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 ...

“Look, I’m really sorry about that,” Makai said. “I should’ve thought—”


“What? That I could snap at any moment?” Emil looked angry, but it didn’t seem to be directed at Makai. That made it somehow worse. When he went to speak, Emil waved his hand agitatedly. “No, I didn’t mean it like that. I know better by now. It’s just a knee-jerk reaction.”


“I know I can’t control it and I know I can’t expect anyone to remember to mind my delicate sensi-fucking-bilities all the time, but it’s frustrating as hell to not ever see it coming.”


“Did you… what’s it called?” Makai tried to remember the correct term.


“Dissociate, yeah. I do that when something triggers me. Not all the time, but sometimes. Has been happening a lot around you lately,” Emil said and snorted


Chapter 41