Crossing The Line

SBG Novel book 3

P. A. DePaul

Northfair Pub.

April 23, 2024

Crossing The Line by P. A. DePaul is the third book in the series.  Each book is part of the romantic suspense genre.  Whereas the first two books were more suspense than romance, this book is more romance than suspense with the heroine Magician and the hero Romeo, part of the Delta Squad team.

There are three books in the series. Each character has a set of skills. “I modeled it off of real life where most of the operators have a dedicated skill set, they bring to the team. I have spoken to a lot of law enforcement and read a lot of military books.  My father was military and law enforcement. Wraith, who was highlighted in the first book, Exchange of Fire, is the sniper, while her significant other Grady, being a former Marine, has his military skills. Talon likes to infiltrate and is good with knives. Romeo was a former law enforcement explosives expert. Magician is good with disguises for herself and the team.  Jeremy aka Cappy is the strategist and commander.  Ted is the IT expert. The team dynamics include love, support, respect, and grief. In book one the team was in it in the last half, in book two the team was in it from beginning to end, and in book three the team was hardly in it.”

The story goes back to eight months ago. Magician was part of a black ops mission, going undercover to infiltrate a sex-slave ring. Little did she realize the mission would change her life forever. The team was sent it to rescue the girls with Romeo assigned to rescue Magician.  He still can’t wipe the image of Magician’s battered body nearly dying in his arms. Since then, one-night stands have lost their appeal. Now, he realizes he is falling for his best friend and partner. 

“Magician goes undercover and likes to isolate herself.  She is direct, broken, charming, and manipulative.  She wants a place to belong because she is afraid of being abandoned. She is very complex. While Romeo is a player who at times can be shallow.  He is warm-hearted, humorous, loyal, charming, confident, restless, and introspective. I love the part about him that he reads romance novels to understand what women are thinking.”

The suspense part of the plot has a pro-American Oil lobbyist and a Saudi Arabian Oil Sheikh-two natural enemies-join forces to destroy new legislation allowing America to gain independence from foreign oil, they utilize bombings to throw the country into chaos. It is during a party that Magician attended that she recognizes the lobbyist as being an assistant of the Sheikh, knowing that both were involved in the sex trafficking ring. 

“Any reader that read all the books would have witnessed how Magician and Romeo started recognizing each other on a more romantic level. It just felt right for the progression they had gone through from the beginning. This one was heavier on the romantic and less on the suspense.  The first book, Exchange of Fire, had a lot of high action, the second book, Shadow of Doubt, had deeper characters.”

But because she has no evidence, the SBG Agency will not give her the go ahead to investigate. She and her partner Romeo decide to defy the order to stand down.  Together they investigate on their own with only the help of another teammate, Talon.  They are taking a big risk to expose the Sheik and lobbyist, but also realize that they are risking getting emotionally and intimately involved.

“The relationship has a lot bantering.  They went from friends to lovers. They consider themselves best friends, partners, and have a bond. They have an intense attraction. They have divergent backgrounds.  Romeo is from wealth, and she was always abandoned. He wants to protect her, while she is his anchor.  Magician is not as trusting of him because he is a player and what happened to her on the op.  Because of that op she experiences fear, panic, doubt, and suspicion.  Her heart thinks differently than her mind. Because of her childhood she wants to ensure that her teammates and partner, Romeo, will entrust her to help with the mission.” 

This novel emphasizes how the characters through their profession and relationship find that the greatest gift of all is survival, success, and finding a soul mate. DePaul allows the relationship to grow into an intimate one of unbreakable love The protagonists are complex and caring who teach each other how to trust again. The mission is intense and will keep readers guessing until the very end.

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