Surviving is only the first step. Javier Alde thought he had his life all figured out. He moved back to the city of his birth, found a great job and rebuilt some friendships…if only his love life followed suit. None of that matters anymore when he's abducted and imprisoned for several months. Upon his escape, he finds that surviving is only the first step. Malaki Taupo is slowly putting down roots in Dallas after working for several years as a traveling physical therapist when he finds out that one of his patients is the abducted therapist whose place Malaki took at the rehab center. The physical scars and injuries Javier sustained tell a story of torture that should have broken any reasonable person, but within Javier's gaze, Malaki sees the strength and determination to take back his life-and he's drawn to the capacity to love within Javier's heart. But navigating the perils of building a relationship is complicated. While Javier's lost the ability to trust himself, there's something about Malaki Taupo that stirs an ache inside him that's altogether different from the physical pain of rebuilding his body. Together they go on the journey of discovering who they are as men…and who they could be to each other.