The Protector

The second in Grant’s Sons of Texas trilogy (after The Hero) combines danger and desire in an intoxicating mix. After Orrin Loughman is kidnapped by the Russians for stealing a bioweapon, his three sons join the woman who sees him as a father in a desperate search to find Orrin before it’s too late. Plucky rich girl Mia Carter joined the Air Force and then left to become a pilot for hire because she hated following pesky rules. As she and one of Orrin’s sons, Marine Force Recon Capt. Cullen Loughman, fight desperately to find him, they soon uncover the Saints, an international crime syndicate whose members include people Mia and Cullen thought were on the side of good. They have no idea whom to trust as they race the clock. Grant’s dizzying mix of danger and romance dazzles as Cullen and Mia overcome several nearly fatal encounters, including a Jeep accident off a mountain road. She increases the book’s appeal by creating a well-drawn couple with off-the-charts chemistry and a breath-stealing plot that ends on a cliff-hanger—which will make readers desperate for book three. (Jan.)