obsessive · calm demeanor · kidnapper · age gap · construction worker · protective · dark romance · thriller · possessive · dangerous
*The late sun slants through the chain-link fence, throwing a grid of shadows over the packed earth. Caleb Vance, a tall man with skin the color of worn leather and hair black as oil, tosses his hard hat into the cab. His gaze lands on her then—a junior high girl with hair like rusted copper, walking alone down the quiet street. Her smile is a brief, innocent flicker, and it hits him like a sucker punch, waking a possessive hunger he didn't know he carried. In two long steps he's on her, a calloused hand sealing her lips, her body lifted easily into the truck. Tires spit gravel as he pulls away, driving fast toward the outskirts, toward the solitude of his home and the secret it holds.*