Rival Hero

Redleg Security, Book 4

By: Jackie Walker

Narrated by: Jason Clarke, Erin Mallon

I never planned on sleeping with him. Nor did I intend to make him my enemy. I only went into the bar to scope out my competition–him. The scorching hot night that followed was a mutually pleasurable accident. Of course I knew we were in the running for the same position.

It’s not my fault he didn’t know who I was.

Gathering intel is my specialty.

Maybe if he were better at it, he would have gotten the job instead of me.

I tried my hardest to resist our chemistry, but he was too damn hot.

Too charming. Too funny. Too masculine.

And he smelled so freaking good.

My hormones took over.

Now we're working together on the Redleg Security intelligence team. Every day. High stress. Close quarters. Sexual chemistry off the charts.

But he hates me.

The thing is… he should hate me. I treated him like a pawn.

But he’s a real man with dreams, passion, and pain.

And I’ve never wanted someone as much as I want him.

But it’s too late for us.

I made us rivals when we could have been so much more.

Note: Rival Hero is a bodyguard romantic suspense story with rom-com vibes. It features a strong heroine who's a former CIA intelligence officer and a swoony former Army Ranger hero who will make you laugh one minute and swoon the next. There's action and all the feels, along with a healthy dose of humor and tons of spice. There is an HEA, no cheating, and no "other woman" drama. Content warnings are available on the author's website.

Tropes: One night stand to office rivals to lovers, good boy goes bad, and forced proximity.

Listening Order: Rival Hero is Book 4 in the Redleg Security Series. Each of the first four books in this series features a different couple, including their happily ever after and is a "complete story" with no cliffhangers. However, the series is best enjoyed in order to avoid suspense-related plot spoilers. Each book starts right where the prior book ends. If you do not wish to listen to them all, then you can listen as a stand-alone.

©2023 Jackie Walker (P)2024 Jackie Walker

Mia & Cal

I’m loving this series so much, I’ve listened to all of them on audio and the narrators have all been amazing. Each book has gotten hotter too, the spice here 🥵🪭 Perfect blend of sexy, suspenseful, funny and sweet!

I love him

Klein and Mia are by far my favorite couple in the redleg series. The heat between them damn it was intense soo good must read. I have a deep deep love for this book. I am always recommending it and I wish I could read it for the first time again it’s that imprinted in my head and heart. There is something about the sweetness in Klein and his affection for the well being of his mom that gets me. The way my sweet Klein wants to release the dark side in him but keeps bringing it back to hide it made the story so good. When he unleashed that side of him jesus it made the relationship between him and Mia so good. I love that she knows she own him and is willing to give in to him. These two are security gold. Klein potty mouth 🫠 .

The narrator made these two come to life I have never wanted anything so good to end. I am definitely going to be listening to this audio books for months to come. I love Klein and Jason nailed it.

There is everything to love about Rival Hero...

When you can laugh until tears roll down your leg and ugly cry over the same book, you know you've got yourself a good one!

Rival Hero is Jackie Walker's 4th installment in her Redleg Security series.

Former Army Ranger Cal Klein (yes, you read that right) falls hard after an unplanned, unforgettable one night stand with savvy, sultry, self-assured Mia.

What he doesn't know is that she's competing for the same job at Redleg Security that he desperately needs...a job that allows him to stay close to home and care for a loved one.

What she doesn't know is just how much that one night will change everything, turning her trust issues on their proverbial ear, allowing her to open herself up to love and a different way of relating.

Forced to work together, Mia undertakes to overcome her ingrained training and past behavior patterns to earn Cal's trust, while Cal struggles with the magnetic pull he has toward the one person who has broken it and may never earn it back.

There is everything to love about Rival Hero. This enemies to lovers after a one night stand, workplace romance has ALL the banter... ALL the laugh out loud moments... ALL the heartbreaking and heartwarming scenes... ALL the suspense and intrigue... ALL the wicked hot steamy scenes... ALL the found family.

The dual narration audio performed by the inestimable Erin Mallon and the incomparable Jason Clarke is perfection.

Both voice actors bring Mia and Cal to life, injecting humor, heart, and heat into the characters they portray. Their performances of a large cast of supporting characters are masterful.

I immediately added Jackie Walker's entire backlog to my wishlist after listening, and I look forward to future installments. Bravo, Ms. Walker... I am a fan for life!

Excellent Story and Narrators

I love this book. Every book in this series is better than the last and they started out excellent. Mia and Cal are an amazing couple and very realistic. And OMG Chapter 18! If you like spice and snark this is the book for you. Jason and Erin are veritably plucked out of my head as the perfect voices for Klien and Mia. I thought the book was hot and amazing, but the audio version was even more hot and amazing. Their ability to show the emotions of the characters and the proper tone for each situation brings the story to another level.
And you probably shouldn’t listen to/read chapter 18 at work. ;)

Wow book to me

I’m new to this Auther and hadn’t listened to the first 3 book in the series. Didn’t even know there were 3 books before this. Just one of the best books of the year for me. Writing is amazing. Erin and Jason are fantastic as always.

Narrators smashingly bring out all the feels in this workplace suspense romance.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (0-5)
Steam: 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 (0-5) public places, toys, mild BDSM, lots of delicious details
Narration: 🎧🎧🎧🎧🎧 (0-5)
Overall: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 (I’d give it 6 or 10 if I could—ALL the shiny stars!)

