Brody (The Bang Shift Series)
by Mandy Harbin
Genre: Military, Romantic Suspense
Brody “Brutus” Jackson isn’t your average small-town mechanic. The shop where he spends his days doubles as the headquarters for the mercenary group he works with. They jokingly call themselves the Bang Shift because the government contracts they take are the less savory ones, and they’re all just shady enough to do what’s necessary to get the jobs done. As far as Brody’s concerned, it’s the perfect arrangement for a man with no memory of his past, and no hope for the future.
Under FBI protection, Alexandria Collins and her son have been in hiding for ten years. When it’s time to move again, her piece of crap car breaks down and the man giving her a tow is the biggest, hottest guy she’s ever seen. She is determined to ignore the need her long-neglected body hungers for. After all, the last man she showed interest in put a gun to her head.
Brody thinks the skittish Xan is sexy as hell, but it’s not her hot body that has him rocked to his core. He knows her from somewhere, and in his line of work, that’s a dangerous thing. Following orders have never been this hard, but he will protect her at all costs … even if what she needs protection from is him.
Excerpt:
They walked up to an opened fence and Xan
silently thanked the heavens for small favors. The garage looked as if it was
open. They walked through the gate and into the old building with several
antique and late-model cars out front. Walking through the front door, she
braced herself for the blast of cold air to hit her face, relishing the thrill
of the artificial air she was about to gloriously encounter.
She was sorely disappointed. It was hotter
in here than it was outside. How was that even possible? Her wet clothes clung
to her sweaty body, leaving nothing to the imagination. Didn’t matter. She was
past humility at this point. She’d have a teenage moment and flash her boobs,
sweat and all if necessary, to get someone to help them out.
“May I help you?” a man with a gravelly
voice asked as he walked into the makeshift lobby next to the bays, wiping his
hands on a grease rag. He looked to be middle-aged, though she wasn’t sure
since he was bald. No gray hair to help her out with that assessment.
She looked at his nametag sewn into his
shirt. “Yes, Colonel, is it?” At his smile and nod, she said, “Our car broke
down a couple miles down the road.”
A metal crash and very masculine curses
mixed with raucous taunting and laughter startled her. Scott snickered at the
colorful words coming from the bays. He’d heard them plenty of times, though
Xan tried not to talk like that. Really, she did try to deny her sailor-mouth
tendencies. She just wasn’t very good at restraining herself all the time.
“Sorry,” Colonel mumbled. “Those are my
mechanics, trying to catch up on some work. I took over this garage after I
realized being retired was boring, and we stay pretty busy. Seems like I’m
constantly hiring more help, but we stay behind.”
The ruckus from the bays was finding its
way into the lobby. Several guys walked into the room, and Xan felt a slight
panic attack coming on. She not only lacked a love life, but she tended to
avoid large groups of men. She didn’t have anything against the male
population, but after marrying into the mafia at a young age, dodging copious
amounts of testosterone seemed like a good self-preservation tactic to live by.
So she did, and when she wasn’t prepared to interact with schools of men, her
stomach took a nosedive when thrust into that very situation.
Taking a covert calming breath so she
wouldn’t look like some skittish girl, she tried to pay closer attention to
each of the men as they came near. If she identified them individually, she
could pretend she wasn’t dealing with a mob of men.
A mob of seemingly beautiful, large,
masculine men, looking to be around her age.
Oh shit. She so did not need this. Her
nerves and sense of self-preservation took on a whole new meaning. She’d rather
deal with certain fear than possible attraction.
As she surveyed the crowd, she noticed
their looks were as various as the candy selection at the last gas station
she’d stopped at. Male sweetness was not
better than chocolate. She just had to remind herself of that as she stared at
the variety before her. One guy had black hair, another blond, spiked all
crazy. The two next to the hot version of Billy Idol had long dark-brown hair
and curly light-brown hair. There was another bald guy bringing up the rear,
but that one had a goatee with green eyes. Colonel had brown eyes and was
definitely older than this group that’d just come in.
“Where’s Brutus?” Colonel asked the guys.
The dude with the spiky blond hair
chuckled. “He’s cleaning up his mess.”
“It wasn’t his mess, asshole. You’re the
one who knocked the tray over,” Mr. Black Hair said with a snarl. Xan
instinctively took a step back.
