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 ...

“Thank you,” Dad told her and got to his feet. “I’ll go talk to him, get his statement, more or less. More officially. I mean he told what he could while he was trapped, but you know.”


“Yeah.” Emil stayed behind, and to his surprise, Jason sat down too with one seat between them.


They didn’t speak, but somehow having someone he knew being nearby calmed him a bit. His anxiety was lessening right up until Dad stepped out of the room and looked at Emil. “He’s asking for you.”


Emil got to his feet and swayed a little. “Whoa….”


“I’ll get you something to e—” Dad stopped himself and looked away awkwardly.


Chapter 33