The Perfect Hostage (A Super Agent Novella) (Entangled Edge) Read Online Free

were just, um, getting ready to cut the cake.”
    Somehow that came out wrong, at least to John’s ears. Agitated, he looked at Lucie just in time to see a sly grin cross her lips. Lips that were swollen from his kisses. She tried to re-button his shirt. There were only two buttons left.
    “I see.” Out of the corner of his eye, John saw Charles looking at the floor and the scattering of food. “What was that crash?”
    He knew damn well what the crash was. Bastard wanted to put them further on the hooks. See if he could draw blood from Lucie.
    Sharks always did. They thought they were better than everyone else, even their own flesh and blood.
    Anger simmered in John’s gut. He’d been swimming with sharks his whole life. One thing he knew: sharks could bleed, too.
    But this was Lucie’s dad. He had to play it cool. “An accident, sir. I slipped and dropped a tray.”
    “Lucie?” Charles asked.
    Lucie popped her head up over John’s shoulder, the grin smothered. “ Oui ?”
    “Are you all right?”
    “Fine, Father.”
    “Then get down from there and clean up this mess.”
    Her body deflated. She looked down, eyelashes dark against her pale skin, and nodded. “I’ll get a broom.”
    John backed away and helped her off the island, hating it when she pulled down the knit dress to cover her gorgeous legs. Hating the way all the life went out of her at her dad’s orders.
    Get a broom? What was she, the Morgans’ personal maid? John covertly straightened his pants. “I’ll get the broom. Tell me where it is.”
    She laid a hand on his arm. “I’ll take care of it.”
    She disappeared through a side door. John, erection now gone, faced Charles. The sharks are circling… “Nice party. Lucie’s amazing, isn’t she? Doing all this for Z and Lawson? You must be very proud of her.”
    Charles narrowed his eyes. “Have you been drinking, son?”
    Son. The word stuck in his craw. Nobody had the right to call him that. Never had.
    It would have been easy to put the shark in his place. Make him regret he’d ever said it. Easy, but not smart. “No, sir.”
    The two of them glared at each other across the kitchen tiles. Charles’s attention traveled from John’s mussed hair down to his boots. His face said he found John lacking in every area. “Perhaps it’s time you left, Mr. Quick.”
    How ironic. He hadn’t wanted to be here, and now no one was going to force him to leave. John leaned against the island and crossed his feet at the ankles, making himself comfortable. “Think I’ll stick around. I have a thing for cake.” And your daughter. Whom you don’t appreciate, but I do.
    Charles stood his ground. “I know why you’re here. What you’re up to.”
    Seemed obvious after the island ordeal. “And?”
    “You’ll never get your hands on my money.”
    Wait. What? John scoffed. “I assure you I have no interest in your money.”
    Another scathing inventory of his hair, clothes, and boots. “Every man who has dated a female member of my family has been after the Morgan money. Lucie’s trust fund could set you up for life.”
    The anger threatened to break free. “I don’t know anything about a goddamn trust fund, and believe me, neither Lawson nor I care about your money. Maybe you should stop judging everyone by your standards, since money seems to be more important to you than your own family.”
    Charles’s jaw worked, an angry flush coloring his cheeks. “Careful, son. You don’t know me or my family, but I know all about men like you. Playing on a young woman’s vulnerability. Convincing her you love her.”
    I do love—
    Whoa. The shark needed a reality check and so did he. “Lucie and I are…friends.” They were more than that, obviously, but what exactly were they? “Good friends fixin’ to spend the weekend together.”
    One of Charles’s brows rose. Because of the redneck accent or the fact John was planning on spending the weekend in his vacation home? “You expect me to