“Easy, Roc,” Colonel said and looked at
her. “This is Roc.” He pointed to the cranky man with black hair. “Blade,” he
gestured toward the spiky blond guy. His name made sense. His hair looked sharp
enough to hurt if he were to head-butt someone.
“I’m Hunter,” the man with long brown hair
said, and then he pointed to the guy with curly brown hair. “That’s Gage. He’s
not as mean as Roc, but don’t get too close to him.” He chuckled.
“Fuck off, Hunter,” Gage growled.
“See?” Hunter snickered. “And that guy over
there—”
“I’m Bear, and Hunter’s a dick.” He ducked
his head and glanced at Scott. “Oh sorry. He’s, er, I mean he’s a punk.”
Scott laughed. “Don’t worry. I’ve heard it
all. You should hear my mom talk. She has the biggest potty mouth.”
Xan gasped. “I do not.”
“Wow, he’s your kid?” Blade asked. “Did you
have him at twelve?” He laughed but with sincerity twinkling in his eyes.
“Just about,” she murmured.
After a few of the guys laughed, she
immediately relaxed. Sure, they were all very handsome. None looked to be
shorter than six feet, and each had a body to die for, though each had a unique
look all his own. But she didn’t feel any sparks, so she felt relieved. Maybe
her libido was broken. If so, she was fine by that. She didn’t need any man
drama in her life.
Why did that make her feel a little
depressed? She shook off that thought. She couldn’t get caught up with any man,
so there really was no need dwelling on the things she couldn’t have, like
love, companionship, trust and sex. God, she’d love to have sex again.
Maybe in another life.
Focusing her attention back on the problem
at hand, she looked at the assembled group of men. “Look. We need our car towed
and a ride to a car rental company. Can you help us?” Xan asked the guys in
general so as not to single anyone out.
Blade’s eyebrows shot up. “I’d love to give
you a ride, doll.” Even though his tone was clearly teasing, she stiffened.
Flirting was definitely not her forte.
Hunter whistled while shaking his head in
exasperation. “Back off, Blade.” He looked at Xan. “Sorry about Rico Suave over
here. One of us would be glad to help you out. But you’d have to drive up to
Conway or back to the Little Rock area for a rental. Best to call around first
before making the drive.”
“I’ll call Bill and see if he can drive one
out here,” Colonel said to Hunter, then looked at her. “He owns the rental
company in Conway. If they have something he’ll bring it out here and save you
a trip. You’ll be limited on your options, though.”
“Oh, whatever it is will be a step up from
my old hatchback. I’m not choosy.”
Colonel nodded and looked at the guys
expectantly. “Which one of you is available to help her out?”
“Bear and I aren’t finished with the tranny
that’s supposed to be ready tomorrow,” Roc barked and turned to leave. He
obviously wasn’t volunteering. Xan was okay with that. She didn’t like the vibe
coming off him, anyway.
“Sorry.” Bear smiled to her as he followed
Roc.
“Gage and I have to finish puttin’ tires on
Ms. Carson’s minivan, then do Joe’s,” Blade told Colonel before turning to Xan.
“I’d be happy to help you if you
stick around, doll. It shouldn’t take us more than an hour.”
“Get to work,” Colonel snapped, and Blade
winked at her as he and Gage headed back to the bays.
“I have one more oil change to do, so I can
do it in fifteen,” Hunter said with a crooked smile, “but Brutus just finished
up on Mr. Jackson’s ’56 Chevy. He’s been pickin’ up the tools that Blade
knocked over after Blade called him a pussy.”
Oh, right. She’d forgotten there was
another one around here. Brutus it
seemed. What was with these names? Must be a man thing, not that she’d know. Or
could even begin to understand the inner workings of the male brain, ego, or
whatever it was that fueled their behavior. Oh, once upon a time, she knew one
part of the male anatomy that tended to lead in the decision-making process, but
she’d long ago fell out of practice with that too.
Hunter glanced at Scott, remembering there
was an impressionable young man in his midst, looking contrite and shaking his
head. “Sorry, man.”
“Go,” Colonel told him. “Brutus!”
Hunter left, but his departure barely
registered. Just as he was walking toward the bay area, a man with long blonde
hair and built like a freaking bodybuilder walked her way. With each step, his
muscles rippled and his hair—what wasn’t sticking to his sweaty brow—flowed in
waves behind him.
She should not find this man attractive.
She didn’t care for bulky men, and she definitely preferred short hair on the
opposite sex. Long hair belonged on women, like she used to have, but she
wasn’t dredging that memory up now.
