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 ...

“How’re you, Makai? I heard you got stitches.”


“Yeah, and they kept me overnight, just in case. I have ten stitches in my back, but that’s about it. Headache has mostly faded.”


“Good. Look, you did nothing wrong. I just wanted you to hear that. In fact, without you, I….” Lotte let out a small but audible sob. “Thank you, Makai.”


Makai swallowed hard. “Yeah. Anytime. She’s a great kid.”


“Talk to you later,” Lotte managed to say, but it was obvious she was crying now.


“Bye,” Emil added quickly, and Makai realized he wasn’t in a tiny little bubble talking to Lotte. It had felt like that, with his concentration fully on her, but Emil was right there with him. Emil’s long-fingered, little-bit-scarred hand appeared on Makai’s arm. “She’s right. You saved Joie.”


Chapter 37