Vicious Scars

Prey Security: Bravo Team #1

by Jane Blythe

No good deed goes unpunished.

Tallulah Russel knows she's made a mistake. Unfortunately it's too late to do anything about it. Snatched from her home and held prisoner in a cabin by a man whose behavior grows more confusing by the minute, she has two choices. She can escape the second she gets an opportunity, or she can put her trust in her kidnapper when he tells her he's the only thing standing between her and certain death.

Gabriel "Tank" Dawson didn't want this job. Now when his team needs him, he wants to be there for them, but this case has been ranked as high priority. Falling for the target shouldn't be an option. But he can't seem to help himself. Every second he spends with Tallulah he grows more captivated by her. Too bad the second she learns he's been lying to her from the beginning she'll hate him.

What should have been a simple plan goes to hell and its Tallulah who will end up paying the price.

Genres: Suspense, Romance, Military Fiction, Romantic Suspense, Military Romance, Contemporary, Mystery

Kindle Edition

Published January 9, 2024

About the author

USA Today bestselling author Jane Blythe writes action-packed romantic suspense and military romance featuring protective heroes and heroines who are survivors. One of Jane's most popular series includes Prey Security, part of Susan Stoker's OPERATION ALPHA world! Writing in that world alongside authors such as Janie Crouch and Riley Edwards has been a blast, and she looks forward to bringing more books to this genre, both within and outside of Stoker's world. When Jane isn't binge-reading she's counting down to Christmas and adding to her 200+ teddy bear collection!

Reviews

[Sherry Fundin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I usually read Jane Blythe’s series in a progressive order, but this time I stepped ahead. I couldn’t help myself. I feel her books can be read as stand alones. The characters appear throughout the books, but each book highlights a couple. Vicious Scars tells Tallulah Russell and Gabriel “Tank” Dawson’s story.

Jane sets the hook early, creating a need to know from the opening pages. An intruder. It wasn’t what I expected, and I love that. Jane is very good at throwing twists and turns throughout her books. There are two story lines in Vicious Scars and we will only learn the results of one, Tallulah and Gabriel’s story.

A kidnapping of a woman in Witness Protection. What? Why would Prey Security feel the need to save someone who has been given a new identity and is being hidden by the U S Marshalls? Well, I’ll tell you. There’s a rat and they are there to, not only save her, but catch the man who has put a million dollar bounty on her head.

At 6%:

Instead of trying to brute force her way out of his hold by thrashing about, which would have been impossible, she immediately put her hand between his legs, grabbed his crotch, and twisted.

Yeah, Jane may love her damsels in distress, but she does not leave them defenseless.

Tallulah carries the sins of her father and has been in foster care since she was three years old. Because of her desire to help those in need, she has put a price on her head. Just once, she would love to have something good in her life. She doesn’t know it yet, but her kidnapper is the man that fits the bill.

We have some light moments, having me nodding my head and smiling. Even in times of darkness, there is light.

Some steamy moments heated up my ereader, but Tallulah and Tank deserve something good in their lives. Even though I knew Jane Blythe would supply it, the road to their happy ever after was not an easy one. Bullets flew, bodies fell, and suspense mounted as we came to the heart pounding conclusion.

[Read All About It · Rating 4 out of 5]

His pixie!!

This new series spinoff sure started out with a big bang.

Tallulah has caught the attention of the wrong man. People want to use her to get to him.

Gabriel or Tank, is charged with holding her but things go sideways.

“She gives me wings to fly,” he said without hesitation. “Allow myself to fall in love and accept the fear of losing that love.”

This is one action packed story you don’t want to miss.

[Jenny · Rating 5 out of 5]

Vicious Scars is book one in the Pre Security Bravo Team by Jane Blythe. Tallulah Russel is very serious about looking after children in her role as a social worker, so when she heard about a small boy being mistreated, she had to report it and was placed in witness protection. However, that was a mistake; she was abducted from her safe house by Gabriel "Tank" Dawson and held prisoner in an isolated cabin. Tallulah was at a loss, but when she discovered the truth, her life with Gabriel changed forever. The readers of Vicious Scars will continue to follow Tallulah Russel and Gabriel "Tank" Dawson to find out what happens.

Vicious Scars is another fantastic book by Jane Blythe and a brilliant start to a new series. This book highlighted the dangers social workers can face while protecting their charges. Reading Vicious Scars kept up with the tradition of my engaging with Jane Blythe's books.

I love Jane Blythe's portrayal of her characters and the way they interact throughout this book. Vicious Scars is well written and well researched by Jane Blythe. I like Jane Blythe's description of the settings in Vicious Scars, which helped me imagine being part of the book's plot.

