Ten years ago, Nicky Marcello's world was turned upside down when she believed she was betrayed by the man she loved and her father was sent to prison for a crime he didn't commit. Shattered and alone she pulled her pieces together shard by shard and put Vasily Melnikov's memory behind her. Now he's back, and Nicky is confronted with new truths, forcing her to question everything about the man who broke her heart and ruined her life.

A simple trip to Russia cost Vasily it all. He had to make an impossible choice, one that cost him his soul and still hurts him today. Scarred and hardened, he survived the darkness and returns to San Francisco to clean up his brother's mess and deal with a human trafficking ring operating in his territory. He has his demons under control, put away in a neat little box, until he runs into her-the woman he never stopped thinking about. Whose memory was the only thing that made an intolerable situation...tolerable.

It's hard enough to convince Nicky he never betrayed her, but she is in danger simply by being connected to him. Can Vasily keep her safe and convince her to take him back-or will a cruel twist of fate and a hard-held belief throw it all out the window?

Trigger warnings: attempted sexual assault and killing