OTHERWISE OCCUPIED (Evan Arden Trilogy, #2) by Shay Savage

Otherwise Occupied by Shay Savage
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Wow... All I can say is that was intense .

Evan Arden is back in Chicago after his exile in Arizona. Though things seem to be back to normal, Evan is having problems sleeping. As this increases his PTSD is getting worse and his thoughts of his time with Lia keep entering his mind. But he knows he has no place in her life and she would only be a liability or potentially be hurt by being in his life. But little things remind him of her. A smell, a quarter, someones hair.

One of his first assignments upon his return is to rid the organization of someone a movie star that Mr. Morretti wants to use as an example. That they can't get away with owing him and not paying up. But before Evan is able to do the job, he is tasked with finding out who in the organization has a big mouth. He completes his task and we learn that you have to keep your mouth shut. Little slips can cost you your life.

Enter Bridget. Evan picks up hookers to satisfy his baser needs which keep him disconnected emotionally. But that doesn't seem to work in this case. Between trying to make sure she understands her place in his life (in his bed only) he starts to treat her more and more like a lover. But he is skeptical and tries to deter her from asking too many questions. He's good at keeping her from knowing anything he's up to, at least he thinks he is.



As his PTSD and sleeplessness start to affect him in more ways than he realizes, his grip on the here and now is slowly slipping away. He's not picking up the cues of others as easily and he's more and more agitated. And with a member of the organization trying to take Evan's place, he doesn't know who to trust. When it turns out his favorite hooker is responsible for leaks, Evan has to set things right. But he hasn't slept for almost ten days and things go from bad to worse. But did he really see her?



I really liked this book. I felt so bad for Evan. He really needed help and most likely Lia. It took me a while to figure out why his PTSD had come back, but once it became an issue, I knew exactly what was happening. So sad to think that something to benign to most of us could cause such stress to someone who had been through what Evan had. Looking forward to the next chapter in the story.

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