Elijah Roe has been through h*ll. He's walked in fire his entire life, from the moment his drugged up mom had him, to the moment the war began. And then things only got worse.

But Eli was nothing if not a fighter. He fought for every second of peace and every second of happiness he ever had, then he turned right around and gave it all to his little sister. He did things no ordinary man could live with, and he did them to protect his family, he did them to survive.

And Cass was everything to him... up until the moment his eyes rolled back in his head and all the memories in his brain were erased.

He woke up fresh as a baby, with no awful memories to weigh him down. For the first time in his entire life, Eli is truly free. He doesn't want to know why he's covered in secret code tattoos, and he doesn't want to remember the truth of his past.

All he wants to do is get this sassy smart redheaded chick to notice him, and maybe tease his sister about when she's going to make him an uncle. Because something inside of him knows he's better off as he is now. Innocent.

So the nights he wakes up soaked in sweat? He ignores them. The persistent headaches? The sickening twist in his gut when he smells something burning? Nope. Not gonna go there.

And he definitely isn't going to California. Not even if Commander Linfield orders Eli to go. Things are fine just as they are.

But then that gorgeous redhead does something really stupid... and it changes everything for Eli. Shelby. She changes everything.