Gillie has spent the last 12 years or so of her life as a prized possession slash prisoner for the Foundation, an evil group of politicians and scientists obsessed with the supernatural abilities of humans and the idea of duplicating those abilities to create the perfect weapons for the government or evil plans of the rich. Gillie is pretty lonely; all she has are the strange visits from the Director of the facility and the freedom within her cage to cook (which is more than others receive). Thankfully, T-89, otherwise known as Taye, finds a way to convince the director to allow him to spend at least one hour a day with Gillie. Taye and Gillie form a strong bond as Taye prepares himself to execute his plan to escape the facility and be free before his ability kills him.

The fourth book in Ava Gray's Skin series begins as a recap of sorts of the great escape with a little more detail than the previous books. The race to be safe and escape the evil and dangerous clutches of the Foundation to help save the day is exciting and promising; enter Mockingbird to either recruit Gillie and Taye or help them start a new life. Then the excitement comes to a stop for awhile. Gillie's character grows steadily through out the book but I felt Taye got lost in the shuffle and felt more like a secondary character. Gillie is ready for anything while Taye is a bit of a downer; granted his ability is killing him but the only thing we are sure of is Taye feels Gillie is too good for him. Large sections of the story are dedicated to secondary characters like the mercenary hired to retrieve Gillie and Mockingbird and his collection of outcasts.

There is definitely closure, though it seems some story lines are left a wee bit open and maybe unclear in some cases but other than then dragging at times, Gillie and Taye have great chemistry together.

Book Summary

She can’t remember what home is like…
Gillie is a fugitive. She has the scars to prove her long-term incarceration, but the story would land her in a padded cell if she presented it to the authorities. Now that she’ s free, she’ s determined never to be bound again. But her extraordinary healing is too valuable to let go, and her former captors intend to retrieve her—by any means necessary. Which doesn’t bode well for her dream of a normal life.

He can’t remember wanting anything more.
Taye can’t remember much about his past, but he knows he’s not worthy to give Gillie her happily-ever-after, so he’s determined to preserve her innocence, though she tempts him more than any woman he’s ever known. With the clock ticking and a bounty hunter hounding them, he faces the most important task of his life—assuring her safety from the Foundation. No matter the pain of his own deferred desires.

Gillie doesn’t understand how he can resist the charge between them. And if Taye has his way, she’ll never know the sacrifice he’s making to keep her alive…