I should have written this review immediately upon finishing Take No Prisoners, the second book in Gerard’s new Black Ops Inc. series. Two weeks later and after all the holiday festivities, I need to flip through the book to remember all the details. That should tell you a bit about this very average romantic suspense – it just didn’t stay with me.

Sam Lang works for a private security firm that employs ex-military individuals (sound familiar?) and has been hunting down Fredrick Nader for quite a while. The wealthy German has his fingers in a lot of illegal pies, but nobody has been able to pin him down yet. Unfortunately for Sam, he has something to lose and Nader isn’t above taking out some family members to make a point. Sam’s little sister and her husband are killed in a car bomb explosion, and Sam calls it quits. That is, until one of his former colleagues comes to him and explains that they finally almost have Nader nailed. The BOIs (I thought this acronym was pretty cute) have tracked one of Nader’s low-level mules, who has been sending shipments to his surprisingly well-off older sister in Vegas. Sam signs on for this last job to try and get his pound of flesh.

Abbie Hughes is a blackjack dealer who is immediately won over by the handsome cowboy who approaches her table one night. Sam and Abbie go on several amazing dates and she is completely head over heels for him when she invites him into her house one night. After some amazing sex, she comes into her kitchen to find a markedly different Sam taking charge of several large men who’ve entered her home. When he explains that they’re FBI and that they are searching her house, she can’t believe that she was foolish enough to trust another man (she’s been hurt before). When she finally understands the magnitude of the trouble her brother is in, she realizes that, whether she likes it or not, she’ll need Sam’s help to bring him back home.

So, the two head down to Honduras with a group of large, attractive operators, who all have the standard nicknames and are even introduced as Luke “Doc Holliday” Colter and Wyatt “Papa Bear” Savage, to find Nader. They might have different goals, but Abbie has been contacted by Nader and Sam knows his way out of tough situations, so they need to cooperate with each other to get what they want. Abbie slowly starts trusting Sam again, and Sam realizes how wrong he was in his initial impression of her. Of course, he also realizes that he started falling for her from the beginning and, when Abbie is finally able to trust him again, their relationship ignites once more.

This wasn’t a bad book, but it wasn’t a memorable one either. It seemed like a stock version of a romantic suspense. One older, incredibly wealthy villain with a sadistic side – check. One enormous hired goon with soulless eyes and no conscience – check. One smart, capable, gorgeous woman thrown into danger – check. One hardened, guilt-riddled, ex-military hunk in desperate need of love – check.

There just weren’t any surprises in this one. I’m not sorry I read it, but there is better fare out there. I’ve enjoyed several of Gerard’s Bodyguards series, and I would suggest you start there if you want to give this author a try. But, considering that the first book in the Black Ops Inc. series also received a C, I’m not planning on continuing with this particular series.