I Own the Dawn (Night Stalkers)

by M L Buchman

[Cocktails and Books]

I enjoy reading romantic suspense books that involve the military. Usually, we have a tough as nails hero who needs a special woman to bring out their softer side. With I Own the Dawn, we have the reverse. It's a tough read, because our heroine doesn't fit into a neat mold and you don't always like her, but it's an excellent story about redefining oneself and learning to love who you are, despite your past.

Keiko "Kee" Smith has had a traumatic life. At a young age, she was left to the streets and gangs of LA with no one to depend on but herself and her best friend. When her best friend is murder and she dispenses vigilante justice on her killers, the County of Los Angeles and the State of California decide the Army is the best place for Kee. In the Army Kee finds a home. She's excellent with weapons and in clutch situations. She's worked hard to get to be a member of the Army's Night Stalkers unit, a elite group of men and 2 woman who fly on the DAP Blackhawks.

But when Kee joins the group in the forward operations, she finds two things that will test who she thought she was: a young Uzbekistan girl, Dilya, rescued during a mission and the Lieutenant on her bird, Archie Stevenson.

Both of them call to her for different reasons.

Dilya, because she sees a girl who, like her, was left alone in the world. While her head may tell her to leave Dilya with someone else, her heart won't let her. Despite the dangers of her job and feeling as if she can't give Dilya what she needs, she does what she can to ensure the little girl is safe and fed. You could tell, in each interaction she has with the little girl, she's doing all the things she wished someone would have done to her when she was left to the street. It's heartbreaking, while at the same time heartwarming watching his woman, who's learned to hardened her heart as a method of protection, have her walls come crumbling down because of this little girl.

Then there's Archie. He has his own set of issues. He's extremely shy and finds himself locking up anytime he's around a woman he's attracted to. Then there are his issues with his mother and trying to prove that he's good enough to be her son. He internalizes a lot of his emotions and contemplates situations inside his own head, which not only confuses and frustrates Kee, but also has her questioning just what she is to Archie. It's hard enough for Kee to fight her own demons, but when she has to try and figure out where she stands with this man who kicked down the remaining pieces of her protective walls, she tens to err on the side of what she knows and thinks he doesn't want her. Of course, that causes fights, hurt feelings, and awkward situations.

What I loved about this story, was that while on the front lines flying covert missions and thwarting attempts to start a war, our heroine finally learns the meaning of love and family. It's not just blood that makes you family, but having those that love you for who you are and will have your back no matter what. Kee found her family in the Night Stalker unit, as well the two people who mean more to her than anything.