Things We Left Behind

Lucian Rollins is the male love interest and protagonist of the novel. He is Black and handsome with dark hair and dark, smoldering eyes, and he is nearly always powerfully outfitted in a sleek, expensive suit. As a Knockemout local, Lucian was best friends with Nash and Knox Morgan in his youth and has known his next-door neighbor, Sloane, since the two were teenagers. All his life, Lucian has adopted the dual roles of protector and rescuer; as a teenager, he shielded his mother from his abusive father, Ansel, who had an alcohol addiction. The justice system repeatedly failed Lucian in childhood; for example, he was wrongfully imprisoned for a week when his act of self-defense against his father’s abuse was deliberately misinterpreted as an unprovoked attack. Because Lucian’s father had a solid friendship with the Police Chief Wylie Ogden, Wylie often looked the other way whenever Ansel operated vehicles while intoxicated or violently abused Lucian and his wife.

Lucian’s innate desire to protect his loved ones continues into adulthood, and he often tries to protect others even when his efforts come at his own expense. As an adult, Lucian owns a political consulting firm that is powerful enough to “put people into and [take] then out of office when necessary” (86).