Major Mark Lopez was always the light.

The smile in the storm.

The steady laugh in the face of chaos.

But light like that doesn't come from peace-it's forged from pain.

As a child, safety was something Mark dreamed of but never truly knew.

So he learned to find joy in the cracks.

To protect others, so no one else had to feel what he did.

Then a mission went sideways-

A blast.

A hospital bed.

And her.

Mia Harper walks in with sharp eyes, a knowing smile, and a secret she's not sharing.

She's beautiful, mischievous, and mysterious. And somehow, she knows more than she's saying.

Intrigued, Mark finds that he wants her more than he should.

But the truth has a way of rising.

And scars refuse to heal-especially when the past comes crashing back.

Mark's only hope is to uncover what really happened twenty-five years ago.

This is where his story begins.

And where Blackstone becomes something more.