Hart of Hope by S.B. Alexander

Love is her enemy.
One bullet changes everything.

When I catch a judge’s son assaulting my friend, my instincts take over, and now my freedom hangs by a thread.
Paranoia becomes my constant companion, each shadow feeding the certainty that I’m being watched. As past and present collide in ways that make my nightmares seem tame, reality slips through my fingers.
Then my brother’s best friend Brian McCauley returns to Boston—the one man who makes me dream of white picket fences and the happily-ever-after I swore I would never have. When he looks at me, I feel seen for the first time in years.
His piercing green eyes and gentle touch set my heart racing, but my overprotective brother would explode if he knew about our growing connection. Worse, Brian’s dangerous past clashes with mine, threatening to destroy those I love.
Something about him makes my carefully constructed walls crumble. Yet Brian might be the only one who can help me face my demons—if I dare trust him with my secrets.
We’re playing with fire. But for the first time in ten years, I’m ready to fight for love—even if claiming my happy ending means breaking every rule keeping me alive.

Hart of Hope is a forbidden romantic suspense story of vengeance, passion, and redemption where two tortured souls must confront their pasts to find the happily ever after they both crave.