Last Man Standing [Mass Market Paperback]

In the last book in the Black Ops, Inc. series, Joe takes center stage, in a big way. He pulls away from his teammates, the woman he loves, from anyone who means anything to him as he tracks down the killer of his former teammate and Stephanie's brother. He knows he's looking into something that could and probably would ultimately end him, but the guilt of Bryan's death eats at him and he wants justice for his close friend and man he thought of as a brother.

Stephanie and Joe's relationship started back in FEEL THE HEAT and for me, it was one of the highlights of the book. Taking nothing away from the main storyline and leads of that book, I just fell for "Mean" Joe Green, all muscle and little talk, but he turns into a protective, sweet man around Stephanie. Steph knows that her brother's death weighs heavily on Joe and she's not happy when his obsession with finding out the truth continues as everyone believes that it was an accident; there's no proof that it could have been anything else. Joe breaks up with Stephanie and while on leave from his team, he heads to Sierra Leone to get the facts. Once there, he's accused of murder and tossed into prison. For one month, he's beaten, starved and literally half the man he used to be in size and strength and he's losing the battle to stay alive.

Joe and Steph start uncovering all the facts surrounding Bryan's death and before it's all said and done, their lives and Steph's parents will all be in danger. The series, and especially in the case of Joe, has been building to the truth of what really happened on the mission that killed Bryan Tompkins. He was a best friend and brother to all the BOI teammates and his death hit Joe especially hard, reminding him of another painful death in his past. Joe struggles to let himself go with anyone, but can't keep it all in from Stephanie for long. She risks her life for him, after he broke her heart and she knows the kind of man Joe is, even if he isn't able to see it yet. For not being trained in the field or having ever gone on any kind of mission, Steph maybe did a little too well in rescuing Joe, but she had a lot of help from Suah and his friends and they're the real reason Joe gets out of prison.

Joe is a guy who carries the weight of the world on his shoulders and his only soft place in the world is with Steph. He's just too stubborn to believe it can actually last and Stephanie doesn't let him get away with that kind of thinking for long. She changed a lot during the short time it took to rescue Joe. She seemed to realize that she was a lot tougher than either she or Joe gave her credit for and she takes care of Joe when he needs her most, much to his alpha-brain horror of not being able to help himself during his recovery. They're a great couple to follow, they had instant chemistry when they first got together in FEEL THE HEAT and seeing them grow and become stronger together made this story.

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His hands covered hers. "Steph -"

"Shh." She brushed his hands away, and with gentle care slid the shorts off his legs. "I promise I won't hurt you."

She loved the strangled sound he made. The almost laugh. The inevitable smile of surrender. She leaned down and, careful of his poor split lip, kissed him. Nothing but soft, supple mouths remembering how love tasted, how love felt, how simple love could be when only the moment mattered.
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Fans of the series may be a little disappointed that the other men and women of the BOI team don't come on page until the epilogue. This really fits with Joe though. He's the quiet strength of the group, and having the story told fully around him and Steph with very little interaction from the BOI team, fits Joe's character perfectly. The overall action in this one was on the milder side, but this is strictly Joe and Steph's show and with the exception of a few phone calls from Rafe, everyone else is MIA until the wonderful epilogue that ends every book. I look forward to each epilogue and this one had a little extra kick to it, being the series ender. But even without our past favorite heroes and heroines showing up during the story, we get plenty of Mike Brown and his smart ass ways - which I loved. I'm excited for Cindy's new series, and especially getting to know Mike better and maybe even his brother Ty.

This is a very satisfying end to one of my favorite series. I'm glad we got to have Joe's story told and I'm going to miss all our BOI heroes (especially you, Johnny Reed). But Mike Brown made me laugh out loud more than once and while I'm sad to see this series end, I'm looking forward to seeing where Cindy Gerard takes us next and who the next batch of heroes are that we'll all no doubt fall in love with.

Blog rating: 4.5/5 stars

I love this series and was looking forward to Joe's story. I was so disappointed the entire team was not an integral part of this book particularly as the series was ending. For me the group working together and then including the women has been the highlight of the entire series.

I rated this book four stars because the story of Joe and Stephanie was enjoyable and as usual, well written. This book, however, is not a fitting book to end the series. Throughout the entire series the members of BOI considered themselves brothers. The easy banter between team members reinforced the "family" image. Yet, the last book of the series was about one man? Perhaps, Ms. Gerard should have considered an eighth book featuring all the team members. She did better ending the "Bodyguard" series.

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