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 ...

Makai seemed to notice he was lost in his head and just waited it out with him. Eventually, when he could talk again, Emil said, “I have no idea how we’d work. With all the issues between us.”


Smiling sadly, Makai nodded. “Maybe we don’t. But there’s no way of knowing that, and there’s no rush.”


“Well given that we’ve known each other for less than a week….” Emil ducked his head and chuckled.


“True. But I’m glad we talked about this. I… I think it’s important. Less fucking up when we know things like this.”


“Yeah….” Emil looked at Makai until their gazes locked. “I will never talk to anyone about what we shared today. Not even to Evy.”


“I won’t tell a soul, I promise.” Makai looked serious, but then humor entered his eyes and he held a hand toward Emil. “Pinky promise.”


Laughing, even through the occasional wooziness in his stomach, Emil reached to hook his pinky through Makai’s.


They got up soon after and started toward the house.


Chapter 45