Brink of Denial by Cam Johns
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book is for those 18 or over due to the adult nature of the content within.

Dane Girodano is the son of the Giordano’s, one of the Sons of the Sindicato and he is also next in line for the seat at the head of the families, but the one thing he doesn’t have is Mila Blanc, a model living in California with the face and body every man wants and every woman wants to be and that is because 11 years ago, she left him brokenhearted for a life away from the Sindicato and everything that went with it. Now Mila Blanc is disillusioned with the life of a model and is just waiting for her contract to end so that she can get her payout and follow her new dreams, however, there is one complication they are an addiction and a vice that neither of them can kick and this could get them into a lot of trouble.

As Mila is trying to keep her head above water and tie up loose ends around her, she gets home after a stressful day and finds a friend there waiting for her with a hot meal cooked and pretty much on the table, however, when this friend finds her phone and sees that she has been paying a man a lot of money, he goes off the rails and goes to set the record straight. This does not go quite to plan and ends up escalating the tension between Mila and her blackmailer instead of calming it down and when reality hits that he can ruin her career easily so near to its conclusion, she decides to call an old friend to help her sort things out. Meanwhile, Dane is trying to sort out his own messes as they suspect that there is a leak somewhere in their operation and they have an idea who they can pump for information about it, however, the individual is not as forthcoming as they had hoped when fear and physical stimulus aren’t working, so they decide to change tact and play the waiting game in a bid to eek it out in another way.

As Dane tries to ignore Mila’s calls thinking that all she wants is more no strings sex and he is not in the mood for that in the slightest, he eventually gives in and answers the phone, however, when she asks for his help he reluctantly says yes and meets her at the time and place she requests of him. When he arrives, Mila fills him in on the details of what has been going on and why he is there, she has a plan and so they go to confront the man in question, but despite the beatdown and threats he receives, he is not letting go that easily and threatens Mila in a new way while simultaneously involving Dane, the Police and the rest of the Sindicato families. As this little meeting is going ahead, other wheels are turning in other areas of the Sindicato businesses which dredge up yet more questions than answers.

This is where Mila starts to miss her old life and the ways in which things were more simple and because of this, she decides that she wants back in with Dane and a second chance at something she thinks they both want, but will Sindicato business get in the way, or will Mila be able to take back control of her life and everything in it? Will Dane be able to forgive and forget, or will the past be too much of a raw and open wound to ever be able to heal? This is a rollercoaster of ups and downs with secrets, revelations, truth and lies throughout and you will become as absorbed in the Sindicato life as they are.

Reviewed by @roxsannel

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