Into the Fire

Colton (Dark Water) fell in love with his best friend's and SEAL team leader's wife after blaming himself for his death. But it seems the entire team felt responsible for Daniel Oliver's death, each one knowing there was way more to this Black Ops gone wrong than they knew at the time. 

Dez (Safe Harbor), former SEAL team member with Colton and two others who together work for Blackout, has been assigned to protect Bree, the famous pop singer who's doing a concert at Lantern Beach. What Dez expects her to be is the exact opposite of who she really is, and, as he's put in harm's way to keep her safe, he realizes she's not like the one who broke his heart years ago. In fact, she's a much better person than his former love ever hoped to be. As expected, complications arise during the assignment, and figuring out who's intent on murdering Bree is definitely an unexpected challenge for Dez and his guys. Dez is a good character, but it was hard to match Colton from Dark Water, and there may have been a bit too many clichés used in this second book in the series. Suspense was good, and the story continues with the threatening vibe from the past resulting from that failed, deadly mission.

Griff (Ripple Effect) used his male logic when he left his wife Bethany and daughter Ada, crushing his wife's heart with no understanding of why the man she loved walked out of their marriage. Griff doesn't talk about it to anyone, not even his team brothers in Blackout. When he gets a frantic call from Bethany, he sets everything aside to protect them from an unknown evil. Trying desperately to figure out the reason for the danger his wife and daughter suddenly face, the Blackout team figures it must be related somehow to that mission. The terrorists who call themselves The Savages are proving to be far more technologically advanced than anyone seemed to realize, and someone is feeding them personal intel about the Blackout team. Somewhere in the chain of command, there has to be leak, a mole, a sleeper agent. When Bethany and Griff are thrown into a life-altering experience, they can no longer hide their love for each other if only they can survive. Griff is a great character, and this one is written well and full of suspense. 

Benjamin (Rising Tide) is the youngest and newest addition to the team and has come under suspicion from Colton more than once after joining Blackout. Unduly suspected of possible betrayal, he has to tread lightly at times and resents it. The newest resident to their group is the house manager CJ, and Benjamin has a problem with her. They bicker and she pushes all of Ben's buttons. However, when she defends a serious threat because of a text sent from an unknown sender, no one knows what to think. When the power goes out in the middle of the tourist season and a hurricane is on its way, the island is thrown into chaos. Something's not right with the developer of a piece of island property, and Ben and CJ are assigned to check out the guy in charge. Inquiries are being made by other team members as to what the government's doing to investigate the possible leaks to The Savages. And no one is giving them satisfactory answers. 

When Benjamin and CJ are also asked to checkout a disturbance at a homeless camp down at the beach, Ben is shocked when the man he's chasing turns back to look at him before diving into the water to get away. Nothing is the same after that moment. And suddenly, everything gets more complicated and even more threatening. This is a great conclusion to the series with a sad element to it, a clever twist, and my only disappointment came in not revealing the content of a certain letter. 

Very entertaining series with each story being a quick read with strong men and strong women characters. 

Father, you've made Christy a prolific storyteller. Please continue to equip her with all she needs to write the stories you have just for her to tell. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.