I recommend this book.

[**Tessa** (semi hiatus) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ok. Really wasn’t any grovel. Another book where danger and possible death (h gets shot) equals instant making up and forgiveness with no effort or grovel on our heroes part. 2.5 ⭐️ rounded up

[Ela La1978 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Boy oh Boy. I already knew in the first chapter this Series is gonna be epic. I mean seriously throwing of with a bang and so many questions than turning around and make the story about something else completely is only something Jane can do. A few bits and pieces of the original blast show up and will keep you guessing and literally begging for more. Which unfortunately or on purpose will not be until later in the series. One mystery will be solved, one is tangled in front of us while the next is already on the doorstep. Women you rock!

[Kate · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't completely hate this book. The writing was good, and it moved along. I do think that an unwritten rule of romantic suspense is that the heroine can get hurt, but not generally orally raped and later sexually assaulted with the "hero" by her side.

This woman should never have taken this monster back. He lied to her from the beginning and broke her trust by drugging her and handing her over to the bad guy at the end of this book. Telling her she was strong enough to take it doesn't jibe. I don't believe that the ends justify the means.

I won't be reading any more by this author - I feel like the trust that I normally have as a reader is gone.

[Shiree · Rating 1 out of 5]

skip skip skip, I’m I reading or playing games

I really wanted to like this book, but it was impossible to connect with the characters…. Tank wasn’t an alphamale, or alphahole, to me he is all B team, in the worst way.

[Lisa · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was a rare DNF for me. I made it about 30% of the way into this book and just had to stop because I couldn't stand the writing style or relationship and the plot had huge gaping holes in it. If it had been a shorter book I might have pushed through but I couldn't stand another 70% of the same.


The story opens very bizarrely with an info dump of all the men in the Bravo team. It strongly reminded me of that godawful scene in Suicide Squad where they have one of the character's just read out the name and special characteristics of each of the squad members. Same thing happened here. Every guy in the squad was introduced like this: Sebastian "Rock" Rockman. Gabriel "Tank" Dawson...it was so cringey. Not to mention too many characters to keep track of when they were all dumped on us at once.

After we're done with the unnecessary roll call, we're told that someone has broken into their super secure base in the middle of the woods. Our hero, Tank, is closest so he's sent to find them. Only when he gets there, he doesn't find some stealthy group of insurgents but rather a terrified and barefoot woman just racing through the snow. He grabs this woman and recognizes her as his leader's wife, who had been missing for 8 months. The leader races over there and tearfully hugs her but she doesn't recognize any of them.

All the men are crushed by this news and wonder where she's been all this time....but I'm just like, why are they just standing there looking at her? Do they think she was dropped off by aliens? They're in the middle of the woods, miles from the nearest town. How the hell did she get there? Shouldn't they be retracing her footsteps in the snow to try to figure out who brought her there? But no, apparently they're not worried about that. Some elite team of badasses they are.

Then the scene ends and we're with the heroine, Tallulah Russel. She's just arrived at her new witness protection house. She has a new identity but apparently that's it? Like there are no cops or anyone there helping her get settled. There's no furniture in the house. No food. She tells us she's only got a little money in her account so she'll have to find a job soon, but she's not allowed to do the same type of work she used to because that will be too identifying. So she'll have to get some low level unskilled job to get by while she tries to train up for some other profession. So it sounds like the cops in this fictional universe are total assholes? They just handed her a new name and the keys to a new apartment and said "best of luck" without doing anything to help her actually survive?

We soon learn that Tallulah's father is a famous killer. He was abusive towards her mom and then one night he just snapped and killed her mom and about 30 other people in his neighborhood. Tallulah was apparently 3 years old when this happened but she tells us that the cops tried to pressure her into giving them more details about the crime and didn't believe her when all she could do was babble about how everything was red. They thought she was trying to cover for her father.

Yeah, I'm just gonna have to go ahead and call BULLSHIT here. There's no fucking way any cops would think a 3 year old capable of understanding what was happening enough to try to freaking cover for her killer dad. That's just pure nonsense.

And what's more, Tallulah apparently spent the rest of her life being judged and side-eyed by literally everyone she ever met. Somehow they ALL knew about her dad and assumed she was a killer too. Again, I call bullshit on this. How could everyone she met, even years later, automatically know about her dad? Get out of here with that crap. Russel is a very common name. There's virtually no chance that, even decades later, people would learn her last name and just automatically connect it to this murderer guy. And here's another question, why didn't she just change her damn name, if it was such a burden to her??

