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 ...

“Oh, son,” Dad said, holding on to him tightly.


Emil couldn’t remember when he’d hugged his dad like this, and he wished the occasion for it was different.


“What happened? Where is he?” he asked, pulling away so he could see his father’s face.


“They got him in and immediately rolled him into surgery. Son, they think he’s going to be okay, but they need to make sure. There was some really heavy bleeding, but Lizzie helped at the scene until the EMTs got there.”


All Emil could understand at first was “think he’s going to be okay,” and the relief from that made him wobble on his feet. Dad grabbed him and said something to the nurse, who pointed them somewhere.


“I’ve got Joey. We’ll take him and Lotte’s SUV home. Call us if you need us,” Jason said. Then he came to Emil. “Hey, do you need anything from Lotte’s car?”


Emil tried to make his brain work and eventually managed to shake his head. “No. Thanks.”


Chapter 71