3Jase Brooks had been a 26-year-old Marine, stationed in Afghanistan when his parents were killed in a head-on collision. His anguish was compounded when, at the reading of the will, he learned they'd made him sole guardian of his 11-year-old brother. Jase gladly walked away from a promising military career to step into their shoes, a tough job made tougher by the boy's risky behavior: Petty theft to fund the addictions that led to the birth of his son, Luke... who also became Jase's responsibility.

Through it all, best friend Samantha (Sam) Finnigan set aside her own heartaches to stand beside him--even when he made the dangerous decision to become a professional recovery agent. It isn't until one of the criminals he'd rounded-up escapes prison--and kidnaps Sam and Luke as part of a twisted scheme to even the score--that Jase realizes Sam is more, so much more than a friend.

Now, he faces the greatest challenge of his life: Staying alive long enough to save them, so that he can finally admit just how much she has always meant to him...

Loree Lough, a USA Today bestselling author, has published over 140 novels. This is the second novel in The Shadow Series.