Tuesday, May 17, 2022

Undercover Colton - Addison Fox (HRS #2183 - June 2022)

Series: Coltons of Colorado (Book 5)

Some feelings can't be hidden and some can get you killed.
 
FBI agent Dominic Colton never mixes business with pleasure. Until he falls into bed with Samantha Evans, his prime suspect's daughter. With his cover blown and Sami justifiably angry, Dom is shocked that she's still willing to help. She even suggests the perfect ploy to bring her father to justice. But going undercover also brings Dom and Sami closer…which is far more dangerous
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Good book. Dom Colton is an FBI agent assigned to find out what Samantha Evans, daughter of Mike Evans, who is head of the Warlords Motorcycle Club, knows about her father's illegal activities. He's working on a construction site where she does the landscaping, and they met by "happy accident." The book opens with their dinner date and an inside look at their thoughts. Sami is very attracted to Dom and compares him favorably to other men she's dated. She appreciates how he treats her and feels like the center of his attention. On the other hand, Dom feels increasingly guilty about how he is deceiving her. He's just as attracted as she is, but she is part of his assignment and doing anything about it is a bad idea.
 
But good intentions fall by the wayside with a kiss that goes from sweet to scorching in a heartbeat. The resulting encounter was explosive and left both of them reeling from the depth of emotion it stirred up. Then, to complicate matters, Sami found his FBI badge and credentials. (I'm sorry - why the heck did Dom have his badge on an UNDERCOVER assignment? A stupid mistake from a supposedly experienced agent.) So, he confesses all, and Sami decides she wants to help Dom take her father down. She blames her dad for her mother's death and knows he's involved in some nasty stuff. She hadn't spoken to her dad in years, but coincidentally he had just called her, looking to reconnect. They decide that she'd drag Dom along as her boyfriend, which they then change to fiancé, as a way in for Dom.
 
You know that a fake engagement between two people that are so attracted to each other can only end one way. Still, I enjoyed watching the relationship between Dom and Sami develop. Dom felt protective toward Sami from the start, but those feelings are even stronger when she insists on getting involved. I liked seeing them get to know each other and discover that they had much in common, especially their criminal fathers. I ached for Sami, torn between her love for her father and her desire to help Dom stop him. I liked how he helped her deal with her feelings over that. Dom has spent years keeping a distance between himself and everyone else, including his family. His father's betrayal of the family hit him hard, and he does it to protect himself from feeling that way with anyone else. But the more time he spends with Sami, the more he finds her breaking down those walls. The feelings she stirs in him go against everything he believes about his future. When everything is over, both have emotional baggage to deal with before they can have a future together. I liked the epilogue and seeing that they take some additional time to get to know each other better.
 
The suspense is very good. Dom's FBI unit suspects that Mike Evans has reorganized his Warlords after his multi-year disappearance. Unfortunately, they haven't been able to get the proof they need. There is also some question about whether someone else is pulling the strings. The tension starts early as we see Dom dealing with Evans both as Sami's fiancé and a potential recruit to the Warlords. I liked his ability to show just the right mix of deference and strength. The intensity ramps up as he is initiated into the group and participates in one of their operations. We get a look at another player, a familiar face from earlier books, and his part in the goings-on. The final confrontation kept me glued to the pages until it was over.
 
This works well as a stand-alone, as Dom and Sami's romance gets its HEA, and Dom's FBI assignment is successfully completed. It works best as part of the series if the books are read in order. Some things happen in the early books that affect the events in this one. Plus, the end of this one leaves at least one dangling thread to lead into the next book.


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