boeklogboek: Cherry Adair

The third book in the T-FLAC: Black Rose Trilogy series, published October 11, 2012.
Genre: romantic suspense
Cover: cold.

T-FLAC operative Rafael Navarro will never allow another woman to suffer the consequences of his dangerous life. But in a world where a terrorist can do more damage with a keyboard than a bomb, he needs the expert help of a cyber-geek. And fast.
Fellow operative, and cybercrimes specialist Honey Winston prefers computers to people. But when a serial bomber threatens the world's financial infrastructure, she's forced to work closely with Navarro, whose notorious skill in the bedroom is as legendary as his dexterity defusing bombs.
Honey and Rafael must fight sparks hot enough to melt their resolve, and push beyond fear itself, as they join forces in a bid to race the clock before a sinister and lethal bomber proves just how much they both have to lose.
T-FLAC is back, and the timer is counting down in the most pulse-pounding explosive op yet …

It has been a while since I read some Cherry Adair T-FLAC books, and the Black Rose books were my favourite. So I was very happy that Cherry has self-published this third book in the trilogy last year, after a 5 year hiatus. I had no trouble at all getting back in the story and to remember the characters.

The book starts with action, when Honey Winston discovers her boss murdered and she has to fight for her own life in the dark. Her enemy seems to know all her moves, and it ends in a standstill, both with their guns pressed to the other’s head. Who will pull the trigger first? Then he clicks on the light, and she recognizes Rafael Navarro. This does not mean that she lowers her weapon, as he could very well have killed her boss. Rafael convinces her he just arrived, and thought her the murderer, but apart from the blood on her hands from touching Jack’s body, they are both free from bloodspatter from the vicious murder. Jack has been stabbed at least 37 times.
Navarro doesn’t have time to let her grieve for her boss and friend, he needs a cyber geek on his current op, and with Jack dead, Honey is the next best thing. Even though she hasn’t gone on ops for a while, Honey is ready to leave at a moments notice.

Honey is known as the Ice Princess, being cold and emotionless, and absolutely brilliant at her job, working with computers. She lost her famous and very rich parents at age 14, and was raised by her butler as a competent minor. Honey has no idea how to interact with people, she has trust issues and has been betrayed by men only after her money before, so she has no inclination whatsoever to become involved with someone she works with. It doesn’t matter that he is so very handsome and attractive.
Unfortunately for Honey, Navarro sees her cold image as a challenge, especially when he suspects Honey is not as cold inside as she lets people think. And he starts chipping away at her, making her talk about herself and her past.

The op takes them all over Europe, where banks are bombed. Sometimes with heavy losses in human lives, sometimes just enormous material damage. But the terrorist groups claiming the bombings, are not known for this kind of targets, something more is going on. With Navarro working at the crime scenes, and Honey working on her laptop searching for a clue, the improbable answer becomes reality… somehow their own traitor, Catherine “Savage” Seymour is behind this. She has escaped her maximum security solitary lockup prison and has revived the Black Rose terrorist group. Setting Honey up to take the fall for her.

But what is Catherine really after?

An action filled book and I loved it. It is a gripping tale, where the intrigue is getting deeper every chapter. At first Honey is not believed when she thinks she saw Catherine on the street. Especially as it has been confirmed by two T-FLAC operatives she is still in prison. Honey is not convinced at all, and wants better proof, DNA proof. Of course this will take some time. In the mean time, there is a new bombing every day, and the pressure to get answers increases.
It is pretty soon evident that they do have a traitor in their midst, when Navarro gets attacked on the street walking back to the hotel where Honey is working. Why he hasn’t been killed is a mystery though. The enemy seems to know where they are going even sooner than they do themselves and are ready for them.

Honey and Navarro quickly become more than team members, when Navarro gets wounded and they end up in the same bed. Navarro wants her badly, and he doesn’t keep it a secret. And Honey, well, she doesn’t know how to resist his ice melting kisses. He surely did deserve his reputation as the Spanish Stallion …
But one night is not enough for Navarro, he wants more, and now he has to convince Honey of that. If they both survive, that is.

I loved Honey a lot, she is a great character, she knows herself and is amazing at her job. She is afraid to care for people other than her 86 year old butler/houseman, but she doesn’t realize she has much more friends than only him. Navarro is pushy, and I wish that Honey had stood up to him a little bit more in the beginning, make him work for it. He is also good at his job, dismantling bombs and gathering evidence. They are a smart couple and work well together. Navarro has soon feels very protective about Honey, which is totally unnecessary as she has had the same training he had as a T-FLAC operative, and she is better than most male agents in combat.

The plot comes to an ending at Honey’s Montana ranch, and it was a great ending.

A perfect ending to a fantastic, perhaps a bit over the top, trilogy. I love Cherry Adair’s writing style, and if you do love your sex scenes hot, you will not be disappointed. I had the pleasure of meeting Cherry earlier this year in Berlin, and she is just as fun and exuberant in person as in her writing. I hope she comes back often.

I do have one question though, if they know there is a traitor, why not have all the agents show their bare backs looking for the tell tale black flower tattoo? It would have saved some time …

9 stars.