The Ghost is another irresistible story from the fabulous Jessica Gadziala. We met the team, led by Quinton Baird, in the previous book in this new series, The Fixer. Quin leads a badass crew who "fix" situations, ranging from negotiating the fee (in lieu of, um, death) for a filthy rich playboy crashing a borrowed yacht while cavorting with the wife of a Russian VIP to cleanup of bodies. Gunner is part of that crew - handsome, tattooed, irritating and grumpy, he is the very best at his job: he can make people who want disappear become invisible. Hence, his nickname "Ghost."
When Gunner's latest assignment shows up at Quin's office, he promptly draws conclusions from her appearance (gorgeous but very high maintenance) - the hair, the expensive clothes, the 12 designer suitcases and the FACE, which could launch a thousand ships. Yes, he automatically assumes that she's a snotty, spoiled socialite and, as usual, his charming (not) demeanor rubs the new client the wrong way.
Beautiful, successful (but uptight) designer Sloane is in seriously bad trouble. Having inadvertently witnessed a cold-blooded murder and like a good citizen, reported it to the cops, she is now running for her life. It turns out that the murderer she reported is actually an infamous psycho drug dealer, whose retribution to people who piss him off includes not only killing those guys, but raping and mutilating their wives and daughters for good measure. And now Sloane is on his list. Having barely escaped with her life after being attacked and stabbed in her shower (and this was WITH a hired bodyguard), she turned to Quin's team for help as a last resort. Gunner has to "ghost" her, abandoning everything she has worked so hard to achieve without even a phone call or a backward glance.
Sparks and fireworks fly as grouchy Gunner hauls Sloane across the country, and the story of their bonding is compelling. There's plenty of excitement, but for me, the beauty of this story was how they gradually learn about each other and overcome the snap judgments made from their first impressions. So thrilled to receive an ARC of this awesome book and can't wait to learn more about the Fixer team!