4 Stars ~ It's been ten years since Tori identified her attacker and he'd been imprisoned. And now she learns that through DNA testing, the man she identified is innocent. Before Linc could be released from prison, he'd been brutally beaten, and waking from a coma, he learns that a friend had been by his bedside. When Linc asks to see her, Tori hopes to finally make amends, but she's shocked to find that Linc doesn't remember anything from his past; not his imprisonment, his trial or any life before that; nothing. Linc has no family, no friends and now, no memory. Tori feels compelled to help him, so she doesn't tell him that she's the woman who identified him, only that they'd gone to college together. When Linc heals enough to be released from the hospital but still needs intensive physio therapy to get back on his feet, Tori decides he's going to stay with her. Much as Linc hates to accept her help, he's forced to. He's determined to find not only his past, but the real rapist, and then he's certain he'll be able to make a life for himself. The more time he spends with Tori, the more he wants her to be a part of his future. Tori knows that eventually she'll have to tell Linc who she is, and that when that happens he'll hate her for her role in putting him away. The longer she keeps her secret, the more betrayed he will feel, but Linc needs this time to heal, and Tori's determined to give him that.
From the compelling prologue to the hard won HEA, I was thoroughly involved in this love story. Both Tori and Linc have ghosts from the past that need confronting. Meeting Linc forces Tori to recognize that she hadn't overcome her attack but had allowed it to influence everything she did. From the triple locks on doors and windows, to the panic room and electric gate, Tori has made a great effort to keep evil out. Linc admires Tori tremendously and thinks he can't build a life with her until he knows all there is to know about his past. He's positive only the return of his memory will truly show what kind of man he is. Confronting the past brings healing and forgiveness. This is a read I'll not soon forget.