Gio: I used to be a man people feared. When I stepped into a man’s space, he knew what was coming, but after an injury almost took my life, I vowed to change. Instead of being hated, I became less unpleasant. Then, a job forced me to open my eyes. Love and happily-ever-after weren’t in my game plan. Would my cold heart warm to accept or give respect to her when she deserved better? I refused to let her go, so I had no choice but to try.

The past is a cruel master; it’ll rule you – or kill you. At the influential age of sixteen, Irish American Declan Briggs was sent away from his home to Ireland, or the Emerald Isle, to ‘stay out of trouble’ with long distance relatives. However, nothing is greener on this side of the sea; a two-sided conflict tears the country apart. Communities are severed, families taken and torn apart. The rising tensions drag Declan into a dark unit where orders are given and expected to be carried out through a black balaclava. Very soon, Declan finds himself in over his head – and it follows him back as he flees back to America. Young blood can stir up many enemies. In the present day, Declan has reformed himself; co-owning his own security company with two trusted friends. There isn’t anything he isn’t armed to handle – until a country singer, Rhonda Glee, crash lands into his life as his latest client. She’s a beauty – and hellbent on making his job ten times harder than it has to be, challenging him at every end. Declan isn’t the only one with a tainted past – bearing blood and bruises. Randi has a habit of running, but can Declan be honest about the ghost of his past – or risk their partnership slipping through his fingers? The past has a firm grip – it’ll not let go without a fight.

Beck Pavlov thought starting over in Cleveland, Ohio, would make him forget. The new city and new job at GDB Security were supposed to help him rebuild his life and put the past behind him. Once an aspiring police officer in the Windy City, he watched his career come to a screeching halt when a simple response to a child hit by a car turned into a tragedy that he won’t ever forget. Abbie Parker, a young, vivacious Channel 7 News reporter, enjoyed life to the fullest. She was the face people saw on television first thing in the morning. However, strange events are happening around her, and she doesn’t understand why. When Dr. Parker, Abbie's father, decided to hire a bodyguard to protect his daughter, Beck learned that he and the pretty news reporter had more in common than he suspected. But he was hired to protect her, not to fix her personal life.

Zane When playing with fire, expect to get burned. I’d burned many. Now a person hell-bent on revenge challenged me to a game of cat and mouse. I was fine playing until Stella got drawn in. It was up to me to protect the woman who had slid under my radar and stolen my heart. However, Stella was in the dark about my past. I could only hope once the dust settled, she wouldn’t fear I was still the monster I used to be. Stella How does one go from friends with benefits to nothing at all? By messing with Zane Dexter. I’d finally obeyed the warnings to stay away from him. Then one night, out of the blue, he showed up at the club looking delicious and acting as arrogant as ever. Had I kept my distance, I wouldn’t be in fear for my life. Could Zane protect me, and would we live to have a future together? Only time would tell.