While young doctor Adam Morrow resigns himself to an uninformed existence, world-weary assassin Ian Abbott struggles with a life he never asked for. When the two strangers meet by chance, the attraction is immediate. And deadly, as Adam walks in on Ian in the middle of a hit. The situation spirals out of control once Ian discovers he and Adam share a connection far more profound than either imagined. Shocked by the discovery, Ian makes the hasty decision to kidnap him. Overnight Adam is torn from his promising career and a family who believes him dead. Things go from bad to worse when he finds himself reunited with a mother he never knew who is now head of a covert and shadowy group of killers for hire. Forced into joining their ranks, with Ian as his reluctant trainer and handler, Adam is given a series of impossible tasks to complete. To survive, he must fight with everything he has to keep his life, his sanity, and his very soul from being swept up in a violent and chaotic world even as he battles his unwanted and complicated feelings for Ian. For his part Ian, a man with dark secrets of his own, has a past he isn't ready to share with Adam even as the other man worms into his life in more ways than one. The two grow closer and lines blur -- between good and evil, friend or foe, enemy or lover. But something, or someone, plots against them, determined to do everything in their power to keep them apart. Even if it means destroying them both.

The Dead Don't Lie

“Relax, it’s going to be some time before you’re on your feet again,” Adam huffed, his tone equal parts annoyance, part fondness.


As much as Ian hated to admit defeat, Adam was right. He had no business going anywhere. He groaned in frustration, falling onto the pillow. The gesture sent another agonizing spike of agony coursing throughout his battered frame. The pain was so severe, he bit his tongue bloody to keep from crying out.


Adam jumped to his feet, rummaging through the metal cart beside the bed. “I’ll get you something to help,” Adam reassured.


Adam leaned in close, holding his eye. “Stop it. There’s no reason to suffer. You’re safe with me. I promise.”


Ian hated showing vulnerability to anyone; it was even more upsetting when it was Adam. Adam, who appeared determined to nurse him back to health, eyes shining with adoration. Ian couldn’t bear another second of his doting over him, showering him with care.


Chapter 40