Lucas Tate felt nothing for his dead father. But that was pretty much usual for Lucas not to care much. Lucas was now one of the reluctant directors of the billion dollar family business of Tate Oil and Gas. Tate and his two brothers - Wolf and Van- from St. Mary’s Home For Boys. Noah was a cold man and ill equipped to raise his three sons.There had also been secrets and lies to push the boys farther away from their foster father. Respect was ll Lucas felt for his father. It looked like Lucas wasn’t going to be able to get back to his base and resume his career as one of The Navy Seal Snipers as fast as she wanted to. All three sons had received a letter after their father had passed away like a last request. For lucas there was a woman his father had ordered him to protect. There was a woman in the art gallery she was Grace Riley. If it had been any other woman Lucas would have found someone else to do his father’s dirty work. Lucas wasn’t sentimental about women in general. But Grace was the widow of a fellow Navy Seal Griffin Riley. Who had once been the closest Lucas had to a friend and he had been killed in a terrorist operation in Europe some six months earlier. Griffin had turned out to be a traitor hadn’t been Grace’s fault that Griffin had been supplying illegal experimental weapons to international arms dealers. Griffin apparently owed these dealer a lot of money and since he was dead if Noah was right the dealers were coming after Grace for the money. She would probably be killed Lucas had met Grace on several times at various ceremonies and other military gatherings and a couple times socially with Griffin. Lucas didn’t like grace, it wasn’t anything specific there was just something about her that rubbed Lucas the wrong way. But for some unexplainable reason when he was near Grace he was drawn to her in a way he couldn’t explain. Lucas would protect Grace as he felt it was a mission he’d been given and he never turned down a mission yet. Plus grace was a civilian. The only thing Grace seemed to really care about was her art- she was an artist. Lucas was originally going to see Grace and give his condolences to her before he went back to base but instead he had spent the last three days shadowing her : learning about her and her life. What Grace did, where she lived, where she worked ,who Grace associated with, the usual. Grace lived in an apartment that had no security, worked in a local bar three nights a week She paid her expensive rent with Griffin’s military pension. Lucas had no interest in the family company he loved his job as a Navy Seal. Grace was shaving financial problem basically all her money after the huge rent went on art supplies before food or utility bills. Lucas got an email and after he decoded it , it showed Griffin had been recruited to work for a man called Cerere de Santis, the owner of D S corp one of the country’s biggest weapon designer and manufacturer who also happened to be the Tate family’s biggest enemy. Cesare and Noah had once been friends until it had went bad.Noah had it drummed into each boy that one day Cesare would come after the Tates. Cesare had definitely come after Griffin. Brace looked out the Art Gallery window and noticed Lucas and came to him - it was to be Grace’s first art exhibition. Grace felt Lucas was a man of ice with no personality. Lucas pulled Grace into the bar and told her the truth about her dead husband and that she was in danger. . But Grace couldn’t deal with all Lucas had to say about Griffin who she thought had been a hero. Lucas said if Grace didn’t have the money owed to the dealers they would take her hostage and eventually kill her anyway. Grace got up to leave and said she was sure she could deal with the people coming after her but if she had any problems she would get a hold of Lucas. Grace couldn’t stand being around big arrogant men she had enough of that as she was growing up. Grace had a harsh childhood her father had no faith in her bit her grandparents had. Grace thought Lucas must be telling her crazy lies. But it came to Grace that Lucas was far too cold and logical to waste time lying to her also he had no reason which ,meant it was all true about Griffin and her safety. Grace gradually realizes she does need Lucas and moves in with him.
I had mixed feelings about this book. I liked the plot, and I liked the pace most of the time. I really liked how Grace was not a glamorous rich woman even considered herself plain but she still said what she felt. I really enjoyed the danger and suspense aspect of the book. But how could Lucas and Grace all of a sudden change basically who and what they are especially Lucas. Would a traitor still get a military pension this just didn’t feel realistic to me in a lot of ways. Especially for him to not liking Grace's basic personality and especially since Griffin had only been dead six months did Grace get over her husband that fast? Also grace’s whole world had turned upside down with finding her husband had been a traitor not the hero she thought he was. Also in the beginning Lucas thought Grace was an ugly duckling all of a sudden she wasn’t to Lucas? But I did like when Lucas and grace opened up to each other. There was a lot of emotion in this book. But this did drag for me at times. I would also suggest you read the first book of this series for background information and things flow together . As I said I had mixed emotions on this.