So why was her body doing things she hardly
recognized. Hardly recognized, not didn’t recognize. She knew what that
tingling sensation in her pussy meant. The tightening of her nipples? Yeah, she
knew what that meant too. Images filled her mind of this behemoth of a man coming
over her in bed and doing very naughty things to her. She stifled a moan. Yeah,
she shouldn’t find him attractive because he didn’t fit any description of her
ideal type. But there was no mistaking the fact that her body didn’t get that
memo.
So much for not being attracted to any of
the mechanics here.
As Mister Hold-Me-Down-and-Fuck-Me-Good
walked up, his pupils dilated, turning his dark-blue eyes black as his nostrils
flared, his gaze zeroing in on the tight buds of her nipples before locking
with her own heated eyes. Good thing she was already wet from sweat because her
panties just got wetter.
She shut her eyes to break the connection
her body was trying to make with this man. She had to be smart and remember all
the reasons men were not a part of her life. She could use him as masturbating
material. Nothing more, dammit.
She wasn’t going to break her abstinence
streak for anyone, especially not a man who could quite possibly fight off
every one of the other mechanics singlehandedly. She didn’t know him from Adam,
and the last—the only—relationship she’d ever had was abusive. Hell, Marco
tried to kill her in the end. She had to find the strength to avoid any and all
temptation this sex god presented.
And she would. She was just strong enough
to resist a man built like he could break her face.
Because
if she didn’t, she knew she was just weak enough to let him break her heart.
My Review:
This was one sexy as hell fast and exciting read! I was drawn into the story right away and didn't want to put the book down! There's a little bit of suspense and a whole lot of romance! I can tell this is going to be an awesome series.
I really liked Xan. She's very strong and determined with a little sass. I really felt for her and was rooting for her. She took initiative to get out of a bad relationship and help take her ex down by going to the FBI. She was trying to get her son out of a bad situation even at risk to herself.
Brody.. He was so frustrating but I couldn't help but love him! He was so hot and cold with Xan and I wanted to strangle him but there was still something about him that drew me in. He wanted Xan so bad but wanted to protect her even more. Even after finding out some really bad stuff he only cared about her.
The chemistry between them was sizzling and they scorched the sheets!
The secondary characters were a lot of fun! I am really excited to get the rest of the guys from the garage's stories. They all were intriguing in their own ways.
I definitely plan on reading more from Mandy Harbin in the future and definitely reading the rest of this series!
My Review:
This was one sexy as hell fast and exciting read! I was drawn into the story right away and didn't want to put the book down! There's a little bit of suspense and a whole lot of romance! I can tell this is going to be an awesome series.
I really liked Xan. She's very strong and determined with a little sass. I really felt for her and was rooting for her. She took initiative to get out of a bad relationship and help take her ex down by going to the FBI. She was trying to get her son out of a bad situation even at risk to herself.
Brody.. He was so frustrating but I couldn't help but love him! He was so hot and cold with Xan and I wanted to strangle him but there was still something about him that drew me in. He wanted Xan so bad but wanted to protect her even more. Even after finding out some really bad stuff he only cared about her.
The chemistry between them was sizzling and they scorched the sheets!
The secondary characters were a lot of fun! I am really excited to get the rest of the guys from the garage's stories. They all were intriguing in their own ways.
I definitely plan on reading more from Mandy Harbin in the future and definitely reading the rest of this series!
Mandy Harbin is an award-winning, bestselling author of several books across multiple romance genres ranging from contemporary to paranormal erotic romance. She is also the number one bestselling author in teen romance under the pen name M.W. Muse with her popular Goddess Series. She is a Superstar Award recipient, Reader’s Crown and RWA Passionate Plume finalist, and has received Night Owl Reviews Top Pick distinction many times. She studied writing at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, earned several degrees, and even pursued an MBA until she realized becoming an author did not have to remain an unfulfilled dream. Mandy is a PAN member of the RWA and lives in a small Arkansas town with her non-traditional family, and although she is a direct descendant of British royalty, they refuse to call her princess. When she’s not penning her latest book, you can find her hanging out online where she loves to connect with fellow readers or stalking Mickey Mouse at Disney World.
Photos attached (I use the color one mainly when promoting my Mandy Harbin stuff and the black/white/smiling one when promoting M.W. Muse)
Mandy Harbin's Media Links:
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