Ruthless Protector: Lawless Kings #4

Willa has a reason to not trust men and with a promise to her dying sister she sets out to raise her niece alone. As finances become tighter and someone from her pasts begins to blackmail her, she finds herself fighting just to keep her head above water. Along the way she is met with care and concern from her landlord. He feels like a safe place to land, but Willa knows better than to trust that feeling. Jude’s past has left him scarred and unable to allow anyone to get close to him. However, the more time he spends with Willa the more his heart opens to a life he had been holding himself back from. But Willa refuses to trust him with her problems and he can’t protect her if he doesn’t know where the trouble lies. Despite not getting a lot of Jude’s point of view, I loved him. I understood his sense of loss and his reactions to Willa in the beginning were completely relevant due to her behavior. It would have been nice if he had moved into his protective mode a bit earlier, perhaps in an effort to learn Willa’s secrets. Although if he had, and Willa learned of it, she would’ve shut him out ASAP. That brings me to Willa. She was definitely entombed in a prison of distrust and unwillingness to open to anyone. She does a lot of pushing and pulling and there was a time or two I wanted to smack her for her steel determination to remain loyal to a promise that was harming her rather than strengthening her. But again, I understood why she did it, but it drove me crazy all the same. She was independent and strong and when she reaches her lowest point she knows instinctively that Jude will have her back. Admittedly, much of her decision making was based on her desire to save Jude from himself. So yeah, it was all a bit back and forth, but very nicely done. Overall, this was a very good read. The heat comes a bit later in the story but once it hit, it’s full steam ahead. Secondary characters from previous books add support where needed and we are given the potential for the next story.

3.5 stars--RUTHLESS PROTECTOR is the fourth instalment in Sherilee Gray’s contemporary, adult LAWLESS KINGS erotic, romantic suspense series focusing on the men and women who work for the King Agency doing personal protection and security, private investigation (corporate and domestic), high-risk fugitive recovery, missing persons and kidnapping investigations. This is King Security PI and former police officer Jude Wayland, and waitress/exotic dancer Willa Hartley’s story line. RUTHLESS PROTECTOR can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty. Any important information from the previous story lines is revealed where necessary. Told from dual first person points of view (Willa and Jude) RUTHLESS PROTECTOR follows the acrimonious relationship between King Security PI and former police officer Jude Wayland, and waitress/exotic dancer Willa Hartley. Jude Wayland knows something is going on with his new tenant: mysterious strangers, and threats against her life, as well as her most recent venture into the world of exotic dancing find Jude going into protector mode as it pertains to the independent and untrusting Willa Hartley. The sole provider for her eight-year old niece Tilly, Willa becomes desperate enough to take on a position at the local exotic dance club, desperate enough when threats of another nature come knocking at her door. What ensues is the building relationship between Jude and Willa, and the potential fall-out as Willa continues to keep secret the who and why behind to threats to her life, and our heroine’s inability to trust threatens her relationship with the man that she loves. Willa Hartley’s need for independence, and her inability to trust promote an aura of unfriendly and harsh. Our heroine’s aggressive attitude and unwillingness to ask for help threatens not only her life but the life of her eight-year old niece, and in this, she is a difficult heroine to like and accept. A little bit of TSTL (too stupid to live) syndrome does not make for an enjoyable character. Willa’s character development is questionable until the very end, and someone points out the truth of her actions against the man that she loves. Jude Wayland knows loss, and it is this loss that exaggerates his need to protect Willa and Tilly, an exaggeration that brings with it too many heart breaking memories of the past. RUTHLESS PROTECTOR has a colorful cast of secondary and supporting characters all of whom interact with our story line couple. From fellow exotic dancers, the local cartel, the men and women who work for the King Security Agency, and the requisite evil with many faces, RUTHLESS PROTECTOR is a character driven story line about family, friendship, betrayal and love. The premise is engaging; the leading characters are broken and charismatic; the romance struggles in the face of our heroine’ s inability to trust or ask for help when it is needed the most.

Another great chapter in the Lawless Kings Series! This story we meet Jude, who like the others has his own history he brings to the story along with his looming larger than life presence. Jude has a protective streak a mile long and when one of his tenants seems to not only hiding secrets but now in danger it brings out his need to protect along with the ghosts of his past. Willa comes to NY with her young niece to start over after the death of her sister and her nieces father goes to prison for drugs among other things. Willa is hiding while starting a new life with Tilly. Tilly is completely engaging and Jude falls for Tilly and Tilly thinks Jude hung the moon! Willa is so busy trying to dodge questions and lying to Jude about her past, even while the threats escalate she bugged the beans out of me with that. I loved Fay the downstairs neighbor and all around great person to have as a neighbor and friend. After Willa loses her first job, Fay helps her get a job in a strip club, not her first choice but she feels that she's the only one who can care for Tilly and she made her dying sister a promise. Depend on no man. Not ever. Jude continually extends a hand while trying not to step on Willa's toes and Willa consistently shuts him down although they are attracted to each other. Jude's furious the first time he and Van walk into the club and see Willa stripping. Jude's livid and can't say I blame him there. Jude tries to respect Willa's privacy by not digging into her past. But honestly as a former cop and considering what he went through I didn't buy into that one. When he finally did and understood what he was dealing with Willa was in over her head, thinking she could handle it all. While I loved Jude in this book, because he was Jude. Willa just punched all the what not to do buttons for me. I loved Tilly and as much as Willa was all about giving Tilly a better life, her money wasn't where her mouth was. All I can say is thankfully as always the Kings came through. But the story in between is a must read. I honestly did multiple eye rolls and knocked off half a star because of Willa's ridiculous behavior. Nonetheless, Sherilee writes a spectacular book and this was no exception. Waiting patiently for the next book. *arc from author for an honest review*