Two Lies, One Truth

As light above her head buzzed incessantly, Reagan scowled as she coaxed her watch further down on her wrist, checking it for the umpteenth time. The witching hour . . . and, Sticky Joe was late. Crossing her arms, she leaned against the alley wall, grateful the heat of day finally began to wane. In its place, a wave of cooler air wafting from leaky garbage bags dragged across grooved cement, releasing an all-too familiar stench. "Two minutes," she promised herself as she inched away from the stink. "Two more minutes . . ." The daughter of a Boston mafia crime boss, Reagan McGuffin knew her life was different-one filled with danger and duplicity. So, when one of her father's operatives whisked her away to Florida in the wee hours, it was an unanticipated surprise. But, it wasn't until she was settled in sun-bathed South Beach did she fully understand she was there because of her mother. With emotional and physical scars attesting to her fear, night terrors plague her dreams, yet she knows Stryder, her hired protector, is her only solace. As gratitude turns into deep, unrequited love, Reagan finds herself straddling reality and memories, both refusing to reveal truths she needs to know.