First we have Olivia and Zane. Olivia was kidnapped in the first book by DMH and it haunted Zane that there was nothing he could do. Both of these two had something traumatic that had happened to them in their childhood that made them be just a little tougher, less trusting of others. Zane finally finds Olivia in Africa but she isnt all that willing to go with her said rescuer.. Then we have Zane's brother Cael/Caleb and Vivi. DMH also wanted her for her software programs that her father had first created and then she took over. Then Rowan Moller a widow who's husband died in the twin towers. She joined the service right after. She decides to go to Africa per a recommendation of her CO to a clinic run by Jason Berent—an ex-Army Ranger who's called Dr J. Its here she meets Tristian a merc who is Jason's right hand man. As I was about 30% into the book it hit me who her writing style (the multiple story lines and romances) reminded me a little of - Suzanne Brockmann.. It was when Rowan/Dr J and Tristian were introduced and it reminded me of Molly and Jones from Brockmann's Trouble Shooter's series.. ( )

This book begins six months after the end of Lie With Me. Zane has been haunted by the fact that they weren't able to rescue Olivia from DMH. When he hears that she's escaped and is on the run in Africa, he is determined to rescue her. What he doesn't expect is her refusal to be rescued. She knows the people at DMH want her back and will stop at nothing to get her. She doesn't want anyone else to get hurt because of her.

I liked Zane and Olivia. Both have some serious baggage that keeps them from getting close to other people, but from the beginning they connect with each other. Zane had been a street kid in Africa after his missionary parents were killed. He had been taken and sold, but escaped soon after. Several years later he was found and adopted but has always had trouble trusting anyone but his brothers. Throughout the story we see just how close that relationship is. He's not sure why he is so obsessed with finding Olivia, but he goes with it. Meanwhile, Olivia has managed to escape her captors after having been forced to do black market organ transplants. She feels tremendous guilt over it and would rather stay there and do some good rather than go back to the US. As they work to evade those who are chasing them they also find themselves sharing things they've never talked about with anyone else. The chemistry between them is also strong and they wonder if there's a chance for a future together. I really enjoyed seeing the way that their developing relationship helped both of them deal with some of the traumas of their pasts.

There are two secondary stories also. Zane's brother Caleb has been tasked with capturing Vivienne, a computer guru who is suspected of selling a program to DMH. It doesn't take long for him to figure out that she's innocent of those charges. Now he has to protect her while she figures out a way to safeguard the program and make it useless to the terrorists. I liked Caleb a lot. He has a protective streak a mile wide, as shown in his interactions with his two brothers. That protectiveness adds another layer with Vivi because he is so attracted to her that he just can't fight it. He had some tough choices to make while trying to find out if she was one of the good guys or not. Vivi is one of those supersmart people who has never had good luck with relationships. She's not quite sure whether she can trust Caleb or not but her instincts say yes. She has to decide if she can also trust him with her heart.

There is a third storyline involving a medical mission in Africa. This is one of the places that Zane and Olivia end up during their escape. Rowan is a former military medic who goes there to help and as a way to find some inner peace after years of war. She lost her husband on 9/11 and has felt empty ever since. There she meets Tristan, a man who works closely with the clinic, training people who provide security there and at other clinics. I liked Rowan's strength as she deals with the dangers surrounding the clinic and directly affecting one of her patients. She's also stunned by the immediate attraction she feels for Tristan. Tristan is experiencing the same attraction, stronger than he's felt for anyone else. He's hoping that she can stick it out and give them a chance at a future together.

The suspense part of the story, with DMH's pursuit of both Olivia and Vivi was very good. The action is good as they have to evade capture. We also get periods of having the story told by DMH's point of view and see that everything is not going smoothly there. Internal conflict is shown and it's interesting to see how this conflict affects the pursuit of our two ladies. The conclusion is pretty good, with some things still left unresolved to lead into the next book. ( )

Stephanie Tyler’s new series is turning out to be pretty good. I didn’t enjoy 'Promises in the Dark' quite as much as the first book, but this is a better-structured, better-written series than the author’s earlier Navy SEALs books. However the multiple storylines and sometimes unprofessional actions on the parts of the characters in this edition made for a less than perfect book.

Something I noticed about this one is that it’s the first Stephanie Tyler book I’ve read where there were funny moments. Some of the things the characters said and did made me smile. I hope she keeps that in her writing because it broke up what was otherwise a very serious story.

You could start here, but you’d be better off reading 'Lie with Me' first. The first book introduces Olivia and Zane’s story, as well as a number of the characters who are in the background in this one. Olivia was abducted by a home-grown terrorist organisation and forced to steal and illegally transplant organs. She escaped and has been on the run for some time. Zane’s only connection to her was the fact he heard her scream when she was dragged away, and since then he has been tracking her around the world. When he finds her in Africa she’s reluctant to return with him.

Though the blurb only talks about Olivia and Zane, this book features three couples, devoting fairly equal time to all of them. This structure sometimes works in books and sometimes it doesn’t. I liked all three couples and their storylines, but it becomes a little annoying when the secondary characters are more interesting and take over the book. The last few chapters were excellent, and went a long way to making up for the complaints I had.

A good portion of this story takes place in Africa, where Tristan and Rowan are working with a bunch of medics and mercenaries in the middle of nowhere. The third focus is on Zane’s brother in the United States, and the IT expert he is guarding so she cannot be taken by the same terrorists.

I’m fine with fast-moving relationships, but not so fine with them when all three couples get together and are telling their life stories within an hour or two of meeting. I don’t like people who have suffered months or years of trauma who are suddenly cured by making a grand confession to someone they’ve just met. In this book that was the case for Olivia, Zane, Rowan, Tristan, Caleb and Vivienne.

If you’re guarding someone – and are the only person guarding that someone – you probably shouldn’t take breaks to have sex with the person. There’s nothing to say the bad guys aren’t going to arrive in that time you’re doing the business. It annoyed me because it happened more than once, with more than one set of characters, and as soon as they were done, the men went straight back into serious bodyguard mode. Yeah guys, you’re hardcore military men…who like to take sex breaks every couple of hours.

I liked how everything came together in this one. The three storylines appeared to be pretty far removed from each other at the beginning, but the author did a good job of pulling it all together at the end. Usually with these kinds of stories I become impatient because I’m only interested in one or two of the plotlines and don’t care about reading the others, but I was genuinely interested in what was going on with everyone here.

This was a solid entry to the series, but not the best. It had good characters and a complex storyline, but I didn’t buy some of the life-changing situations the characters found themselves in. ( )