Under Fire: A Love Over Duty Novel

Scarlett Cole

Aug 2017 · Love Over Duty Book 1 · Sold by St. Martin's Paperbacks

About this ebook

“Fantastic characters, scorching sexual tension, and non-stop action make this one of my favorite reads this year!”—New York Times bestselling author Laura Kaye

RITA nominee Scarlett Cole’s Under Fire pairs a hot Navy SEAL with a medical researcher who finds herself in too deep.

Hot, hard-bodied Sixton Rapp is a former SEAL who’s raring to begin his brand-new civilian life. He and his Navy “brothers” start a security firm that offers the kind of services only a team of military-trained professionals can provide. But nothing prepared Six for his new client: an innocent woman on a mission to improve thousands of lives. . . unless someone takes hers first.


Dr. Louisa North knows time is against her as she tries to create a “miracle” medical treatment for a disease with no known cure, until she creates a sample so powerful that the wrong people want to use it as a chemical weapon. At first, Six is unwilling to accept Louisa as his client. But soon he realizes that the danger is real and that there’s much more to this plain-Jane scientist...including a burning passion between them that neither of them can resist. And now that an enemy is on Louisa’s trail, Six will do whatever it takes to protect her—or die trying.

"Cole is a genius at weaving together heart-racing, suspenseful moments with scorching intimacy and real characters." - USA Today

Ratings and reviews

I loved Louisa – she was awkwardly nerdy without being over the top. She has an issue with being around people and is super smart, but she was raised by loving parents and has learned how to overcome it to lead a somewhat good life. It isn’t a typical one but she makes it work for her. Then she meets Six. Six is your typical bad-*ss SEAL. He’s strong of body and mind, honed by years of training and missions, but he’s also smart and intuitive. He never expected to be as affected by Louisa as he is – the little scientist does something to her that he can’t explain. And when she finds herself in trouble he jumps at the chance to be near her. Louisa and Six are a great complement to each other. She has him thinking of settling down and dedicating himself to one person, while he helps her address her fears. Unfortunately once she’s officially a client, it’s hands-off … something they find quite difficult to do :) Cole does an amazing job of creating a suspense element that not only makes sense and keeps you on the edge of your seat, but works well with the emotional and romantic side of the story. It brings mystery and danger to a story that already had me hooked by the characters and emotions. I can’t wait to see what awesome things she has in store for Six’s teammates! *** I voluntarily read a Review Copy of this book. All opinions stated are solely my own and no one else’s. ***

