Stranded in the Alaskan wilderness,
they must rely on each other to survive.
When Blackhawk operative Vincent Kalani boarded an airplane, he never expected it to crash into the Alaskan mountains. On the ground, by-the-book police officer Shea Ramsey becomes his unlikely partner in survival. Shea was headed to New York to fight for custody of her son, but now she’s fighting for her life with an ex-cop who’s equal parts inscrutable and unpredictable.
Good book with non-stop, page-turning action from the very beginning. This is the sixth book in the Blackhawk Security Elite Protection series, but can easily be read as a stand-alone. I haven't read the first books and had no trouble reading this one, though I definitely want to read the others.
Vincent is a former NYPD forensics investigator who left New York for Alaska after an investigation that killed two coworkers and nearly killed him. However, he has never given up his quest to find the person responsible. He recently found some new information that sends him back to New York to investigate. He was surprised to find local cop Shea already on the plane when he arrived at the airport. Shea is a by-the-book police officer. After a year of getting her life back together, she is on her way to New York to fight for custody of her son. She is not happy to see Vincent.
The dynamics between Vincent and Shea were interesting. Shea has been tasked to work with Blackhawk Security several times, usually with Vincent. Vincent is intrigued by and attracted to Shea, and unknown to her, had requested to work with her. Shea hates anything to do with Blackhawk. She looks down on them for skirting the law when it suits their purposes. When their plane crashes shortly after takeoff, Shea and Vincent must work together to survive. "Survive together. Die alone."
This is where things get a little over-the-top crazy. The plane crash was no accident, and someone has it in for either Vincent or Shea. As if the crash weren't bad enough, they are pursued by a group of hitmen determined to stop them at all costs. The physical abuse which both Vincent and Shea endure would have left any average person hospitalized for weeks, but our two heroes power right through it. I did like seeing Shea learn to trust Vincent as they fought for their lives.
I loved that once they were rescued, Vincent had to face the music with the rest of his team. He was so worried about risking their lives by involving them in his investigation that he kept his distance from them. I loved seeing them remind him that he had saved all of their lives at some point over his time with the team and that it was their turn to help him. Shea was also included in the protection because of threats against her son.
The craziness continued when they reached New York. Vincent's investigation involved a sub-group of corrupt cops, and his determination to find out who was running the show. The intensity of the action picks up even further as Vincent and Shea run into trouble at their first stop. There are some interesting twists as Vincent and Shea begin to close in on the truth. The final confrontation was a nail-biter with multiple life-threatening moments. I enjoyed seeing the head of the corrupt cops get what was coming. I loved the comment that "The district attorney was going to make himself a hell of a career with this one."
I enjoyed seeing the development of the relationship between Vincent and Shea. From the start, Vincent thought that Shea was strong, intelligent, and generally amazing. Shea thought of herself as broken, and as she and Vincent grew closer was afraid of what would happen if he knew the truth. I loved the ending, as he demonstrated the depth of his love and belief in her. I cheered when Shea realized that she had Vincent's love no matter what. I also loved the final scene with shea's ex-husband, who also saw the changes in her.
