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 ...

Emil was getting to the point where the care Makai showed to his delicate sensibilities was starting to annoy him as much as he appreciated it.


He guessed it was a sign of him getting better with being close to Makai, which in itself was a welcome change to how the last five years had been. Especially when Makai was… well, a potential partner. He flushed at the thought of the conversation they’d had earlier and busied himself by cleaning out the little trash Doc had made.


Mouse came in from the bedroom and walked directly to the doc. She sat by his feet and looked at him as if she was expecting something.


“Doc Donovan, meet Mouse,” Makai said, making the vet chuckle.


“I’m glad she has a name, unorthodox as it is.”


“Actually, my grandma gave her the name when she was still a stray,” Emil said and explained the connection his grandma had to the cat, brief as it was.


Chapter 56