DEEP COVER is the third (and final?) instalment in Scarlett Cole’s contemporary, adult LOVE OVER DUTY erotic, romantic, military suspense series focusing on a group of childhood friends who own and work for Eagle Securities, a Special Ops firm formed by Navy SEALS Cabe Moss, Sixten Rapp, and Malachai “Mac” MacCarrick. This is thirty-four year old, former Navy SEAL Cabe Moss, and twenty-nine year old, FBI agent Amy Murray’s story line. DEEP COVER can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty. Any important information from the previous story lines is revealed where necessary although there is an on-going investigation from book one Under Fire. Told from dual third person perspectives (Cabe and Amy) DEEP COVER follows the building but forbidden relationship between thirty-four year old, former Navy SEAL Cabe Moss, and twenty-nine year old, FBI agent Amy Murray. The FBI and the CIA has called in help from Eagle Securities in their hunt to take down a money-laundering operation, and a potential human trafficking ring operating out of one of San Diego’s largest gambling venues, The Lucky Seven Casino, owned by father and son Hemingway and Faulkner Woods. FBI agent Amy Murray, the daughter and granddaughter of two of Las Vegas’ most prolific poker champions has been tasked to go undercover as a Black Jack dealer, with the help and assistance of Eagle Securities. Enter former Navy SEAL Cabe Moss, the man with whom Amy will fall in love. What ensues is the building relationship between Amy and Cabe, and the potential fall-out as Amy is groomed by the casino boss for something bigger, something that Amy hopes will get her on the inside track to taking down the men responsible for a number of missing women. Cabe Moss battles demons from the past, so much so that the death of his beloved fiancé, killed in action two years earlier, continues to control his highs and lows. Unable to move on from the past, Cabe finds himself struggling with his attraction to FBI Amy Murray, a woman that calls to his heart and his soul, but a heart firmly locked into the past. Amy Murray knows what it is like working in a world dominated by powerful men. Sexually harassed on the job by a superior Amy battles her attraction to Cabe fearing repercussions from the investigation that all but destroyed her career in the FBI. The relationship between Amy and Cabe begins as a ‘fluke’, a quick meeting at a local bar before Cabe walked away without looking back. Working together meant the palpable sexual attraction did not go unnoticed by Cabe’s business partners, partners who themselves, fell in love on the job. The $ex scenes are intimate, erotic, seductive and intense, without the use of over the top, sexually graphic language and text. The secondary and supporting characters are colorful, fun, sexy and sassy. We are re-introduced to Six and Louisa (Under Fire #1), and Mac and Delaney (Final Siege #2), as well as a number of former SEALs now working for Eagle Securities. With the approach of Six and Louisa’s upcoming nuptials it was fun watching a group of former SEALs trying to plan the wedding for their childhood friend. The requisite evil has many faces including Hemingway and Faulkner Woods, and the Russian syndicate Ivan Popov, Sergei Lemtov and Konstantin Sokolov. DEEP COVER is a story of friendship, brotherhood, moving on from the past, and letting go. The premise is edgy, engaging and heartfelt; the romance is flirty, passionate and moving; the characters are intelligent, realistic and inspiring. DEEP COVER is a suspenseful and emotionally charged tale as one man comes to grips with his past, moving towards his own happily ever after.

***5 ‘I Got Your Six’ Stars*** When an author I already fangirl over announces that a new series will be coming out I get all kinds of giddy and excited, as well anxious over if I will love it as much as the ones already out there. I always tell myself to trust the author, but one never knows. But in this case I had no need to worry, because Under Fire was a great read and start to this new series. It has a balanced mix of action, suspense and romance with humor, heart and heat that kept me turning the pages and making me want the next in the series right now. I absolutely adored Louisa. In fact I’m pretty much girl crushing on her. She’s an enigma. In certain situations she is assertive, determined and quite a force to be reckoned with. In others she’s uncertain, shy and awkward. That in and of itself was a huge draw, but the biggest pull was her mind and how it worked. It was fascinating to see how she worked through everything thrown at her and how despite all the crazy going on around she actually kept a level head even when her emotions were all over the place. While I was girl crushing on Louisa, I was also crushing on Six. He’s got that all American good guy vibe going on around, but still has his little quirks that make him approachable. His time as a SEAL has honed his observation skills so that he can pick up on the tiniest shift, but it’s how he approaches those shifts that show how genuine and compassionate his heart is. Six and Louisa’s opposites attract relationship was fun to watch. What I found the most entertaining was that while Six did things that Louisa didn’t always know how to handle, it was Louisa who kept Six on his toes throughout the book, even when he figured her out, she didn’t always do what he expected her to do. I had to laugh at the whole “we need to keep things professional” phase of their relationship, because even I knew it was too late for it due to the sparks already flying between them. While there was drama going on around them, the drama between them was relatively low, which I liked and I’m happy with where they were at in the end. The writing was engaging, as always, the pacing was good and I enjoyed the dual 3rd person POV. I did guess at who was behind the crazyness early on, but it didn’t take anything away from the story for me. I liked seeing how everything played out and the fact that while there were some twists, nothing got overly complicated or confusing and I thought that everything worked out the way it was supposed to. As for the secondary characters, I’m looking forward to getting to know the guys at Eagle Securities a lot better. While we only got glimpses into some of their backgrounds, it was more than enough to peak my interest and want more. So when does the next book come out?? ~ Copy provided by the publisher via NetGalley & voluntarily reviewed ~

About the author

Born in England, Scarlett Cole traveled the world, living in Japan and the United States before settling in Canada where she met her own personal hero – all six and a half feet of him. She now lives with her husband and children in Manchester, England where she's at work on her next book. She is the author of The Strongest Steel.