SERVE ‘N’ PROTECT by Tee O’Fallon is out now! Check it out and grab your copy today!
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Title: Serve ‘N’ Protect
Author: Tee O’Fallon
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Rating: 4 Stars
About Serve ‘N’ Protect:
Fresh out of a bad relationship that ended after a car accident left her with limited mobility, freelance accountant Cassidy Morgan has sworn off men. At least, that’s the plan. Until a frantically barking dog leads her to a neighbor’s house where she finds a mysterious man out cold and bleeding on the floor...and mumbling things like “no, they’ll find me” when she tries to call an ambulance.
Yeah, that’s not at all concerning.
Despite Markus’s surly attitude, Cassidy senses there’s something else at work beneath his rugged, keep-your-distance exterior. Whatever it is, it’s sexy as hell.
With someone still trying to kill him, Markus doesn’t want an innocent to get hurt, let alone take care of him.
If only his dog wasn’t crazy in love with her.
If only the chemistry between Markus and Cassidy didn’t explode whenever they were in the same room.
If only Cassidy wasn’t a target now, too.
Cassidy Morgan has plenty of her own problems, but when a dog is suddenly barking furiously at her door, she has no choice but to follow him. The dog leads her to her neighbor John's house and she finds a man - not John - unconscious and bleeding out. Although she can barely hear him mumbling that "they" might find him, Cassidy is determined to call the police and an ambulance.
The man - Markus York, as she soon learns - communicates enough to Cassidy for her to make the decision to take him to the hospital herself - because, even with his protestations, she knows that he needs immediate medical help. Getting Markus to her car is certainly not easy. For one thing, he is a big man. What is more is that she is barely on her own two feet after a very serious car accident a year earlier.
Cassidy and Markus soon find themselves working together in more than one way. For starters, Cassidy agrees to help Markus to heal while searching for the man responsible for his injuries is found. What is more is that Markus thinks he can at least return the favor by helping her to rehab from her accident injuries. Discovering that Markus is a Secret Service agent helps her to feel comfortable with him. But, feeling this sense of comfort is only the tipping point for Cassidy. She finds herself quite drawn to him. The feeling proves to be mutual, despite an ever-present danger that ultimately faces both of them.
From explosive danger, to explosive emotions, Serve 'N' Protect definitely proved to be an edge-on-your-seat read. Both Markus and Cassidy had quite a bit on their plates. Markus was itching to heal as fast as possible, while Cassidy was struggling to stay afloat financially.
Although this book is the fifth book in the Federal K-9 series, it did perfectly well as a standalone to me since I hadn't had the opportunity to read the prior stories. I really loved Ghost, Markus's K-9 partner and friend. This made an already engaging read all that much more enjoyable. With a compelling storyline, compassionate characters and a thrilling conclusion, this book was a fabulous read.
Many thanks to Entangled Publishing and to NetGalley for this ARC for review. This is my honest opinion.
Please enjoy the following excerpt:
Fear snapped her into action and she threw her legs over the side of the bed. No sooner had the alarm kicked on than it abruptly kicked off. The barking eased to an occasional snarl. What she heard next frightened her more.
Voices. Lots of voices, and she knew whose they were.
Her entire family was downstairs. All six of them.
And Markus is alone with them.
With her heart racing at what she could only imagine in her worst nightmares was happening downstairs, she snatched up her clothes then opted for the more expeditious option—her robe.
Still tying the robe around her waist, she all but ran from the bedroom. Halfway down the stairs, she froze. Heat scorched her face.
Markus’s expression was grim as he stood in front of the keypad in nothing more than his jeans and a gun tucked into the small of his back. Ghost sat obediently beside him, with only the slightest rumble coming from the back of his throat. Her father, mother, two brothers and sisters stood in front of the open door.
“What’s doing, sis?” her oldest brother, Jimmy, asked in a frosty tone.
Wearing only her robe, it was pretty darned obvious exactly what she and Markus had been doing.
“Merry Christmas, Cassidy,” her younger sister, Kaitlyn, said, flipping back her unruly head of red curls and grinning as she cast an unabashedly appreciative eye at Markus. “Merry Christmas to you, too.”
While she totally understood her sister’s sentiments because, well, Markus was hotter than hell in his bare feet and the top snap of his jeans still undone, it irked to have her sister drooling over her new boyfriend.
Boyfriend?
She shook her head to clear it. Deciphering what she and Markus were exactly would have to wait. Especially after last night’s conversation. Right now, there were more pressing matters at hand. Like keeping her father and brothers from pounding on Markus all at once.
Cassidy took the rest of the stairs in record time, stepping in front of Markus and Ghost as if they needed protection. He might not know it, but he does. “What are you all doing here?”
Sean, the second oldest sibling of the family, tapped a finger on his watch. “It’s ten o’clock, Cass. On Christmas Day.”
She gasped. Oh my gosh.
Her father pursed his lips as he glared at Markus. “We were worried about you, lass,” he said in the same thick Irish brogue that hadn’t diminished much, even after decades of living in the U.S.
