Page 57 of Serpent King's Revenge

His pal froze for a second, eyes wide. That second was all I needed. I lunged, drove my shoulder into his stomach. We hit the ground, but I was on top. I pounded him until someone pulled me off.

"Enough!" The shout barely cut through the noise, but hands were grabbing me now, pulling me away. I fought against them, half-crazy with the need to smash something else, but they were too many.

I turned around, eyes wild—

—and I came face to face with Knuckles Chen.

He clasped a hand to my shoulder, locking eyes with me. He was dressed in a prison uniform, flanked by a couple other men in the same costume. His nose was bleeding from just one nostril, and he swiped at it with his free arm.

“Time to get you out of here,” he muttered, then jerked his head toward the kitchen. “Come with me.”

Chapter Twenty-Six: Abby

Iwas supposed to have left right after Nathan did…but I’d somehow convinced the guard I’d left something in the private visitation room.

Maybe it was that classic Harper charm–or maybe the FBI training.

Probably both.

I searched through the blankets and under the table, ignoring the stench of disinfectant now mingled with the residual smell of sex. The guard eyed me, his curiosity plain as he gave me the once-over. I knew the look, the question behind his gaze before he even parted his lips to ask.

"Why's a pretty thing like you with a guy like that?"

I forced a smile, sickly sweet, and shrugged. "You know how it is," I said, batting my eyelashes for good measure. "Opposites attract."

He chuckled, buying into the lie of the naïve girl smitten by the bad boy. I’d worked a little on him before going in to see Nathan. I made sure he knew my entire cover story.

If only he knew the UCLA grad story was just a cover. I wasn’t an art history student…nor was I even an FBI agent, not anymore.

I was a viper.

“Sweetheart, you should find a guy that isn’t locked up,” he said.

I looked him up and down. He had the keys hanging from his belt. Chump. I stalked closer to him, a sweet smile on my face. “What do you suggest then?”

His eyes widened a touch, taken aback by my boldness. "Well, I…" he stammered, his gaze dropping down to his shoes. "I happen to be free."

I laughed, a coquettish sound that echoed in the hollow prison hallway, and leaned in closer. My fingers lightly brushed his arm as I tilted my head to the side, my smile never faltering. "Well now…isn't that something?" I purred. “Maybe I should give nice guys a chance for once.”

His face flushed red and he cleared his throat, adjusting the collar of his uniform with a nervous hand. "Listen…Abby was it? There's better men out there than that one."

I had to hold back the urge to scream at him. “Like I said, opposites attract, officer…what’s your name?”

"Charlie," he replied, a faint blush touching his cheekbones. "Officer Charles Smith."

"Officer Smith," I echoed, letting the name linger on my tongue before a flirtatious smile spread across my lips. "I'll keep that in mind."

"You two must be some opposites," he muttered, but the edge had softened from his voice. He wasn't seeing the agent trained in deception, just a dove-eyed lover lost in the hawk's nest.

"Something like that," I murmured, letting my gaze linger on him longer than necessary.

The guard shifted, his stance relaxing, the earlier suspicion melting away under the warmth of my feigned adoration. He was clueless, unaware that every honeyed word from my lips was a calculated move in a game far deadlier than he could imagine.

Charlie's smile was a little smug now, as if he believed he had fully charmed me, a conquest to brighten his dull shift. It was the opening I’d been waiting for—my cue to turn the tables.

"Officer Smith, can you tell me—" My voice hitched as if choked with emotion, my green eyes wide and glistening. But I wasn't really scared or in love; I was ready, every muscle coiled tight.

"Tell you what?" His voice softened, leaning in closer, oblivious to the storm that was about to hit.

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