Cain is the owner of Penny’s Palace, a strip club in Miami. Even though he allows girls to dance with their clothes off on his stage, he simultaneously tries to save them from the lives they have been forced into. When Charlie Rourke comes into his club asking for a job however, he finds himself unable to follow his own rule of never getting involved with the staff. Charlie needs money fast so that she can run away from her past. While the thought of stripping makes her sick, she knows it is the only way to earn money quickly so that she can move on. She has no intention of getting involved with anyone, but when she meets Cain, she becomes unable to keep her distance.
This book was slightly different from the other two in the series because it is told from two different perspectives–Cain’s and Charlie’s. I think it worked really well for this story because both of them have secrets that they hide from each other but not from the reader, so we are able to understand the reason for their guardedness.
I was excited to read Cain’s story because while he has appeared in the first two books, he was very briefly in them and there always seemed like there was more to him than meets the eye. He’s not your typical club owner because he tries to protect the girls that work for him and helps them to better themselves outside of work. Charlie is also not what she seems initially–she is forced to leave her home and stepfather in Long Island after an incident and she is sent to Miami for what seemed like a period of time to lay low. However, she soon realizes that her stepfather isn’t the wonderful man she always thought he was and that she needs to run away from the only life she’s ever known.
I loved the romance between Cain and Charlie, especially because Cain made it seem so forbidden. Not only was he her boss, but she also reminded him of a girl he used to love so he tries his best to keep his distance from her. Charlie doesn’t want to get involved with anyone but she is especially wary of getting involved with Cain because she is afraid of what he will think of her if he discovers her secrets. The two try their best to stay away from each other but it proves impossible and ends up threatening both of their lives.
Overall, Four Seconds to Lose was a great third book in a series that I will definitely stick with. I love all of the characters in this series and I am excited to see who the next book will be about.
Four Seconds to Lose was released on November 4, 2013 and is the third book in the Ten Tiny Breaths series.