Read Online Total Surrender by Rebecca Zanetti - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Rebecca Zanetti
Ads: Link
“That would be an incredibly bad idea. The less you know about me, the saferyou are. Hell. The less you know about the commander, the better. He’s not who you think.”
“I know him better than you do.” A childhood hurt echoed in her fierce tone, and something in Jory’s gut ached.
“I’m sorry.” The words came out naturally and before he could think.
“For what?” Her gaze didn’t soften one iota.
For giving her the truth. For not giving her the full truth. For the pain she’d endure one day when she really got to know the commander, because even if he did have feelings for his daughter, he’d hurt her. For planning to use her to escape, which Jory would. She wouldn’t be the first mark he’d manipulated for a mission, although the idea of hurting her settled unease in his gut. He didn’t want to be a guy who’d hurt a woman, even one from the enemy’s camp, but he’d do what he had to do. He’d warned her not to trust anybody. “For everything, Piper.”
“I don’t like you very much right now,” she muttered.
“That makes two of us.” The subtext between them pounded pain in his temples. They were on the same wavelength, whether they’d wanted to be or not, and he had to jump off. “I do, however, like you.” He tried to pour charm into the words.
She lifted her head to meet his gaze. “Do you think that matters to me?”
“Yes.”
Fire shot through her eyes at the direct hit. The truth sometimes pierced deep. She shook her head. “I don’t give one fig if you like me or not, traitor.”
“Liar,” he murmured, instinct pushing him to goad her. “You’re a smart woman, Piper, and you’ve already figured out something isn’t right here.” Maybe she had, or maybe she hadn’t. Either way, he’d planted the seed, disliking himself more and more with each deliberate move. Taking achance on the commander’s ego keeping her alive, even if she screwed up, was a shitty thing for Jory to do.
Yet his brothers came first.
She opened her mouth to say something, probably something scathing, when the door slid open and the commander strode inside. In his late fifties, his black hair had gone to gray, showcasing his black eyes. Not dark, not deep… just black. Tightly coiled and still in fighting shape, his very presence added a tension to the atmosphere that reached through the solid wall and rose the hackles down Jory’s back.
Jory’s lungs compressed, so he loosened his stance into a relaxed pose, hiding the fact that every instinct he owned just sprang to life. He had the oddest urge to tell Piper to run. Instead, he raised an eyebrow. “I was just having a nice talk with your daughter.”
The commander eyed Piper. “I’m not paying you to talk.” His deep baritone echoed around the sterile computer room.
She flushed and headed back to sit at her computer. Jory stiffened. There was no need to be such an asshole or to punish her for taking a moment to talk to Jory. Or rather, yell at Jory. “Funny I never knew you had a daughter.”
The commander clasped his hands at his back, his gaze raking Jory. “You’ve recovered well and quickly. I made you strong.”
Piper’s shoulders stiffened while she typed away on a keyboard. Definitely listening.
Jory frowned. What was the bastard’s game? The less his daughter knew about Jory and his brothers, the safer she’d be. “We probably shouldn’t talk.” The bastard obviously trusted the pretty hacker, now didn’t he?
The commander glanced over his shoulder and back, amusement lightening his eyes. “She’s my daughter and could hack any system here. I don’t give a shit if she knows I trained you.”
But not created, raised, beat, or nearly killed. Fine. Jory could live with that. “She doesn’t look like you.”
“She has my mother’s eyes.”
Across the room, Piper jumped slightly.
The commander, his back to Piper, smiled at Jory. The smile that had once made Jory quake as a kid in combat boots.
Now, he
“I know him better than you do.” A childhood hurt echoed in her fierce tone, and something in Jory’s gut ached.
“I’m sorry.” The words came out naturally and before he could think.
“For what?” Her gaze didn’t soften one iota.
For giving her the truth. For not giving her the full truth. For the pain she’d endure one day when she really got to know the commander, because even if he did have feelings for his daughter, he’d hurt her. For planning to use her to escape, which Jory would. She wouldn’t be the first mark he’d manipulated for a mission, although the idea of hurting her settled unease in his gut. He didn’t want to be a guy who’d hurt a woman, even one from the enemy’s camp, but he’d do what he had to do. He’d warned her not to trust anybody. “For everything, Piper.”
“I don’t like you very much right now,” she muttered.
“That makes two of us.” The subtext between them pounded pain in his temples. They were on the same wavelength, whether they’d wanted to be or not, and he had to jump off. “I do, however, like you.” He tried to pour charm into the words.
She lifted her head to meet his gaze. “Do you think that matters to me?”
“Yes.”
Fire shot through her eyes at the direct hit. The truth sometimes pierced deep. She shook her head. “I don’t give one fig if you like me or not, traitor.”
“Liar,” he murmured, instinct pushing him to goad her. “You’re a smart woman, Piper, and you’ve already figured out something isn’t right here.” Maybe she had, or maybe she hadn’t. Either way, he’d planted the seed, disliking himself more and more with each deliberate move. Taking achance on the commander’s ego keeping her alive, even if she screwed up, was a shitty thing for Jory to do.
Yet his brothers came first.
She opened her mouth to say something, probably something scathing, when the door slid open and the commander strode inside. In his late fifties, his black hair had gone to gray, showcasing his black eyes. Not dark, not deep… just black. Tightly coiled and still in fighting shape, his very presence added a tension to the atmosphere that reached through the solid wall and rose the hackles down Jory’s back.
Jory’s lungs compressed, so he loosened his stance into a relaxed pose, hiding the fact that every instinct he owned just sprang to life. He had the oddest urge to tell Piper to run. Instead, he raised an eyebrow. “I was just having a nice talk with your daughter.”
The commander eyed Piper. “I’m not paying you to talk.” His deep baritone echoed around the sterile computer room.
She flushed and headed back to sit at her computer. Jory stiffened. There was no need to be such an asshole or to punish her for taking a moment to talk to Jory. Or rather, yell at Jory. “Funny I never knew you had a daughter.”
The commander clasped his hands at his back, his gaze raking Jory. “You’ve recovered well and quickly. I made you strong.”
Piper’s shoulders stiffened while she typed away on a keyboard. Definitely listening.
Jory frowned. What was the bastard’s game? The less his daughter knew about Jory and his brothers, the safer she’d be. “We probably shouldn’t talk.” The bastard obviously trusted the pretty hacker, now didn’t he?
The commander glanced over his shoulder and back, amusement lightening his eyes. “She’s my daughter and could hack any system here. I don’t give a shit if she knows I trained you.”
But not created, raised, beat, or nearly killed. Fine. Jory could live with that. “She doesn’t look like you.”
“She has my mother’s eyes.”
Across the room, Piper jumped slightly.
The commander, his back to Piper, smiled at Jory. The smile that had once made Jory quake as a kid in combat boots.
Now, he
Similar Books
