Scars and Stripes

Love heals even the deepest wounds.

-West

After giving twelve years of my life to the service, I didn’t just lose my leg. I lost everything, including my career. When the dust settled, the only person still standing by my side in the rubble was Brandt —the single lifeline I had left to a world I didn’t want to live in anymore.

With painstaking care, he healed my body and my mind. When he eventually started healing my heart, I realized I didn’t just need him in my life, I needed him in ways I’d never wanted him before.

-Brandt

Watching West struggle every day was tearing me apart. If he could only see what I do, he wouldn’t see flaws and hopelessness. He’d see a courageous, selfless, brilliant leader. A guy with no filter, who always makes me laugh. Someone who never asks questions before offering to bail my ass out of trouble.

He’d see the man I’ve come to love as more than just my best friend.

You can’t give your heart away until you first learn to love yourself.

Nash

A mission gone sideways. My world turned upside down on a dime.

Held prisoner in the dark tunnels below ground, cut off from the world, I was hanging onto life by a thread. Wanting to end my suffering, but afraid to let go.

And then I was rescued. Dragged into the light. My first breath of freedom in twenty-two days. But I was still trapped in my nightmare, inside my head.

A prisoner of war.

Brewer

His mind may be broken, but his soul is still intact, and it’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. As his sponsor, I promised to help him find his way, to show him how to love himself again. I'm breaking all the rules of recovery by falling in love with him. But when you find the person you’re meant to spend the rest of your life with, you don’t want to waste another day apart.

Fate only takes an instant to play her hand.

Rhett Marsh

When my leg shattered, I thought my whole world was shattered.

Riggs pieced both back together again, and then he disappeared.

I never expected to see him again on the other side of the world.

Navarro Riggs is a lot of things…

Devastatingly hot.

My savior.

A brave warrior.

But, my physical therapist? Yeah, I didn’t see that coming.

I’d consider it a gift from the universe, if only he wasn’t trying his damndest to stay far away from me.

Navarro Riggs

We met on the battlefield under a hail of bullets and blood.

Our bond was instant, forged in trauma. Unbreakable. Everlasting.

He wasn’t just my patient, he was mine.

I trust Rhett with my life, but can I trust him with my heart?

It’s funny how you can wake up one day and realize that everything you’ve ever wanted has been right in front of your face all along.

McCormick

I’ve had some dark days.

The day I lost my leg.

The day I took a handful of innocent lives.

The day I watched my buddy take his life because he couldn’t live with the consequences of our actions.

They haunt me late at night. I hear them cry out for help.

The only things that quiet the voices; My motorcycle, knitting, and my buddies—Stiles in particular. He’s always there when I need him, and when I don’t.

But the loneliness lingers, and it hurts sometimes.

Stiles

I gave seven years to the Army, and in return, they took my memories. I got caught in the backlash of a land mine that caused a loss of my short-term memory function. I forget little things like appointments, and whether or not I forgot to turn off the stove or lock the door. But kissing my best friend? That’s a huge thing, something I’m not likely to forget.

Another huge thing I can’t forget? That I’m a straight man who doesn’t kiss men.

It’s too bad I’m not attracted to guys because we would be perfect together. In fact, I think we could make it work, as long as he doesn’t make it weird. But… Fuck, McCormick makes everything weird.

When a friendship sours and tempers flare, everything heats up.

Pharo-

Responsibility for human lives is the heaviest burden to bear, and it’s not something I ever want to shoulder again.

Jax used to respect me when he was under my command. Now, I can’t even pay him to breathe the same air as me. His hatred runs deep, but it’s misplaced—and frankly, I’m tired of being the target of his scorn.

Enough is enough. It’s time to show him how wrong he is—by reason or force. I shouldn’t be looking forward to this so much.

Jax-

If you can’t lead... don’t. But Pharo did. He took command of a team he never should have been responsible for, and I lost my best friend because of his bad judgment. I’ve spent years making sure he never forgets the pain he caused, and he’s spent years avoiding responsibility.

But Pharo isn’t running anymore. And I’m learning the only thing sweeter than revenge is the taste of his mouth.

The whole world is burning around me, and the only man who can put out the fire has me friend-zoned.

Tex

Twink. Flirt. Pushover. Shallow. 

That’s what they see—a pretty face, a carefree smile. 

Behind the crop tops and glitter lies a battered soul.

And there’s only one man whose touch can heal me.

But first, he has to heal himself.

Mandy

Pain is my constant companion—etched into my skin, buried in my heart, haunting my every breath. I survived the fire, but the scars run deeper than flesh.

Yet nothing hurts more than loving a man who only thinks of me as a friend.

Tex swears he doesn’t see my scars, but if that’s true… Why won’t he let me love him?