Reviewed by Taylin
TITLE: Double-Down
SERIES: Bad Boy Security #3
AUTHOR: R Cayden
PUBLISHER: Self-Published
RELEASE DATE: April 28, 2020
LENGTH: Novel
BLURB:
A mercenary with a mysterious past. A bodyguard, ready to fight. And beautiful Lawrence, just trying to have a good time.
Raiden doesn’t expect much danger from his new bodyguard gig. He’s a fighter, but this rich kid just needs someone to keep him out of trouble. Watching Lawrence wriggling his hips and flirting with other men stirs up feelings Raiden didn’t expect. He tries like hell to resist temptation, but when a suspicious stranger keeps crossing their path, Raiden smells danger, and it sends him over the edge.
Being a mercenary on the black market in New York means that Cash doesn’t have much time for hookups, let alone relationships. So why does his heart skip a beat when he starts a new gig, trailing the son of a corrupt CEO? Sure, Lawrence is an angel with sparkling eyes, but Cash has a job to do, and a secret vendetta driving his every action. At least Lawrence has a hot bodyguard with a temper. It makes the game of pursuing the kid twice as fun…
Lawrence knows that no one wants to hear a poor little rich boy story, especially not from the son of a powerful, corrupt CEO. Instead, he buries his demons, gives the money from his trust fund to charity, and spends his days partying with friends. But when his bodyguard comes swinging at his new crush, Lawrence’s life spirals out of control.
With corrupt billionaires and crime bosses hot on Lawrence’s trail, will Raiden and Cash be able to put their explosive differences aside in time to save him?
Double Down is an M/M/M bodyguard romance and the third book in Bad Boy Security. It can be read alone, but is best appreciated as part of the series. Enjoy!
REVIEW:
For years, Cash has had a grudge against Horizon Zed – the company ruined his life and shoved him into the underworld. His employer, Reed (he of book one fame), wants him to track the CEO’s lad, Lawrence and possibly kidnap him. Using a man’s kid against him doesn’t sit well with Cash, but the money and the opportunity to get to Horizon was too great a temptation.
Lawrence is out, rich, fabulous, a party animal and on a path to self-destruction. Other than a small, loyal group of friends, he believes that he is only good for what is in his wallet. After being mugged, his friends advise that he get a bodyguard. Enter Raiden.
Until Declan hired him, Raiden’s previous career consisted mostly of grand theft auto. Raiden is determined to do an excellent job of protecting Lawrence. Unfortunately for Raiden, Lawrence is temptation personified and does everything to get Raiden’s attention. Cash is also sniffing around in not a so clear-cut professional way either.
As with the other stories in the series, there is much to like about Double-Down. Told from the viewpoints of Lawrence, Raiden, and Cash, it is technically better than its predecessors. It is possible to read this story as a standalone, but one has a better sense of depth after having read the previous two books in the series.
For much of the time, Lawrence strikes out on his own, but he has a group of friends with whom he touches base. One of these is drag queen Merry Tyler Morehead – damn I love the name, and the character is a fav. As for Lawrence’s family – they may have a lot of money, but real family they ain’t.
When Raiden and Cash enter the frame, events ensure that they become the missing pieces to Lawrence’s jagged jigsaw puzzle of life. They give him stability, purpose, protection, and a willingness to forego his destructive path. The sexual experiences leave him (and the reader) needing more than a fan to recover.
As the blurb says this is an M/M/M story – and it’s not only in bed. The three discover that they can be more together than they can apart, and love overtakes monetary gain. For me, what made this a particularly good read was the way the underdog takes on more than one powerful machine. One is corporate – the other is part of the underworld. It is not surprising how interconnected the two are in their dealings
By the coming together of friends, who become a closer family than blood, the story is one of sexy intrigue, action, angst, and drama. It contains twists, turns, and laced together characters/events that I greatly enjoyed.
RATING: 
BUY LINK: