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PROLOGUE
There were a lot of reasons I could say I lived a happy life. I also had legitimate reasons to say I lived a troubled one. The truth was that, like many other people, I had good and bad moments. Overall, I had good health, a daughter I loved more than anything, a neat job, a supportive mother, and wonderful friends.
Despite my general analysis, I could pinpoint my greatest and worst days.
The day I concluded my medical training for the Navy vs. the day I lost my father. The day I met my daughter, so tiny and pretty, vs. the day I married her mother. The day my Sofia called mePapifor the first time vs. the day I learned her mother, my ex-wife, was cheating on me with a member of a drug cartel. The day my daughter told me she loved me vs. the day I lost one of my best friends and almost lost another one. The day I met Lisa Specter vs. Zach Bryant’s funeral.
The day Lisa and I professed our love for the first time. And the day her cold, lifeless body lay before me.
She hated winter for a reason, and I had it on good authority that she was right in doing so.
I lost my best friend during an odd rain in a snowy December. Exactly one year later, I was kneeling—shaking and frozen to the bone—in front of Lisa’s sprawled, cold body in the snow. And only one of us was breathing.
That dangerous seesaw we called life had surely worked its number on me.
I liked to think I was a good person. So, if evidence was to be considered, I was paying for way more than my sins.
There was no good answer for what was happening to me. I could only figure that, for better or for worse, some days were supposed to leave a mark on our lives.
And that freezing day in December, as I mourned a year without my best friend and watched one of my worst nightmares unfold in front of my eyes?
That was one day I could never forget.
CHAPTER ONE
That fateful explosion changed our lives. It changed us.
Zachary “Zach” Bryant was one of the few good ones. A supportive and loyal friend—Benjamin “Ben” Walker and I could attest to that. A protective partner—Haley Brooks would never find another man like him. A loving honorary father—Gabe Brooks couldn’t even comprehend how much he’d lost. A wonderful son—Rosie and Jackson were distraught with good reason. The best big brother—Mia would most likely never be the same.
As I sought her through the crowd, I felt a tug at my heart. Mia was sitting in the corner of Rosie’s living room, with a lost look on her face. Her fair complexion was paler than usual. Her left arm and shoulder were still immobilized. She was leaning to the right, probably to alleviate the pain in her still-healing ribs. Her eyes bore the guilt that should never have been laid on her shoulders.
As usual, my breath broke contemplating that the explosion that took Zach could’ve very easily taken Mia as well. And Ben. And me.
We were in the middle of a huge investigation, trying to get and dismantle one of the biggest drug cartels in the world—the MexicanEl Rey Alacrán—when we found out Ben’s father was involved.
Michael was a despicable man. Used to talk using his fists with his late wife (whom he killed) and son, Michael was only unable to reach Ben when teenage Zach and Mia intervened, fought the devil back, and brought Ben home with them.
Until Michael came back, tied to the man my ex-wife was fooling around with—Matias, a member of the same cartel we were trying to destroy. They attacked beyond our readiness. They struck directly at our core.
They invaded our company, made Mia and Ben’s woman (Izzie Turner) hostages, and altered the course of our lives.
Mia was never one to sit quietly. She fought back, the little spitfire gave them hell and took most of them out. Out of the seven men who attacked the girls, two were arrested, four were killed (Michael among them), and one of them ran away—fucking Matias.
The setback was that the explosion that served to kill Michael also took Zach’s life. And in a way, Mia’s as well.
Filled to the brim with grief and guilt, she barely spoke anymore. People tried to interact with her, telling her how wonderful her brother was. She didn’t need to hear that. She knew first-hand how amazing Zach was. We all knew.
I was heading to her when my eyes landed on my baby girl, her best friend Gabe, and the young woman entertaining them while we said our goodbyes. Lisa Specter.
Gorgeous. Too young for me. Brilliant. Too pure for my jadedness. Wonderful to my girl—way more than my ex-wife ever was. Too amazing to be trapped with a man with my baggage.
I couldn’t stop my heart from pounding at the sight of her, though. And when our eyes met across the room, my feet faltered. I could say I didn’t understand the pull she had on me, but I did. There wasn’t a single thing I didn’t admire about the young woman I hired to babysit my girl.
I was so lost in my trance about Lisa, I didn’t notice my ex-wife entering the room that was destined for the ones who loved and cared about Zach and his family. Somewhere she didn’t belong.
Dressed all in black and wearing a fucking veil, she went straight to the mantel—where were laid out Zach’s photos—and started to wail.
She created a scene worthy of an Oscar. I berated myself again for not realizing the person she was when we were dating. I only tolerated her because she brought me my most precious gift. If it weren’t for Sofia, I’d never see that manipulative woman ever again.
