Free Dodging Temptation (The Retreat) by Avery Flynn Page B

in a low tone. “I prefer not to commit murder in front of witnesses.”

    D odge closed the library door behind him with a quiet click that echoed in the deserted hallway. Most of The Retreat ’ s guests were either still asleep or being treated to in-room dining at this hour, which is why he asked Brian and Steve to come now. The fewer people who knew about the reporters ’ presence the better—for Harper and The Retreat. It made perfect sense, although he should have taken the time to explain his plan to Harper, but he ’ d wanted to get everything in motion before she changed her mind. He wanted her even though he didn’t trust her. The hair on the back of his neck lifted as he watched her pace the narrow width of the hallway looking every bit likeshe was planning to follow through on her whispered threat.
    “What ’ s wrong?” Had she changed her mind? Did she want more prep time? Should he have had coffee waiting?
    She spun around on her heel. “Are you serious?” Her decibel level stayed low, but that didn ’ t take away from the venom in her tone.
    “No, I ’ m just kidding,” he whisper-yelled right back. “Yes, I ’ m serious.”
    “I never agreed to this.” She jerked a pointed finger toward the closed library door. “You couldn ’ t take no for an answer so you set it up anyway, and now you ’ re acting all pissed at me? You ’ re a piece of work.”
    The world screeched to a jarring halt. Dodge ’ s jaw dropped as he tried—and failed—to make sense of her words. She said she would, just last night. “What the hell, Harper, that ’ s not funny.”
    “No, it ’ s not.” Her pale cheeks had turned a splotchy red, and her brown eyes had become so dark with fury that they were nearly black.
    She nailed him to the floor with a look that challenged him in a way most people wouldn ’ t even dare to chance—and for good reason.
    “I ’ ve spent my life making other people ’ s lives easier, no matter how negatively it affected me. I should have known better last night. I knew you wanted something from me more than you ever wanted me. I ’ ve been the good daughter and the proper wife and I ’ m done with that life. I may have stumbled last night, but I ’ m done with being nothing more than a pawn for powerful men to move around a chessboard.”
    Fuck. This is what he got for playing along with her game instead of moving forward and doing what needed to be done. “You agreed to this last night in the kitchen. You said ‘I will do that’.”
    “I said ‘I will do that’ meaning I would think about the interview.”
    “That ’ s not the way I remember things.” He squashed the sliver of doubt flickering in the back of his mind and ignored the tickle of conscience. What ’ s done was done. This was the right course of action when dealing with a corporate spy and blackmailer, no matter how they ’ d gotten here.
    Harper threw up her hands with a frustrated groan before lifting her bangs and flattening them across the crown of her head. “Is there a tattoo visible only to assholes that says ‘please fuck with me’? No? I didn ’ t think so.” She let her hair drop and shook her head at him. “Do you ever listen to anyone but yourself?”
    The question jabbed into him, slicing a path straight to that ember of doubt he hadn ’ t managed to snuff out, which moved him from annoyed confusion to pissed off defensiveness in a heartbeat. “I listened a lot to you last night in words and moans.”
    She inhaled a sharp breath and flinched back. “You did not just go there.”
    Fuck he had. Regret at how he ’ d lashed out pinched his lungs together, and he reached out for Harper, something more than the need to beat her at her own game pushing him into action. “I ’ m sorry, I shouldn ’ t—”
    She sidestepped his touch. “That makes two of us. Now if you ’ ll excuse me, I have a job to do that will keep me as far away from you as possible for the next few