Fast-paced suspense along with a second chance romance. The story opens as Benning's twin children, Owen and Olivia, are kidnapped from their home. Benning has something that the kidnapper wants, and the children are his insurance to get it. For some reason, the kidnapper quickly releases Olivia, but keeps Owen. Desperate to get his children back, Benning contacts the FBI and requests the only person he trusts to help him - Agent Ana Ramirez. He and Ana were a couple seven years earlier, but when the case she was working on ended badly, Ana walked away from Benning.

In the past seven years, Ana has acquired an impressive record of finding missing and kidnapped people. She has a laser-like focus on doing everything needed to find those victims. Ana is driven by the memory of her failure years before and blames herself for allowing her feelings for Benning to distract her from her job. Since that time she has kept people at a distance and keeping her emotions out of her work. She is stunned when she discovers that her new assignment is to recover Benning's son.

This story is action-packed from the beginning. The bad guy desperately wants the item that Benning found during one of his inspections and will do anything to get it. Things get complicated when Benning discovers that the item is no longer where he left it. It seems that every time Benning and Ana get a lead on how to find either Owen or the item, the bad guy is right there to stop them. They survive shootings, fires, explosions, stabbings, blows to the head, and just about any other injury imaginable while refusing to give in until they find Owen. As the case progresses, it also becomes evident that the bad guy has something personal against Ana, and it has something to do with the unsolved case from seven years earlier. By the time the final confrontation came, I was on the edge of my seat wondering how Ana would get out of it alive. The identity of the bad guy was a shock.

I enjoyed the rekindling of the relationship between Benning and Ana. It is obvious from the start that the sparks between them are as strong as ever. Ana is still consumed by guilt over letting her relationship with Benning distract her from that earlier case and tries very hard to keep Benning at a distance. Benning realizes early on that his feelings for Ana are just as strong as they were before, but getting past Ana's defenses won't be easy. Her journey to forgiving herself wasn't an easy one, and the final step came from an unexpected source. With that, Ana is now able to allow her love for Benning show. The ending was sweet, with Owen and Olivia joining Benning in a surprise for Ana. ( )

Midnight Abduction by Nichole Severn
Tactical Crime Division (TCD) #3

Benning Reeves has had the worst day of his life when he realizes one of his twins is in the hospital and the other is being held hostage by a killer. All he has to do is not contact the FBI or police and return a skull to the madman and all will be well…or will it really? I mean, who can trust a madman killer? So, he reaches out to the woman he knew and loved seven years ago – an FBI agent with the specialty of finding those who have been taken. And, moments after Agent Ramirez arrives the fireworks begin. From that point on it is a life or death situation that includes, knives, guns, crowbars, axes, deceit, bombs, fisticuffs, psychological warfare and a w hole lot more. Will the TCD team win or will the bad guy get away with…murder, kidnapping and more?

What I liked:
* Agent Ramirez: a tough cookie that has sealed off her emotions in order to focus her attention on her job. This case may crack her protective shell as she deals with the man she once loved.
* Benning: a good man, great father, a person who does what is right, and totally willing to do what it takes to get his children back…and woo Ana again.
* The pace and action
* The writing
* The amazing recuperative powers of the two main characters they seem to have terminator healing abilities (have to suspend medical reality a bit to believe all they endure and are able to come out still standing)
* Owen and Olivia: twins that were interesting young people – perhaps geniuses with their reading and other abilities or perhaps just written older than most normal six year old children really are.
* The HEA for the two main characters
* That those who were evil were unveiled and justice was served.

What I did not like:
* The bad guys

Did I enjoy this book? Yes
Would I read more by this author? Yes

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Intrigue for the ARC – This is my honest review.

4 Stars ( )

Midnight Abduction by Nichole Severn is the second novel in the Tactical Crime Division series. Benning Reeves is attacked, and his twins are kidnapped. He knows one person who can help him: Ana Ramirez. Ana is a former girlfriend and a member of the Tactical Crime Division. They may have broken up, but their feelings for each other have not gone away. They must put them aside and focus on locating the twins. The men who took his kids are ruthless. Benning uncovered something during an inspection that the bad guys want returned. Can Ana and the Tactical Crime Division get the twins back safely? I thought it was well-written and moved along at a speedy pace. There is plenty of action in this romantic suspense novel. I do want readers to know that the story contains violence (people are shot, knifed, blown up, beat up) along with foul language. Each book in the TCD series can be read on its own. I like that Benning and Ana are strong characters. They keep going no matter what happens to them (I would have asked for morphine and passed out in a comfy bed). I just loved the ending of Midnight Abduction. Midnight Abduction is a thrilling novel that will have you up late to finish it. ( )