No answers are given. We're just supposed to admire the crap out of her for having such a terribly, horribly unfair life that she didn't deserve. So that was very annoying.

But things get worse from there. The reason Tallulah is in witness protection is because she gave evidence against a very bad man. But for THE ENTIRE BOOK or at least, the entire 30% I read, this is referred to as her having done something wrong. That she was too naive and stupid to think she could stand up to this guy and now she was suffering the consequences of that naivete. It was such bullshit. She did the right thing! She was brave and tried to make the world a better place by helping the police put a criminal behind bars. But instead of recognizing her bravery and sacrifice for doing that, the author and the hero both treat her like she's a complete idiot for having done it. And that the fact that she now had a price on her head was her own damn fault. Hell, the author even has Tallulah HERSELF thinking this in her inner monologue. It's so damn frustrating and makes no sense at all.

I think the author was trying to use some kind of writing style here? Where at first we, the readers, wouldn't be sure whether Tallulah was a good person or not? By the time I stopped reading we still hadn't learned what, exactly, she had done to put the bad guy behind bars. So maybe JB thought that by keeping this vague and having everyone in the story act like Tallulah deserved the price on her head that we'd assume she'd done something bad before the story began? I don't know but if that's what she was going for, it didn't work.

Right here in this very first scene Tallulah tells us in her inner monologue that she hadn't done anything wrong and yet she was being punished by Karma anyway. So I never felt any hints that she might have been bad and therefore "deserving" of both the bad things happening to her and the hero's condemnation. It just made me hate the hero for being such a dick. So frustrating.

Getting back to the story, unbeknownst to Tallulah, Tank is already in her new house. He sneaks up on her and grabs her from behind, then injects her with drugs. And the whole time he's doing this, attacking, assaulting, and kidnapping her, let's not forget, he's thinking about how stupidly naive she is and how this is all her own fault. What a douchebag.

Then he takes her to a safe house, strips her out of her clothes, and handcuffs her to the bed. She wakes up and of course is freaking the fuck out because she assumes Tank works for the bad guy she helped put away. AND HE DOESN'T TELL HER OTHERWISE.

There's just NO REASON for this. We eventually find out that Tank's brother works in the FBI and was part of Tallulah's case. He learned that there was a mole in their organization and that her location in witness protection had been compromised. So he contacted Tank to go in there and whisk her away to an unknown location before the bad guys could get to her. And that's all fine and good as far as it goes but why the fuck wouldn't Tank just TELL HER that once he had her in a safe place? Why would he continue to pretend to be a kidnapper working for the bad guy, terrorizing and humiliating her in the process, if he was actually one of the good guys?

There's no real answer to this question. And it made me freaking hate everything. Tank is such an asshole to Tallulah the whole time. He mocks her at every turn. Forces her to pee in front of him. Shower with him in the room. She refuses to eat anything he gives her at first because she's afraid it'll be drugged or poisoned and he just mocks her for that too. Then he forces her to sleep in the same bed as him, while he's NAKED when he easily could have just left his pants on. He keeps her handcuffed to the furniture or himself night and day and mocks her for bruising her wrists so badly when she tried to find a way out of the cuffs.

And through all of this, he knows damn well that she thinks he's there to kill her, or at least to deliver her to the guy who will torture and kill her. And he's laughing at her the whole time because she reacts exactly the same way anyone would react to being kidnapped and treated this way. How am I supposed to root for a hero like that?

When we FINALLY get to the part where he explains who he really is, his excuse for why he didn't tell her all along was that he "knew her and she would have insisted on going into the FBI to try to help them find the mole." Which is complete horseshit.

1) Why on Earth would she insist on going in to "help" with that? What could she possibly do to track down an FBI mole? Absolutely nothing. So I can't see how that's even a thing. But
2) Tank could have just...not let her? I mean, he's already holding her locked in this safe house. She doesn't have a car or money. She couldn't get to the FBI without his help anyway. Hell, if necessary he could have still handcuffed her if she was really SUCH an idiot that she simply would NOT stop trying to endanger herself. But he could have done all that WHILE STILL LETTING HER KNOW HE WAS THERE TO PROTECT HER.

Seriously, she spent the whole freaking time trying to find a way to escape him because he deliberately let her think he was the bad guy. THERE'S JUST NO REASON FOR THIS.

