Jason Chen has rules. Rule #1: Don't get involved. As the head of security for the dying Ridgewood Galleria, Jason spends his nights in the basement hub, watching the world through forty-two camera feeds. It's quiet. It's safe. It's lonely. But it keeps the memories of Fallujah at bay, and it keeps his heart locked up tight where no one can break it.
Marco Reyes has a theory. Theory #1: Everyone is playing a game. Marco is twenty-one, works the prize counter at the Galaxy Arcade, and is bored out of his mind. He's also the only bright spot on Jason's monitors. He's vibrant, reckless, and refuses to be ignored. When Marco realizes the stoic security chief is watching him on Camera 23, he doesn't hide. He waves.
It starts as a game. A wave. A smile. A challenge in a dark corridor. But when a theft ring targets the mall, threatening to frame innocent employees, Jason and Marco are forced out of their corners and into a partnership that breaks every protocol in the handbook.
Jason is terrified of letting anyone in. Marco is tired of being someone's dirty secret. But in the neon glow of the arcade after hours, they'll have to decide if breaking the rules is worth the risk of breaking their hearts.
AFTER HOURS is a high-heat, grumpy/sunshine M/M romance featuring a stoic security guard, a relentless arcade worker, and a love found in the unlikeliest of places.
