Source of Protection

Ashe Sentinel Connections #2

by D.J. Jamison

The only place Sgt. Rick Wilson seems to meet eligible men is at crime scenes. That generally doesn't work out so well for him. Last time it happened, he was rejected by Ashe Sentinel staffer Jorge Ortiz. But when Rick finds himself with an armful of gorgeous murder suspect, he can't help but be intrigued. When it turns out Will McCall may be more victim than criminal, he becomes determined to protect him despite the risks -- to his career and to his heart.

Will McCall moved halfway across the country to get away from his ex-boyfriend. After 5 years of abuse from the Oregon police officer, the last thing he needs is another man with a badge in his life. But as the threats to his safety mount, he can't help wondering: Is Rick the one man he can trust with his life and his heart?

"Source of Protection" is the second novella in the Ashe Sentinel Connections series. It is a m/m romance.

Genres: M M Romance, Contemporary, Romance, Abuse, LGBT, Gay, Crime

127 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 29, 2015

About the author

DJ Jamison writes a variety of queer men finding extraordinary love through M/M Romance! She is a lifelong reader and has always loved writing and editing, with a ten-year journalism career before she began publishing romance. She has books in ebook, print, and audio, as well as German, French, and Italian translations.

DJ lives in Kansas with her husband, two sons, and a sadistic cat named Birdie.

Join DJ's mailing list at http://tinyurl.com/DJandCompany

Join her FB group at www.facebook.com/groups/DJandCompany

Follow her on Ko-Fi for bonus content: www.ko-fi.com/ReadingDJ

Reviews

[Pati · Rating 4 out of 5]

I purchased "Changing Focus" on Amazon and read it a few days later..... I did keep thinking as I was reading that it appeared to not be the first book in a series. I've just this morning realized that though Amazon had the title as "Changing Focus" the story that I READ is NOT! It's actually Rick's story "Source of Protection". Somehow the file got mixed up apparently and they are were selling the wrong book!

As we all know things happen, everyone makes mistakes and at least in this instance no harm no foul. This is a great short story with wonderful, lovable, sympathetic characters that you just want to hug and see them get their HEA.

I will most definitely be reading more by this author.

[Isabella ~Mikku-chan~ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Better than volume 1. What the first book was missing was finally in it. :3
Will and Rick are sweet and awesome together, I really liked how Will was really, really smart and witty when he wasn't intimidated.
I also was delighted to see how well Jorge and Mac/Dylan built their relationship. :3
And finally, the erotic scenes weren't faded out and more detailed. :3

5 out of 5 stars.

[Corinne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Alright, so THIS is the actual book I read, and It was great :) A really good M/M romantic suspense with a believable plot, realistic characters, some police procedural / crime mystery and a touch of awkward run-ins with ex-lovers (which stems from book 1 - Changing Focus).

Overall, a solid read just from a suspense point of view. The well-paced romance that develops between the two leads was a bonus. It also deals with the unpleasant realities of domestic abuse, and I thought it was handled well through both Will's reactions to offered help and through Rick's kind patience in earning Will's trust.

I did feel at times like I was missing a few pieces, but that's because this is a second book, and I think it would do the reader well to read book 1 - Changing Focus, first so they have the whole story with Jorge and Mac.

The mix-up with the book covers has been fixed, and I'm off to go read Changing Focus now (for real this time lol)

OH and I just learned there is a book with Archer? :D I'll picking that one up, too...

[Otterpuss · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm sure this probably shouldn't matter but for me it absolutely does.
The cover...*shudder* it's horrendous.

This book certainly has its problems, again like the first one there is very little back story, especially about Rick and there isn't enough detail about either character to really be invested in their story.

You have to suspend reality when it comes to details about the police force and how they work. For example we are expected to believe that an apartment is being watched by the police and yet a witness can leave the apartment and meet a suspect over the road from said apartment with no one noticing.

However, I enjoyed this more than the first one in the series, Changing Focus. I liked Will and Rick and I felt a bit more involved in their story. I actually liked Jorge and Mac more in this book than in the first one too.

[Suzanne Ellis · Rating 4 out of 5]

This 2nd installation in the Ashe Sentinel series certainly did not disappoint. And the characters from "Changing Focus", the first book in the series were all up in the story, making it even better to read...as if I was visiting my friends and making new ones at the same time.
Rick Wilson, a police officer, comes up on a crime in progress, or so it seems. On the scene is Will McCall, who is leaning over a man on the ground, with blood everywhere, including all over Will.
Something about the young man makes Rick look at him twice and feel the undeniable need to help him. I do not want to give anything away with the story, so I will tell yo that this book is even better than the 1st book and I am looking forward to the next book in the series.

