Keegan Monroe has just returned from undercover police work
and is finding it hard to settle to normal life. He's
enjoying a coffee with a pal and congratulating him on
expecting a baby, when Brennan Maguire enters the coffee
shop. Lucky for Keegan he does, because Brennan spots a
man raising a gun and shoves Keegan aside just in time.
BURDEN continues with the policeman, highly suspicious and
on a hair trigger, arresting Brennan. There's a major
crime gang that would like Keegan killed before he can
testify, and for all he knows Brennan is part of that
bunch. Brennan's got his own troubles, and doesn't need
more. He was seriously injured in a car accident and is
rehabilitating himself to everyday living, a few words and
actions at a time. His memory is poor and he can't always
say what he means without stammering. All he can do is ask
for his doctor to be called to the station.
Realising that Brennan is on the level, Keegan simmers down
and treats him as a witness, then asks where he lives.
Brennan can't remember. He has a paper with his details in
his wallet, so Keegan offers to drive him home. The two
men each find the other attractive, but the bad guys might
be on their tail, and Brennan's got these four hungry
kittens which climb his leg looking for food....
I liked the way that Brennan's reactions were sharp
although his speech was halting, and he's obliged to live
with an aunt but he's determined to be as independent as
possible. The kittens were very lively and a nice touch.
This is an adult male romance which asks how we know who we
can trust. BURDEN by Annemarie McKenna is a fast-moving
novella, and she has written other novellas in similar
style.
In the year since his car flew off a cliff, Detective
Brennan McGuire has struggled to relearn the simplest
tasks—like speaking without a stutter—and even more with
trying to fill the gaping holes in his memory.
But when his daily visit to a local coffee shop turns into a
melee of flying bullets, Brennan’s instincts take control.
So much for Keegan Monroe’s first day off after a long
undercover assignment. One minute he’s relaxing over coffee,
the next his cheek is kissing concrete. Question is, is the
gorgeous man on top of him his savior, or the one who took a
potshot at his head?
As Keegan shepherds the too-quiet, too-skinny Brennan
through the investigation, attraction flares into nights of
white-hot passion. But with each scorching encounter, more
and more of Brennan’s memories shake loose…and it becomes
clear someone doesn’t want him putting those pieces
together.
With Keegan’s oath to protect and serve putting him squarely
in the crosshairs of a murderer, now the question is, who is
protecting whom?
Warning: This book contains a good amount of stuttering,
forgetting, remembering, danger, hot man love (cop style),
and hordes of cuddly kittens.