Tag: smalltown
When love is all you have left to lose... how do you let it go?
I should've known better than to fall for Shane Montgomery.
He's rich, revered, and bound to a legacy that was never meant to include a girl like me. A girl born of shadows, shaped by secrets, and marked by a past that's forever tainted me. But Shane didn't care. With that cocky smile and relentless charm, he slipped past every wall I built and made promises I was desperate to believe.
We said we'd hold on. That no matter how far apart life-or our families-pulled us, we'd always find our way back to each other.
But forever is a fragile thing in a world ruled by power and privilege. A world built on lies and secrets, by people who would rather see us shattered than together and happy.
Now everything we had is teetering on the edge of ruin-our love, our dreams, and something even more precious... something we never imagined we'd lose.
They warned us we wouldn't last. And maybe they were right.
Because the deeper the betrayal, the harder the truth cuts.
Not all promises are meant to be kept. And love, no matter how true, isn't always enough.
In this gripping second installment of the Twisted Path Series, loyalty is tested, love is torn at the seams, and two broken souls must decide if holding on is worth the pain.
"Some monsters are made to protect. But never to be loved."
Annelly
He found us.
Now James and I are on the run-again.
But it's not just the danger we're fleeing. It's the wreckage of what we almost had.
I know what he's risking-what he's already sacrificed. Part of me still believes in him. Still wants him. But with every mile between us and the home he built, I feel him slipping into someone colder, harder... someone I might not be able to reach.
And I can't stop wondering if I'm the one who broke him.
Maybe loving James was always going to end this way-with me watching him fall apart, and knowing I'm the reason.
James
I promised to protect her.
But no one told me it would mean losing everything that matters. My home. My brother. My chance with her.
Now we're running, and with every step, I leave more of myself behind-including the man I was trying to become. The one she almost believed in.
But he's not enough anymore. What she needs now is the version of me I swore I'd never be again. The monster I buried. The one who knows how to end this.
Unleashing him might save her life, but it will destroy the one thing I can't bear to lose.
Maybe loving her was always going to end like this-with me becoming the monster she could never love.
In the Broken Redemption World, as danger closes in, love may not be enough to save them-and sacrificing the future they dreamed of might be the only way to survive.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This is Book 2 of James & Annelly's Broken Redemption arc. For the complete experience, start with Book 1: Broken Misery.
"Not all monsters hide in the dark. Some smile when they break you."
Annelly
I'm in trouble-the kind of trouble that has me fleeing from my life in the middle of the night, leaving everything behind.
Ruby Creek, the small town where I grew up, seemed like my safest refuge-until I ran straight into him.
James Serrano, the man who shattered my heart, sees through my fear and insists on helping me.
He promises to protect me, to be the man I once believed he could be.
But trusting him again feels impossible when all I can remember is the pain of his indifference and how easily he erased me from his life.
James
I like my life simple and carefree-no attachments, no drama, no regrets.
But when Annelly Conners reappears, scared, heartbreakingly vulnerable, yet so fiercely captivating, she unravels everything I thought I wanted.
If I were smart, I'd walk away like I did before.
Instead, I'm breaking every rule I've lived by to protect her-even if it means facing the feelings I swore I'd long buried.
She's everything I don't want but seem to need. And now I'm making promises I'm not sure I can keep-because losing her again? That's a risk I refuse to take.
In the Broken Redemption World, one woman's fight to reclaim her life collides with a man's war between love and self-preservation-but the danger closing in could destroy them both.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
James & Annelly's story begins here: Book 1 of their Broken Redemption arc.
Each couple's love story in the Broken Redemption Series is told over multiple books and forms a complete arc within this collection of connected romances set in the small town of Ruby Creek.
There's no required reading order, but if you'd like to start at the very beginning, that journey begins with Lucas & Emilia, whose story starts in Broken Vows (Broken Redemption Series - Book 1 of their arc).
He was born to rule. She was forged in fire. But falling in love might be their undoing.
I know how to survive. I've been doing it since the day my mother taught me to hide in closets and wait for the monsters to pass.
Trusting people? Loving them? That's how you get broken.
So when Shane Montgomery-Mr. Golden Boy with his perfect smile and world of privilege-offered to help me, I didn't believe him. Why would someone like him care about someone like me? I'm barely holding my life together-working double shifts, sleeping too little, chasing a future no one thinks I deserve.
But Shane is relentless. Not just with tutoring or grades, but with me. With seeing me. Touching the parts of me I've kept buried because needing someone is dangerous. And wanting him? That's a cliff I can't afford to fall from.
Still... I'm slipping.
Because when he looks at me like I'm his everything-like I'm the only thing he needs, like our love is fated, written into the very fabric of the universe-I almost believe him.
