Marie Bernard has built a life of quiet elegance in her hometown of New Orleans. Nestled among the weathered brick streets and beneath the lacework of wrought-iron balconies, her antique shop is a refuge—a place where time stands still, where every artifact holds a story safely locked in the past. She's surrounded by history, yet her own life feels carefully curated, predictable, and safe.
Even when her heart aches for something more—for passion, for adventure—she silences the longing with gentle reminders: safety is enough. Safety is everything.

Until it isn't.

In a heartbeat, the life she's so carefully preserved shatters when a stranger presses a cold gun to her temple and drags her toward what can only be certain death. In the shadows of her beloved French Quarter, she's no longer a keeper of the past—she's become a pawn in someone else's ruthless game.

Special Agent LD Carmouche has spent nine years with the FBI and every one of them has been a calculated step away from his family's complicated legacy in Louisiana. The Carmouche name carries weight back home—some of it good, some of it dangerous—and LD has fought hard to carve out his own path far from the sticky heat of the bayou.
But fate has other plans.

When LD crosses paths with Marie during a violent takedown, he isn't expecting the connection that sparks between them—or the chilling realization that the man hunting Marie is no stranger. He's a ghost from LD's past, a sociopathic killer with unfinished business. Rescuing Marie was instinct. Keeping her safe may cost him everything.

Torn between duty and desire, LD finds himself irresistibly drawn to the woman whose soulful brown eyes hide secrets of their own. He's not sure if he should cuff her or kiss her—arrest her or lose himself in her completely.

As they're forced to work together to unravel a string of clues tied to a ruthless ring of international thieves, the stakes rise with every step. The deeper they dig, the more they uncover layers of deception that stretch from the glittering storefronts of the French Quarter to the tangled, mist-shrouded bayous where few dare to tread.

The clock is ticking. The gang's true target remains hidden, and if LD and Marie can't solve the puzzle, she may become the next victim in a chain that's already claimed too many lives.

But in the humid nights and dangerous days that follow, they discover a treasure far more valuable than the stolen diamonds they're chasing—a love as fierce and untamed as the Louisiana bayou itself.

And in the end, some things are worth the risk. Even your heart.