Tony and Ryan are not your typical gay couple. Although they are American, they are trained government agents living in Italy, and they’re on the lam. They are fugitives who are hiding from the very agency that trained them. Tony is 30, a physical trainer with a linebacker’s build. He fears no one, and takes very seriously his responsibility of protecting his boy Ryan. Ryan is young, only 20, and a gentler soul. He’s far more soft-spoken than Tony, and he’s often overly trusting.
While vacationing in Napoli, Ryan is brutalized by a group of four thugs—gay bashers. They beat and stab vulnerable, young Ryan, and leave him for dead. When Tony returns to find his boy in this condition, it nearly crushes him.
Laden with guilt for not being there to protect Ryan, Tony begins the arduous task of helping his boy heal. Will he ever be able to get Ryan to forgive him for not being there? Will he ever be able to forgive himself? And will Ryan ever again be the loving, gentle soul that Tony once knew and loved?The Story Behind This Book
Tony & Ryan are two characters from a series I've been working on for more years than I care to say. For the longest time I had a heck of a time connecting with Ryan until I explored this other hidden side of him. He's 1 of 4 brothers. He's an orphan. He's an undercover agent on the run. I tried for years to get inside his head for the series. He played hide and seek with me for a long time to the point that I almost took him out of the story all together. Then a fellow author challenged me to delve into the magic world of m/m romance. He actually challenged me to do this and because the story was written for him, he suggested using characters I was familiar with. Yes, by the time I was given this challenge I was well into the start of the 3rd book of that series and still fighting with Ryan. So I figured what the heck. No one will read the story anyway, it's being written for my friend and I needed to find out what was up with Ryan. I found out. And I'm thrilled. I'm now writing him with ease in the series and even went back to book 1 and fixed all the issues I had with him. YAY!
