in which, she knows how to keep secrets and he wants to keep 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑚 a secret. dd osama x fem!oc ( black ) started; 15 FEB, 23 finished; 23 APRIL, 23

'𝐆𝐄𝐓 𝐌𝐀𝐃 𝐀𝐓 𝐌𝐘𝐒𝐄𝐋𝐅 𝐂𝐀𝐔𝐒𝐄 𝐈 𝐂𝐀𝐍'𝐓 𝐋𝐄𝐀𝐕𝐄 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐀𝐋𝐎𝐍𝐄.'

"... 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚒𝚝 𝚏𝚎𝚎𝚕𝚜 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚛𝚝 𝚘𝚏 𝚊 𝚖𝚘𝚟𝚒𝚎 𝙸'𝚟𝚎 𝚜𝚎𝚎𝚗 𝚋𝚎𝚏𝚘𝚛𝚎. "

"𝖸𝗈𝗎 𝗀𝗈𝗍 𝗆𝖾 𝖿𝖾𝖾𝗅𝗂𝗇' 𝗅𝗂𝗄𝖾 𝗒𝗈𝗎 𝖼𝗈𝗎𝗅𝖽 𝖻𝖾 𝗍𝗁𝖺𝗍 𝗌𝗈𝗆𝖾𝗍𝗁𝗂𝗇 𝗂 𝖻𝖾𝖾𝗇 𝗆𝗂𝗌𝗌𝗂𝗇."

"𝚈𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚕𝚘𝚟𝚎 𝚒𝚜 𝗧𝗢𝗫𝗜𝗖, 𝚢𝚎𝚝 𝚜𝚘 𝚛𝚘𝚖𝚊𝚗𝚌𝚒𝚗𝚐."

"𝚂𝚝𝚛𝚎𝚎𝚝 𝙽***𝚊𝚜 𝚗𝚎𝚎𝚍 𝚕𝚘𝚟𝚎 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚊𝚏𝚏𝚎𝚌𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚝𝚘𝚘."

"𝘛𝘰 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘺 𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘮𝘺 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮."

𝐉𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐍𝐨𝐭 𝐄𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐧 𝟏𝟎/𝟐𝟓/𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟎 𝐄𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐧 𝟏/𝟑𝟎/𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟏

Janeisha "Neisha" Bambi has always survived by keeping a low profile. She don't get caught up in the kind of business that comes with bodies, secrets, and street names that echo. But all it takes is one night-one favor for her best friend-to slide her straight into the orbit of Seven "Saint" Carter. Saint is discipline wrapped in menace. A man the streets don't just respect,they fear. The type Neisha promised herself she'd never look at twice. He doesn't chase, beg, or explain. Yet somehow, he does all of this for her. And when that calm, unreadable gaze settles on Neisha, her careful world starts to crack. Now Saint's patience is running out, Neisha's defenses are falling apart and the pull between them is starting to feel less like a choice and more like fate. He's trying to shield her from the life he lives. She's trying to decide if loving him is salvation or self-destruction.

New Orleans isn't just a city-it's a pulse. A rhythm. A hunger. And nobody knows that better than Arielle Washington, a tired single mother grinding just to make rent in the Desire Projects. Love left her a long time ago, replaced with diaper bags, house keys, and survival. That is, until a new housekeeping job drops her into the home-and world-of ICE the most dangerous man in the streets. ICE doesn't do mess. Doesn't do feelings. But there's something about Ari-her fire, her silence, her scars-that draws him in. And when business gets bloody and loyalties are tested, the line between protector and predator blurs. Because in the Dirty South, nothing comes clean... not even love.