When her younger brother becomes victim to Ridgeview High's worst group of bullies, Peyton Greene sets out to hire the most feared student in school to protect him. It never occurs to her that the antisocial, two-time senior won't agree to do it, even for the large sum she's willing to pay.
Sam Guerra can't afford to pick a fight at school and risk another expulsion, but after witnessing the beginning of a humiliating locker room beat down, he gets involved anyway. Soon more students approach him with offers of money and requests for protection. Having zero interest in becoming anyone's bodyguard, he finds other students willing to take his place for the same fee. A growing list of names rapidly morphs into a reason to approach the pretty geek again, and despite the stark differences in his and Peyton's backgrounds, they begin seeing each other outside of school.
But everything changes when Peyton transforms the list into a bodyguard website for a class project. What happens next turns the senior class assignment into a non-profit, nationwide project that will ultimately tear her parents' marriage apart and the town in two as it fuels the hot topic of violence to stop violence in an already divided nation. Her struggle to do the right thing becomes even more complicated when she learns of Sam's dark past and equally violent present--information that could compromise their relationship, her reputation, and the integrity of a successful, anti-violence project she refuses to quit.
Innocent
Will Moore has been Missy Jamison's best friend for years, and until recently, she hadn't considered going "there" with him for fear of losing the only relationship she trusts. But senior year is almost over and dating other people hasn't worked out, not with Missy's crazy home life constantly pushing her further into Will's safer world, making her attraction to her BFF more difficult to ignore.
When a forgery incident at school lands Missy under house arrest and banned from spending time with Will, she's unable to ignore her dysfunctional home life any longer. In a desperate attempt for self-preservation, Missy finds herself back with Will and this time things are different.
But the direct violation of her mother's edict proves the perfect catalyst to push her pill-popping mother over the edge and Missy's home life past the point of no return. Now her only chance for normalcy will require Missy to ask herself if staying silent for so many years was truly about protecting herself from her past, or more about protecting a mother who never protected her.
Matt Brewer returns home from his latest covert assignment determined to fix his personal life and bond with the autistic son he barely knows. But his ex-wife's wary response to his untimely visit proves this mission might be one he can't win.
A decade of starts and stops has left Jessie Brewer hanging on by a frazzled, single-parent thread, and when Matt arrives during a critical point in their son's homeschooling and horse therapy progress, she worries their success will be dismantled by Matt's traditional, stubborn ways. Could their mutual love for a gifted son lead them to a new beginning?