The only thing darker than the waters of the Louisiana bayou are the secrets it holds. I’d know—I’ve buried more than a few myself.

She was supposed to be one of them.

I was the boy who never had a chance, an orphan recruited by the devil himself, until the family I never knew gave me something to live for.

Then my brother brought her home—the rich politician’s daughter, a real-life fairytale princess who had no place in our world. We were oil and water, and making her leave became my mission, ’til the little tag-along ended up in my passenger’s seat driving cross-country. That’s when we discovered a common thread… something that ran soul deep. Something hard to resist.

But no one I cared about was safe, and when she left, I made her promise never to come back.

Turns out, she lied.

Now the devil who claimed my future wants her, as well, and when I’m faced with a choice, who will come out alive?

The demons who own me?

The family who loves me?

Or the girl I wasn’t supposed to fall for?

Only the bayou knows…

And its secrets die here.

--

Chelley St Clair writes love stories full of emotional grit, often featuring broken, morally questionable characters who find their way to redemption. Obsessed with learning and trying everything, she’s had careers ranging from gang intervention to zookeeping. After decades of collecting unusual experiences, she’s found her calling as a writer, weaving bits of everything into her imaginary worlds. Living in Tennessee, nature and the Southern U.S are frequently at the heart of her work.