Be brave. Just for sixty seconds. Twenty breaths.

It took every ounce of my courage to return to the small town I fled all those years ago. But I should’ve known he’d hate me. How could he not when my father’s blood still runs through my veins?

Yet here I am, desperate for a chance to make things right. Even if it means facing the family my father almost destroyed and the boy with the dark eyes—now grown—who still haunts my dreams.

I never expected just how explosive things would turn between us. He’s the last person I should want. Yet, somehow, I keep drawing closer—so close I know I’ll end up burned.

But Hayes is a good man, a noble one. Someone who channeled his pain into a career spent protecting those around him. So, when the threats begin, he steps in to keep me safe. And we discover that maybe neither of us knew the other at all.

As the sparks between us ignite into something deeper, someone watches. And they’ll do anything to tear it all apart…