The world is no longer a safe place,
especially for women.
For several decades, the birth rate of females has been declining.
Militants, the government,
and private citizens alike will do anything
to find young women and force them
into unthinkable arrangements.

The Wanderers are a secret
underground society, born to provide
sanctuary for anyone who believes in
free will and democratic notions.
They have grown in numbers for many years
and have several compounds where
their citizens live in safety.

By
USA Today Bestselling Author
Becca Jameson

Maya has been running from herself for most of her life. Her claustrophobia chases her above ground every chance she can get. She prefers to keep moving, always looking for someone to rescue and bring to the safety of The Wanderers.

Losing her footing and falling on a piece of rebar wasn’t in her plans. The gouge in her calf is deep and long. The best she can do is drag herself off the beaten path, wrap the leg in linens, and hope someone finds her before it’s too late. Preferably someone with good intentions.

She has no idea how lucky she is to be rescued by three doctors who take her to their underground clinic and nurse her to health. Why do they have to be so sexy and so kind? Falling for them isn’t an option. She’s not meant to live underground. She needs fresh air. She needs to continue with her life’s work.

Dario, Keanu, and Advic may have saved her life, but they have no idea what kinds of trauma she has faced besides her leg injury. They might be able to lure her into their bed, but that doesn’t mean she will stay.

Maya has been in and out of this series, this time though, she’s in trouble. She slipped and rebar sliced her leg. She’s trying to get somewhere safe but has to hide when she runs out of steam. Fortunately she’s found, but before we get to know who found her we get to visit her nightmares. Discovering things Maya has kept hidden from most everyone.

She’s been out of it with fever and an infection raging in her leg. The doctors who found her are relieved as she gains consciousness.

This is a favorite scene.

“Can you open your eyes for me, hon?” Someone was stroking her forehead. Gentle fingers. His voice sounded kind.

Maya started shivering with cold as she blinked her eyes. Her teeth were chattering. “So cold,” she managed to whisper as she met the man’s gaze.

He smiled warmly. “There you are. We’ve been waiting for you to wake up. Welcome back to the land of the living.” The man was dark-skinned with nearly black eyes. Kind eyes. Gentle eyes. Creases at the corners grew with his smile.

He continued to stroke her forehead.

She shivered. “Why so cold?”

“Your fever is breaking, hon. You’re under the covers though. We keep changing the bedding every time you soak it from sweating.”

She swallowed. Her mouth was so dry. She kept her eyes on this man. Could she trust him? He seemed so very kind.

He leaned away from her to reach for something and returned holding up a cup with a straw. “How about a drink of water?”

She eyed him suspiciously. She shouldn’t trust him or anyone for that matter. He could have drugged the water.

He must have read her mind because he brought the cup to his mouth and took a drink himself before bringing the straw to her lips. “It’s safe and clean. I promise.”

She searched his gaze. Her options were limited. She was so thirsty.

Finally, she accepted the straw and sucked. The cool water felt like heaven going down her throat. She couldn’t get enough of it.

“Careful, hon. Not too fast. Your stomach will get upset.” The man was wearing blue scrubs. He was either a doctor or a nurse. Or hell, in this new world, he could be anything.

When the cup was empty, he set it aside.

“More,” she murmured, finally able to lick her lips. If she was going to be sold into slavery, at least she wanted to be hydrated.

“Let’s wait a bit, hon.” He cupped her face, stroking her cheek with his thumb. “Your color is coming back, and I’m so glad to finally see those pretty green eyes.”

“Hey…” Another male voice caused her to turn her attention to the man entering the room. He was slightly older than the first man. Early forties. Tall. Tanned. Brown hair and brown eyes. He wore a lab coat with his name embroidered on the breast. Dr. Dario Shan.

“Where am I?” she managed to whisper. She might as well learn her fate sooner rather than later.

The doctor set his palm on her forehead. “Fever’s breaking. That’s good.” He smiled at her just as warmly as the other man. “You’re in a clinic. You’re safe here.”

She lifted a brow and nearly laughed. She would have rolled her eyes and sassed him if she’d had the energy.

She must have at least managed to convey her reaction with her expression because Dr. Shan chuckled. “I guess safe is a relative term these days, isn’t it? But I promise you it’s true. We’re underground. Totally secure.”

She glanced around, realizing there were no windows. The room was small. She felt trapped. She didn’t like to be underground. That was why she never spent more than a few days in the bunker with The Wanderers. She grew restless and nervous when she felt like she couldn’t escape. “Who are you?” She tugged on her arms. They were still strapped down. Her heart rate picked up. Safe, my ass…

Dr. Shan lifted the edge of her blanket and unfastened her wrist from the side of the bed.

