Sharpshooter (Harlequin Large Print Intrigue, #1437) (Mills & Boon Intrigue) (Shadow Agents)

by Cynthia Eden

[EBookObsessed]

When Gunner Ortez and Sydney Sloan went into Peru, against orders, to rescue Gunner’s Brother and Sydney’s fiance, Slade Ortez, they barely made it out alive. Slade was not so lucky.

Since then Gunner has watched out for Sydney. He has always been there for her. Because he wants to protect her. Because he loves her. He has from the moment he met her, when she was engaged to his brother. But Gunner knows she could never be his, ever. She wanted Slade and now he’s gone. Yet for the last two years, Gunner and Sydney have leaned on each other, supported each other, and feelings have been changing and growing.

Gunner has always been…standoffish seems too gentle a word, but now that he and Sydney has grown so close, she knows that there is more to Gunner than the hard eyes and the cool demeanor that he shows the rest of the world. Now that she knows him, really knows him, Sydney wants Gunner even more than she ever wanted to be with Slade, and she can’t be wrong about Gunner’s feelings for her, can she?

It’s been two years since his death and as a member of the Elite Operations Division (EOD) Sydney knows how precious life can be and how quickly things can be taken away from you. She is tired of waiting for Gunner to make a move. She is planning on grasping for all the wants in life, and the first thing she wants is Gunner Ortez.

When another rescue mission to Peru turns their world upside down, Sydney will need to fight for the man she wants against the ghost of the man she lost.

THOUGHTS:

Whoo hoo! This story combines my favorite tropes, the friends to lovers as well as the damaged hero. Although I can’t say that Gunner is truly damaged, he has led a very hard life as an special agent for the government. He has been captured and tortured. He has been on death’s door more than once. He is scarred and hardened, and he appreciates all that Sydney means to him, even if that means he doesn’t feel worthy of her. That qualifies him enough in my book.

Gunner has come to mean everything to Sydney, much more than Slade ever did, and Sydney wants to move their relationship from friends to so much more but Gunner keeps the ghost of his brother firmly between them. At least he does until Sydney declares that she is ready to move on with her life and she’s ready to find a new lover, and if Gunner doesn’t want the job, she’ll find someone else how does. As you can imagine, that declaration gets Gunner moving in the right direction.

Problem is that they work together in a very dangerous field. They are both part of the EOD that goes into dangerous territories and situations for hostage rescue. Their lives are both at risk and when their relationship finally becomes more, they are finding it harder to do their jobs when the life lost could be either of them.

They end up going back to Peru for a hostage rescue and come back with more than they bargained for, a prisoner who will change everything and who might just rip them apart.

This was a enjoyable story full of excitement and romance and definitely is my favorite of the series. This story will definitely bring some changes to the EOD team and the tiny foreshadow presented for the next book looks like it will shake things up further.

Great story from Cynthia Eden as always.

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