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 ...

“What’s going on?” she all but screamed, and Jason grabbed her arms gently to hold her back.


“He was doing the scavenger hunt,” Emil said numbly. “Ran into there, and Makai dove in after, I guess. When I got to them, it had collapsed on them.”


Lotte tore her gaze off the proceedings and looked at him. There was sympathy in her gaze, something he hadn’t expected.


“Yeah, both of us. Split-second kind of thing.” Emil tensed when the firemen helped the EMTs lift Makai out of the rubble.


Makai seemed to be able to stand, barely, and the EMT who had spoken to Emil rushed to take his vitals and order him to sit down. Another lifted Joey onto a backboard and started to check him through.


Chapter 32