The Affliction
by Wendy E. Marsh
A shadow passes behind the stranger's hazel eyes, momentarily distracting Aubrie Lander from the scars slashing down his face and disappearing beneath his tightly fitted t-shirt. But she doesn't care what makes this equally handsome and terrifying man so solemn. She wants to know why she feels compelled to sit across the booth from him while waiting for the ambulance to arrive. Aubrie can smell the whiskey as her new acquaintance lowers his glass to the table, never taking those troubled eyes off her, and her intuition tells her that her life is about to change forever. In one night, Aubrie's small-town life collapses, as the stranger's secret plunges her into an underworld that leads her on a non-stop journey of self-discovery, the unearthing of a secret society, and finding unexpected love she is willing to die for. The ultimate question, though, is will she kill for him?