Oh, but it gets even worse from there. Tank is attracted to Tallulah and keeps teasing and flirting with her, while also privately vowing never to cross that line with her...until he does. They play hangman together and he chooses the word "Kiss" to play this little flirtation game. This makes Tallulah hit upon the idea that she might be able to get away from her kidnapper if she got him hot and bothered. It's even suggested that she'd be willing to have sex with him, if it meant saving her life.

Let me just say that again. Because Tank has continued to pretend he's a bad guy, Tallulah is so terrified that she's about to be killed that she resolves to prostitute herself to him in a last-ditch effort to stay alive. And he fucking lets her.

Granted, they just kissed before Tank's long buried morals finally kick in and he pulls away, but still. He knows FULL WELL that Tallulah was only trying to seduce him so she can escape. That's how desperate he's made her. And NOW, finally, he feels ashamed of himself. But just for the kiss part. Not for all the other shit he's put her through the whole time. Not for all the mocking and humiliation. Not for terrorizing her for days with the thought that she was about to be led to her death. No. He's totally fine with all that stuff as being her own fault for her horrible crime of trying to do the right thing. How stupidly naive of her. But he does feel bad about kissing her because that's against the rules of his mission.

But he clearly doesn't feel all THAT bad about crossing that line with her because he doesn't call his boss and let him know he's been compromised and they should send a replacement. No, he's got the audacity to feel jealously possessive of her and to not want any of his teammates around her. Right, because they might treat her like a freaking human being and she might end up liking them right, asshole? Can't have that.

So he ignores her for days, which Tallulah takes as a rejection of her kissing. Then one day he just uncuffs her and shoves her into the bathroom, saying she can have an unsupervised shower as an apology for his behavior the other night. This is the first time Tallulah has been left alone since he kidnapped her so she immediately shimmies out the window to escape. BECAUSE SHE'S STILL TERRIFIED OF HIM.

And it turns out the bad guys have found their safe house, which Tank knew about, but thought the best plan was to allow her to "escape" even though the bad guys were right outside. Seriously, that was actually part of his plan to protect her.

Since he never bothered to tell her what was really going on, he knows that if he tries to move her from the house, she'll freak out, thinking he's taking her to the bad guy to be tortured and killed. And he can't deal with that and fight the bad guys at the same time. And he knows that if she saw him having a shoot out with some black-garbed men, she'd probably assume they were the police come to rescue her from this madman and she'd probably run right to them. So he let her escape into the woods without her knowing the bad guys were there.

That was his grand plan. What if she'd run right into one of the bad guys? What if she hadn't decided to escape and had just stayed in the house? What if she couldn't get the bathroom window open? What if she couldn't fit through it? What if she'd broken her ankle jumping out? These are all questions we're apparently not supposed to think about. Just accept that Tank is some kind of crazy genius for letting her escape.

So Tallulah makes it to the trees and Tank immediately finds her. And FINALLY he gives her a quick explanation of what's really going on and ... she immediately accepts it, without even punching him in the fucking throat for being such a terrorizing asshole dick this whole time. She's just totally fine with it all, just like that.

I can't even, with this book. So that's where I stopped reading. I just couldn't take it anymore.

I can't stand heroes who are assholes to the heroine but she loves him anyway and forgives all the unnecessary dickishness. Especially when the hero doesn't even feel bad about being such an asshole. He's been having a grand old time mocking her and humiliating her. He even tries to tell us in his inner monologue that it was FOR HER BENEFIT because it pissed her off, which he considers preferable to the stark terror he could see in her eyes whenever she wasn't angry.

YOU KNOW WHAT WOULD HAVE BEEN EVEN BETTER, JACKASS? IF YOU FUCKING TOLD HER THE TRUTH SO SHE WASN'T FUCKING TERRIFIED IN THE FIRST GODDAMN PLACE!!!

Sorry, this one just really, really pissed me off and I can't believe how many other reviewers rated it so highly. This is not healthy relationship material, people!!

Oh and I haven't mentioned his diminutive pet name for her yet. He called her "pixie" in every fucking sentence. Seriously, every single one. Every line of dialogue from him, he included "pixie." It was SO intrusive. So overdone. And so unnecessary. She asked him repeatedly to stop calling her that but of course he didn't because he's an asshole who delights in showing her that he's got all the power in the situation and she's completely helpless. Dirtbag.

So yeah, can't say I recommend this one.

[Sassy Southern Book Blog · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tallulah Russel is a woman who has caught the attention of the wrong man and she tries to live her life the way she wants but when she is kidnapped and taken to a cabin in the middle of nowhere she knows she’s in trouble. Yet the kidnapper does certain things that makes her really wonder who has kidnapped her and why.

