Stone's Throw

AJ

"Captain Stone, your wife is alive."

Three years ago, my wife-the woman who made my world brighter, who laughed at my corny jokes and chased every adventure with me-vanished without a trace. No clues. No answers. Just an empty, aching silence.

Until a call from a doctor in Mexico changes everything. She's alive. But she doesn't remember me-or herself. Still, when I'm close, she leans toward me, a small, instinctive motion that feels like a promise.

Her memories return in shattered fragments-pieces of the life we built tangled with shadows too dark for her to face alone. All I can do is hold her. Protect her. Love her.

And I'll burn down the world before I let the men who took her touch her again.

Grace

"Your husband is here."

Those words should mean safety. Instead, they terrify me. I don't remember my name, my age, or any of the terrible things the doctor says happened to me.

AJ's wild blue eyes and whiskey-smooth voice draw me in, a steady anchor against the panic. And when he holds me? I feel safe.

The past comes back in fragments-charcoal sketches on paper, flashes of laughter and touch, sensations swallowed by shadow. Never enough to make me whole.

AJ looks at me like I'm his everything, and I want-I need-to believe a love that deep can survive anything.

But with every memory comes fear. The men who stole me once might try again. As I struggle to piece myself back together, one thing is certain: AJ will risk everything to keep me safe. And maybe-just maybe-I'll find my way back to him before it's too late.