About – Taken 2 Heart

About the Author

Joseph Anthony Aguirre (Joe) holds a Bachelor of Science from Old Westbury University and is both a Certified Fraud Examiner and Certified Business Manager. He was raised in Queens New York and some of the locations in the story are actual places from Joe’s childhood.

Taken 2 Heart is his debut novel.

The story began with one question that struck Joe in 1999 and never left him:

What is the true measure of selfless love?

We’re told, “If you love someone, let them go.”
But the deeper, harder truth is this:

Sometimes love means letting someone go permanently—not because you want to, but because it’s the only way to protect them. It is love expressed through sacrifice, silence, and an absence that saves the other person from future pain.

This painful, powerful idea became the foundation for Taken 2 Heart.

At the center of the novel is Roberto (Rob) Rico, a young, successful professional carrying invisible wounds from PTSD. To the world he appears to have everything—good looks, charm, confidence, and a magnetic presence. A trained killer with the heart of a lover, Rob seems like the man men want to be and women want to have… yet even he doesn’t truly know who he is.

Only when he confronts his past does Rob begin to understand himself—and what love demands of him. Faced with the woman he loves and a future filled with danger, Rob chooses the unthinkable: to walk away for her sake. But when his carefully planned distance collapses and her life hangs in the balance, Rob must make the ultimate sacrifice. In doing so, he leaves a lasting impact on every life he touches.