Hunted: ALIAS #2 by Lisa Hughey

Hunted by Lisa Hughey 

Blurb:

Hunted: There’s only one thing worse than seeing your unrequited crush every day at the office…and that’s getting trapped with him in a snowy mountain cabin. 

Maria Torres has been through hell and back. A former kidnapping victim, she’s used to being famous for all the wrong reasons and having people handle her with kid gloves. And it seems that the man of her dreams, Dwayne Lameko, is no different. 

So when an ALIAS client requests her presence on an op, Maria believes she’s ready to spread her wings and prove all her co-workers wrong…especially Dwayne. But when danger follows them into the wilderness, Maria has no choice but to prove to herself and Dwayne that she’s strong enough to handle anything…even his love. 

Maria Torres was first introduced in the Family Stone series, Still the One. She finally gets her happily ever after. 

Hunted is the second book in Lisa Hughey’s series: ALIAS. What do you do when you’re the victim of a crime but no one believes you? Adams-Larsen Inc and Associates, ALIAS, helps ordinary citizens in danger when they need to disappear. 

To start the series, check out Stalked: ALIAS #1 

Stalked: Opposites attract, unfortunately. 

Rule follower, Federal US Deputy Marshal Alex Saunders has been assigned to protect a federal judge after the judge receives death threats. This detail is standard until the judge insists on his son’s PR firm provide backup security, which isn’t even in the rule book. But because Alex is already in hot water, he follows orders to keep the judge happy. 

Rule breaker, and former CIA analyst, Kita Kim reluctantly agrees to go undercover, posing as the judge’s aide slash girlfriend, but in return she expects her boss at ALIAS to help her protect an abused woman and her nieces even though technically keeping the children from their father is against the law. 

From the very start, Alex and Kita disagree about everything. But their sizzling attraction continues to grow as the threats against the judge escalate and put them all in danger. Can these two opposites find enough common ground outside the bedroom, or will their diverse philosophies result in disaster? 


This is the second book that I've read lately where sex trafficking is an issue. In this book we don't have to deal with it directly but Maria, our heroine has survived eight years of solitary imprisonment whereas her friends who had been kidnapped with her were sold as sex slaves.

You can feel Maria struggle to learn how to lead a normal life and you learn about her friends who have been rescued as well and who have to learn to live with everything that happened to them. Even though we don't learn much more about them, the reader and the heroine are always aware of their suffering. At least I was.

You just have to admire Maria and her iron will to survive and to live her life no matter how hard that may be. Enters Dwayne - the gentle giant, the protector. Sounds like a good combo? Right... yeah. Might be, IF those two weren't determined to misinterpret everything. Whereas Dwayne is afraid of upsetting Maria whom he admires, because of everything that happened to her, Maria is convinced that he doesn't like her. Like - at all.

Obviously this is a wonderful recipe for disaster but somehow this thing called chemistry appears on the scene and decides to throw in some sparks and - yep. Things get going. Unfortunately they have to deal with a rather annoying (and lying) client at the same time and suddenly Dwayne's protective abilities are more needed than ever before....

I really loved reading this book and will definitely read it again as well as other books by the author.

 ★★★★