TO PROTECT by Andrew Grey

Fiction, Contemporary Gay Romance

4****

Blurb: Atlas De Vaus loves his job as a Carlisle K-9 officer. When his canine partner Evie senses a problem during a semitrailer traffic stop, a search of the truck reveals illegal immigrants being transported to New York. Local shelters can house the women while the case is processed, but they can’t accommodate the lone man. Unwilling to leave a vulnerable person alone at the mercy of the system, Atlas takes him in until a place can be found for him. When Bazel Dadiani’s family and village discovered his secret, his only option was to leave his home country of Georgia. He’s used every cent he had to reach America, but he’s determined to get where he’s going, no matter how scared he is. He appreciates Atlas offering him a place to stay, but he’s forgotten how to trust anyone, much less a figure of authority like Atlas. Slowly, Atlas and Evie—mostly Evie—begin to win him over, leaving Bazel even more confused by his developing feelings for Atlas. They circle each other, each reluctant to make the first move. Just when they might be on the same track and close to catching the traffickers, government red tape threatens to separate them forever.

THOUGHTS: THOUGHTS: This is a story that points out a dark side of society – human trafficking. The act of conning or kidnapping people and then selling them into basic slavery. It’s a difficult situation that the author handles with a deft pen. In this one, Carlisle cop Atlas and his dog Evie discover a group of refugees in the back of a truck – one man and six women. And only the man, Bezal, speaks any English. The women get taken to as special shelter where they will be safe, and someone speaks their language. But there is no place for Bezal, so Atlas takes him home. And thus begins their adventure.

Bezal cannot return home as he would be killed for being gay, so social services goes to work to get him asylum. Meanwhile, Bezal tries to make himself useful by redoing Atlas’s neglected yard and does an amazing job. The two men become closer even though Atlas tries not to. But some of the people who had taken Bezal cause problems and it’s up to Atlas and the justice system to make sure they don’t.

This was a good romance with a lot of conflict and a HEA that satisfies. I loved Bezal and his challenges with language, understanding life in the US, and learning about how things work here. And the way Evie and Atlas work together show that the author did his homework.

Recommended.