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, Emil?” Makai asked gently, hoping not to spook him.


“I… I haven’t held anyone’s hand in months. A virtual stranger’s… not in years. More than five years.”


“Okay.” Makai waited with a weird fluttery feeling in his stomach as Emil gathered his words to speak again.


“I don’t know… I mean I haven’t even asked if you’re… into….” Emil looked so uncomfortable.


Makai decided to help him out. “Yes.”


Emil’s gaze snapped to his like a magnet. “Yes?”


“Uh-huh. It’s just….” He trailed off, then decided that Emil deserved the truth for his bravery. “I always thought I was straight because I was with a girl when I went into prison. And there….” A tremor traveled through his own body.


“Oh….” Emil squeezed his fingers, and Makai flashed him what he hoped was more of a smile and less of a grimace.


Chapter 34