Mast And Mercy

There are two kinds of drowning: the kind where the water fills your lungs, and the kind where a man fills every room you walk into until breathing without him feels like the same thing.

Nurse practitioner Dahlia Cross boards the Absolution for a remote clinic posting, fleeing the wreckage of her father's medical scandals. Her captain is Stellan "Steel" Creed, a hardened smuggler running stolen medical supplies outside the law. When a devastating Category 3 hurricane shatters their vessel against a jagged Bahamian reef, Dahlia and Steel are marooned on a deserted caye. Stripped of civilization, Dahlia is forced to reset Steel's brutal arm fracture with her bare hands, while he harbors a secret that could save them both or send him to federal prison. Trapped in a wrecked tin roofed shack with the scorching sun beating down, the hostility between the righteous healer and the ruthless criminal blurs into a raw, undeniable fire. But as Dahlia uncovers the truth about his illegal cargo and a working satellite phone, she must decide if the greatest danger is the island itself, or falling for the dangerous man keeping her stranded.