[Candice · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this story better than the first book, but it was still missing that back story. The characters weren't fleshed out enough for me and maybe if the book was longer they would have been.

I liked Will and Rick, but there was something about their relationship that kind of rubbed me wrong. Maybe because it was too quick? Will was so nervous and for him to be so close to Rick so quickly? Yeah. That didn't fly with me.

Overall, it was good and I'll continue on :)

[Tj · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the second book of the series and is a more layered and textured book. Source of Protection deals with domestic abuse, intimidation, and fear.

Rick and Will the MCs are more complex than the Jorge and Mac from the first book. The writer also expanded on the sex scenes and the intimacy factor.

[D. · Rating 2 out of 5]

What the fuck! Will's stupidity just blew my mind!

Started his first serious relationship with Peter, police officer, at the age of twenty yo and lasted for 5 years because Peter was very abusive asshole both physically and mentally as well. Will moved so far away from Peter but he won't let Will go that easily. Michael, Will's boss was dead and made him scared for Rick's safety so he wants to settle things with Peter with his own way. He contacted Peter, agree to meet up. He, thank fuck for the small favor, messaged Rick first then turned his phone off.

Will didn't learn his lesson! When he face to face with Peter, he succumbed to Peter's domineering presence, once again just like back then. Peter asked Will to kiss him and Will thinking about his kiss with Rick and he thought to himself "he wasn't his old self anymore, someone who desperate of Peter's love he'd suffer his abuse" but still continue to thinking that this was the best outcome for everyone, he agree to go with Peter and Rick will be safe. He could run away later even though he feared that Peter would make it harder than the last time he escaped. But when Peter got violent and trying to teach him "a lesson", he somewhat realized his biggest mistake and trying to escaped, once again!

There's no need for Will to meet with Peter and reconcile in the first place just for Will to back down when Peter got violent for fuck's sake! Because Will already spent 5 years being a punching bag for Peter use as he please! In the end, Will's fucking stupid and reckless decision almost cost Rick's life. Here I thought, Will just wants to tell Peter to back fucking off of his life forever.

[Ashley D · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sgt Rick Wilson can't seem to meet men anywhere but at crime scenes and let's be honest that isn't the best place to meet men. The last time that didn't work out well for him, Jorge went running to his "ex," now he is intrigued by a suspect. Will moved halfway across the country to get away from abuse police officer boyfriend and now he is falling for another hard nosed police officer.

I liked Rick as a secondary character in the first book, so was happy to see he was going to get his own HEA. Will took a bit to like, while I understood his reasoning for being slow to trust Rick, he just seemed to toy with Ricks feelings at times. I think once he got through the block in his head linking all police to his "ex" and Rick seemed to have to go over and above to prove himself. Other than that I really enjoyed both Will and Rick along with seeing the previous characters make appearances.

[SC]

I can’t even rate it. Stick a fork in me, I’m done. Done with the series, done with the author.

Although this was slightly better, the cop comes off as a huge pansy, the victim is well - that, a victim. The Spanish is awful, the story is a little boring, again, next to no chemistry or romance between the characters, inconsistent timeless, inconsistent details about other characters. Just a hot mess. Nope, no more. There are too many fantastic authors out there to punish myself with these books.

[Claudia · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

Better than the first book but still not great. It just felt too fast considering how much happened in just 2 days...plus at one point there are like 4 showers in one day. Plus, the emotional conflict just kind of resolved itself, I wish there was a more satisfying resolution to Will's turmoil than him just ignoring it.

[Steven Marshall · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am really enjoying these stories. They are not too long with the perfect balance of romance and suspense. In this one Rick is helping Will who is running from a bad relationship that has too many parallels with his current situation to allow him to relax. Needless to say it is all resolved in the end, but some good fast-paced action along the way.

[Tristan · Rating 3 out of 5]

3~3.5/5

It was alright for a WISEC book.

[Tetkaripli · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

This series just gets better. I love the setting and the characters. Interesting story line and well written characters.

