Page 170 of Exploited


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I stood up from my desk in a rush, knocking over my chair. The few other agents in the room stared at me as I backed away from my computer.

“Mason, are you okay?” Perry asked, standing up at his desk.

“Just leave me alone,” I rasped. I covered my face with my hands and let out an agonized cry.

All the lies.

All the times I had known something was off about her.

And I hadn’t listened.

Because she was perfect.

She didn’t push to know about my job. She gave me space when I needed it. She listened to stories about my brother. She gave me comfort when I craved it. She let me meet her family.

It was all so orchestrated.

I could see that now.

210 Willow Park Lane.

I rushed into the bathroom and turned on the faucet, splashing my face with cold water. Then I retched, my stomach turning inside out.

My knees were weak; I felt like I was going to pass out. I gripped the sink, trying to stay upright.

210 Willow Park Lane.

All this time I had been hunting a ghost, having no idea that the flesh-and-blood woman I was falling for was the one keeping me in the dark.

I took deep breaths. In through the nose. Out through the mouth. I wouldn’t lose it. Not now.

Now that I had exactly what I had been searching for.

Her soft, sweet lips. The taste of her in my mouth. How safe I felt when I was with her.

I was a fucking fool.

Hannah Whelan was Freedom Overdrive.

I pulled my hand back, my fingers curling, clenching into a fist. I slammed it into the mirror above the sink with a guttural yell. I hit it again. And again. Shards of glass rained down. Blood dripped on the floor.

I was devastated.

I was grief stricken.

I was really fucking angry.

Hannah was Freedom Overdrive.

She’d made me look like an idiot.

She had taken my trust—my heart—and she had annihilated it. I hadn’t wanted to care about her. Fall for her. But I had.

Idid.

Because she was everything I wanted. Everything I needed. All rolled up in a pretty package.

Hannah was Freedom Overdrive.