Jimmy crossed his arms. “You’re always the first under the tree. When you didn’t show at nine on the button, we were surprised.”
“When you didn’t show by nine fifteen,” her older sister, Brianna, chimed in, “we got a little worried.”
“By nine thirty,” her mother added in a lilting brogue and coming to wrap an arm around her shoulder and give her a good squeeze, “we decided to come by and check on you. You can blame me for that. I insisted.”
Then and there, she made a New Year’s resolution to collect every single one of her house keys from every single member of her family so this would never, ever happen again. “I’m sorry to have worried all of you, but you could have called or at least texted.”
“Between all of us”—Sean swept his arm to encompass the family—“we probably called ten times.” He pointed to her phone which was right where she’d left it last night. On the kitchen counter.
She smacked a hand to her forehead. “You did call, didn’t you?”
As if sensing there were no words he could say to pacify her family at finding a half-naked man and a snarling dog in her house, Markus wisely remained silent. She couldn’t be sure whether the slight upturn of his lips was a grimace or a smile. Given the awkwardness of the situation, she’d go with grimace.
Her father arched a brow. “Care to introduce us, lass?”
Please enjoy the following excerpt:
Fear snapped her into action and she threw her legs over the side of the bed. No sooner had the alarm kicked on than it abruptly kicked off. The barking eased to an occasional snarl. What she heard next frightened her more.
Voices. Lots of voices, and she knew whose they were.
Her entire family was downstairs. All six of them.
And Markus is alone with them.
With her heart racing at what she could only imagine in her worst nightmares was happening downstairs, she snatched up her clothes then opted for the more expeditious option—her robe.
Still tying the robe around her waist, she all but ran from the bedroom. Halfway down the stairs, she froze. Heat scorched her face.
Markus’s expression was grim as he stood in front of the keypad in nothing more than his jeans and a gun tucked into the small of his back. Ghost sat obediently beside him, with only the slightest rumble coming from the back of his throat. Her father, mother, two brothers and sisters stood in front of the open door. “What’s doing, sis?” her oldest brother, Jimmy, asked in a frosty tone.
Wearing only her robe, it was pretty darned obvious exactly what she and Markus had been doing.
“Merry Christmas, Cassidy,” her younger sister, Kaitlyn, said, flipping back her unruly head of red curls and grinning as she cast an unabashedly appreciative eye at Markus. “Merry Christmas to you, too.”
While she totally understood her sister’s sentiments because, well, Markus was hotter than hell in his bare feet and the top snap of his jeans still undone, it irked to have her sister drooling over her new boyfriend.
Boyfriend?
She shook her head to clear it. Deciphering what she and Markus were exactly would have to wait. Especially after last night’s conversation. Right now, there were more pressing matters at hand. Like keeping her father and brothers from pounding on Markus all at once.
Cassidy took the rest of the stairs in record time, stepping in front of Markus and Ghost as if they needed protection. He might not know it, but he does. “What are you all doing here?”
Sean, the second oldest sibling of the family, tapped a finger on his watch. “It’s ten o’clock, Cass. On Christmas Day.”
She gasped. Oh my gosh.
Her father pursed his lips as he glared at Markus. “We were worried about you, lass,” he said in the same thick Irish brogue that hadn’t diminished much, even after decades of living in the U.S.
Jimmy crossed his arms. “You’re always the first under the tree. When you didn’t show at nine on the button, we were surprised.”
“When you didn’t show by nine fifteen,” her older sister, Brianna, chimed in, “we got a little worried.”
“By nine thirty,” her mother added in a lilting brogue and coming to wrap an arm around her shoulder and give her a good squeeze, “we decided to come by and check on you. You can blame me for that. I insisted.”
Then and there, she made a New Year’s resolution to collect every single one of her house keys from every single member of her family so this would never, ever happen again. “I’m sorry to have worried all of you, but you could have called or at least texted.”
“Between all of us”—Sean swept his arm to encompass the family—“we probably called ten times.” He pointed to her phone which was right where she’d left it last night. On the kitchen counter.
She smacked a hand to her forehead. “You did call, didn’t you?”
As if sensing there were no words he could say to pacify her family at finding a half-naked man and a snarling dog in her house, Markus wisely remained silent. She couldn’t be sure whether the slight upturn of his lips was a grimace or a smile. Given the awkwardness of the situation, she’d go with grimace.
Her father arched a brow. “Care to introduce us, lass?”
Read the Standalone Series:
Trap ‘N’ Trace
Dark ‘N’ Deadly
Armed ‘N’ Ready
Locked ‘N’ Loaded
About Tee O’Fallon:
Tee O'Fallon is the author of the Federal K-9 Series and the NYPD Blue & Gold Series. Tee has been a federal agent for twenty-three years and is now a police investigator, giving her hands-on experience in the field of law enforcement that she combines with her love of romantic suspense. When not writing, Tee enjoys cooking, gardening, chocolate, lychee martinis, and spending time with her Belgian Sheepdogs, Loki and Kyrie. Tee loves hearing from readers and can be contacted via her website https://teeofallon.com where you can also sign up for Tee’s newsletters.
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