And if I allow myself to fall-really fall-it won't just be into his arms.
It'll be straight into the wreckage of everything I've fought so hard to survive.
In the first installment of the Twisted Path Series, opposites collide, secrets unravel, and two star-crossed lovers cling to each other in a world determined to tear them apart.
In a rural town, Graham lives his life as peacefully as possible. With only his dog by his side, he doesn't want, nor expect anything to change. That is, until the house across the street from him is sold to a strange man from the city.
Moving from the big city to the middle of nowhere is a big change for Spencer. His purpose for being there, he'd rather keep that a secret. But when he lays eyes on the hunky man across the street, Spencer knows that this move will be far from boring.
And yet, despite getting closer, both men hold back as dark secrets from their past threaten their relationship.
I was so damn naive it's no wonder I've ended up here. Kidnapped by the man who promised me forever, just as I'd begun to understand the depths of his betrayal.
It's a sad truth I didn't marry my husband for love. I married him for the life he promised to provide, and if I'm honest with myself, I married him in hopes one day he'd fill the void Lucas-my first love-left behind.
Now after so many years, they're both back. And in my desperation to feel loved, to be wanted and chosen I've walked straight into this trap. All because I forgot life's harshest lesson...
I'm not enough. No matter how much or how fiercely I love, the choice will never be me.
Especially now.
Surrounded by danger and at the mercy of my husband's enemies, I'm forced to face one final bit of truth.
Much like love, hope is for the weak.
I was a fool to believe in the vows and promises they made.
In the Broken Redemption Series, one man's vow to protect the woman he lost becomes a battle between redemption, forgiveness, and the kind of love that refuses to let go.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This is Book 2 of Lucas & Emilia's Broken Redemption arc. For the complete experience, start with Book 1: Broken Vows.
Choosing her cost me everything I'd ever loved... including her.
It's why I left the small town where I grew up and vowed never to return.
I'm no longer the "golden boy with a bright future" they all remember. Instead, I carry the scars of a tortured past. A broken man deemed unfit, even by the Navy SEALs he'd dedicated the past decade to serve.
What was supposed to be a quick trip to sell my parents' property turned into this twisted journey that forced me to confront my demons.
And then there she was. My first love, and deepest regret. The woman who still owns every piece of my blackened heart. When she asked for my time, I couldn't refuse.
Now I can't walk away.
Not after hearing of the danger her husband, a missing FBI agent, has brought to her doorstep. After everything, I owe her my help. It's why I offer to protect her and her two little girls from the danger circling them.
It's a vow I never should have made, given the trail of bodies I've left in my wake.
Like the harbinger of death, I'm the last man either of us should trust.
In the Broken Redemption Series, one man's vow to protect the woman he lost becomes a battle between redemption, forgiveness, and the kind of love that refuses to let go.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Lucas & Emilia's story begins here: Book 1 of their Broken Redemption arc.
Each couple's love story in the Broken Redemption Series is told over multiple books and forms a complete arc within this collection of connected romances set in the small town of Ruby Creek.
There's no required reading order, but if you'd like to start at the very beginning, you're right where you belong. Lucas & Emilia are the first couple, followed by James & Annelly, whose story begins with Broken Misery (Broken Redemption Series - Book 1 of their arc).
Choosing her cost me everything I'd ever loved... including her.
I had everything a guy could ask for, a loving family, the perfect small-town life, and a promising future I had worked hard for.
It should have been enough.
She was off-limits, my parent's best friend's daughter, practically my sister. I fought my feelings, pretending our soul-deep connection didn't exist. When she confessed she felt the same, I pushed her away, believing our friendship mattered more than temporary infatuation. That she agreed should have come as a relief, but it left me with this void I didn't know how to fill.
It's what drove me to the bonfire that night. Right there, with our friends as witnesses, I claimed her. Told her I loved her and made her promises I shouldn't have made.
Hours later, it all came crashing down in a whirlwind of fire and ashes. That one split-second choice to go after a girl that wasn't meant for me cost me everything I loved.
I never should have crossed that line or given in. It's why she'll forever be my greatest love and deepest regret.
This tragic story is the beginning of our end...
"You're my universe."
••••••
They were two completely different types of people during school. Max and Bryce just never connected. One was valedictorian and the other the star quarterback. It isn't until the summer before their first year of college do they form a friendship. And that friendship turns into something much bigger than either anticipated.
This will be a summer that will change their lives forever.
Gavin was your average small town boy. He had a group of friends, went to church every Sunday, and had a nice family. But behind all that was a confused boy who just needed a close companion. A stroll through the town's worst neighborhood leads him to encounter a new friends. And possibly, a new love.
