To the men who work for the drug lord Carlos, women are servants and amusements. Why do they specifically kidnap Harper, an educated, trained agent? Someone among the gangsters is undercover, an ex-Navy SEAL, and he decides to report this matter to Langley as soon as he can. Harper's ordeal is just beginning. Eventually she wakes from a drugged sleep in a compound with idyllic surroundings. She's being treated as a guest now, but of course she can't leave... this scene struck me as a gender-reversed scene from an early James Bond film. Rafe, the undercover man, is trusted by Carlos, but he can't afford to give himself away. Carlos samples his own cocaine, making him violent and paranoid. What does the drug lord want with an explosives specialist?

Reference is made to human trafficking as impoverished women with nothing else to sell come to the compound in the hope of earning money, and some are allowed to stay but others are packed off to be held in the cartel's brothels. The peasant men cooking the drugs aren't treated much better. I was surprised that Harper and Rafe have a long conversation about Rafe's real identity and their plans in Harper's bedroom; I'd assume that room was bugged. Rafe didn't know every move his cartel boss intended so he might not have known about a bug. Once the action starts it doesn't let up and the two Americans have to fight for their lives.

The author KaLyn Cooper is a military wife and knows how to tell a vivid tale combined with a powerful romance. An EXPLOSIVE COMBINATION indeed! For those who enjoy thrillers and want a look at life in Central America, I recommend picking up this action-packed romantic suspense novel.

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