Reviewed by Sadonna

TITLE:  A Shot of Trust

SERIES:  Vasquez Inc 5

AUTHOR:  Lou Sylvre

PUBLISHER:  Changeling Press

LENGTH:  181 pages

RELEASE DATE:  April 24, 2020

BLURB:

*Deep love, hot kink. Secrets call for a shot of trust when true danger lurks in LA’s hidden places.*
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Brian Harrison wants to keep everyone safe — especially his beloved sub, Jackie Vasquez — and he’s convinced the only way to do that is to dig ever deeper in a forbidden investigation. Keeping his activities secret from the State Department means keeping them from his own boss, Luki Vasquez, and keeping secrets from Luki means Jackie can’t know either.

Meanwhile, Jackie keeps his own secrets as his kind heart and indomitable spirit drive him to find and help a mysterious homeless woman, who may be connected to a kidnapping. Both men dance around dangers lurking in LA’s hidden places.

Love continues to grow, adventurous kink heats up, and a marriage proposal still hangs in the balance. Can a willing shot of trust keep them together and alive when secrets collide?

REVIEW:

Note:  This is the fifth installment in this series, and as such should be read in order.  It is not recommended to read this as a standalone.

Jackie and Brian are trying to get back to something resembling normal.  Things have taken a turn in the Espen case – in the form of a cease and desist letter from the State Department.  Jackie is back to working on his graduate studies and as a TA.  Lonny has retired and Brian is back to running the LA office of VSI and he’s supposed to be focusing on that work.

Jackie once again witnesses something strange from the bus – I’m telling you buses and Jackie are not a good combo 😉  And he sees the strange woman with the tricycle again.  He’s concerned about her as she seems to be having psychotic episodes.   He wants to get her some help, but as all this is happening at the very corner he was injured is making him, and Brian, question what he knows.  But as time goes on, more strange happenings convince him to try to help the woman and figure out if what he really saw was a kidnapping.

Brian, meanwhile, is getting strange email requests from someone with the initials KV which was also found on some files when cleaning the office.  This is leftover from the Espen days and he’s not at all sure what it means.  But when KV asks for a meeting Brian can’t ignore it.  When he misses the meeting, KV decides to show at the office.  And that is when thing really go off the rails because Brian knows right away that this guy is dangerous and his not so subtle threats to Brian and his “family” are definitely ominous.  But Brian can’t tell anyone what he’s been doing with the investigation because it’s expressly forbidden.

Eventually Jackie convinces both Brian and his professor to help him with the homeless woman, Esi.  And in the same spirit, Brian realizes that he has to tell Jackie what’s going on with him as well since their secrets are affecting their relationship. He wants to come clean with Luki too.  And just when things seem to be getting better, a confrontation from a new foe set them back.

Whew!  There is a lot of action and intrigue in this chapter.  Brian and Jackie are getting back on track with their relationship, but both are holding back – for completely different reasons.   They are finding their way back to each other and their D/s relationship is taking on some new kinks and enjoyment. Jackie doesn’t necessarily trust himself and Brian isn’t exactly helping in that arena.  Brian is spending a lot of time on something – Jackie isn’t sure what.  But it’s definitely taking a toll on their time together which isn’t great.  When Jackie’s birthday approaches, Brian is determined to make it a good night, but things go a bit sideways yet again.  But in the end, they come clean with each other, just in time to run into more trouble.  I cannot wait to find out how all of these things actually tie together and know what is really in store for both Brian and Jackie.  They have been through so much and I’d really like to see them together an happy and without the Sword of Damocles seemingly hanging over their heads at every turn!  Anxiously awaiting moving to the next installment in this story in anticipation of a new release next week 🙂  This series has turned into a real nail biter 😉  Recommended!

RATING:   

BUY LINKS: 

Changeling Press

Amazon