**Blurb:**
Lainey Harper is a dedicated historic preservation specialist with one goal: restore a once-thriving historic district to its former glory. However, her ambitious project and safety take a dangerous turn when a string of suspicious break-ins threaten everything she’s worked for.
Already burned by a former business partner’s betrayal, she’s wary of trusting anyone—especially Finn Ryder, the man who walked out of her life and left her with more than just memories.
Finn Ryder, an ex-SEAL now working for the Brotherhood Alliance, is assigned to investigate the vandalism plaguing the project and protect the consultant. He’s shocked to discover it’s Lainey, his childhood friend, and the woman he shared one unforgettable night with before his deployment eight years ago.
As danger escalates, they uncover a sinister plot involving organized crime, money laundering, and sabotage. Forced to work together, Finn and Lainey must navigate the danger and learn to trust each other again. But as their relationship rekindles, a long-held secret threatens to tear them apart.
As the criminals grow more ruthless, Finn and Lainey must race against time to uncover the truth before everything—including their second chance at love—goes up in flames.
Chapter 1
Lainey Harper stepped from her SUV and shivered in the damp morning chill. Cool now, but it would be hot later on. The sun was a blinding orb of yellow on the horizon, framed by clouds the shade of salmon and stormy gray.
She reached for her travel mug and clipboard. The warmth of the mug a small comfort.
Today was the day the contractors promised they’d finish with the first of the renovations.
Stella’s Bakery.
Her favorite building of the entire project
The sharp scent of sawdust and fresh paint usually brought Lainey a sense of calm. Progress.
But this morning, the air felt wrong.
She rounded the corner and stopped short. Her breath catching in her throat. The front window of Stella’s Bakery, an arched antique pane she fought to preserve, was broken.
And not just broken. Shattered. Destroyed.
Shards of glass glittered like malevolent diamonds, turning the sidewalk into a warning no one could miss. Wood splinters from the window casing jutted out as if someone had slammed through it with force.
She blinked, took a step back, and for a moment the world tilted.
Not again.
Lainey forced her boots to move closer. Spray painted across the brick wall in angry black letters were the words:
WALK AWAY.
Her stomach lurched as the cup of coffee she drank earlier threatened to come up.
A tap on her shoulder made her jump.
“Morning Lainey.”
Gus!
“I was hoping to get this covered before you got in,” said Gus Navarro, the construction foreman. “I’d like to get it cleaned up fast. The men are already on edge.”
Lainey didn’t answer. Her boots crunched over the glass as she moved closer to the front door.
“Was anything taken?”
“Nope. Just the window. The message.” He nodded toward the wall. “Same paint. Same pattern.”
Something was different.
Her gaze dropped to the wooden frame of the door. Carved below the handle was a small, deliberate X.
She had no idea what it meant, only that it made her skin crawl.
“I’ve called the police,” Gus said. “But…” he shrugged.
Lainey blew out a breath. “I know. Kids, right?”
“Yup.”
It didn’t take her long to take photos of the damage and add to the notes she made the last time.
Her pulse raced through her body.
She wanted to believe it was bored kids. But after what Richard put her through, she wasn’t that naïve.
Not anymore.
A patrol car pulled up, turned off its annoying siren. Two officers stepped out.
“Morning, Ms. Harper,” a tall officer flipped open his notebook and surveyed the damage. “Anything stolen this time?”
“No.” Lainey huffed. Exasperated.
This wasn’t the first conversation she had with the police.
“We get that this is frustrating. But unless it escalates…” he trailed off with a shrug. “Sometimes people don’t like change.”
“This isn’t about people not liking change,” she snapped. “This is obviously a threat, and it’s obviously escalating.”
He didn’t argue. But he didn’t agree either. He gave her a pitying look just like before.
She knew there’d be no fingerprints. No camera footage. No note written with instructions to oneself saying break window, leave a threatening message.
No suspect. Nothing to find.
Restoring the historic district was her dream job. It was her second chance after her former partner ruined everything.
And someone wanted to destroy it.
Her phone buzzed in her hand.
Unknown number.
She froze.
Dare she answer it?
The last few times, no one was there. But something told her this time was different.
One ring. Two. Three.
She couldn’t stand the silence anymore. “Lainey Harper.”
A moment of silence. Then a voice—distorted and low.
“You don’t belong here.”
Click.
The call ended but Lainey stood frozen, the phone still pressed to her ear, her breath shallow and fast.
“Something wrong?” one officer asked.
She lowered the phone, her fingers cold around it. “Wrong number.”
The officer raised a brow. “That so?”
Lainey shrugged. “Kids.”
The officer jotted something on his notepad. “We’ll add it to the file.”
She didn’t bother hiding the eye roll. “Of course you will.”
He didn’t look up. “Nothing was stolen. Could have been teenagers. Or someone blowing off steam.”
Lainey crossed her arms. “Yeah. Bored kids come armed with spray paint and a message.”
The officer looked like he wanted to argue, but didn’t.
She bit back the rest. She sure wasn’t about to explain—not again. Not like she did the first time she called them here, when the back door to her office had been pried open and her desk messed up. And certainly not after the last job when the police brushed off a slashed tire on one of her crew’s trucks.
Why would this time be any different? She was tired of being dismissed.
Behind them, Gus was already sweeping up the damage and whitewashing the words.
Lainey crossed her arms, rubbing the chill away.
She could pretend all she wanted. But this wasn’t over.
She hadn’t fought her way free of Richard’s mess to be chased off now.
Whoever was calling didn’t know her very well.
Lainey Harper didn’t quit.
And she sure as hell didn’t scare easily.