Fatal Fallout - Lara Lacomb (HRS #1814 - Aug 2014)

Torn between duty and desire, two strangers must risk all for love

Nuclear physicist Dr. Claire Fleming has one rule: never get close to anyone. But when her colleague is murdered and she's targeted next, she must place all her trust in FBI agent Thomas Kincannon. Soon Claire forgets her tenet as she fantasizes about Thomas's touch.

Thomas is wildly attracted to Claire. But his life and his job are too complicated for any romantic entanglements. Despite this, they share a mind-blowing kiss, and there's no turning back. When Thomas's niece is abducted, the stakes become dangerously higher as Claire insists he trade her for the child. Somehow, Thomas must find a way to rescue his family and protect the woman who let her protective walls down just for him.

Good book with good suspense. Claire has been working with a Russian counterpart to help safely dispose of radioactive material from their decaying power plants. When her colleague is murdered and Claire receives a threat against her life, the FBI steps in to protect her. Thomas is much more than she expected.

I liked Claire. She is strong, independent and intelligent. She is also wary of getting emotionally involved with anyone. It hurts too much when they leave. Ivan's murder has left her feeling vulnerable and Thomas's presence makes her feel safer. She doesn't want to be attracted to him, but her body isn't listening to her brain. She is drawn to his strength, but also to his sense of humor and his love for his family. I loved seeing her open up to him about her past and how she realizes that it is still affecting her life now. Those issues create an opportunity for misunderstanding that sends her running when an old girlfriend of Thomas's shows up. 

Thomas is focused on his work and his family. His brother was killed in a car accident a few months earlier and Thomas feels as though it should have been him. He spends a lot of his free time trying to fill in for his brother with his sister-in-law and especially his niece. He doesn't expect the intense attraction that he feels for Claire. He tries to fight it as it is a distraction from what he should be doing to keep her safe. But something about her is healing the hole in his life and he starts to dream of a future with her. I loved his sense of humor and how he had a way of lightening the strain that Claire was under. I felt so bad for him when his niece was taken and he had to find a way to rescue her while keeping Claire safe. I loved seeing the way that he had some things that he had to think about and readjust his reactions to at the end before he was able to convince Claire of his feelings.

I really enjoyed the suspense of the story. There was a lot going on in a short period of time. Claire and Thomas had to figure out the meaning of the papers that Ivan sent to Claire before the bad guy could stop them and kill them both. The intensity of little Emily's kidnapping and rescue as it set up the final confrontation had me turning the pages as quickly as I could to see how it would turn out.