Reviewed by Sadonna
TITLE: Protection
SERIES: Mobsters & Billionaires
AUTHOR: Kelly Fox
NARRATOR: Declan Winters
PUBLISHER: Self-published
LENGTH: 7 hours and 53 minutes
RELEASE DATE: April 25, 2023
BLURB:
I wait for the signal at crosswalks. I pay my taxes on time. And despite my association with a certain mafia family, I run a clean business providing security for Manhattan’s wealthy elite.
I don’t break the law.
Dr. Madhuban Laghari—Mads—is my newest protectee, and my biggest problem. He fights his security protocols at every turn, and makes me question all of my carefully crafted rules. Especially the one about not falling for the world’s most adorable billionaire.
Every time we go back and forth, I fall a little harder.
More dangerous than our sexy banter is the fact that the threats against him are starting to escalate.
He doesn’t want to face the reality that he’s got a stalker tracking his every move, not to mention the Russian government trying to steal his technology. The closer we get, the more I know I’ll do anything to protect him.
If his enemies dare to put a hand on my billionaire, they’ll discover how mafia I can get.
Protection is a cameo-filled, globetrotting romance that features a reluctant mobster, a billionaire with questionable taste in fashion, and a found family made entirely of morally gray do-gooders.
As with all of my murder swoon romances, there are no cliffhangers, and the HEA is guaranteed.
REVIEW:
Note: This is the second in this series and contains spoilers for Extradition. Book 1 also sets up the dynamic between this group of men – both Billionaires and Mobsters who have created a friend group that has each other’s backs.
Mads is a brilliant guy. His invention has many uses – some of them unfortunately for evil rather than good. Besides the usual threats to billionaires, he’s also got a stalker that he is starting to get a bit worried about. When his friend Luca and his head of security Anthony find out, they are determined to make sure Mads is safe. Anthony has already helped out Rand and Joe when they had to deal with a similar but not identical problem. And Anthony is not please when Mads has not been following his security protocols.
There is also an underlying chemistry between these two. But Anthony has some pretty hard and fast rules. First, he doesn’t break the law and second he would never got involved with a protectee. But Mads is enough to make him throw away his rule book. Both men have complicated pasts with family and circumstances beyond their control. But in each other they find both a friend and a lover. Despite his rules, Anthony is not going to be able to stay away from Mads.
When events put Mads in grave danger after the stalking escalates, Anthony has to rely on his friends and all the resources that can be rallied to save Mads. There are lot of intense moments and both Mads and Anthony have to do things they’d rather not do. Thanks to the help from family, friends and their connections, Anthony is able to set things right. And there may even be some reconciliation in the mix 🙂
Whew! Mads and Anthony really have a difficult road here. Anthony has his own code of ethics – despite being the the consigliere for Luca. Mads has unfortunately fallen into a trap of the law of unintended consequences. His invention has now been hijacked to be used for weapons and other off label uses by bad actors. This has also made him a target – that Anthony will do anything to defend. Anthony tries to keep Mads at arms length, but it’s clear that their is a definite spark between them. Anthony has never felt as protective of anyone as he does of Mads. When it’s clear that Mads is being stalked, Anthony is personally going to see to it that he keeps Mads safe. When things go south, Anthony is as good as his word – he will make sure Mads is safe. I loved the twists and turns of the story – including the surprising stalker, the Easter eggs and cameos from Fox’s other series, and swoonworthy HEA for these two.
Declan Winters is a wonderful narrator. I first became acquainted with him last year and I have really enjoyed his work. Every performance is truly a marriage of the words and the voice acting. Mads and Anthony both have their issues and I believed their relationship build over the course of the story. The voice choices I thought really fit the many characters in this story that travels across continents and varying degrees of dangerous situations. The support cast is easily discernible and I cannot wait to listen to the rest of these books from this talented narrator. The love between these two characters really jumped off the virtual page as it were with this story and I definitely recommend this audio version of this story.
RATING: 
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