In SAFE AT LAST, Zack Covington is still in love with his high school sweetheart, Anna-Grace. They were going to get married, he was going to play pro ball for a few years, and then they'd have a family. Their love for one another is what kept them inseparable. Anna-Grace, or Gracie as Zack had always called her, was not from a good home. Her absent mother placed her care into the hands of her Uncle. When he died, Zack helped Gracie find a motel and a job. Zack was away at college, and when he returned to Gracie, she was gone.

The last 12 years, Zack had used his law enforcement connections and his position with the security firm DSS to look for Gracie. When DSS finishes up a security detail involving a 16-year-old girl, Zack can't help but think back to Gracie. Their next case takes them to an art studio to supply a security presence for a planned art show. When Zack sees the last painting being delivered for the show, his heart leaps into his throat. The painting is a perfect rendition of a place that was special to him and Gracie. When he presses for more information about the artist, the DSS team is asked to leave.

Just as the team is about to leave, the artist barges into the studio, changing her mind about displaying the last painting. The artist turns out to be Gracie. Not only is Gracie alive and well, she is a shell of the woman he once knew. The love that once shown in her eyes for him is now replaced with horror and fear. She blames him for ruining her life, and he has no idea why.

When an enemy of DSS surfaces and targets Gracie to send the team a message, Zack must convince Gracie to go into hiding with him in order to protect her. But the last thing she wants is to be near him.

SAFE AT LAST is Book 3 in Maya Banks' Slow Burn series. The novel can also be read as a standalone. I have not read the previous books in the series, but I was able to follow along rather easily. I absolutely loved reading Gracie and Zack's story. Maya Banks creates a perfect love between these two high school sweethearts. The title to this book is absolutely perfect for their story.

Book Summary

They say young love doesn't last, but a girl from the wrong side of the tracks with unique abilities and the hometown golden boy were determined to defy the odds. For Zack Covington, Anna-Grace—his "Gracie"—was the one. Until one night forever alters the course of their future, when a devastated Gracie disappears without a trace, leaving Zack to agonize over what happened to the girl he loved. As the years pass, his desperate efforts to find her uncovered nothing.

Now working for Devereaux Security, he stumbles across a painting featuring a special place only he and Gracie would know. The image is too perfectly rendered for it to be coincidence. His Gracie must be alive. When he finally tracks her down, he is shocked—and heart-broken—to discover the wounded shell of the girl he once knew and still loves. Her psychic gifts are gone, and worse, she believes he betrayed her all those years ago.

Zack has enemies, and once his weakness is discovered, Gracie becomes a target for revenge. He'll have to save her before he can earn her trust and her love. And he vows they'll never be torn apart again.