Tessa Ward is an investigative journalist on the trail of corrupt business practices in the Pacific Northwest. When her source is killed in front of her, she knows the evidence he collected and passed to her must be correct and her only hope is that her identity is still secret. But that’s a chance she can’t take, so she turns to the only person she knows who might be able to help her dig deeper: an ex who couldn’t handle the dangers of her job when they dated years ago.

Cole Mercer is a former smoke-jumper and Special Forces operative who now works for Jamison Force Security in their Seattle expansion office. He never expects to hear from Tessa again, but when he learns she is in danger he can’t help but jump in to protect her and try to control the situation.

As they work together to sift through Tessa’s evidence and Tessa builds her story, it becomes clear that not only does Tessa have a target on her back, but the story has a wider reach than she predicted at the start.

I loved the proximity and the way it forced them to confront the parts of their past that were still holding each of them back. Their chemistry was strong from the beginning.

There were times that Tessa, though fierce and capable, made decisions that made it hard to not be frustrated at her. But she does have a solid head on her shoulders and is a good problem solver under pressure.

I had the opportunity to listen to an advance copy of the audio and love the way Stephen Dexter and Kelsey Navarro Foster gave life to these characters. There were a couple moments where local place name pronunciations pulled me out of the story, but these are minor and the average listener won’t notice. I was otherwise able to sit back and be immersed in this suspenseful world as the narrators added intensity to the character’s plight.

I have always enjoyed the Jameson Force team and am looking forward to continuing their story in a part of the country that holds my heart.