Stand and Deliver

RAVEN Securities #1

by Aimee Nicole Walker

Blurb:

A risk prevention specialist with a tight grip on his heart meets the prince of pandemonium who wants to set it free.

For Rayden James, love means devastating loss, so he focuses his energy on growing his private security business and avoiding romantic entanglements at all costs. His dedication pays off when his company lands its largest account yet. But the ink is barely dry on the contract when a chaotic charmer crashes through his defenses and makes Ray crave things he shouldn’t want.

Atticus Livengood is not living up to his name after a teeny-tiny mistake costs him his career, his home, and his dignity. With his self-esteem circling the drain, Atticus makes overhauling his life the top priority. A new job offers the perfect fresh start until a hopeless attraction to the head of security threatens to trip him up.

Sparks fly from the jump, and each new encounter fuels a physical and emotional connection that refuses to be ignored. But surrendering to their desire means making themselves vulnerable to one another and a fickle universe that takes just as quickly as it gives. Will Ray and Atticus stand and deliver for a chance at love or play it safe and walk away?

Tropes: Tortured hero, grumpy/sunshine, hurt/comfort, opposites attract, and a little forced proximity

*****

Excerpt:

Rounding the side of the building, I saw a hooded figure wailing away on a grayish hatchback car with a crowbar. He’d already knocked out one of the windows on the side I could see and had likely knocked out one on the opposite side too. I ripped my walkie-talkie off the belt and radioed for help as I willed the stupid golf cart to go faster. 

“Are you fucking kidding me?” came Archer’s tinny reply.

“No, damn it. I need backup at the community recreational building. Call the police.” 

“Police? What’s going on?”

“Just get here.” Thinking of the sabotaged batteries, I added, “Better drive our SUV.” As if to prove my point, the electric motor sputtered and whined. “Shit.” 

Clang, clang, clang. Crash!

The assailant was too busy bashing the rear quarter panel and window on the poor car to notice my approach. I wanted to keep it that way. 

“What’s that noise?” Archer demanded.

“An assault on a vehicle. Get here.”

“I’m already on my way. Almost to the SUV. Should you approach this perp alone?”

“So far, the assailant has only brandished a crowbar. I can survive that.” 

The electric golf cart battery died, and I bit back another curse. The hooded assailant jerked his head up, noticing me for the first time. 

Launching myself out of the cart, I commanded, “Don’t move.” 

The assailant froze like a deer in headlights for all of two seconds before he turned and ran. I pumped my arms and legs fast in pursuit, smiling to myself because I had done my homework, and his chosen path only led to trouble. Sure enough, I rounded the building and saw that the perp had trapped himself between the building on the right, an eight-foot stone wall on the left, and a six-foot privacy fence in front of him that surrounded the outdoor pool, where the occupants jammed to seventies’ disco music. The only real escape was for this asshole to get past me, and that would not happen. 

“Together. Spread ’em. Together. Spread ’em,” called out a man on the other side of the fence. 

The assailant raised his crowbar as if he might charge me, then launched it over the pool’s privacy fence instead. He took two steps back to get a run, then leaped toward the top of the fence, landing in the middle with an awkward splat. The guy somehow held on to the top of the fence and dug his toes into the wood to climb the rest of the way. His slow progress allowed me to hit the fence directly behind him. My lead foot landed in the middle of the board, and I used the momentum to propel me up high enough to see over the top. Gripping the fence, I flung my body over the boards, eyes scanning the surroundings to see where the man with the crowbar had gone. My gaze landed on a bare-chested, hot guy balanced on the edge of a chair with his toned legs extending in front of him. He was stuck in the spread ’em position as he gaped at me, which sent my mind to places it had no business going under the circumstances. 

Awareness sparked and sizzled in my brain as familiar eyes locked on me and widened in surprise. I still couldn’t tell if they were green or brown. The world around us faded away, and my descent seemed to slow. Keeping my attention on Atticus was stupid and dangerous. I needed to survey the rest of the area, but I couldn’t tear my gaze away from him, not even when I landed on the concrete with a jarring thud. 

That momentary distraction allowed the assailant to take a swing at me with the crowbar. I felt the air move and ducked just in the nick of time, so the blow glanced off my shoulder instead of hitting me in the head. I lowered my shoulders and rammed them into his gut, lunging forward with more strength than was necessary to make the tackle. One minute, my feet were on solid ground, and the next, I was falling through air and splashing into the water. My attacker squirmed in my grip, but I wasn’t about to let go. I wanted to take the fucker down to the bottom of the pool and alligator roll him until he stopped moving. But a cooler head prevailed, and I dragged the assailant to the surface of the pool. 

*****

Review:

There were lots of times that I smiled at this book and even giggled a few times. Kit is so eager and earnest and he fits in so well with the residents of Silver Maple. I love him for all his clumsy, enthusiastic glory and I love Ray for his steadiness & his appreciation of what makes Kit Kit. They are great together, with Ray helping Kit get his self esteem back and Kit helping Ray to let go of some of his guilt. Both of them have a lot of trauma to address, and a therapist is mentioned but no one actually sees one. I’m hoping that maybe that comes up more as we move through the other books because both of them deserve to be, and love as, their unabashed selves.

And I’m looking forward to the next books because I love the idea of the RAVEN guys. Found family / Band of Brothers type series are some of my favorites and there is so much potential here. These guys have traumas that they need to face in order to be able to truly live again, which means there is a lot of potential here. Unfortunately we didn’t really get to know them all that well. We’re introduced to them and given little hints but maybe we’ll have to wait for their individual books to really get to know them. Which is fine, but it just loses a little of that something special.

As a first book in a new series, taking on the work of introducing a new world, Walker does a good job with Stand and Deliver. It’s spicy and funny but also pulls at the heartstrings as both Kit and Ray, and later his friends, have to address past hurts. It’s a slow burn with a pretty obvious relationship issue that they have to get past, but I like the way Walker handles things and I have faith that she’ll take us somewhere good.

*****

Author Info:

Aimee Nicole Walker is an international bestselling author of Male/Male contemporary romance and romantic suspense novels. Her stories guarantee hunks with big…hearts, lots of humor and heat, and the occasional homicide. Aimee is a lifelong dreamer, an avid reader, and an off-key singer. Only two of those traits help her craft captivating characters and charming communities where everyone is welcome. She uses the other quirk to entertain her pets during writing breaks. 

Aimee has loved the same guy for over thirty years. Her husband is the reason she can write romance novels, and he’s possibly inspired a fictional murder plot a time or ten. They share three adult children, two adorable grandsons, and a menagerie of pets that don’t include goats or donkeys…yet. Love inspires everything she does, books keep her sane, and coffee is the magic elixir that fuels her day.

Let’s stay in touch!

Connect with me – https://aimeenicolewalker.com/links/

Email me – aimee@aimeenicolewalker.com