By
USA Today Bestselling Author
Dale Mayer

The future–
where protocols must never be broken–
is a very dangerous place indeed…

To save herself and her new lover, Dani Summerland agrees to marry Levi Blackburn. If not for the fact that the two of them are pawns in a game with no rule book, this might be a good thing for both of them.

Levi can’t believe how lucky he is. But someone is after Dani, and, until he finds out who that is, there can be no honeymoon bliss.

Dani is targeted with not a clue what the stalker wants. The bodies begin piling up behind them. Luckily, they’re not alone in their fight for survival. Dani’s talking, super-intelligent cat, Charmin Marvin, intends to save the day and his mistress so he can get back to his own chosen bliss–a much-needed cat nap.

NOTE:
Formerly Book 2 of the Charmin Marvin series.

Lani and Liev are now married, in spite of the fact it was a way to protect her, they do seem to be in love. Of course there is no time to even enjoy their wedded bliss as the Council once again demands Liev’s presence. This time asking for everyone living with him to attend as well.

Despite that ruling when they arrive the clerk says only Liev was required and he was surprised when he was informed of the marriage.

Liev and Milo with their lawyer Hahn go in to face the council leaving Lani in the waiting area. Then things get interesting really quick.

Lani is sitting quietly and observing the people around her when she is approached by a woman, Gina Stewart is one of Hahn’s law partners. Unfortunately she appears to also be jealous of Lani. She gets a bit snarky but then leaves, only to return and snatch Lani from her seat and transport her.

Liev and Milo were done with the Council and their lawyer was annoyed, as they enter the waiting area Liev doesn’t see Lani. It’s then Milo gets a message from Charming Marvin. Dang that cat is showing more and more capabilities.

This is a favorite scene.

Milo gasped, then choked. “Incoming message. From Charming Marvin?”

Liev turned so he could see Charming’s feline face over Milo’s shoulder. “Lani is in trouble. Tracking … now on.”

“What the hell?” His words, even voiced low, caught the attention of curious passersby. Damn. The place was crowded. Still, their curiosity was a good reminder that anything they did and said was likely being recorded.

“Yeah, he’s good.” Milo clicked a few more buttons. “Got her. She’s at Hahn’s office.”

“How the hell …” Liev raced to the ports.

“Gina took her there,” Milo called out, running behind him.

He stepped into the port and appeared at Gina’s office, Milo right behind him.

And there was Lani.

She stared at him in shock. When she realized he was here in person, she raced toward him. He caught her in his arms and hugged her tightly. “It’s okay,” he murmured. “I’m here.”

She couldn’t stop shaking or burrowing closer. Her arms locked around his waist and wouldn’t let go. He held her close and continued to whisper comforting things in her ear. She was stiff and unyielding—terrified. He could just imagine … and hugged her closer.

“As you can see, she’s fine,” Gina snapped. “Lord, all this fuss over nothing.”

Milo came to Lani’s rescue first. “Really? You remove someone from the Council offices without anyone’s permission, including that of the woman you kidnapped, and you say it’s nothing?”

At the word kidnapping, Gina gasped, and Lani burrowed deeper into Liev’s embrace. “I did no such thing.” Gina stormed closer, her perfect face twisting in fury. “Lani was attracting attention. What did you expect me to do?”

“In what way was she attracting attention?” Liev asked, trying to keep his own rage under control. Which was hard as Lani burrowed closer.

“She sat so damn still. So perfect. Like a statue.” Gina snorted, disgust threading her voice. “She didn’t move, no comp, no nothing. Just an oddness that stood out.” She shrugged. “Then her ID started to flash. It was too close to the Missing Person’s Alert. Like, really?” Gina rolled her eyes. “I had to stop her from making a spectacle of herself.”

“So because she wasn’t you, you figured she was odd.” Milo mimicked her voice so perfectly that Liev had to bite back a grin. “And her ID could flash for any number of reasons.”

“It wasn’t so much that it flashed, it was the look of shock, horror, and confusion on her face that was so ridiculous.” Gina glared at them. “She was fine when I first saw her. So I left her alone. Only after I returned did I realize she was causing such a commotion.”

Milo narrowed his eyes. “And you couldn’t leave it alone. Not because she was garnering attention, but because you weren’t. For some reason, Liev married her, not you. She had him. You didn’t. It was all about jealousy, wasn’t it?” Milo snapped forward from his sixteen-year-old mental self with a wisdom beyond his years. “Liev partied with you, and you wanted more. He didn’t. Next thing you know, he shows up with this natural girl and is married to her.”

Gina’s voice turned cutting. “Go back to bed, Milo. It’s a little late for you to be up, isn’t it?”

Lani lifted her head from Liev’s chest and, in low tones, asked, “Can we go home now?”

He hugged her gently. To the others, he said, “You two can stay and fight if you want. I’m taking her back. She’s been sick and needs rest.”

“She could get that fixed. Playing on your sympathies, you know.” Gina raised both hands in frustration. “Whatever.” And she strode out of the room again.

Milo glared at her receding back. “Bitch.”

Lani giggled. “Glad to hear that word is still used nowadays.”

“Especially nowadays,” Milo said with a smile. “Let’s go home.”

“Yes, please. By the way,” she said, “how did you know I was here? Gina left a message on Hahn’s comp, or whatever that thing is, but I didn’t see her call you two.”

“That’s because she didn’t,” Liev said, loosening his arms and turning her gently, nudging her from the room.

Milo bounced on his heels to his toes.

“You aren’t going to believe what did happen.”

She twisted slightly to look him in the face. Liev kept her walking forward. “Why? What happened?” She looked up at Liev. “Hahn called you?”

Milo shook his head, almost dancing with glee now.

Liev gave a low and deep rumble of a laugh. “Charming Marvin told us.”

She came to a dead stop and stared at him. “What? Really?”

They both nodded.

Her sense of humor kicked in, and she giggled.
Mayer, Dale. Broken Protocols: Books 1-4. Valley Publishing Ltd. Kindle Locations (2041-2075).Kindle Edition.

This is not the end of these attempts either, but bodies start showing up as well.

I love Charming Marvin and I definitely understand Lani’s frustration that her cat can do more than her. The talking does help a bit but the rest is just…well strange.

Lani is doing her best to adjust but then things get weird with their unregistered medical pod.

I couldn’t put this book down, things start happening fast and furiously as suspects start turning up dead.

There’s plenty of action, hold your breath moments, and some sizzling heat as we learn more about what’s going on.

5 Contented Purrs for Dale!

Dale Mayer

Dale Mayer is a USA Today bestselling author best known for her Psychic Visions and Family Blood Ties series. Her contemporary romances are raw and full of passion and emotion (Second Chances, SKIN), her thrillers will keep you guessing (By Death series), and her romantic comedies will keep you giggling (It’s a Dog’s Life and Charmin Marvin Romantic Comedy series).

She honors the stories that come to her – and some of them are crazy and break all the rules and cross multiple genres!

To go with her fiction, she also writes nonfiction in many different fields with books available on resume writing, companion gardening and the US mortgage system. She has recently published her Career Essentials Series. All her books are available in print and ebook format.