I loved Extreme Honor and was super excited to know more about Alex. And Drake didn’t disappoint … until the end of the book. I’m going to give some potentially major spoilers so stop reading now if you don’t want to know.

Last warning.

OK, so Elisa is running from something and she’s lucky enough to be taken in by the Hope’s Crossing crew. If you read Extreme Honor then you know what a group of serious bad-asses those guys are. All three of them are strong, smart and brave. Being the men that they are you know that they have a few hang-ups, they’ve lived and fought very hard, so they’ve seen and done things that leave some scars. And Alex isn’t any different. He’s battling some PTSD but he’s trying to keep it together for his daughter, who he isn’t afraid to show he loves with everything he is. And she’s a pretty kickin’ kid because of it. She’s saucy and quick and fun; a definitely highlight of the story.

When he runs across Elisa it is very clear that she’s trying to escape from something but his work with the dogs has taught him patience and insight. Offering her a job helps her get her feet under her and hopefully some time so she can figure out what to do. And maybe Alex can figure out what he can do to help. But the man she’s running from is powerful, connected and smart, which makes Elisa afraid to stay for too long or let anyone get too close. Alex (and Boom & Souze) is hard to resist so she finds herself getting involved and letting him in.

Up to this point, everything is going great and he’s showing what a fantastic hero he is. **Spoilers** She’s understandably wary but slowly both are making progress to trusting each other and letting their attraction turn into more … until Alex completely does a 180 and punks out. A “friend” from Elisa’s past makes an appearance, says a few things that push Alex’s buttons, and he walks away. Granted Elisa hasn’t shared everything about her past, but enough for him to know that leaving her alone is a VERY bad idea. But he does it anyway, which of course means she’s vulnerable to be taken by the man she’s trying to escape. *sigh* Why?!? I know that he’s feeling like maybe he’s been had but he’s smart & experienced enough that I would have expected him to pull out and regroup but not leaver her there alone and unprotected with someone from her past who magically has found her all the way across the country. When she’s been on the run for a long time and obviously scared of being found. Ugh! I can see where it works for the plot to have her alone but surely there was another way? Because I lost a lot of respect for him at that moment. And she just forgives him afterward. I’d be so beyond pissed!

If you made it this far I’ll say that you may be more understanding of his position than I was. I kinda get where Drake was going and can almost understand but I feel like these guys should be more than average. I’m giving the book 3.5 stars because about 90% of it is fantastic, as good as Extreme Honor, but the ending just killed it for me. I’m looking forward to giving the next book a go because I’m hoping that this was just a one off thing.