Coming face to face with a masked man in her home is the most terrifying experience of Carol’s life—until he kidnaps her. He claims he’s there to keep her safe, but she doesn’t know who to trust. And until they can figure out who the threat is, she's forced to take him at his word.
Time is ticking, and even though she drives him nuts, Anderson very much wants to keep her alive. Unfortunately, the assassins have other ideas…
“I have the strangest urge to kiss you,” she said without embarrassment tightening her throat. Must still be a little tipsy.
“Don’t.” Andy’s voice was sharp, his reply immediate.
“Why not?”
“It wouldn’t be a good idea.”
“What constitutes a good idea?”
“Anything that doesn’t put you at risk or would result in some form of positive gain.”
“But you aren’t a risk to me, are you?”
“Carol, you should go back to bed. It’s late.”
“You don’t want to answer the question. You have that moral code, and I don’t fit in those boxes. That’s your problem with me. You kill people and gather information. I’m a round peg when you deal with square holes. Why is kissing you a bad idea? If it’s not good, then it’s bad. What’s so wrong with kissing? If we’re analyzing good and bad—”
“Stop, Carol. I’m warning you.”
And yet, he didn’t move, he didn’t flee; he remained right where he was.
“If we’re classifying good as no harm and leads to gain, well, it seems like it would be more good than bad. Fostering physical familiarity, building that trust. You know, you could have probably continued to pretend to be Mark, whisk me away somewhere and keep playing that role which would both endear me to you emotionally and create greater trust, but you didn’t. You destroyed the persona of Mark—why? Because it wasn’t a truth, because he was a lie, because it was a danger to you?”
“We’re all on the same side. I wasn’t going to lie to you. Just—stop it.”
“Even if lying means everyone gets what they want? You get the program, I get the fantasy, everyone gets something?”
What had he said before? He liked talking to her. He hadn’t expected to have to play the part of Mark that long.
Part of Andy was Mark.
Was it all a lie? Or was this the wine still talking?
“You keep saying stop it, but you don’t move, you don’t act. Are you telling me to stop it, or yourself? Is the big truth here that it wasn’t all a lie, but you want it to be? Is that what’s going on here? Is that why you’re doing all of this? Look at me and tell me to stop talking, stop asking questions. Do it.”
She was playing with fire. Just because she didn’t fit Andy’s system, because he thought of her as a good person, it didn’t mean she was safe. She was facing a new reality outside the CIA and country she’d grown up in. And that meant she had to be different. She had to face her problems head on, and she was starting with Andy.
He turned his head so that he faced her. His nose had been broken a time or two and little scars marred his face here and there. Dark eyes stared at her, so hard and dark he might not even be Andy right now.
Was she right? Was Mark in there?
Fuck it.
“Don’t.” Andy’s voice was sharp, his reply immediate.
“Why not?”
“It wouldn’t be a good idea.”
“What constitutes a good idea?”
“Anything that doesn’t put you at risk or would result in some form of positive gain.”
“But you aren’t a risk to me, are you?”
“Carol, you should go back to bed. It’s late.”
“You don’t want to answer the question. You have that moral code, and I don’t fit in those boxes. That’s your problem with me. You kill people and gather information. I’m a round peg when you deal with square holes. Why is kissing you a bad idea? If it’s not good, then it’s bad. What’s so wrong with kissing? If we’re analyzing good and bad—”
“Stop, Carol. I’m warning you.”
And yet, he didn’t move, he didn’t flee; he remained right where he was.
“If we’re classifying good as no harm and leads to gain, well, it seems like it would be more good than bad. Fostering physical familiarity, building that trust. You know, you could have probably continued to pretend to be Mark, whisk me away somewhere and keep playing that role which would both endear me to you emotionally and create greater trust, but you didn’t. You destroyed the persona of Mark—why? Because it wasn’t a truth, because he was a lie, because it was a danger to you?”
“We’re all on the same side. I wasn’t going to lie to you. Just—stop it.”
“Even if lying means everyone gets what they want? You get the program, I get the fantasy, everyone gets something?”
What had he said before? He liked talking to her. He hadn’t expected to have to play the part of Mark that long.
Part of Andy was Mark.
Was it all a lie? Or was this the wine still talking?
“You keep saying stop it, but you don’t move, you don’t act. Are you telling me to stop it, or yourself? Is the big truth here that it wasn’t all a lie, but you want it to be? Is that what’s going on here? Is that why you’re doing all of this? Look at me and tell me to stop talking, stop asking questions. Do it.”
She was playing with fire. Just because she didn’t fit Andy’s system, because he thought of her as a good person, it didn’t mean she was safe. She was facing a new reality outside the CIA and country she’d grown up in. And that meant she had to be different. She had to face her problems head on, and she was starting with Andy.
He turned his head so that he faced her. His nose had been broken a time or two and little scars marred his face here and there. Dark eyes stared at her, so hard and dark he might not even be Andy right now.
Was she right? Was Mark in there?
Fuck it.
Entangled has a Rewards Program!
IT'S FREE!!!
Click the image to learn more and sign up!
Win a $15 Amazon gift card!
the book look great hope it go to top of treading list
ReplyDelete