In this gripping psychological novella, betrayal runs deep in a small Colorado town where drought, wildfire, and municipal corruption create the perfect storm for murder. When Olivia Hahn discovers her lifelong love James wants access to confidential city banking information, she faces an impossible choice. Give in to his demands and risk prison, or lose the man she's dreamed of having a family with since childhood. But James isn't working alone—his new partner Kate has her own dangerous agenda for Durango's multimillion-dollar water pipeline project. After Olivia's former friend Valerie uncovers evidence of wrongdoing, Kate presents another devastating ultimatum: neutralize Valerie's threat, or forfeit any chance of a future with James. Desperate to protect her dreams, Olivia makes a fatal choice that sets off a chain reaction of betrayal, deception, and death. As a determined city attorney closes in and relationships crumble, Olivia must decide how far she'll go to secure her own survival. But in a town where loyalty can be lethal, no one's motives are what they seem. "Lethal Loyalty" is a taut, character-driven novella that serves as the perfect introduction to MM Desch's forthcoming Portland Murders series. With spare, elegant prose and psychological complexity that will appeal to fans of Gillian Flynn and Paula Hawkins, this prequel novella explores the dangerous territory between love and obsession, and asks how well we truly know those closest to us. This standalone novella sets up book two in The Portland Murders Series while delivering its own complete and satisfying narrative of manipulation, murder, and the price of misplaced loyalty in a drought-stricken town where water means power. Readers can dive into M.M. Desch's world of psychological suspense with "Tangled Darkness" (book one, available for pre-order, releasing July 2025) before continuing with "Play Me Once" (book two), where the dark threads first woven in "Lethal Loyalty" will fully unravel in a twisted tale of municipal corruption, missing persons, and murder.