One followed her, one protected her When Amanda leaves her waitressing job to return to campus one night, she’s followed by first one man, then another. Behind her, the men get into a scuffle, and she runs, not quite sure what just happened. He must make sure she’s safe Months after 9/11, Mark is about to ship out to Afghanistan. He’s not looking for romance, but the marines have trained him to listen to his gut. And his gut screams that the pretty waitress is in danger. The stranger in the shadows While Amanda and Mark learn to trust one another, a monster stalks his next target. Will Mark be able to save her a second time, or will the love he thought he didn’t want be ripped from his hands by violence?

Chef and popular blogger Amanda Johnson hopes publishing her memoir will provide healing and justice. Her estranged husband, contractor and veteran soldier Mark Johnson, tries to talk her out of it, fearing the psychiatrist who seduced her when she was a teen might return to silence her. But Amanda doesn’t need advice, certainly not from her judgmental soon-to-be ex-husband. Her overconfidence makes her vulnerable when she travels out of town and runs into the abuser from her past. A kind stranger comes to her rescue and offers her protection. Now Mark must safeguard his wife both from the fiend who threatens her life and from the stranger who threatens their marriage.