I think I’ve said this since reading the first book, but I cannot get enough of this Zane Garett and Ty Grady series by Abigail Roux. While she did collaborate on the first three novels with Madeleine Urban, Armed & Dangerous was her first outing alone.
Admittedly, I was nervous that she wouldn’t be able to capture the same attitude, even though I had no clue which woman wrote for either of our protagonists. Fear not! Roux did an excellent job of keeping the story flowing and I actually think that this change came at the perfect time within their journey. Now that Zane’s love for Ty has been confirmed and out in the open, Ty is kind of goo-goo in love with him more openly in public. That’s not to say his general traits have disappeared, but he’s become a bit softer where Zane is involved.
Although I agree that you should keep your work and your love life separate, so far these two are making it work. They are both such complete professionals that it’s hard to distract them from the task at hand, but I just know that in some future novel their intense love for each other is going to totally cause chaos. Maybe that’s how they finally get to retire? As long as they’re both alive, I don’t care. But this novel puts their newfound love and desire for each other to the test in the field. Oh, and in case you’re forgetting how the last novel ended, don’t worry. Zane is able to reconnect with Ty pretty quickly.
It so happens that Burns calls Zane in to be Ty’s back up guy in a new, top secret, and very dangerous mission. The two almost meet their match in the form of CIA agent, Julian Cross. Though it’s never quite clear if Julian is exactly who he says he is, he does seem to be an amalgamation of Ty and Zane. Of course, those two balk at any observations even hinting at similarities, but it’s true. The only person who can kind of see them all at neutral position is Julian’s boyfriend, Cameron. I don’t know why, but I pictured Julian to be much older than Cameron, so I wasn’t wild about them and their dedicated point of view chapters, but they still made for an interesting story.
Overall, this outing is all about secrecy, betrayal, and a good old goose chase. Zane and Ty are pushed to their limits, but that doesn’t seem to hinder the intenseness of their love for each other. If anything, it just strengthens it. Though they are certain they are going to let their workmates in on their relationship by the end of the novel, HR proves to be the nightmare everyone thinks they are. I don’t know why they think it’d be more laxed at the FBI, but it’s not. As always, I cannot wait to read the next installment!