Mason — Kemmie Michaels

**Intended for an adult audience due to graphic violence and sexual content** *Sequel to LEDGER* For Mason, every smile is forced. Every joke represents effort. Bartending stands as a calculated decision to be a regular guy. In spite of his best efforts, life at such an easy pace is painful…because Mason was raised on a diet of crushing adrenaline and fierce, strategical thinking. His time in the Special Forces ended two years prior, but his drive and skill remained the strongest part of his being. When his skills are needed again, Mason wakes up from a two-year haze and rescues the damsel. Mission accomplished. Victory had. …Devastation returns. Mason has no idea how to return to his everyday existence, not after flexing every strength he'd pushed aside. The simple truth is he can't. Balance, he decides, is the key: remain his joke-cracking self with his friends, and indulge in some ass-kicking on the side. Together with Sofia 'Dig' DiGiacamo, Mason plans to eliminate every point of corruption they can uncover. A life of purpose fills him again, but the pressure threatens to rip him painfully apart. The turmoil stirs ugly memories of his Army career, adding an explosive element to his world. Every day he fights corruption, every evening he fights himself. But still, Mason grits his teeth and grins. He's determined to keep his life, love, past, shame, desperate need, and suppressed anger all hidden behind his smiling, regular guy, bartender self. His fight remains an unending circle, and Mason battles on every front.