Auctioned

Gray Nolan's biggest problem in life was the torch he carried for his closeted coach. He was just another happy-go-lucky dude, a college student and hockey player, when his ordinary existence was interrupted, and he became a human trafficking statistic. He and seven other young men were taken aboard a luxurious yacht, where they were to be auctioned off to the highest bidder. Gray was beaten, shattered, and almost defeated by the time his buyer stepped out of the shadows in a swirl of his own cigarette smoke.

It was supposed to be an easy, in-and-out job. Nothing Darius Quinn hadn't done before. But this job had something none of the others did: Gray Nolan. Like Murphy's Law advised, anything that could go wrong, would. A mission to save one hometown-favorite son was turning into a quest to rescue 13 traumatized young men against odds so steep, he'd need an oxygen mask to scale them.

Gray had survived a kidnapping, being stranded on an island, and more pain than most could handle in a lifetime. When it was time to focus on recovery, he wanted to be left alone to fight his demons—and to get over the attachment he'd formed for the man who'd saved him more than once. But in a time when darkness threatened to consume him, salvation arrived as he set out to uphold the promise he'd made to a friend. Eight-year-old Jayden stormed into his life, fresh off the streets of Philadelphia, and lit up Gray's bleak existence.

I'm not supposed to do this job without Boone. We may not share genes, but it's been us against the world since his mom took me in as a toddler. The rowdy O'Sullivan boys who raised all the hell that Vegas could handle. Not that all my memories are wild and make my heart race. After all, I realized I was in love with the bastard at some point, so there's been plenty of pathetic yearning and jealousy too.

One last mission. One last operation—and the stakes had never been higher. Truth be told, Darius was exhausted. He didn't want his past mingling with the life he was building with Gray and the kids, but he had no choice. They were facing their biggest threat yet, and in order to even stand a chance, Darius had to revert to the man he'd once been. He had to set aside fatherhood and love and be the grunt, the private contractor, the soldier who went deep behind enemy lines.

In a race against time, Gray didn't allow himself to consider defeat. He refused. They couldn't lose now. Darius had to be okay. Oh God, he had to be okay. One minute and twelve seconds had passed since the guys in the compound had started collapsing, and Gray could hear Darius in his mind, calling him knucklehead in that sharp tone that demanded attention. Pull it together, focus, get the job done. So with his heart threatening to pound its way out of his rib cage, Gray let this final task become his one and only mission.

Three years ago, Gray Nolan lost all hope of ever seeing his friends and family again. Now, everyone was gathering to watch him become Gray Quinn. At long last. But before his and Darius's big day, they had one more mission to undertake. Just a simple in-and-out stint. Nothing to worry about.