Jake (The Protectors, #22)

After a tragic accident, Jake, former Dark Guardian, not only mourned losing his wife but carried the burden of a secret that only one other living person knew. Confronting that secret was the only way Jake could fight his heavy guilt when a beautiful ballerina dances into his life.

Jessie Reed loves everything about dance, but it didn’t pay the bills. Getting a job working with Nicole Callahan, Jessie is thrown into the VC Warrior and Dark Guardian world where she meets Jake, who saves her life not once, but twice.

Tormented by his feelings for Jessie, Jake still can’t seem to stay away from her, not realizing she had battles of her own. Slowly they build a bond that is shaky at best. As Jake and Jessie fight against the guilt that weighs heavily on them, neither realizes that a message from beyond the grave can give them the freedom of happiness.