Adonis Celts, the notorious monster who'd been rotting in prison for the past decade. Getting an interview with him just weeks before his release would be the story of a lifetime, and well worth the risk. With his hands cuffed and guards right outside the door, nothing could go wrong. Right? • • • "I've already explained I'm not afraid of you Mr. Celts. But it seems like you want me to be?" I retort. He leans forward in the chair, his face just a foot or two away from mine. The light flickers above us and it seems like a sign for me to shut the hell up. "Mmhm right. Well, maybe you have more nerve than sense then hm? Or you just don't scare as easily as the others." His jaw ticks slightly "But I can think of far better ways to get your heart racing. So no honey, fear is the last thing I want from a woman like you."

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.