Exposed Kindle Edition

3.5 stars--EXPOSED is the second installment in Brighton Walsh’s new adult, contemporary CAPTIVE romantic, suspense series. This is Evie and Riley’s storyline-a second chance for two people ripped apart by someone else’s greed and anger. EXPOSED can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty. Riley is Gage’s (Ghost) younger brother, first introduced to us in CAPTIVE (book one). Any necessary information from the previous storyline is imparted where necessary.

Told from dual first person points of view (Riley and Evie) the storyline follows the rekindling of a relationship once thought dead and gone. Five years earlier Evie was presumed dead, and in the ensuing time Riley has placed all of his anger and grief into the mercenary lifestyle as part of a crew hired to enforce an illegal set of rules for anyone disobeying those in control. But Evie has been on the run; in hiding with a new name and identity, and a fiancé who knows very little about Evie’s previous life. When her picture is spotted in a social column, Evie’s life on the run begins anew, but this time Riley is the first one on the scene, to ensure Evie remains alive and a part of his future.

The relationship between Evie and Riley has already been established-high school sweethearts whose love for one another grew through their mutual connection to the ‘crew’- but the truth about Evie’s presumed death was kept secret from Riley-Evie had uncovered some information that had placed her life in danger, and to protect everyone she loved, Evie remained ‘dead’ and missing for close to five years. Riley’s anger begins to overshadow his love for Evie but when the truth is revealed, Riley becomes Evie’s number one protector and guardian. The $ex scenes are intimate and seductive; Brighton Walsh has upped the erotic factor with the release of book two. Evie tends to use $ex as a distraction both for herself and Riley, and Riley is never one to refuse what is being offered.

The secondary and supporting characters include Gage and Madison from CAPTIVE book one, as well as a number of former and current members of the ‘crew’. Frankie returns as part of the requisite evil on the hunt for Evie; and Aaron sides with Gage and Riley as they endeavor to protect Evie from Max-the man who has ordered Evie’s capture.

The world building continues to follow the members of the crew-a group of mercenary –style thugs and enforcers who are hired for any number of illegal reasons and threats. Although Gage is no longer a part of the crew, his involvement remains to try and protect his brother and the woman that he loves. Evie and Riley spend most of their time (and the story) together, stuck in an apartment where the walls begin to close in around them, and in this, the suffocation factor bled into my enjoyment of the storyline.

EXPOSED uses some memories, flashbacks, and nightmares to expose the reader to Evie’s life-the reasons she is on the run, and why she is reluctant to have any contact with her family. This particular portion of the storyline is a major factor in the character’s personality growth and background, as well as an issue that the author was hoping to bring attention to, but the development is somewhat incomplete.