Can You Forget?

"Non-official hunter-gatherer spies in a network only the top brass of any government knew existed, in a world few dared enter. The shadowy world of the Nighthawks."Can you Forget? is the second book in Melissa James Nighthawk series. From the back of the book:Former Nighthawk operative Tallan "Irish" O'Rierdan had never intended to accept another assignment--until the woman who had long haunted his dreams returned and made him an offer he couldn't refuse. An offer that put both of their lives in grave danger...Fellow agent Mary-Anne Poole was the childhood sweetheart he'd long ago been forced to leave...and now she was his wife. Because the only way these two agents could infiltrate the closely guarded estate of an international killer-and survive-was to convince their target that their scorching passion was real. But would their marriage of convenience heal the wounds of their past-and give them a chance at a future?In my opinion:Oh, Tallan! The first couple of chapters were heartbreaking. Ms. James has definitely set Tallan up to be a tortured hero. With the added bonus of this being a Beauty and the Beast story. And as with any Beauty and the Beast story the "Beast" usually suffers from low self-esteem and can never really believe that the "Beauty" loves them. What makes this book unusual is that both the hero and heroine have been in the role of the "beast" and both have been in the role of the "beauty". Very interesting.Tallan was the highschool football player hunk, and Mary-Anne was the overweight shy girl that truly loved him. Tal loved Mary-Anne, but because of a force beyond their control (Ginny) they couldn't be together. Now years have gone by and the roles have reversed-Tal is battered and scarred and Mary-Anne is a bombshell. Both are operatives and they are asked to come together in the most important dangerous mission of their lives. I love the fact that this book is so closely linked to the first book in the series Who do you Trust? As a matter of fact, the story in Can you Forget? is a direct result of what happened in Who do you Trust?. In the end of Who do you Trust? we learn who the bad guy is (I won't mention his name in case some of you have not read the first book yet). I will say that the bad guy in this book is the same man and he is just as evil, maybe even more so, and he is looking for revenge. That is where Tallan and Mary-Anne come in, it is their job to take this guy down. For Tal and Mary-Anne this mission is personal in many ways. Tal wants revenge for the personal physical damage this man has inflicted on him and other operatives. Tallan and Mary-Anne also share a past, and their feelings for each other have never gone away. Which makes the story very interesting considering they have to get married to pull off this mission. Sparks fly-and the sexual tension between the two practically leaps off the page. I really enjoyed this book and was rooting for the couple the whole way. At times