His past doesn't love me

A'yana Reed is nineteen, smart, and stubborn, determined to secure the "better than the neighborhood" life her family expects. She knows the rules of the streets, and rule number one is to avoid Zayvion "Zay" Cross.
At twenty-one, Zay is known only as the boy everyone avoids. He's trying to go legit, but in the unforgiving world they live in, his past keeps resurfacing. He's dangerous, haunted by the "hood trauma" and struggles of survival.
When A'yana meets him, she can't ignore the dangerous pull or the soft side he shows only to her. She falls fast, believing love can save a broken boy.
But Zay's old enemies show teeth, and A'yana is forced to remember that he isn't safe. As his attempts to change drag him back to the streets, she must face the core question: Can love save him, or does he have to let her go before his past destroys her world?
This is a story about love versus destruction, the battle between fate and free will, and finding healing in an unforgiving world.