The first man did the same on his side. “We had to restrain you. You were delirious and flailing around. Your IV came out more than once. We didn’t want you to fall out of bed.”

“What’s your name, sweetheart?” the doctor asked.

She swallowed. She didn’t want to tell them anything. Not yet. Not until she could be sure she could trust them.

The doctor smiled again.

“I’m Dr. Shan, but call me Dario. We’re not formal here.” He glanced at the other man. “This is Keanu Iona. And the other man you’ll meet eventually is Advic Patel.”

“How did I get here?”

“I found you,” Keanu stated. “Miraculously. Another hour and we probably wouldn’t have been able to save you. You’d lost a lot of blood. You had a raging fever. Your leg was infected.”

She sucked in a breath. “How long have I been here?”

“A week,” Dario said.

She groaned. “I need to get out of here.” When she tried to move her leg, she came up short, nearly passing out from the pain. “Fuck. Jesus. That hurts.”

Dario set a hand on her shoulder. “And I can’t tell you how lucky you are that it does. I was afraid the antibiotics we gave you were too late. I wasn’t sure we could save your leg. When Keanu found you, I’d guess you’d already been lying on the side of the road for over a day.”

Sweat beaded on her forehead as she lifted a shaky hand to rub her temples.

“The cut was very deep,” Dario continued. “It’s going to take a long time for you to recover. There is muscle damage, and I needed fifty stitches to close the wound.”

She winced and dropped her forearm over her eyes. “Thank you,” she whispered. “But I can’t stay here.” People would be worried about her by now.

“Sweetheart, you’re in no condition to leave here, and you won’t be for at least a few weeks. Even after the wound heals enough to remove the stitches, you’re going to need physical therapy at the very least before you can apply any weight to that leg. You’ll probably be on crutches for a few months.”

Maya closed her eyes under her forearm, trying hard not to panic. She licked her lips. “Where am I? I mean how far from where you found me? In what direction?”

Silence made her finally lift her arm to glance at first Dario and then Keanu. Panic made her eyes widen. She fought to try to sit up.

Both men set a hand on her shoulders and held her down.

Keanu winced. “I’m sorry, hon. We can’t tell you where you are for the same reason you haven’t told us who you are. You’re going to have to trust we mean it when we say you’re safe here. We’ve maintained this clinic in this location for over two years. We can’t risk anyone we haven’t thoroughly vetted knowing the location.”

She glanced at both men again, eyes wider. “But you’ll let me leave, right?”

“Of course. As soon as you’re strong enough. We’ll take you anywhere you want to go,” Darion informed her.

She stopped fighting and let her body settle back on the bed, panting from the exertion. One thing was for sure— she didn’t have the strength to go anywhere soon.

She closed her eyes, trying not to think about how trapped she felt, trying to control the claustrophobia threatening to creep in and make her hyperventilate.
Becca Jameson. Harbor (Kindle Locations 191-245). Becca Jameson Publishing.

Maya has a long road to recovery, and the Doctors, Dario, Keanu, and Advic work hard to gain her trust. They are patient, attentive and caring. Even as they put her through the paces of physical therapy.

Maya isn’t immune to them either, she just knows there can ube nothing lasting between them. Her history is preventing her from any of that. Her nightmares and flashbacks also include Stuart, he helped her when she was at her lowest and she calls out for him in her sleep.

Advic heads out to either make contact or leave a message about Maya being safe. In a twist of fate, he runs into Stuart and Rush at an outpost. Apparently, they were heading to the clinic for some supplies. It was rather amusing to see when Maya sets them straight about her relationship with Stu. They were convinced they were a thing.

I loved the way this story plays out, there’s action, romance, pain, and plenty of sizzle. I do hope there will be more books in this series.

5 Contented Purrs for Becca!

Becca Jameson

Becca Jameson is a USA Today bestselling author of over 100 books. She is most well-known for her Wolf Masters Series, her Fight Club series, and her Club Zodiac series. She currently lives in Houston, Texas, with her husband and Goldendoodle. Two grown kids pop in every once in a while too! She is loving this journey and has dabbled in a variety of genres, including paranormal, sports romance, military, and BDSM.A total night owl, Becca writes late at night, sequestering herself in her office with a glass of red wine and a bar of dark chocolate, her fingers flying across the keyboard as her characters weave their own stories.

During the day–which never starts before ten in the morning!–she can be found jogging, running errands, or reading in her favorite hammock chair!

…where Alphas dominate…