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 ...

That evening, after Alice left with a promise to stay in touch, and they’d had a dinner and a walk, Makai saw something different in Emil’s expression.


By the time they were getting ready to shower and go to bed, it was obvious that Emil had something on his mind. Makai didn’t have time to ask about it, because Emil was going to grab the first shower.


Except he stopped in the doorway of the bathroom and turned to look at Makai, who was lounging on the bed.


“Do you want to come with me?” he asked, looking hesitant but hopeful.


“What?” Makai knew he looked surprised.


Emil seemed to steel himself for a few beats. “Do you want to come shower with me?”


Makai didn’t ask if Emil was sure. It had taken them time to get to this point, and even now it hadn’t really been that long. “Okay,” he said and smiled. “Can you help me get the shirt off?”


Chapter 86