Ellis Parker is a lucky man: he escaped his persecuting family, survived his tour of duty, and met Maxwell Clark in the city of New Amsterdam. Clark showed Ellis more than the ropes: Clark helped Ellis figure out who he is -- a gay submissive with a massive fixation on a beautiful, mysterious ballet dancer named Bryn Rothe. Ellis knows a Good Man when he sees one, and he wants nothing more than to score a first date with Bryn.<br><br>Little does Ellis know that Bryn has a violent past that is crawling out of shallow graves to haunt him. Even his hectic schedule and beloved stage aren’t enough to distract him. It’s impossible for Bryn to figure out how he feels about Ellis with his demons between them, but when Ellis saves Bryn not once but twice, Bryn is forced to admit that there’s something about Ellis that Bryn might not merely want but need.<br><br>Together, they journey to the scene of Bryn’s original crime -- Charles Towne, South Carolina. There they will dig up secrets that might explain Bryn’s tortured life but might also be his -- and Ellis’s -- undoing.

Earthquakes

Irrationally, he thought it might be the stairwell that had rocked his balance, and he let go of the railing. He stumbled, and Ellis caught his arm.


Bryn didn’t answer immediately. Out of the corner of his eye, he’d caught sight of a man in black descending the stairs. Nobody else appeared to see him, and as he brushed by Bryn, Jared’s voice filled his ears.


“Isn’t that great, Bryndon, baby? He already knows how to hurt and get hurt. He’s used to it. Likes it.” Jared chuckled. “Wants it. Just like you.”


“I’m fine.” Bryn shoved Ellis’s hand away. “I just need a drink.”


Bryn was in the atrium before he realized Ellis was following like a concerned pet chasing after its master. Bryn gnashed his teeth and leaned heavily on the closest bar. “Scotch, neat.”


“Water for me, please,” Ellis said.


“You don’t drink?” Bryn asked dully.


The bartender poured Bryn’s Scotch into a glass.


Chapter 32