Gabriel “Tank” Dawson works for Prey Security and his latest job is to pretend to be the bad guy and kidnap the woman that everyone is after before she gets herself in even more danger. Yet he doesn’t expect to have feelings for the woman in his care and he wonders how long he will last before he confesses the truth to her.

Can Gabriel keep Tallulah safe from those out to get her and will Tallulah trust that Tank is who he says he is when both of their lives are on the line?

I enjoyed this book and I am really looking forward to another series from this author.

Tallulah was a good character who was doing the right thing but by witnessing the wrong thing her life was in jeopardy and I don’t think she realized how much trouble she had really found herself in. I liked that all of this started from her really trying to do what was right but she found herself up against a very dangerous man with a lot of connections. I admired her for never giving up no matter what circumstances she found herself in, even when things didn’t look good for her at all.

Gabriel was a little harder to read as he was there to do a job but he couldn’t help feel attracted to Tallulah especially with her attitude. He remained quite professional and was as aware as he could be of what was going on around them until one wrong turn changed things.

These two definitely had chemistry but things progressed at a good pace and it felt more realistic than just jumping in bed together. I think with Tallulah not really having a clue what was going on made Gabriel hold back on how he felt about her.

I liked the story and mystery in this book and although nothing came as a complete surprise the story still had the reader invested into what was going to happen next. The book had some great twists with certain events and I liked what happened at the end of the book.

Looking forward to more in this series!- Rebecca

[~lil maso~ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reviewed by Robyn for Saucy Reviews on Kinky Korner

4 1/2 stars

Gabriel, aka Tank, Dawson was a former Delta Force operator, and with the rest of his team, is now an operative for Prey Security forming Bravo Team. Having read the Alpha Team series I had high hopes for this one, I was not disappointed.

Tillie Russel is a victim of her childhood trauma and the unfair stigma placed on her because of it. She is dedicated to helping children as a social worker, and even to the detriment of her own safety, will try to protect them as much as possible.

Tank and Tillie meet under unusual circumstances but immediately feel the intense chemistry between them. Trust is not something Tillie does easily, which is understandable. However, she feels that Tank is at heart a decent person. Tank knows that Tillie is a generous lady but learns she is strong, dependable and resilient.

Great action and simply packed with heaps of drama to entertain and delight readers. I will admit that Ms Blythe certainly knows how to create incredibly evil characters where you want to hit them over the head or worse because of their cold, unfeeling actions.

Another fabulous story and no doubt this series will be super exciting like this book.

*ARC received in exchange for an honest review*

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[Jane McDougall · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was very excited to have the opportunity to read this ARC. A new series from Jane Blythe, what’s not to love? This series involves ex Deltas who now are Prey Securities Bravo Team and there are obviously secrets to come out in future books.
I love the way the characters in Janes books think. There is always a lot of detail on their thoughts, emotions, fears and motivations. For the villains as well as the hero’s and this is one of the great strengths in Janes writing.

In Vicious Scars we meet Tallulah (Tillie) and Gabriel (Tank). Both have had traumatic childhoods and I mean TRAUMATIC! These childhood events have impacted in the way they have lived to date, but soon enough their connection helps both open up their hearts to the possibilities of a joined future.

Tillie is hiding from an underworld kingpin and Tanks motivations in his encounter with her are unclear at the start, but as events unfold, we understand his behaviours and feelings more and more. As ever, we have guilt, angst, danger and some events that could be a trigger but Tille and Tank were great to get to know and Characters who may appear in the next books, including the other members of Preys Bravo team are beginning to show themselves and I look forward to learning more! So, I really enjoyed this and am excited for this series to continue.

I was given a free ARC copy and this is my honest review.

[Rebecca Austin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book and I am really looking forward to another series from this author.

Tallulah was a good character who was doing the right thing but by witnessing the wrong thing her life was in jeopardy and I don’t think she realized how much trouble she had really found herself in. I liked that all of this started from her really trying to do what was right but she found herself up against a very dangerous man with a lot of connections. I admired her for never giving up no matter what circumstances she found herself in, even when things didn’t look good for her at all.

Gabriel was a little harder to read as he was there to do a job but he couldn’t help feel attracted to Tallulah especially with her attitude. He remained quite professional and was as aware as he could be of what was going on around them until one wrong turn changed things.

These two definitely had chemistry but things progressed at a good pace and it felt more realistic than just jumping in bed together. I think with Tallulah not really having a clue what was going on made Gabriel hold back on how he felt about her.

