In the year 2184, the US is divided. Half the country has moved on with the rest of the world, while in middle America, the survivors of the terrorist biological attack that split the country struggle just to stay alive. Though a century has passed, few people brave going behind the borders meant to contain the danger. Even the privatized military is reluctant to do so.<br><br>But that doesn’t stop recently discharged Sullivan Eberle. Only one thing drives him anymore -- the need to find Raphael Hamada. He doesn’t know why. He only knows he must. If that means a lifetime behind the borders, then so be it.<br><br>Rafe Hamada ran away from the real world when he was still a kid. The last thing he wants is to be found, especially by a soldier who can’t even tell him why it was so important to locate him in the first place. He’d like nothing more than for Sullivan to leave, but turning his back on a man alone and friendless is against everything Rafe stands for ...

Penny Candles

“Looks like we have company, Mama.” Though his statement was clearly directed at the woman, his gaze never left Sullivan. He was young, though Sullivan suspected older than him, and while he was the same height as the woman, he lacked the same thick solidity. His shoulders might have been broad, but his hips were slim, his hands long and almost elegant at his sides. He had the deepest brown eyes Sullivan had ever seen, too, dark enough to be black, with a hint of a slant at their corners. High cheekbones and a wide, full mouth gave him an air of exotic sensuality that his burnished coppery skin only added to. A jolt of familiarity shot through Sullivan’s gut, but as soon as he tried to grab onto the memory, it ran away. When he chased after it, his left eye started to throb, so he let it go, unable to concentrate. Regardless of the impression, though, he knew in his heart he’d never seen this man before. There was no way he would ever forget that face.


Chapter 6