THE PAYBACK (Team Zulu 2) by Julie Weaver-a review

Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / Amazon.uk / Amazon.au /

Don’t own a Kindle? Download the FREE Amazon Kindle App for your mobile device or pc

ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date May 26, 2022

Sage

Three years ago, the Mafia murdered my first love and shattered my chance of happiness. I won’t stop searching for the gunman until justice is served, even if every step toward the killer is a step into the gaping jaws of Philly’s notorious underworld.

If only the new guy in my building, AKA Mr. Tall, Dark, and Annoyingly Alpha, would leave me and my secrets alone. My body might want him, but my head knows better. I’ve lost too much to risk giving my heart away again, especially to someone as deliciously tempting as Brandon Lewis.

When the Mob catches on to my revenge plans and delivers a deadly ultimatum, my persistent new neighbor discovers we share a common enemy. Brandon might be an incredibly skilled hacker, but why isn’t he scared of taking on the most dangerous men in the city? And how does a computer geek get the body of a warrior, bullet scars and all?

Teaming up with the fierce, overprotective man next door becomes a proposition too appealing to resist. Except the more I get to know Brandon, the more I realize he’s the last person I could let pay for my foolish mistakes. If it happened again, neither of us would survive.

••••••

REVIEW: THE PAYBACK is the second full length instalment in Julie Weaver’s contemporary, adult TEAM ZULU romantic suspense series focusing on the former members of an under cover Black Ops Unit known as Team Zulu. This is security specialist/IT hacker Brandon Lewis, and Sage Allen’s story line. THE PAYBACK can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty. Any important information from the previous story lines is revealed where necessary.

NOTE: Some of the events of THE PAYBACK cross over with, and run parallel to some of the events in book one THE HIT.

Told from dual first person perspectives (Brandon and Sage) THE PAYBACK focuses on the take down of the Wolf Street Mafia. Three years earlier Sage Allen’s boyfriend was gunned down a drive by shooting, a shooting Sage attributed to the Wolf Street Mafia. In the hopes of taking down the people responsible Sage changed her major in college, and spends her free time stalking the Wolf Street Mafia. Meanwhile security specialist Brandon Lewis is on the hunt for the people responsible for the death of his sister, a hunt that crosses over with our story line heroine. When Brandon reluctantly agrees to work sided by side with Sage Allen, neither one had any idea how that their partnership would result in a future relationship both personal and professional. What ensues is the building relationship between Brandon and Sage, as our couple work together to take down the Wolf Street Mafia.

Brandon Lewis is desperate to stop the human trafficking ring organized and run the the Wolf Street Mafia but when his new neighbor Sage Allen is swept up in the chaos of the ongoing investigation, Brandon fears for her safety, and pulls our heroine into the take down of the people involved. Sage is a strong, independent and worthy ‘opponent’ for our story line hero, a woman who has prepared herself for all eventualities except falling in love.

The relationship between Brandon and Sage begins as neighbors but Brandon never expected to find the Wolf Street Mafia sitting at Sage’s front door. Sage’s stalking by the Mafia has been discovered, and our heroine is about to pay the price for sticking her proverbial nose where it doesn’t belong. Sage isn’t prepared for her attraction to Brandon Lewis but Brandon becomes a means to an end as Sage continues to hunt for the people who killed the man she once loved. The $ex scenes are limited but passionate and intense.

We are reintroduced to fellow member of Team Zulu Hitman Elias ‘Shep’ Shepherd, as well as FBI Special Agent Maya Williams, the new head of the Wolf Street Mafia Dante Moretti, and his right hand man Maxim Orlov.

THE PAYBACK is a story of power and control, revenge and payback, friendships, relationships, acceptance and love. The premise is captivating and intriguing; the romance is seductive; the characters are determined, charismatic and dynamic.

Click HERE for Sandy’s review of book one THE HIT

Copy supplied by Netgalley

Reviewed by Sandy