I liked the story and mystery in this book and although nothing came as a complete surprise the story still had the reader invested into what was going to happen next. The book had some great twists with certain events and I liked what happened at the end of the book.

Looking forward to more in this series!

[Teresa · Rating 3 out of 5]

First contact

New series follows other series (set in same world as prey series) but you can read this one without the other.(so far no cameos but eagle is the boss on phone)and

I thought this book starts with Beth with her shocking entrance but it side steps her (future story) but a good start to the mystery. We follow hank in his POV and also Tully's POV.oddly we go to the bad guys POV a few time small bits on him remember his evil father with happiness and you see how sick evil he is.
I did feel hank was a little over the top on the betrayal.he was on a mission it had to look real get over it. For me the hard part was standing back with the boot car play out (sorry don't want to give spoilers) you would think he could of said no touching until car transfer or something I would not forgive that part, plus would his character find a way to not let anyone touch her.found it weird we never saw his brother? (Her agent handler) ,

As always this author writes dark, she has a thing about people getting violated, no last minute save before shit happens with her and mostly the lady's have been violated before. (Really do she hate women)

This book ends on two cliff hangers one tilly figured out about her new sweet best loyal friend and the phone call they get. (Got to wait for next book)
Looks like Ariel is next book

[Robyn Corcoran · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 1/2 stars
I wrote this review for Saucy Reviews on Kinky Korner.
Gabriel, aka Tank, Dawson was a former Delta Force operator, and with the rest of his team, is now an operative for Prey Security forming Bravo Team. Having read the Alpha Team series I had high hopes for this one, I was not disappointed.

Tillie Russel is a victim of her childhood trauma and the unfair stigma placed on her because of it. She is dedicated to helping children as a social worker, and even to the detriment of her own safety, will try to protect them as much as possible.

Tank and Tillie meet under unusual circumstances but immediately feel the intense chemistry between them. Trust is not something Tillie does easily, which is understandable. However, she feels that Tank is at heart a decent person. Tank knows that Tillie is a generous lady but learns she is strong, dependable and resilient.

Great action and simply packed with heaps of drama to entertain and delight readers. I will admit that Ms Blythe certainly knows how to create incredibly evil characters where you want to hit them over the head or worse because of their cold, unfeeling actions.

Another fabulous story and no doubt this series will be super exciting like this book.

[Marie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tillie is a sassy pixie

But Tallulah is his feisty Warrior Pixie, everyone underestimates her, including him and definitely Tillie herself. She is far stronger than anyone he has met and it is her huge heart that gives her the strength to fight every day no matter what hurdles she faces....but it is that same heart and compassion that also puts her in danger and will eventually cost her her life. Just the thought of a world without Tallulah crushes Tank, his Little Pixie has walked straight through the steel trap containing his heart, nobody else has ever penetrated it, but she reaches straight in to his chest and takes his heart for herself.
As with every Jane Blythe book, I sobbed at least twice reading this book, it opens with a heartbreaking scene and from that point on you are sucked into a vortex of emotion, highs, lows, sweet moments and complete devastation and betrayal, but even when you struggle to see through the tears, you cannot stop reading. I read this in one sitting and whilst I hate the experiences Tillie and Beth live through and the situation Tank finds himself in.....I love this book and look forward to more of Bravo Team. I read this on Kindle Unlimited.

[Tanya Rosemeyer · Rating 2 out of 5]

least favourite book of Jane’s

I love Jane’s books in general, although she sometimes loses track of her own story and timelines and they nearly always lack proofreading, the stories themselves are captivating. That said, the first 30% of this book I found repugnant, offensive and shocking. All these team books, as I call them, are shocking when the bad guys get involved, it makes me worry for the authors minds tbh, but when it’s bad for the hero to behave so cruelly, it spoiled everything and tainted the whole book. Eagle would NEVER sanction Tanks actions in the beginning of this book. Not ever. Handcuffing a frightened woman he’s meant to be protecting to a bed and then getting in there with her totally butt naked while she’s afraid for her life, by design no less, and vulnerable and then making her shower with him in there goes against everything Prey stands for and I’m actually reticent to read the rest of the series if Bravo have so few morals. Everything in this story could have been tweaked to follow the same thread but without the brutality from the hero.

[Jenny Jackson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gabriel and Tillie

This was a quick and intense read. It was full of suspense from page one and kept the same intensity throughout the book. I found it interesting because it was not your typical, damsel in distress, saved by the alpha male, romance. There were a lot of times Tillie saved herself and even saved Gabriel a time or two. Gabriel and his team were not invincible, they were flawed and human.

