Expired Return

Author: Lisa Phillips
Genre: Mystery/Suspense
Series: Last Chance Fire and Rescue #1
Pages: 292
Release Date: January 31, 2023
Publisher: Sunrise Publishing

Working together might cost them everything.

Veterinary tech Pepper Miller knows she broke the heart of the man she loves...and there's no going back, especially when the secret that tore them apart is still hidden. Now, she's focused on watching her niece, Victory, until her mother's return. But when her sister goes missing, she'll have to turn to the one man she can't face in order to find-and save-her family.

Allen Frees' life blew up the night that Pepper left him. Not just because she broke his heart, but because a raid went south-and he ended up in a wheelchair. Now, as the liaison between the Fire Department and City Hall, he's determined to help the leaderless FD's truck crew and rescue squad work together, even if he can't fix his broken heart.

When Victory is nearly kidnapped at a community event, Allen helps Pepper protect her niece. But there's a new drug in town, and Pepper's sister is embroiled in a dangerous bargain. When her secret is discovered, and danger closes in, what will it cost her to save the people they love? And can Allen put aside the past to fight for a new future?

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Reviewer: Rebecca Maney

"It only took a near-kidnapping to get you to talk to me."

True. Immediately following Pepper Miller's heart-wrenching break-up with Allen Frees, his life had been upended by a terrible on-the-job accident, leaving the once active police officer in a wheelchair. Even in their small town, the two had managed to avoid much contact . . . until . . . Pepper's life takes a dangerous turn. Her sister is nowhere to be found, and Pepper's young niece, Victory, is nearly kidnapped. Whose help does she long for? Allen's.

Now serving as a liaison between the Fire Department and City Hall, Allen's connections within the law enforcement community have remained strong. He wants to help Pepper, but she is a risk in more ways than one. Having never fully understood her reasons for ending their relationship, it's obvious that she is in something over her head. Maybe time hasn't expired for them after all.

High energy and action-filled, this romantic suspense also takes the time to explore second chances. That process was my favorite part of the story.

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