The
Series
DISILLUSIONED
Illusion of Safety is a fast-paced, slow-burn romantic suspense novel where an FBI agent races to stop a serial killer from recapturing the woman he’s vowed to keep safe.
“I’m deathly afraid he’s taken pieces of me I’ll never get back.”
Clara Santos was never meant to survive. She was supposed to be The Chameleon’s eighth victim. Trapped in captivity where time stood still, she endured the unthinkable—only to wake in an even darker nightmare: buried alive in a coffin six feet underground. She clawed her way back to life, but her tormentor isn’t finished. Now that he knows she’s alive, he refuses to let her go—and survival is only the beginning.
FBI Special Agent Maverick Rhodes has been chasing a ghost—one who has left seven bodies in its wake. When he pulls Clara from the brink of death, the case becomes personal. The Chameleon isn’t done with her, and he’ll do whatever it takes to finish what he started. As Maverick hunts a predator whose true face has never been seen, the lines between the protector and the protected begin to blur.
With time running out and a killer closing in, Clara must confront her trauma while Maverick fights to stop the man who won’t let her escape twice.
Illusion of Safety
Book 1 in the disillusioned series
Maverick Rhodes
Clara Santos
Illusion of Safety
"I'm deathly afraid he's taken pieces of me I'll
never get back."
I thought I was safe, but that safety was only an illusion.
I trusted the wrong person and woke up in my worst nightmare. The devil in disguise held me captive for weeks. He shattered my hope, then buried me alive. He wanted me to take my last breath in the tomb of his creation.
But I clawed my way back to life, pulled from the brink of death by him. FBI Special Agent Maverick Rhodes.
He's become my anchor, my steadfast protector. He's determined to keep me safe, to hunt the monster who will stop at nothing to get me back.
Now Maverick and his team race against time and obsession to stop the serial killer who has fooled everyone. Because this time, The Chameleon doesn't just want to finish what he started.
This time, he wants to consume me—to keep me forever.
"I'm deathly afraid he's taken pieces of me I'll never get back."
I thought I was safe, but it was only an illusion.
I trusted the wrong person and woke up in my worst nightmare. The devil in disguise held me captive for weeks. He shattered my hope, then buried me alive. He wanted me to take my last breath in the tomb of his creation.
But I clawed my way back to life, pulled from the brink of death by him. FBI Special Agent Maverick Rhodes.
He's become my anchor, my steadfast protector. He's determined to keep me safe, to hunt the monster who will stop at nothing to get me back.
Now Maverick and his team race against time and obsession to stop the serial killer who has fooled everyone. Because this time, The Chameleon doesn't just want to finish what he started.
This time, he wants to consume me—to keep me forever.
illustrated by poirette
Book 1 in the disillusioned series
Illusion of Safety
Maverick Rhodes
Clara Santos
Illusion of Safety
“Her determination calls to me like a tide to
the shore—pulled by an unseen force in her
direction, inevitable and unrelenting.”
I’ve spent months chasing a ghost—one who has buried seven victims deep within the earth. He stalks them, befriends them, lures them into a false sense of security.
He makes them feel safe, but it’s only an illusion—a honey trap meant to hold his victims captive until he tires of them.
And with each new victim, the crushing weight of my failure threatens to drown me.
I’ve lived my life in darkness; I’ve seen things no one should ever see. Until her—Clara Santos. The Chameleon’s eighth victim.
When I pulled her out of that coffin, I vowed to keep her safe. But then she became my beacon—the only light in my darkness—and the case became personal.
Now it’s a race against time—against The Chameleon’s growing obsession—to stop him from recapturing the woman who holds my heart.
“Her determination calls to me like a tide to the shore—pulled
by an unseen force in her direction, inevitable and unrelenting.”
I’ve spent months chasing a ghost—one who has buried seven victims deep within the earth. He stalks them, befriends them, lures them into a false sense of security.
He makes them feel safe, but it’s only an illusion—a honey trap meant to hold his victims captive until he tires of them.
And with each new victim, the crushing weight of my failure threatens to drown me.
I’ve lived my life in darkness; I’ve seen things no one should ever see. Until her—Clara Santos. The Chameleon’s eighth victim.
When I pulled her out of that coffin, I vowed to keep her safe. But then she became my beacon—the only light in my darkness—and the case became personal.
Now it’s a race against time—against The Chameleon’s growing obsession—to stop him from recapturing the woman who holds my heart.
Maverick Rhodes
Clara Santos
Illusion of Safety
