One of the nice things about a long-running series is the chance to see the children from previous books grow up and get stories of their own. In this case, Mike is the son of Michael Cutler, the hero in Takedown. He recovered from his injuries and is now a physical therapist who helps others the way he was helped. He and his best friend Troy have started their own PT business in one of the rougher areas of Kansas City, not far from police headquarters. They are struggling a little bit, but are determined to make a success of it. Mike is charming, generous, and kind-hearted. He will do anything for those he cares about, even when it puts him in danger.

Gina is a cop with the KCPD. She is small but fierce, thanks to having to fight every step of her journey to the career she wants. After the deaths of her parents, she and her siblings were raised by their elderly aunt and uncle. Gina is protective of them all and is their primary financial support. She is determined to find a way to move them out of their dangerous neighborhood, which is why she has applied for a spot in a new SWAT team. Things look promising until she was shot on the job. If she can't regain her abilities, her dream will go up in smoke. After six weeks and going through two therapists, Captain Cutler takes her to Mike.

I loved the development of the relationship between Gina and Mike. The sparks flew between them from the very beginning. Thanks to his past, Mike understands Gina's need to push herself. He also knows that it can be counterproductive, but convincing her isn't going to be easy. I got a little irritated with Gina at the beginning because of the way she judged Mike without knowing his history. I loved his patience with her contrariness and that he wouldn't give up on her. One of my favorite scenes was when he drove her home and was invited to dinner because he was THE Mike Cutler. It tickled him to know that she talked about him to her family.

Mike was attracted and intrigued by Gina from the start, but she was not interested in a relationship. This was both because of her plans and because of what she saw as their differences. So Mike stuck with being friends at first as they got to know each other. Mike also gets involved when trouble comes to Gina's family. I loved his calm and quiet strength and how he used his connections with KCPD to help them. As Mike and Gina worked together to get to the bottom of that trouble, and to see if it was connected to the shootings of several cops, they grew closer. Mike didn't doubt his feelings for her, but Gina had some blind spots that had to be overcome. I loved it when she finally saw the light and admitted her feelings for him.

The suspense of the story was fantastic. There was a rash of cop shootings, including when Gina and her partner, Derek, were shot during a domestic violence call. Even though she was on medical leave, Gina could not let go of the need to investigate. There was also an attack on her family's house, and Gina's sister's boyfriend added another layer of complications. I loved seeing Gina's determination to get to the truth. The final confrontation was intense, and it was Gina's insight and quick thinking that saved the day. The culprit wasn't too much of a surprise by the end given the things said and done, but could just as easily been another suspect I had my eye on.

I also enjoyed seeing various other members of the KCPD and catching up on their lives. It was especially fun to see Mike at the station where he is well-known by most of the officers. It did make me laugh to see a grown man of twenty-eight being called "Mikey" by other men. I liked the obvious love and respect between Mike and his dad. ( )