Two baby boys have been kidnapped with a third one suspected of being next. U.S. Marshal Slade Becker had been working on the kidnapping case and offers to go protect the woman of the third infant they think is next on the list. All three of the infants were adopted and one of them is possibly Slade’s child.

Maya Ellison is the adopted mother of the third child. She came from a traumatic past and wants nothing more than to be a mother to this child and will do anything to protect him. Even though she knows there is something Slade isn’t telling her which makes her a little distrusting of him at first when attempts are made to take the baby she knows he is the only one that can protect them both.

Slade and Maya both have demons from the past that they have to face during their ordeal. As they are trying to figure out who is taking the babies and trying to kill them the baby brings them closer and has them wonder if a relationship might work between them when its over.

This book kinda took a break from ongoing arc of the murder mystery that started in the first book. It really just focused on Slade and Maya and the kidnapping but it was still a great suspense with another hot Marshal.
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Lots of action in this romantic suspense but after awhile the events seemed a bit contrived. The romance lacked depth of feeling and was more like two people thrown together by circumstance. Marshal Slade volunteers to protect Maya and her baby from kidnapping.
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Very good book. Someone is kidnapping adopted baby boys in the Maverick County area. Maya was unaware of this until Slade was assigned to protect them. There is something about him that puts her on edge but she can't deny that he can protect her son. As the attempts escalate their attraction also grows. Then Maya discovers that Slade's protectiveness is a lot more personal than he let on.

I liked Maya's independence and determination. She had survived a brutal attack that left her unable to have children and cautious around men. She took control of one of her dreams and adopted a baby boy, only to find out that he could be the target of a kidnapping. When Slade is assigned to be their protection she is nervous around him at first. He's tall, serious and very intense. It becomes obvious pretty quickly that he can keep them safe from whoever is after them. Once she learns to trust Slade the initial attraction she felt starts to grow. Because of her scars from her attacker she is very self conscious around him. I liked the way that he showed her that the scars don't matter. She also becomes concerned about the intense way that he watches her son. When she finds out why she is worried that she could lose the baby to him. I loved her determination during the confrontations with the kidnapper and the way she was part of the solution.

Slade is one of six marshals who are working the kidnapping cases. He has volunteered to be the protection for the one infant who has not yet been kidnapped. He is determined to keep them safe and is tested from the very beginning. First he has to overcome Maya's reluctance, which doesn't take long after the first attempt is made. He also has to fight his attraction to her which is a distraction to his mission. This is something he doesn't do too well at as Maya fascinates him. I loved the way that the attraction grew deeper and he began to think of having her in his life permanently. He also has to contend with the fact that one of the three babies is possibly his son from a one night stand. Being around Evan is an eye opening experience for him. He discovers a kind of caring he'd never experienced before. I really loved the scenes where he was caring for the baby and his family just stared at him like they didn't know who he was. The confrontations with the kidnapper at the end were very intense and had a couple interesting twists.

There wasn't much mention of the ongoing series mystery of who all was involved in the murder of the former director of the children's home where Slade and his brothers grew up. Their foster father isn't seen at all and barely mentioned. I'm looking forward to finding out how it turns out. ( )