cover image His to Defend

His to Defend

Rhenna Morgan. Carina, $8.99 mass market (384p) ISBN 978-1-335-53437-8

Morgan’s hot first NOLA Knights contemporary (spun off from the Men of Haven series) pulls out all the stops. Single mom Evette “Evie” Labadie has a tight deadline to get $500 to secure her seven-year-old son, Emerson, a spot at the local Montessori school. She wouldn’t usually consider Russian mobster Sergei Petrovyh to be employer material, but when she’s suddenly fired from her cleaning job, Evie has no choice but to go to him. Instead of helping her find a job, as she expects, Sergei hires Evie himself, assigning her to run his estate and even moving her and Emerson into the carriage house on his property. It’s an arrangement that seems too good to be true—until Evie’s uncle and a turf war with a rival bring unwanted trouble that threaten their lives. Sergei is fiercely disciplined and incredibly sexy, hiding his vulnerability behind rigid rules and the expectation of absolute loyalty. Indomitably spirited, Evie is his perfect match, especially in the bedroom, where their lovemaking sizzles. Equally intense are Evie and Sergei’s shared protectiveness of young Emerson, who desperately needs a male role model. Morgan perfectly balances deep emotions and tense suspense. Agent: Cori Deyoe, Three Seas Literary. (Oct.)