When they were teenagers, Quinn MacGregor and Aaron Larsen fell in love over the course of one magical summer. It ended in bloodshed and tragedy. Now, ten years later, Quinn is back in Spruce Creek, Nevada, to inherit his family’s criminal cartel. His cousin Jimmy has been making friends -- and enemies -- in dangerous places, but that doesn’t mean he’s happy to hand over leadership to Quinn. And Jimmy might not be the only one who wants Quinn out of the way for good, especially if Quinn’s secret comes out. Aaron Larsen is back in Spruce Creek to sell his former family home. Aaron lost a leg in Afghanistan, and he’s drinking too much and battling depression and PTSD. The last thing he needs is for Quinn MacGregor to drop back into his miserable life. But when Quinn is shaken by the news that he left more behind in Spruce Creek than his bad memories, he turns to Aaron like it’s old times, and Aaron doesn’t know how to say no. The events of ten years ago cast a long shadow, and in a town where they can’t trust anyone else, Quinn and Aaron just might have to learn to trust each other again.

A Desperate Man

“You can’t trust anyone,” Charlie concluded. “There’s a potential fucking battle coming into town, and you can’t trust even your bosses?”


Quinn let out a mirthless laugh and nodded slowly. “I got out of fucking rehab and thought I could go visit my mom or something. Instead, I’m sent here, because this was ‘my town’ once. Because this is ‘my legacy’ and they wanted to use the inside information to make sure Jimmy wouldn’t fuck things up.”


“So the rehab thing is real, then,” Aaron murmured.


For some reason the fact that thatwas what Aaron was most bothered about tickled Quinn’s funny bone and he started to laugh a bit hysterically. And then he couldn’t stop. 12


Chapter 39