State Police investigator, Dave Millbrand, and TV reporter, Melissa McDowell hide hurts so deep, they live their lives almost like robots. Almost. 

Each recognizes a second chance in life and love with the other. Now that second chance is threatened by the “bad guys” and “good guys” who are prepared to pull the trigger.

EXCERPT

They stopped their cruisers at the head of the road that Calvin Davidson told them led to the old farmhouse. Dave got out of his car and came up alongside the patrol car as the driver side window rolled down, and Trooper Jones asked, “What’s the game plan?”

“We don’t know how many of them are down there,” Dave said. “Our friend in your back seat there says they drove here and did like a check-in with the boss before they hit the road again. He says they would drive in here, then exit a back way along what used to be a road. So you two should circle around, find the way out from this place. Be the blocking force. Catch them as they make their break. I’ll be going in from here.”

“You want Bowman with you?”

“No. Keep him with you for now. I’ll do some scouting around the house. If I think I need him, I’ll take a chance and break radio silence. Maybe he can even walk in from the other end. That’s if we need to do that.”

Jones gave him a skeptical look. “You sure about this? You trying to be the hero because she’s your girlfriend?”

“First off—she’s not my girlfriend. She’s in trouble, but we don’t know how much trouble right now. That’s why I think we need to use a little stealth, do some snooping around before we call for reinforcements. That’s if we need them.”

“You’re the ranking man. You make the call,” Jones said. “We’ll see if we can find the exit from this place. Don’t do anything for ten minutes. That should give us enough time.” He closed his window, and the cruiser slipped away into the dark.

Dave opened the trunk of his car and grabbed his Kevlar vest. He stripped off his shirt and wrapped the bulletproof vest around his torso.

Slipping his shirt back on over the vest, he tucked it in. He popped the magazine out of his Glock 9 and checked to see if the clip was full, then he slipped the magazine back in place. Dave moved slowly through a sea of high grass and weeds. As his eyes adjusted to the darkness, he could tell there were parallel tracks marking a driveway, despite the tangled growth.

“‘Just because she’s your girlfriend.’ Yeah, sure. Maybe girlfriends, love, all that stuff, is somebody’s plan to break your heart,” he mumbled.