[Jenn C · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 - I really liked Will and Rick together but some of the rest of the storey was a bit over the top.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I definitely liked this one better than the first one. Well written with good characters. I am going to keep reading them. Cute short story.

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5*

[Queue · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

Book two features cop Rick Wilson, who was seen in book one and is Mac’s ex-boyfriend. Rick meets Will McCall when Rick finds Will kneeling by a dead body. Rick doesn’t really suspect Will but he is drawn to him. In fact, Rick and Will are both attracted to each other with no real reason.

This book hit on one of my favorite tropes—hurt/comfort. There’s nothing I love more than seeing a big alpha male protect a smaller man. That’s one reason I liked this story more than the first one, but there still isn’t a lot of depth here. We mainly skim the surface, though there is more character development with Will than there was with Mac and Jorge.

The story addresses a serious issue here; physical abuse. Will is running from his abusive ex-partner, a cop. Will’s trust issues are displayed perfectly here and Rick had to earn Will’s confidence and love. I did like Rick and Will’s relationship but their sex scenes were nothing special.

Most of my issues here come from non-plot related events. There are a couple grammatical errors (your instead of you’re) but my biggest complaint is the inconsistent spelling of the word break-in. The use of the hyphen is the proper way but six times the hyphen is not used. Every time I saw breakin it pulled me out of the story. Then, inexplicably, toward the end of the story the correct use of the word is shown. Minor complaint, I agree.

There were also a couple procedural items that bugged me. In the beginning of the story when Rick comes on the scene and sees Will with the dead body he doesn’t announce that he’s a cop. To Rick’s credit, he does consider this later.

Another niggle I had was this scene:

Sirens screamed in the background as Rick held up his gun, barrel pointed to the sky, and lowered it carefully to the ground. Once it was there, he kicked it a few feet away.

I know this happens all the time in TV and movies but it’s not accurate. In real life police officers are trained to never give up their weapons regardless of what’s happening. Yes, it’s used for dramatic affect here, just like in other media, but it’s one of my pet peeves.

Overall this story was a pleasure to read.

3.5 stars

[Deanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

More emotional than the first in series, but I still wanted more story development and background on MCs. Rick, a police officer, discovers Will leaning over a dead body. He pulls his gun but the potential perp does not respond as expected.

The more he thought about it, the more panicky he felt. He gasped for air, but couldn't seem to catch his breath. A loud buzzing took up residence in his head, the staticky sound muffling the curse the gunman let out. "Oh Christ!" he heard, just as the edges of his vision crumpled inward and his eyes rolled back in his head.

Will is running from an abusive relationship, a relationship that Will felt might kill him. He doesn't tell any of this to the Rick or the other police officers, for good reason Will believes. Rick doesn't believe that Will is responsible for the dead body, but he is not the homicide detective.

The man's snug T-shirt couldn't possibly hide a weapon, but some idiots thought it was a good idea to stash weapons in their waistband. It was a miracle more perps didn't blow off their4 dicks. Or maybe it was a pity.

I enjoyed this story and I was happy to visit with Mac and Jorge again. I also got to find out more about Archer. I will read the rest of the series.

[Alexis Woods · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pleasantly surprised by this book. Hadn't read book one, but you don't need to (enough background is given for Mac and Jorge's story here).

This is Sgt. Rick, an out police officer who stumbled onto a murder scene. But he can tell Will is innocent. The question is how to get Will to trust him. Will's scarred past is creeping forward, but the only one who seems willing to help wouldn't have been his first choice.

I would have liked a bit more emotion from these guys, but overall I enjoyed the banter, the flirting and the rocking sex scene. And the evolution of the mystery which wasn't such a mystery to us.

[Shaztwirl · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable.

This is a very different book to the first one. There is plenty of action, great chemistry between the characters (Rick's banter with Mac is great fun) and a sprinkling of humour in the dialogue.

[De3De3 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Series is enjoyable so far

I like the storyline, although a bit formulaic. The characters are likeable and hold you interest. This is an easy read for when you have a couple of hours to kill.

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars.

[Lee Rey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book in Ash Sentinel Connections Box Set and the review:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3...

[Amber Fueston · Rating 2 out of 5]

Loved the first book but this one fell short. Rick comes across as way too desperate and Will was way too weak.

[Jacqui Brooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

4/5

I love reading books, but I hate writing reviews. That being said, I rate this book: Story: 4/5 stars. Heat level: 4/5 stars.