Jana DeLeon - The Betrayed

A man undercover must reveal the truth in the swamps in the continuation of USA TODAY bestselling author Jana DeLeon’s Mystere Parish: Family Inheritance.

One day on the job and contractor Zach Sargent is ready to believe the dilapidated old LeBeau mansion is haunted. Some intruder—earthly or not—is threatening the youngest LeBeau sister, back to claim her inheritance. And though Danae keeps her distance from the sexy hired hand, he falls for her in a heartbeat.

Like Danae, Zach has come back to Calais in need of answers to troubling questions about the LeBeau family past. But Danae must never know who he really is and he can’t let his attraction to her stop his search...or else a decades-old evil will claim a new victim.

The worry and care in his voice and expression was so clear that it made her heart ache.

“I’m sorry—” she started.

“Don’t you dare apologize,” he said. “Someone attacked you in your home. Anyone would have been terrified.”

“I was,” she said, and looked down, almost embarrassed that she’d been so scared.

He placed his finger under her chin and tilted her head back up until she met his gaze. “But you fought back and got away,” he said. “You’re a strong, brave woman.”

Her heart pounded in her throat and more than anything, she wanted him to kiss her. No matter how hard she’d tried to resist her attraction to Zach, her body always betrayed her. It came alive when he was close to her, as never before.

She felt her body lean forward, anticipating the kiss, but instead, he released her and scanned the cabin.

The Betrayed

USA TODAY Bestselling Author

Jana DeLeon

www.millsandboon.co.uk

USA TODAY bestselling author JANA DELEONgrew up among the bayous and small towns of southwest Louisiana. She’s never actually found a dead body or seen a ghost, but she’s still hoping. Jana started writing in 2001—she focuses on murderous plots set deep in the Louisiana bayous. By day she writes very boring technical manuals for a software company in Dallas. Visit Jana on her website, www.janadeleon.com.

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CAST OF CHARACTERS

Danae LeBeau—The youngest LeBeau sister had the roughest childhood of the three girls, and it left her with a strong distrust of people and an attitude that anything life handed her, she would handle on her own. But with her life on the line, she has to trust someone, or risk dying alone.

Zach Sargent—The construction company owner was looking for answers surrounding his father’s death and was certain they were contained on the LeBeau estate, where he’d gained a job as a contractor. He thought he’d have full access to the mansion, find the information he needed and leave, but the cagey LeBeau heiress kept him under her watchful eye. Could he convince her to trust him long enough to get the answers he needed?

Jack Granger—The disgruntled cook was mad enough that he didn’t inherit from the LeBeau estate when the girls’ stepfather died. He’s even less thrilled that the woman who used to wait tables in the café turned out to be one of the heiresses. But was he angry enough to try kill her over it?

Bert Thibodeaux—The long-haul trucker had been promised an inheritance by the girls’ stepfather, Trenton Purcell, but he got stiffed, just like the cook. He was no stranger to trouble with the law, but would he go as far as murder to take his revenge?

Johnny Miller—The local man had owned the café for decades and seemed to care about his patrons and the town. But was he another of the town’s residents that Purcell had promised would inherit from the LeBeau estate?

To my husband, Rene, who always believed in me.

Contents

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Epilogue

Excerpt

Chapter One

The tortured soul wandered the mansion, calling for her children. Where had they gone? Why couldn’t she hear their sweet voices? Why didn’t their footsteps echo throughout the house?

Was it him? Had he done something to her babies?

The thought of it broke her heart and she screamed in anguish, vowing never to rest until her children were returned to her.

And until the man paid.

* * *

DANAE LEBEAU was running late, as usual, but today she had a good excuse. The local radio station had been abuzz since the wee hours of the morning, broadcasting information about the attack on Alaina LeBeau weeks before and the subsequent death of her attacker at the hands of the local sheriff. Until now, it had all been gossip and speculation, while everyone impatiently waited for the state police to clear those involved and declare it self-defense. Now it was the hottest bit of excitement the tiny bayou town of Calais had ever seen.

My sister could have died.

The thought ripped through her as she listened to the reporter relay the gruesome details of that horrible night at their mother’s estate, the weight of the words crippling her. Her sister could have died, and Danae had never even told her they were related.

After their mother’s death, the three sisters had been separated by their stepfather, Trenton Purcell, and shipped off to be raised by distant relatives. Danae was only two when it happened, not old enough to remember anything about her life in Calais. The only childhood she’d known was in California, but years ago, she’d started slowly making her way across the country to Louisiana. Even though she couldn’t remember anything about her life in Calais, she’d always felt a tug—as if something was drawing her back to her birthplace.

Using an assumed name, she’d taken a job at the local café to try to find out information on her stepfather, who had lived as a recluse in her mother’s family estate for over two decades. But she’d managed to find out very little about the man, given that most of the townspeople seemed to completely dislike him and were happy to see him disappear from society.

After her stepfather’s death, Danae’s sister Alaina showed up in Calais to meet the terms of their mother’s will. According to the local gossip, each sister was required to live on the estate for a period of two weeks within one year after their stepfather’s death. Once those stipulations were met, their mother’s estate would pass to the sisters. It was shocking news to Danae, who’d always assumed their mother had left everything to their stepfather and that her ties to Calais had long since been severed.

Danae still remembered the day Alaina arrived in town. Through the storefront window of the café, she’d seen Alaina driving her SUV down Main Street. She’d dropped a whole stack of dishes and had her pay docked for the incident, but she hadn’t been able to help it. The only thing Danae had from her past was an old photo of their mother. Alaina looked as if she’d stepped out of that photo, changed into current clothes and driven by.