The last installment (sobbing to self) of our intrepid former DSS agents Will and Taylor. Please do yourself an immense favor and the read all of the books in order. This series has one of Josh's classic trademarks. You get to see the relationship between two men that are destined to be together evolve over years. Will and Taylor are not just well penned characters on a page but I felt they were a real couple I have known for quite a while.
This story-line is compelling and poignant. The men are finally working together again and trying to launch their newly founded business American Eagle, a security consultant firm. Work is coming in and their resources are greatly stretched. What should be an exciting though hectic time becomes complicated when a former boyfriend of Taylor searches him out with a plea for help. Dekker begs Taylor to assist him in removing squatters from his deceased mother's property. Will's instincts tells him something is wrong with this scenario and he is hurt and surprised that Taylor disregards his warnings.
Taylor is guilt ridden by their break up many years ago and when he left he told Dekker if he ever needed anything to just ask. Being a man of integrity he won't back down on his promise even when he starts to believe Will is on to something. Will and Taylor will face the ultimate test of their love's strength and resiliency. Trust me, they have been tested plenty in the past but not like this.
This book was an absolute pleasure to read with an extremely satisfying ending. Thank you Josh for creating such an amazing adventure and while I am sad to leave the boys, I will treasure their story always..

PSA: Before you read this, to catch you up on a few events, you should probably read Blood Heat and Kick Start, the third and fifth books in the series.

Fans have been waiting for years for the conclusion of the wily misadventures of Will and Taylor.

I have no idea whether I’m glad or sad the series is over and while my ambivalence over Will and Taylor is subject to doubt, Lanyon’s writing certainly isn’t. The staccato lyricism of her prose still keeps her firmly in the favourites aisle.

The novella picks up where Kick Start left off. Will and Taylor are now faux-engaged and running a security agency-- and already they feel in way over their heads. When Taylor’s college ex, Ashe Dekker, shows up asking them for assistance in trying to keep him alive, the situation is even more out there. Will is worried that Taylor bullishly offering to help pro bono is going to spread them thinner than faded muslin. But as Will so eloquently put it, there is no good time for bad things to happen. Will felt that it was up to him to reel Taylor in with this case but things between them are rocky at best. I almost wished this wasn’t mm and was more mystery fiction with gay protagonists so that their angst could be dragged out further and I couldn’t be guaranteed a HEA. Rather, I could be pleasantly surprised by it.

Regardless, Will knew that Taylor was taking it too far. Taylor wouldn’t recognize he was out of his depth if the fucking ocean closed over his head. Fortunately, that's what a loving partner is for- to help withstand the tidal pressure that come from whatever is out to get them.

The action/mystery in this wasn’t as fleshed out as the earlier books but that is something to expect from Lanyon these days. We also get a rushed through climax which is cut short then revisited with flashbacks. But considering the seminal shooting that was the catalyst for Will and Taylor's romance in the first book happened off page and was also revisited through flashbacks, I’m going to accept that it was characteristic of this series.

The thing is however, with Will and Taylor, having gotten a neatly wrapped HEA I feel like their story isn’t over. Lanyon called them ‘episodic’ and they do have the props for such stories. I only wish the author would consider giving them short story episodes as Sherlock and Watson had. That is definitely wishful thinking on my part but hey, a girl can dream, right?