THE DEFILED AND THE SECOND SON

I had never thought about the word, Defiled. Even as a high school English teacher, it wasn't in my vocabulary.

I should have learned everything there was to know about the word. I should have learned everything there was to know about them. If I’d seen The Defiled for what they were, I wouldn't be in this nightmare.  I’d have trusted the right person.

If I could go back, I'd trust him: the one that seemed the most suspicious.  The one that was too painful to name now.

Sitting in the belly of hell made me brutally honest and he…he was the most frightening to me.

I thought he was trying to manipulate and trick me. His messages were cryptic. His power was alarming. The fear he inflicted was menacing. It dwarfed the threat The Defiled posed.

I thought.

He stole my heart. His beauty was unnerving. He laid waste to my solitary world and turned everything upside down. Of course he terrified me.

I would give anything to have him back now, but it was too late. No one would ever know the truth about me. I was a Jane Doe. I would be defiled just like them: these demons come to life.

Closing my eyes, I took a deep breath, and said goodbye.  Remember me.

Then I surrendered to the dark.

River Jamison is nothing more than Elan Taylor’s new landscaper until he begins showing up in her life…everywhere.

He’s incredibly beautiful, wields shocking powers, and claims she’s in peril.

But she’s ignoring him.

River’s agenda to win her over conflicts with Sky, the handsome new teacher at school, and Bay, an attractive barista at the local coffee shop. Independent and realistic, Elan is suddenly overrun by mesmerizing charm. These men are pictures of perfection, but something isn't right. The strange coincidences and unexplainable events keep piling up.

Time is running out for Elan to decide what to believe, whom to believe, or if she believes anything at all. If only one wrong turn didn’t bring such devastating consequences...