Locke (Corps Security, #5)

by Harper Sloan

[Cocktails and Books]

Oh my word! Let me catch my breath from this one. Finally, Maddox and Emmy!

If you've been waiting for the conclusion for this series, it ends with a bang, with Maddox finally admitting to himself and Emmy his true feelings. But their road to a HEA is nothing but easy and it takes dumping some fairly excessive baggage to get there.

When Maddox finally catches up with Emmy in Florida, it's to find her in a strip club. A strip club he discovers is owned by her less than stellar parents. Emmy has had to live through some pretty nasty events at the hands of her parents. First is their assumption that she was going to be the Princess of Syn for them, the other was to promise her to a man who wanted nothing than to control and break her. It's no wonder that she ran and probably no surprise that she fell in love with Maddox. She was looking for safety and security, which she found with her family at Corps Security, but she also craved those same things from the broken man that kept pushing her away. She's had enough and finally ran away, but her running was enough for Maddox to finally open his eyes and his heart to know Emmy was his salvation.
Maddox's life wasn't any easier and he was pretty much a broken man before he enlisted in the Marines and was injured. But after, because of the guilt he carried around from his accident and from what he endured from his family, he was pretty much destroyed. He knew Emmy had feelings for him and he for her, but he didn't want to taint his Angel with himself, so he pushed her away. But it was only after she was gone that he realized he really did need. He needed her love and support to get over the past and see himself like she and everyone else did.

It was a hard path for Maddox and Emmy. Emmy's faith in Maddox was rattled and she needed to have faith in him that he wasn't going to leave her and destroy her again. And Maddox needed to trust the Emmy wasn't going to run when she learned all his secrets. Emmy was most definitely the stronger of the two, despite what she'd been through, and was able to help Maddox understand truly who he was.

A great thrill ride that kept me turning the pages wanting more. Maddox was my favorite kind of hero, being somewhat strong and silent until you go him in the bedroom...then that dirty mouth started working. It was a pleasure to read and left me a bit sad at the end when I realized it was over.