As the mask comes off, past traumas surface, dark desires spin out of control, and the damaged fighter is driven to hurt the man he loves more than life itself.

But behind Kage's mask of strength and indifference lies a crippling vulnerability and a devastating secret. Passions run high as the lovers try to assimilate into each other's lives: coming out to family and friends, blending into the high-profile MMA world, dealing with Kage's sketchy uncle. From the moment Kage grabbed on to his hips and channeled all that masculine aggression into claiming his body, Jamie was ruined for anyone else. The danger, the intrigue, the feel of his strong hand around his throat, the knowledge that his fighter would kill or die for him. With his hot, muscled body, intoxicating green eyes, and proclivity for rough sex, Kage is a potent aphrodisiac to the innocent boy next door. Sexy college senior Jamie Atwood has fallen hard for MMA dark horse Michael 'the Machine' Kage.

It advances the ever-deepening relationship between student and teacher while weaving in time-honored themes of the martial arts- conduct, ordeal, and courage, with events as current as today's headlines.Can their love survive the most shocking revelation? That won't be easy this time.Kage builds on the characters and plots of the previous Burke novels Sensei, Deshi, and Tengu.

Burke's only hope to solve this mystery is to appeal for the aid and guidance of his teacher, Yamashita. Borders are dangerous, and as he uncovers clues suggesting the real reasons why Westmann was killed, he places himself and those he loves in deadly peril. He is led from the scholarly assessment of Westmann's work to the investigation of Xochi, a magnetic young student of ancient Native cultures and secret trails across the desert.In the withered and unforgiving landscape of the Southwest, Connor Burke works to pierce the cloud of mystery surrounding Westmann, his work, and a cryptic manuscript that has captured the deadly interest of rival smuggling gangs. ELit Award BRONZE WINNER - 2012 USA Best Books Award FINALIST - 2012 In the seemingly trackless waste of the desert outside Tucson, Arizona, a coyote cross border smuggler is found dead, another victim of the escalating violence on the southwest border.At the same time, a mysterious best-selling writer's death deepens the controversy surrounding his works.Rumors surround the late Elliot Westmann, with dark hints of mystic vendettas and a confrontation with an assassin sent to punish Westmann for violating a code of secrecy in his books.Westmann's daughter hires Connor Burke to assist in unraveling the mystery of her father's death, which the police have labeled as accidental.

Kage unmasked