The Linebacker (The Portland Protectors - EHM Security Series Book 2) by Emerson Beckett and Rheland Richmond

The Linebacker is a love story that spans the majority of the main characters lifetime and ends with an HEA of epic proportions!

From the blurb:

Is it wrong for me to want the world to know I’m in love with Patrick Griffin and have been since we were eight-years-old?

Patrick Griffin

I hurt him. I didn’t mean to.

Now he’s gone, and I deserve it.

As a linebacker in the NFL, I've never found the right time to come out of the closet. Not even when I promised Cole I would.  

But now, with Cole's band, Fallen Angel, in the spotlight along with my team, the pressure is mounting. Everyone thinks we're just best friends, but the weight of my secret is tearing us apart.

And it just might be too late to save us when I can.

Cole Bradley

Is it wrong for me to want the world to know I’m in love with Patrick Griffin and have been since we were eight-years-old?

He is the love of my life, but it’s been years of waiting and excuses.

All our friends, even his teammates, have a public life. So why can’t we?

He promised it would be different in Portland.

But then he tells yet another reporter he’s single. I need a break. It’s perfect timing since our band is heading out on tour.

I don’t know if I can live without him. But I don’t think I can do forever in the closet.

It’s always been Patrick for me, but is it too much to ask for the world to know he’s mine too?


The Linebacker is a secret romance and childhood best friends-to-lovers MM Romance. It is book two in the Portland Protectors-EHM Security Series and the eleventh book in the Package Deal World.

To maximize reader enjoyment, it is highly recommended to read the other books in the Package Deal Series, as well as book one, The Rockstar. Series reading order can be found at the beginning of each book.

Content Warning: Referenced off the page homophobic violence toward an off the page character, and an automobile accident.

Jacqueleen The Reading Queen's Review:

"Thanks for not giving up on me."

"Never, not even when it felt like it."

Cole and Patrick's book was an epic love story that spans a lifetime. If ever there were two people meant for one another, it would be them. They loved each other so fiercely that even when it hurt, their hearts continued to be devoted. The fact that these two love one another is never in question. What is in question is whether that love is enough.

"You'd think after twenty-five years together, we'd have our shit worked out."

I truly felt for Cole in this book. I mean I felt for Patrick too, but it was Cole who made the brave, yet gut wrenching choice to leave. I can't imagine how hard it was for him to have to hide how he feels for the man he loves for that many years. Watching their friends all get to have what he desperately wants with Patrick. It was heartbreaking.

"Living in the closet was the price for our fame, and right now, it didn't feel like the sacrifice had been worth it."

We do eventually find out Patrick's reasons behind his intense fear of coming out. And I want to thank the author for their portrayal of mental health rep. It was integral to their story and shed light on the stigma of those who seek help. I was so happy when Patrick and Cole finally worked out their issues. For all they went through, their monumental HEA was definitely worth it.

"He loved me, and I loved him. Fuck what anyone else thought about it or us."

Heather's Review:

A lifetime of love, a lifetime of hiding that love... this book was a serious roller coaster of emotions - my heart ached for both characters throughout the story and I truly loved the way they each grew from their experiences.

This book definitely has angst and more past trauma to work through, and you'll be on the edge of your seat as you watch these two men navigate through the pain they cause each other, and the accident that significantly injures Patrick.

I love seeing these two grow stronger as they uncover their secrets and work out how to take their relationship forward.

While this book can be read standalone, you get several glimpses at how dysfunctional their relationship is if you read the Package Deal series and book one of the Portland Protectors series first.

The Linebacker is currently available as an e-book and can be read as part of your Kindle Unlimited Subscription