twisted hearts

(THIS IS JUST FOR FUN! NOT TRYING TO TAKE ANA HUANGS IDEAS!)
Mari Rivera is sunshine in combat boots-always smiling, always fierce, and never one to back down from a challenge. So when threats start arriving in anonymous messages and her father hires a personal bodyguard, Mari's first instinct is to roll her eyes.

Then she meets him.

Bryson Cade is all shadows and silence. Ex-military, emotionally unavailable, and built like a walking fortress, he's the definition of do not engage. He's also the last person Mari expects to recognize-especially as the man she once shared a scorching, no-names night with... and never forgot.

Bryson remembers her. All of her. The sharp tongue. The smart mouth. The way she kissed like she was trying to burn him alive. He thought she was just a wild night before he disappeared into another mission. He never expected her to be his next assignment.

Now, he's tasked with keeping her safe-and keeping his hands to himself. But Mari, all sass and stubborn sweetness, isn't making it easy. She pokes at his walls like she's daring him to crumble. And the more time they spend together, the more their history starts to crack the distance between them.

It's a slow, smoldering descent into something neither of them saw coming-until the past crashes into the present, secrets come to light, and one unforgettable night threatens to ruin everything they're trying not to feel.

Because the biggest danger isn't the threat outside... it's the one they've been hiding from each other.