When she goes missing and it looks like she is working for Zendaris the Prospero leader sends Beau after her to bring her in.  It doesn't take him long to find her, but things aren't always as they seem.  Beau remembers their night together very well and is also sure there is an explanation for her actions.  When he finds out what it is he offers to help her, not knowing that the missing child is his son.  Once he finds out they both have to learn how to trust in order to bring about the right resolution for all of them.

I really liked Deb.  She has been an excellent Prospero agent, one of the few women in that position.  Her one lapse was that night in Zurich with Beau that resulted in the birth of her son.  She never tried to track him down, remembering his statements about not wanting any kind of family to tie him down.  When Zendaris kidnaps Bobby, Deb will do anything she has to in order to get her son back safely, including the appearance of betraying Prospero.  When Beau catches her and plans to take her in she has to convince him not to interfere so that she can save her son.  She is stunned when he offers to help her, and very relieved.  She is also very cautious as she is used to standing on her own.  She had the kind of childhood and youth that made it very hard for her to trust that anyone would be there for her. She even keeps herself slightly apart from her team members.  I loved the way that she and Beau worked together, with each one having particular abilities to bring to the search.  Deb also discovered that the attraction she had felt before was even stronger now.  She also found that there was a lot more to Beau than she had known before, including the love he has for his family - especially his nieces and nephews.  She begins to feel very guilty for not telling him about Bobby.  Once she does she has to deal with his feelings of betrayal and hope that he can overcome them.  

Beau had never forgotten that night with Deb and thought about her often.  When he was asked to track her down he jumped at the chance.  As soon as he saw her again he knew that the old attraction was still there.  When he found out why she had disappeared he was skeptical at first, but once convinced he had to help her.  I really liked the way that he was totally committed to helping her, even before he knew that he was Bobby's father.  He sometimes had trouble convincing Deb that he wasn't going to abandon her but he understood her issues so he tried to have patience. I liked the way that Beau didn't just make all the decisions but made sure that they were working together. In spite of having a professional reputation of being cold and ruthless I thought that on a personal level he was a really nice guy. He had never planned on having a relationship or a family of his own, but his love for his relatives was obvious.  When he found out that he was Bobby's father he was furious with Deb for not telling him, but overall pretty excited about being a dad.  There's a great scene at the end where he's talking to Deb's teammates and tells  them that he's Bobby's father.

I really enjoyed the whole progression of the search for the plans and rescue of Deb's son.  There is a lot of intensity as Deb has to overcome her fears about Bobby's life in order to do what needs to be done.  The trust that she and Beau have to have in order to get things done is hard won at times.  They also have to figure out who it is that seems to be intent on stopping her from finding the plans.  It really kept me turning the pages from Deb's first task to the final happy ending.



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