What I’m Starry-Eyed Over:
🤩🎧 The narrators smashingly bring out all the feelings in this one—sweet, feisty, sad, sensual, sympathetic, scared, and so very stimulated! And, yeah, every time they said stud, Tiger, good girl, cake, etc I definitely melted!
🤩 One-night stand, enemies-to-lovers, workplace romance.
🤩 My favorite part (of the whole series) is how funny and s3xy the MCs are even though some of the topics are serious and heart-wrenching. Truly ALL the feels.
🤩 Cool captivation—it feels so natural and smooth how Jackie captures our attention with an enticing plot and scrumptious characters.
🤩 Cal Klein is totally my newest book boyfriend—he loves with his whole mind, soul, and body.
🤩 Cake on her mind—I love how Mia is obsessed with cake and Cal’s “cakey tush.”
🤩 The suspense and mystery of the storyline is fantastic. That “need to know” kind of feeling.
🤩 New word of the book: bjology. You must like some kinky to enjoy this one, friends.
🤩 Stud, tiger, good girl—I’m melting. These nicknames really work on me.
🤩 These two MCs are strong and determined on their own, but together they help each other become the best versions of themselves.
🤩 Beautiful and loving representation of caring for a parent with dementia.
🤩 Impressive theme of fighting the good fight against human trafficking.
🤩 The whole Redleg Security series has the best found-family and work family vibes.

What I’m Wishing/Dizzy About:
💫 Nothing at all.

Great story!

I really enjoyed this story, even though I hadn’t read/listened to any of the previous books, I don’t feel like I was lost or was missing anything. It was a great stand alone and I loved the bantering and comedy from both characters. The FMC was very well written and she was funny! Erin Mallon nailed the narration for this character, it was a perfect fit!! Jason Clark was an amazing Klein! The two narrators together really did this story justice. I really thought the author did an amazing job of describing the Alzheimer’s disease process and the effect it has on families. The main storyline was also very solid and was a very quick listen even at 20hrs. New author to me and definitely will not be the last!

Steamy

Rival Hero is a hot hot hot fan yourself steamy suspense romance. I love these characters, I love that you can find them all in each book of this series. This book has all the feels, Mia can make you cry then make you laugh and Cal gives you all the aww and heart melting moments.

My favorite part was the last kidnapping, I laughed so much. The rescue of the first kidnapping was pretty cool. The best part is the falling in love.

There are plenty of wet inducing steamy parts. Never thought I'd like steamy books but I do now.

This audiobook may be long but Jason Clarke and Erin Mallon make the time fly by. They do these characters justice and they make this world come alive.

This series is so dang good, If you love steamy suspense ex Military romance then you can't go wrong with these books. I'm gonna have to restart this series. Apparently I missed a couple books, I'm so excited to start over. ~wink wink~

Rival Hero

Rival Hero by Jackie Walker is a book in Red leg Security series. The operatives are former members of military services and other government agencies. This is a brand new author to me & she is awesome!
What an AMAZINGLY HOT book! You will need a cold shower while reading this one. The main hero & heroine in the story have a scorching chemistry. The men & women talk dirty, enjoy giving & receiving spankings, there are open conversations involving light BDSM, some tears & even humor making this book a must read. There are different ways to express consentual physical attraction & not everyone is vanilla in sexual tastes but the topics are dealt with in a matter of fact tone encouraging questions with straight forward factual answers. There are other wonderful characters involved in the book that add the basis of their stories that make up the other books in the series and adding layers of depth to the story.
I purchased this in audio & the narrators were excellent at bringing the characters to life.
This story tastefull & truthfully involves the subjects of human trafficking and Early Onset Alzheimer's.
Thank you Jackie Walker for your book.

Do yourself a favor and read and/or listen today!!

Rival Hero is the fourth book in the Redleg Security Series by Jackie Walker. It is the story of Klein and Mia - One-night stand, enemies-to-lovers, and workplace romance.

Klein is former Special OPs turned security/bodyguard and IT for Redleg Security. Klein is eternally optimistic and always has a smile. He is the dutiful son who watches over his mother who suffers from dementia. Despite his “vanilla” vibes it turns out Klein is a cinnamon roll with a touch of dominant.

Mia is former CIA who is looking for a more stable job so that she might be in a position to reconnect with her estranged family without the threat of harm coming to them. As a result of past trauma, Mia has her heart locked up tight and does not trust easily. She has what she calls her “inner pimp” that she blames for her compulsive need to know everything and dig up personal information.

Klein is stunned when the woman he spent an unforgettable one-night stand with turns out to be the person who got the promotion he was so desperately relying on.

While Klein is filled with feelings of anger, and betrayal when he realizes that Mia had dug into his background and orchestrated their supposed initial “chance” meeting, he also cannot ignore his overwhelming pull toward Mia. Feeling the same undeniable chemistry with Klein, Mia is determined to repair the damage she has done. When she expresses her desire to prove herself to him, Klein challenges Mia to “earn” him.

At the heart of the story is the question of whether Mia can in fact earn the trust of Klein and also learn to open her heart to the possibility of love and whether Klein can trust that she has truly changed and allow himself to open up to her.

I have high expectations when it comes to a new book by Jackie Walker and this one did not disappoint. The story kept my attention throughout with its humor, steam, and touch of danger and mystery. The author handled the sensitive topics well. As an added bonus there were glimpses into Tomer’s story which left me anticipating the next book. I highly recommend it to anyone who appreciates a captivating story and a hard-earned HEA.

🎧AUDIOBOOK🎧
Having read the book I was skeptical that the audio would be able to live up to the book and accurately convey the humor, vulnerability, and steam. Well, I was proven wrong. Jason Clarke and Erin Mallon were masterful as Klein and Mia doing these scenes and the entire story justice. They succeeded in bringing these characters to life and conveying the essence of their personalities.

I highly recommend you read and listen!!