Gabriel and Tillie’s relationship developed quickly. They both had a dose of love at first sight despite Gabriel’s kidnapping of Tillie. They had to rely on each other to survive and they definitely went through the wringer on their journey through the forest. Tillie, especially, had a lot to overcome, both in her past and in this book.

This was a good start to this series. I liked the camaraderie between Gabriel’s team and the underlying plot with Axe and Beth added a little bit of a cliffhanger at the end.

[Rose Boniello · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hope the Series Gets Better!

Hoping this story and this first Bravo Team hero is not paving the way for the rest of the books. Tank was so incredibly obnoxious in this book. Even though he’s a good guy trying to protect Tallie, he is so nasty to her, he teases her beyond anything that could be considered funny. He kidnaps her, drugs her, keeps her in handcuffs for days (to protect her!). How could her wrist not be horribly bruised?! He won’t even let her go to the bathroom or take a shower without the handcuffs. He’s 6’8”. She’s about 5’. And he thinks he can’t keep her from escaping?!

And somehow he falls in love with her?? And she is so desperate to be loved that she is attracted to Tank. Talk about Stockholm syndrome! Why he couldn’t just reassure her he was protecting her never made sense.

Because this author wrote one of my favorite books in the original Prey series, I’m giving the next book a shot.

[Carmela Dimattia · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great start to this new series by Jane Blythe. From the get go you knew you were going to be reading another amazing story and Ms Blythe certainly did not disappoint. She is very consistent in delivery books of a very high calibre and I have loved each and every one. Tilli and Tank’s story was full if drama and intrigue and a little heartache but all in the name of a great read. I was so wrapped up in the characters and clinging to every little detail but I was not expecting that explosive ending. Damn Jane you know how to make us lose our minds. So excited for the next book and all it promises to deliver. Do yourself a huge favour and pick up one of Jane’s book. Trust me you will never look back!

I received an arc copy from the author and am voluntarily leaving an honest review.

[Kathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the first book in this spin off series. Tallulah has had a hard life. She just wanted to do what was right now she is the one paying. She was just doing her job. Now she is in witness protection. Or at least she was supposed to be. She finds herself drugged and kidnapped shortly after getting to her new home. Tank nor anyone on his team wanted to do this job this way but it seemed the best way. There is just something about the pixie. The more time he spends around her the more he wants her to be his. Nothing is as it seems. Tallulah is confused by her abductor. He jokes with her, makes food for her, allows her to shower. Why is he being so nice if he is just going to turn her over to a horrible man. When Tallulah finds out what is going on how will she react? This book had me hooked from the start. I love the characters. I can’t wait to read more about the other guys on team Bravo. Tank has had a hard childhood as well. Tallulah brings out his protective instincts in a different way than ever before. Tank and Tallulah are perfect for each other. He grounds her and he allows her to fly to find herself. Wonderful job Jane.

[Carolyn Glover · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a book! This book hooked me in right from the first chapter, then the story took a completely different turn. I absolutely love all of Jane Blythe's books, but this one literally had everything you could possible want from the beginning of a new series; a page turning plot, plenty of romance and a wonderfully resourceful heroine in Tilly. The hero; Tank was such a well crafted and complex character, he really took me through all manner of emotions and I swung between hating him and loving him. The brilliant thing about this novel is the fact that several tantalising hints (hopefully about books in the series!) regarding other team members were peppered throughout the story, I really cannot wait for the rest of this series, I recommend this book unreservedly.

[Stephanie Ditmore · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tillie and Tank’s story was emotional, heartbreaking and packed full with action, suspense, secrets and mistrust. These two had more in common then they realized. Burdened by what her father did has weighed on Tillie and her life everywhere she went. She wears her heart on her sleeve and trying to right a wrong put her in the sights of her worst nightmare and when Tank steps in her days’s not getting any better. No spoilers from me, these two are quite the pair, sexy, flirty, she’s sassy, love the nickname Pixie. She is everything he doesn’t deserve but everything he wants, but when the truth comes out will his Pixie move past his betrayal? Guess you’ll need to read to find out. Amazing read and can’t wait for more.

[Leanne ~ Tales From The Heart · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a brilliant start to a new branch of Prey Security. Ex military personal still fighting for justice and protecting the innocent.
Tallulah was in witness protection when she was snatched out of her home. She had no idea it was Prey and not the Mob. 'Tank' was convinced she was just a job but she certainly got under his skin, small and feisty she wasn't going down easy.
I was certainly hooked from the beginning of this book. Trying to work out the back stories and what was going on as all the pieces came together was so entertaining.
The book ends with a big bang, will they or won't they be together by the finale.
Can't wait to grab the next book and see if it's one of the hints from this story.

