Devil’s Cut
He spent five years in a cage to keep her safe, but now she’s the one digging up the secrets that could bury them both.
Rafferty 'Rafe' Barrett is the black sheep of Oakhaven, Kentucky. After five years in prison for a crime he didn’t commit, he returns to the Ironbarrel Distillery not for the inheritance, but for the grueling labor of the cooperage. He is the 'Devil’s Cut'—whiskey trapped deep in the wood, unable to be extracted without destroying the barrel. He is determined to serve his parole in silence, keeping his distance from Blaire Calloway, the woman whose safety cost him his freedom.
As the town’s head archivist, Blaire is a keeper of secrets who has never stopped looking for the truth behind Rafe’s sudden plea of guilt. When she unearths a century-old conspiracy involving the town's water rights and her own father's corruption, she finds herself in the crosshairs of a dangerous syndicate. Forced together when Rafe is assigned community service in her archives, the silence between them ignites into a scorching tension that neither can ignore.
When the syndicate moves to silence Blaire, Rafe’s 'touch her and die' instinct takes over, and he will burn his freedom to the ground to keep her safe. Trapped in the treacherous Kentucky Hollows during a storm, they must navigate a landscape of whiskey and lies to forge a new truth. In this high-angst second chance romance, the only way to survive the pressure is to let the secrets of the past finally breathe.
The Blurb
Rafferty 'Rafe' Barrett is the black sheep of Oakhaven, Kentucky. After five years in prison for a crime he didn’t commit, he returns to the Ironbarrel Distillery not for the inheritance, but for the grueling labor of the cooperage. He is the 'Devil’s Cut'—whiskey trapped deep in the wood, unable to be extracted without destroying the barrel. He is determined to serve his parole in silence, keeping his distance from Blaire Calloway, the woman whose safety cost him his freedom.
As the town’s head archivist, Blaire is a keeper of secrets who has never stopped looking for the truth behind Rafe’s sudden plea of guilt. When she unearths a century-old conspiracy involving the town's water rights and her own father's corruption, she finds herself in the crosshairs of a dangerous syndicate. Forced together when Rafe is assigned community service in her archives, the silence between them ignites into a scorching tension that neither can ignore.
When the syndicate moves to silence Blaire, Rafe’s 'touch her and die' instinct takes over, and he will burn his freedom to the ground to keep her safe. Trapped in the treacherous Kentucky Hollows during a storm, they must navigate a landscape of whiskey and lies to forge a new truth. In this high-angst second chance romance, the only way to survive the pressure is to let the secrets of the past finally breathe.
"An absolute masterclass in romantic tension! Rafe is the ultimate 'brooding protector' and the way the Southern Gothic atmosphere builds alongside their second-chance romance kept me up until 3 AM. The research into the distillery setting makes the world feel so real."— KU Addict