Can two broken men build one life? Ten years. That’s what Makai lost for a crime he didn’t commit. He’s been exonerated, but the abuse he suffered in prison isn’t so easy to leave behind. He heads to the one place he remembers being happy: Acker, Wisconsin, where he spent summers with his grandpa. Unfortunately, not everyone wants Makai there. Ten days. That’s how long Emil, now twenty-one, was held prisoner as a teenager. The mental and physical injuries he suffered at the hands of a drug trafficking ring still haunt him. Nightmares, anxiety, and PTSD challenge the connection forming between Makai and Emil, though together, they might find a way to move beyond their pain and into a future -- and a relationship -- that both had thought impossible. Now they just have to convince Emil’s father, the town sheriff. It won’t be easy with danger closer than they know ...

Once his heartbeat slowed down, he started the truck, drove back to the so-called main street—it wasn’t a main street as much as it was a two-lane road going through an area and people had put a dozen or so buildings alongside. There were no actual side streets, at least not in a grid formation like you’d normally see


As he continued through the collection of random buildings, he saw a place called Tripod. Across the road from it stood the Millers’ grocery store and a post office. There seemed to be a garage and a clinic of some sort, which had both a human and a dog in the logo. Weird.


He glanced at the dashboard clock again. He had enough time to stop by the Millers’ for some groceries. He checked his mirrors and swung the truck into the parking lot at the last moment. He hoped nobody from the Sheriff’s Station had seen that. At least he hadn’t done it across the other lane.


Chapter 4