Wendy has built her career on following threads other people ignore. Rumors, lies, whispers buried beneath small-town politeness she knows how to find the truth hiding underneath all of it. So when a trail of strange tips leads her to a local pet store after midnight, Wendy tells herself she’s only there to investigate. Just a quick look. In and out. No risks. Then Luca finds her. Quietly dangerous, intensely controlled, and impossible to ignore, Luca is the kind of man who notices everything and once his attention locks onto Wendy, he doesn’t look away. What starts as reluctant proximity quickly becomes something far more volatile: stolen moments, dangerous attraction, and a connection neither of them knows how to walk away from. Because Luca doesn’t do anything halfway. And Wendy has never known when to stop digging. Some people fall in love carefully. These two were never going to be those people. Content Note This novel contains themes of domestic violence, emotional abuse, coercive control, violence, criminal activity, animal welfare investigations, suspense, moderate language and open-door intimacy. Reader discretion is advised.