Be Still My Heart (Four Kings Security #2) [Red & Laz] by Charlie Cochet

As you can expect from both Charlie and the "King of Hearts" - our MC Red, this was sweet and endearing. we've already met both Red and Laz in the previous installment so their coming together wasn't a surprise, it was a matter of time, it was a matter of trust and as it seems it was also a matter of security with Laz finding himself shot at while filming a shoot on the beach.

Lazarus "Laz" Galanos is a photographer, he is still starting his way but he has big plans and he will work hard to get there even if his past - recent and far gone haven't been very positive. Most of his life it has been him, his father and bigger brother Gio. Ever since Gio met Colton in College he became family as well and now, it's mostly him he turns to with his father dead and Gio very far across the sea. Yet Colton can't save Laz from making mistakes, especially not his relationship with Bryan. It ends with a big BANG in the first installment "Love in Spades", I'll send you off to read it if you haven't already, it would really be a pity to miss out on it.

It's been months since Russell "Red" McKinley was shot, and a long while since he saw the sweet Laz at Colton's place. He really wants to see him again but doesn't know what to do or say to get his  attention. Red is battling his our demons, mostly his PTSD after losing half of their team when the Kings served together in the military. He has a HUGE heart he will happily give to another but that other person has to ACCEPT him as he is - he isn't perfect and he never will be.

When Ace brings Red and Laz together he expects fire-works but not the "shot to kill" kind... With someone trying to kill Laz the Kings are going to do their best to safe guard one of their own. Though technically Laz isn't family, Colton (Ace's lover) is! Colton sees Laz as his little brother and he won't stand on the side when he is in clear danger.

That's the exact reason Laz and Red find themselves spending time together. Red isn't TRULY on the job (still somewhat recovering from his injury), though he takes care of Laz and looks out for him while the police - mainly Mason Cooper - are doing their best to find said shooter. Spending time together means falling deep deep in love with one another. It was a bit too quickly for me, so it's no wonder the trust issues Laz was already dealing with surfaced. I wasn't sure what I was thinking about it, but Red surprised me when he knew how to put his ego aside so he and Laz can work on their issues and BUILD a relationship not destroy it.

There's a lot happening in this one, while trying to find the shooter Lad, Red, the other Kings as well as the police try and figure out who has the best to gain of Laz disappearing. Had my guesses but I was very clearly wrong hehe. We also got to see a bit more of Ace and Colton as well as the couple in the next one - Lucky and Mason who are playing cat and mouse throughout the book and also maybe a love interest to Jack in Laz's best friend Fitz?

I enjoyed this one. Charlie has her way of turning an endearing love story into a hectic suspense novel and somehow finishing it all as a wrapped up present. This one CAN be read as standalone novel but it shouldn't be. Grab the first one and get to know the Kings a bit better, delve into Ace and Colton's story before you jump into this one. That's my recommendation :)

Truly can't wait for the next one. Lucky and Mason sound EXPLOSIVE together. YUM!

Note - There's a couple mentioned in this book whom I couldn't place. As I finished this one, I randomly picked "Beware of Geeks bearing gifts" then realized it's them! If you haven't read this one, you MUST. It's the sweetest novella ever!

I kindly received this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

This book will is already OUT - Grab it through Amazon / KU

Rating: ★★★★

E-Book Edition

306 pages

Read on: 29-30 Jul 2018

ABOUT THIS SERIES

 

Four Kings Security is a Romantic Suspense MM Romance series by Charlie Cochet. The series focuses on 4 best friends, ex-Special Forces who formed together their own security company. They guys are nicknamed after the "card kings"

Anston "Ace" Sharpe - King of Spades

Russell "Red" McKinley - King of Hearts

Eduardo "Lucky" Alejandro Morales - King of Clubs

Ward "King" Kingston - King of Diamonds

Each book in the series will be of one of the four finding their HEA, with "The Kings: Wild Cards" as "spin off" with characters we've met along the series including characters we've already met, like Jack and Joker who were a part of the original Kings team on their military days.

Four Kings Security:
1. Love in Spades [Anston "Ace" Sharpe & Colton Connolly] (Published 24 April 2018) ★★★★★
2. Be Still My Heart [Russell "Red" McKinley & Lazarus "Laz" Galanos] (Published 29 July 2018) ★★★★
2.5 Ante Up [Seth & Kit] (Published 28 august 2018) ★★★★
3. Join the Club [Eduardo "Lucky" Alejandro Morales & Mason Cooper] (Published 19 November 2018)  ★★★★½
4. Diamond in the Rough [Ward "King" Kingston & Leopold "Leo" de Loughrey] (Published 15 February 2019) ★★★★★
4.5 In the Cards [Anston "Ace" Sharpe & Colton Connolly *] (Published  8 February 2019) ★★½
(* Including Spencer & Quinn the couple from "Beware of Geeks Bearing Gifts")

The Kings: Wild Cards:
1.  Stacking the Deck [Jacopo "Jack" Lorenzo Constantino & Fitz Harlow] (Published 28 July 2020) ★★★★ 
2. Raising the Ante [Frank Ramirez & Joshua Sterling] (Published 10 January 2021) ★★★★½ 
3. Sleight of Hand [Sacha "Joker" Wilder & Giovanni "Gio" Galanos] (Published 6 July 2021) ★★★★½
4. Calling his Bluff [Jay & Ryden] (To Be Published ???)