Deeper: Deep Duet Book 2, M. Malone

Deeper into trouble than she ever meant to go.  Deeper in love than he ever expected to fall.  Both Diana and Rafe are finding out just how deeply their trouble and love are interwoven in Deeper, Book 2 in the Deep Duet.

Rafe sees the security footage of Diana leaving him and it isn't until she's gone that he finds the bigger damage she's done.  The safe is open and the files that could get men killed is with his little thief.  And she's painted a giant target on her back.  He has to get to her before anyone else does.

Diana finds more information than she ever expected.  The kind of information that shatters her mission and her perception of her own family, makes her question herself, and the kind that could get her killed.  So she does what she does best.  She runs.  Knowing that she's essentially holding a ticking time bomb she's prepared to go into the wind.  But maybe, just maybe, if she gives the information back, she can disappear without bringing harm to the man she's come to love.

With Rafe's connections to both the FBI an ORUS on his back and threatening Diana time is of the essence and if he's going to save her from herself, he's got to do it quickly.  Diana's family won't let her go and when they get to her she realizes that it's not just capture on their mind, it's her death.

Rafe's still a badass.  His heart is huge, his confessions are tender and honest, and his love for Diana is his redemption.  I loved his willingness to be vulnerable to Diana.  His reaction to certain big news is so sweet, so unlike the man we first meet but so very true to the man he really is.  With every moment in this story we see a melding of the boy he was, the man he is, the assassin he was, the protector he is, his past, present, and future, all of it.  I'm in love.

There's a ton of drama in this one.  It's intense and gritty from the outset as well as very, very sexy.  Rafe is falling for someone he still doesn't truly know and isn't sure if she'll ever truly open up to him.  It won't stop him from loving her and confessing his own sins to her, though.  It's Diana's secrets that threaten to ruin everything.

Again, my feelings about Diana are quite mixed but on the more negative side of things.  The entire story she continually holds back even after seeing that he can handle himself and her.  He makes himself vulnerable to her by baring his past, his death, his resurrection, his heart and soul.  In return?  She's vague, secretive, and selfish.  No, she's not doing it to hurt him, she's not callous, cavalier, or cruel about it, but it's still selfish.  While she is undeniably badass when it comes to protecting what's hers and can throw down and defend herself and others extremely well, it doesn't give her a pass for withholding important information about herself that could have helped everyone protect her and give her a chance to be a vital part of the proceedings.

...Possibly a spoiler in the next paragraph, but by this point with the third story in the Blake Securities series it's kind of an expected outcome so I don't actually consider the content spoiler-worthy.  But nevertheless, you've been warned...

Speaking of being a vital part of stuff going down, I'm kind of not liking that, yet again, the alpha men metaphorically bind the hands of the women they love and want to protect and, yet again, the woman goes behind their man's back to be bait.  Please, please let the next book have the couple actually talk to one another and be a true team before the end with all the confessions and "I'm sorry I held you back/surprised you with my possible death."

...Possible spoiler paragraph over...

The whole story was fierce and fraught with anxiety whether from secrets, danger, or tension.  The romance was pretty good with Rafe coming out way ahead of Diana in the character growth and development.  I enjoyed the physicality of this one even though it was far more dramatic in the whole scheme of things.  Diana's skills when they finally came out to play was really great.  Her skill and dedication to protect was just as impressive as Rafe's in her own way.  She was just as brutal and relentless in defending and safeguarding what she claims as hers.

When push comes to shove both Rafe and Diana will fight tooth and nail to protect what's important to them.  They ended up as a better couple at the end once all secrets were shared and both of them allowed to let their fierceness shine.  Their relationship drama was just as big as the drama surrounding it and while that was a pretty good balance, I was wishing for a bit more heart.  All the heart really came from Rafe.

I'm quite excited to see who gets their story next.  Will it be the quiet, deadly Matthias?  The blonde German hunk Oskar?  Whoever it is, their family is growing and I'm looking forward to see all of kick ass and meet their match.

*$3.24 on Amazon!

*Fall in from the beginning...

Rafe and Diana's secrets start in Deep

She didn't just bring me back to life. She brought me back to living.

You think you know my story, but you have no idea. How could you? I cover my tracks well.

After a hellish past, I’ve got a good thing going being hired at Blake Security. I’m one of the good guys now...protect and serve and all that jazz. Kicking ass and rescuing damsels in distress - all in a day’s work. 

Then I discover *this* damsel is not that innocent.