[BAD 07] - Silent Truth by Sherrilyn Kenyon

didn’t lift a hand to do serious work and would never get involved with a woman like her. A woman who’d grownup with dirt under her nails and calluses on her hands.
    Hunter used a finger to toy with an errant curl dangling above her eye.
    All the logic in the world didn’t stop the stampede inside her chest at his touch.
    Did he know the effect he was having on her?
    Of course he did. He was a man, one with lots of Lydias dying to climb into bed with him.
    So why is he flirting with me? Because he considered her an easy target who would be thrilled over his attention?
    She was pretty flattered, but not enough to feed an ego with an insatiable appetite.
    Hadn’t she learned anything six years ago?
    All men were jerks.
    Never, ever, forget that.
    Within an instant, all playfulness vanished from his posture. His gaze flashed up and past her shoulder, alert, at something behind Abbie. The cheating female?
    A rumble of excited voices vibrated the room.
    She broke away from Hunter and swung around to find out what had everyone buzzing.
    Gwen Wentworth had entered the main ballroom. Finally.
    Abbie had played “how did we meet” long enough. The way the crowd was flooding in around Gwen, she doubted Hunter could even see his friend’s fiancée any longer. Gwen would disappear into a gulf of humans in the next minute. Gaining her ear for more than ten seconds would be tough at this point.
    Hunter owed Abbie an introduction for allowing him to use her as cover. That whole bit about knowing her hadprobably been a big fat lie just to keep her talking.
    Her conscience argued that she’d had a moment of déjà vu, too, when she’d first seen Hunter outside.
    Didn’t matter.
    She wasn’t asking for much in return and Gwen would be out of reach quickly. “That’s who I want to meet.”
    When she didn’t hear a reply, Abbie swung around.
    Hunter was gone.

Chapter Seven

    Hunter passed through a sea of faces more intent on being recognized by a Wentworth than noticing his retreat from Abbie. When he made it to the next salon, he whipped around the opposite side of a replica of an Elgin marble statue to observe the excited guests.
    And one disappointed Abbie.
    Dammit.
    She would want to meet Gwen. An innocent enough request any other time, but not tonight.
    At least his suspicion of Abbie had abated. If she had some ulterior motive for attending beyond stargazing and rubbing elbows with celebrities she’d have dressed to blend in with the other women and wouldn’t have played along so easily with him.
    “Regretting your decision to come alone?” Rae had approached quiet as a thought.
    “No.” Hunter kept watch so that no one—Abbie in particular—walked up on his conversation. But the entire room had migrated toward Gwenyth, who shimmered in gold and white like a billion-dollar magnet.
    Rae offered him the humble smile of a staff member that he wouldn’t trust right now to turn his back on. “I’m okay with you coming solo, too.”
    He sent her a look that said he knew better.
    “I’m serious.” Rae’s smile took on life in a sly way. “If I’d been assigned to accompany you I wouldn’t have had the pleasure of watching her walk away from you earlier.Must be a new experience for you to get shot down by a mere mortal.”
    “I needed a cover to observe someone. Don’t make it out to be more than it was.”
    “That’s right.” Rae handed him a napkin and a flute of champagne. “She couldn’t possibly meet your high standards.”
    He didn’t want to discuss anything specific to the mission so he ended the conversation by refusing to engage further. Rae knew nothing about him. Bloodline and family ranking were rock-bottom on his give-a-shit list.
    Rae started to move away, paused, then swung around and asked, “Excuse me? What did you need?”
    He caught the signal. Something she had to share with him was being transmitted between agents. “Couple napkins. Sloshed my drink.”
    “Absolutely.” With