Audio #Review: Protecting His Witness by Katie Reus - 5 Wine Glasses

Title: Protecting His Witness 
Series: Red Stone Security #7
Author: Katie Reus 
Narrated by: Sophie Eastlake
Length: 4 hrs and 8 mins 
Format: Unabridged Audiobook
Release Date:10-29-14
Publisher: Katie Reus
Links: Goodreads | Amazon | B&N | Audible
Reviewer: Linda
Source: Author
Rating: 5 out of 5 Wine Glasses

Seven years ago she broke his heart…

Leaving Vincent was the hardest thing Jordan Alvarado ever had to do, but she had no choice. Now she’s back and looking for forgiveness so she can move on with her life. She doesn’t expect the smoldering attraction between them to still be there, burning hotter than ever. After the way she hurt him she knows things will never be the same again and that in the end, she’s the one who will get her heart broken when he walks away.

He’s not letting her go again…

Former SEAL Vincent Hansen never got over Jordan and the way she up and left him without a trace. After she suddenly reappears and explains what happened, he’s even more furious. He doesn’t know what he wants from her, but when she’s targeted in a series of potentially deadly attacks, he realizes he can’t give her up again. He won’t. Now he’ll do whatever it takes to keep her safe and convince her that she was always meant to be his.

Linda's Thoughts:

PROTECTING HIS WITNESS by Katie Reus is the seventh book in her exciting Red Stone Security series. This tale is an original take on a second chance at love story. It is a fast-paced, sweet and spicy book, full of high stakes action. Once I started it, I did not want to put it down. This is the story of former Navy Seal Vincent Hansen and Jordan Alvarado.

All the books in this series can be read in any order and each works well as standalone reads, if that is your preference. 

I loved both the hero and the heroine. Vincent had never gotten over the overnight disappearance of the love of his life seven years ago in San Diego. She had left without a goodbye. He had searched high and low for her to no avail. He has attempted to move on, but her memory remains a gaping hole in his heart. When she suddenly appears in a car parked on the street where he lives now in Miami, his emotions quickly evolve from astonishment to confusion, intense lust and then fury. After his initial shock, he still does not know how to react, but he is determined not to let her go again.

Jordan thought she was finally getting her life back. She has never forgotten Vincent but she could not have asked him to leave his family and his new job to go into hiding with her within the Witness Protect Program. For her, there has never been anyone since Vincent. She never even tried to move on because, how could she, when Vincent had been her everything? Now that she's been released, the first thing on her bucket list is to find him and explain. She is guilt-ridden and figures that he has moved on. Discovering that he is furious with her is painful as she didn't realize that he'd cared as much for her as she had for him. Then she finds out that the nightmare that required her vanishing act is back. 

Both of these characters are strong-willed and compelling. Vincent is an Alpha male with a capital A and Jordan is a Fiery damsel in distress with a capital F. Even though Vincent doesn't understand why Jordan didn't give him a chance to decide if he wanted to join her, he's still determined to keep her safe.

The narrator, Sophie Eastlake, delivered a solid, well-paced performance. She has a clear, pleasing voice that is easy to follow. Her performance had me on the edge of my seat gasping at the same time I was swooning. She delivered both female and male genuine- sounding characters and brilliantly differentiated between the characters so I never had an issue knowing who was speaking. I would not hesitate to pick up an audio that she has narrated. 

Following please find an excerpt from my very favorite scene near the beginning of the book when Jordan comes back into Vincent's life after seven long years. OMG, just reading it, makes me want to go back and listen to the audio again!:

Out of the corner of his eye, Vincent noticed the same four-door sedan he’d seen drive down his street slowly cruise by his house again. For the third time.

This time it stopped in front of a house two down from his and idled. He lived on a quiet, dead-end street and he recognized all the vehicles on sight. Even if one of his neighbors had bought a new car while he’d been out of town, there was no reason for the driver to be creeping around like they planned to do a drive-by. Not that he was actually worried about that. This was a middle class Miami neighborhood that rarely saw crime. But he believed in being vigilant.

Vincent kept his stride even as he walked from his neighbor’s house to his. His fifty year old next-door neighbor had collected his mail for him while he’d been in Vegas at his friend Iris’s wedding. He still had a couple more days off and he planned to spend it with his family. If he didn’t go see his mom soon she’d chew his ass out and then he’d hear about it from his three sisters. Now that they all lived in the same city, he caught hell if he didn’t see them on a regular basis. He might complain about them hassling him, but he loved them more than anything.

