Read Online Ordinary (Anything But) by Lindy Zart - Free Book Online

attention last night, being kidnapped and all, but a goatee covered his chin. His eyes were brown and intelligence shone in them. The supposed agent was attractive, for an old guy. Nealon had to be in his thirties or close to thirty. He wore tan slacks and a dark blue dress shirt, gun and holster clearly visible. He folded his hands before him and looked at her. He didn’t repulse her like Burns did, but he didn’t exactly give her a warm, fuzzy feeling either. He was dangerous, that much was obvious. Remember that.
    Honor fidgeted with the blanket. When she could take the heat of his eyes no more, she blurted out, “What are you going to do to me?”
    “That depends.”
    She swallowed. “On what?”
    He tilted his head. “Are you feeling cooperative today?”
    “As opposed to…yesterday?”
    He nodded. “As opposed to yesterday.”
    Honor shrugged.
    “Ryder says you threw your tray against the wall.”
    She kept her eyes trained on his brown shoes. Honor itched to reveal the liar Ryder was, but what would be the point? That would only make things worse for her and she wasn’t a tattletale. She would handle Ryder’s behavior in her own way, minus others’ interventions. She’d always stood up for herself in the past, always fought her own battles, and that wouldn’t be stopping now.
    “Come on.” He gestured with his fingers. “Let’s go.”
    Honor stayed where she was. She didn’t trust him. She didn’t trust anyone. Who knew what they planned on doing to her? They could act like they meant her no harm and turn around and shoot her. Or worse, stick needles in her arms and screws in her brain. Slice and dice her, fillet her. Amputate some limbs. Her stomach lurched and Honor pressed her arm against it. They wouldn’t really do those things…would they? Unfortunately she didn’t know.
    “I want to go home. I want to see my mom.” Honor lifted her chin when her voice wobbled.
    What was her mom thinking, and Scarlet? They had to be worried sick. She couldn’t stand the thought of them wondering and distressing about her. She couldn’t stand the thought of bringing them pain. They’d been through enough already, with her dad dying and all. Honor didn’t want to be the cause of anymore sadness for them. Her eyes burned and she lowered her face from Nealon’s probing gaze. She did not want him to witness her sorrow. Honor would have given anything to go home, to let her family know she was okay—for the moment anyway. She’d never been so homesick in all her years, not from the week spent at summer camp when she was twelve, not from the class trip she went on last year to New York, never .
    “I’ve talked to your mother.”
    Honor laughed. “Oh, really? And what did you tell her? That you kidnapped me, have me locked up, and are going to do who knows what to me? How did she take the news?” She turned her head and took a deep breath, trying to gain control that was starting to slip away.
    “She was very understanding.”
    He must have thought her really naïve, or really stupid. Honor raised her head and glared at him. She spoke through gritted teeth, “Bull shit. You’re lying. If you really did talk to her, which I doubt, then you lied to her. Because she would not be understanding about all of this. You’re lying to me.”
    Nealon straightened. “There is much you don’t know. First of all, I hardly ever lie.”
    “I don’t know anything because no one is telling me anything .”
    He crossed the room and leaned down, his face inches from hers. Nealon smelled like toothpaste and cologne. Honor reared back. “Because every chance you get, you run ,” he said slowly. Nealon stared at her a long minute, and then stepped away.
    Honor released a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding. She raised a shaking hand to her matted hair, and then dropped it. “So if I…if I… cooperate …you’ll tell me what’s going on?” The words burned her throat. Honor tried to swallow and