Trust

He’s a convicted killer.
I’m his nurse.
And he saw my bruises.

Now he keeps getting hurt on purpose,
just to see that I’m safe.

As a prison nurse, I keep my heart locked away tighter than the men I treat.
No gray areas.
No second chances.

Especially not after escaping my abusive ex.

Then Knox Blackwood, the most dangerous man in the prison, winds up in my infirmary.

Whatever he did to get locked up remains the prison’s darkest secret.

He should terrify me.

Instead, he sees what no one else does.
The scars.
The flinch when a door slams.
The fear I can’t bury.

“Who hurt you?” he growls.

When I don’t answer, Knox starts showing up in my infirmary.
New wounds.
Suspicious injuries.

Getting hurt on purpose,
just for five minutes with me.

I tell myself I can’t fall for an inmate.
I won’t.

Especially not one who’s now harboring a violent vendetta against my ex.

But every stolen touch feels like salvation.
And every whispered promise paves the road to our future.

Knox is one parole hearing from freedom.

If we stay careful, maybe he’ll get out.
Reunite with his daughter.
And we’ll have a life beyond these walls.

All I have to do
is keep Knox from killing the man who hurt me.

That’s the plan.

Until my violent ex steps into the prison
as Knox’s new guard…