[Wendy Livingstone · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the first in a new series, and this is Gabriel / Tank and Tallulah / Tillie’s story.
Tank is a former Delta Force operator, and is now an operative for Prey Security, while Tillie is a social worker, dedicated to helping the children in her care. When Tillie become the target of a dangerous man, Tank is sent to kidnap her for her own safety. These two may have met under unusual circumstances, but the chemistry between them is undeniable.
This is a well written story which is easy to read, action packed story, with danger, suspense, mystery, drama, emotions, trust, chemistry, romance, and love, which leads to an entertaining, tragic, unpredictable, and steamy addictive page turner.
I look forward to reading more from this talented author whose work I highly recommend.

[Meghan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Doing good isn’t easy

Tank/Gabriel and Tallulah/Pixie/Blondie. A new spin off of Prey is here with the Bravo team. It starts off with an intruder who is a lost wife, a team whose leader isn’t the leader, and a kidnapping of a woman by the good guys. Emotions, sarcasm, and many danger scenes later we find out the Italian mafia is involved and that Tallulah is in serious danger unless the Bravo team can fix it. Along with the danger Tallulah introduces a friend who u think will be someone in Bravos significant other and some of her baggage with a violent father. The story shared more about Beth the lost wife and leaves us on a cliffhanger about where she might have been and who might have stolen her.

[Do Your Reading]

I'm sorry but I can't sit through this crap. This is beyond Stockholm syndrome trope. More like a Ted Bundy HEA in a fictional universe. I know it's fiction and romance but I've noticed I can't seem to reconcile books like these lately because every single time an MMC "abducts" the FMC and the latter starts romanticizing the experience I try to picture Ted Bundy and those 33 female victims he eventually raped and/or murdered. He was a good looking polite fucker too. But there was only one HEA but not for his victims. Besides I wonder if the FMC in these books would feel the same if the MMC looked like the BTK killer not knowing what he's capable of. It's amazing how a pretty face can get your guard down.

[Vickie Chaisson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Vicious Scars

This book is actually brutal in so many ways. Full of terror, kidnapping, abuse, loneliness, brotherhood and family. Family does not need shared DNA just people who care about you the way you care for them. For our main characters who have never really had permanent family and survived abuse as children they would do anything to keep their family. This storyline is intense and succinct. Characters are really well written and thought out as only this author can. This book pulls you in and you feel every scar and hurt they suffer. This author never fails to amaze with her grasp of the human soul. You will enjoy the 1st of this series. Be prepared you will not be able to put it down. Well done.

[Vicky · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF.

Couldn't abide the almost 'rape-y' vibes this gave me. He stripped her to her underwear and handcuffed her when she was unconscious? He then slept with her... naked? Just disrespectful... so what if he was a 'hot sleeper', sleep on the fraking floor, or outside the bedroom door if he was that worried that she' escape. I stopped reading when it got to what almost felt like flirty chatter when they were making meatballs... talk about ridiculous. Stockholm syndrome doesn't even begin to cover it, considering it had been hours since he had kidnapped her.

Sighs. Thought that this might be a series that I could get into.

And what was that prologue? Were we supposed to know what was going on??

[Detra Newhouse · Rating 5 out of 5]

Holy smokes this one got me right at the beginning! There’s really 2 1/2 storylines in this one, but the one you THINK is the main one isn’t for this book. The true main story, Tillie and Tank (TnT!), is so very good. It’s a bit of a heartbreaker, some sizzle, a lesson in sometimes doing the right thing isn’t always the right thing at first. TnT are so dang good together and cute, too, but don’t let that fool you because there is soooo much drama and action in this one. I mean it seems like my girl can’t catch a freaking break. Hang on to your Kindles (or books) because you’re in for a ride with this one!

[Cheri · Rating 5 out of 5]

Vicious Scars (Prey Security: Bravo Team #1) pub 1/8/24 4 stars
Tank & Talluha

She did what was right but at what price? She was getting resettled by Witness Protection when she was kidnapped. They were supposed to protect her. Instead, she is captive in a cabin somewhere. Is she being held by the man she turned in? He is known for his vicious treatment of people. So much so she was warned not to.

He didn't want to be the one tasked with keeping her there. He couldn't neglect her as she expected, but he couldn't let her go as she begged either. He'd had plenty of such assignments but never these feelings.

Secrets, danger, strong chemistry and so much more.