Declan

Small towns don't bury secrets - they burn them.

When Kaia Bell's only safe haven-the old diner where she practically grew up-shuts down overnight, something inside her won't let it go. The people who raised her have vanished without a word, and the strangers taking over aren't just flipping a menu-they're hiding something.

Especially him.

Declan Cross is all cold eyes and locked doors, sent to Haven for reasons no one's talking about. Kaia wants answers. Declan wants her gone. But the deeper she digs, the more tangled she becomes in a web of lies, grief, and the kind of danger that doesn't knock before it comes for you.

And the more they clash, the more they uncover-not just about the town, but about each other.

Grief. Guilt. Desire.
Some fires never die.
Some truths were never meant to be found.

***
His breath hit mine before his words did.

"You always this reckless?" he asked, low.

I didn't move. "You always this paranoid?"

He stepped in, close enough that I could feel the heat of him-anger, control, and something else humming just underneath.

"If I kissed you right now," he said, voice rough, "would you stop digging?"
I didn't blink.

"No," I whispered. "But you can try."