Right now he was going to find out who the hell was in that vehicle. Something about the way the person drove told him they weren’t lost. Maybe he was being paranoid, but he always trusted his gut and he always looked out for his neighbors. Life could change in an instant—something he knew from personal experience—and he wasn’t someone who sat idly by and did nothing if this was a potential criminal casing his neighborhood. He just wasn’t wired that way. Probably his Navy training.

Once inside his house he dropped his mail on the small table in the foyer, then raced for the backdoor. The sun was setting, giving him enough shadows to blend in for what he planned. His backyard had a privacy fence so he climbed it into his neighbors’ yard. Even if any of his neighbors saw him it was unlikely they’d be worried. He’d been nominated as unofficial leader of their neighborhood watch and he took his job seriously. Plus when he’d retrieved his mail his neighbor had mentioned a few petty break-ins a few blocks over while he’d been out of town.

Using the lengthening shadows, he scaled fences and jogged across backyards until he was six houses down. Adrenaline pumping, he hurried to his neighbors’ front yard and scaled another privacy fence because it was locked. His feet hit the grass with a soft thump and a second later, a security flood light came on, illuminating the side of the house. He inwardly cursed even though he was the one who’d recommended everyone on the street get the lights. Pausing, he took a moment before he peered around the corner of the house.

From his angle he was still hidden from view of whoever was in that vehicle, which was good. Instead of using the well lit sidewalk, he quickly walked across his neighbors’ front yards, avoiding kids’ toys and other crap left out. Two dogs barked in the distance, then he heard the soft sound of Mr. Canning’s automatic sprinkler going on like clockwork as he closed the distance.

Two yards to go. Then one.

The car still idled and even though the windows were tinted he could see the outline of a driver in the front seat. There was no one else in the vehicle and the person was small. Their head fit right against the headrest, but they were looking down at something in their hands.

Normally Vincent was armed, but hadn’t felt it necessary now. Besides, with his training, he could take almost anyone out in hand-to-hand combat. He closed the last few feet to the car, sliding along the side until he reached the driver’s door. He really hoped he was overreacting and this driver was just someone lost, but in his neighborhood, he never took chances.

He rapped his knuckles against the top of the car. Judging from the small size of the person, he guessed it was a woman. She jumped and dropped whatever had been in her hands.

Good.

He’d wanted to startle the driver, take her off guard and it worked.

A second later, the door opened and as the dome light flooded the interior and he saw her sitting there, he froze.

For a moment, it was as if time stood still. His surroundings, his neighbors’ houses, the distant familiar sounds of the evening, just fell away in that moment. All he could do was stare as her head tilted up toward him and he found himself looking into familiar hazel eyes. His chest constricted and he tried to drag in a breath, but it was as if an elephant was sitting on his chest.

Moving, breathing, thinking—impossible. His heart was a staccato beat against his ribs as he tried to control his breathing. He blinked once, sure this was a hallucination.

Or a fantasy he’d conjured up.

Nope, she was still there.

Her small hands were clasped tightly in her lap, her dark hair a sensual cascade falling over one shoulder as she stared right back.

His hands fell to his sides as he stared at Jordan Alvarado. The woman he’d loved more than anything. The woman who’d disappeared from his life seven years ago without a fucking word. The woman he’d never been able to get over. No matter how damn hard he tried. She was under his skin and in his heart, and nothing he’d done had worked her out of his system.

Her hazel eyes were wide as she watched him with a mix of nervousness and…lust. Yeah, that had always been there between them. The explosive attraction was like a living thing. Combustible and raw. That definitely hadn’t changed. And he hated that he felt it too.

“Jordan.” He hadn’t realized he’d been about to speak until he heard his own raspy voice scraping out her name.

Katie's books are so addicting! This installment is an emotional riveting rollercoaster. Will the killer targeting Jordan hit his mark? Can Vincent and Red Stone Security save her? Their story will keep you guessing until the very end. I highly recommend PROTECTING HIS WITNESS to anyone who enjoys high-octane, sexy romantic thrillers. You really can't go wrong with any of her Red Stone Security books. This is positively one of my favorites!