Control: Out of the Box (The Girl in the Box Book 38)

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Control: Out of the Box (The Girl in the Box Book 38) Page 41

by Robert J. Crane


  “With Hades as a father, Janus as a brother-in-law, and Charlie as a daughter, I can see where you might get that impression.” I went quiet for a second. “Still...thank you. For helping me with...everything.”

  She kept her eyes on the road, even though we'd not yet moved from the curb. “Such as...?”

  I looked out the window; Darnell was gone. “What, you want me to itemize my thanks? Okay – for helping save me in New York, for seducing Tyrus Flanagan out of his phone–”

  “That man...that pervy, pervy little man...” She shuddered. “His memories are going to haunt me for a while.” A small smile turned the corner of her lips. “Still...he thought I was in my thirties, did you know that?”

  I made a show of studying her. “With some makeup, the proper lighting, hair dyed that stunning shade of red...yeah, I could see that. Anyhow, thanks for that. For helping with Chalke and – whatever. All else, illegal and menial. Oh, and for getting my money back in Europe and the Caribbean. No way was I going to be able to do it with the Network up my ass.”

  She raised an eyebrow at me. “It wasn't too tough, as these things go. But...seriously? Half a billion dollars? If I didn't know who you stole it from, I'd be worried.”

  “Janus can kiss my ass,” I said. “If he hasn't come after it yet, I doubt he will. He certainly didn't say anything about it during our last tete-a-tete, and we let it all hang out, so I suspect I'm good on that score.”

  She shook her head. “Half a billion dollars is a lot of money, Sienna. Too much to easily forget.”

  “Yes, well, thanks for getting it for me.” I settled into my seat. “It'll probably come in handy, because I had to offer a lot of favors to dig me out of this mess with the Network.” I did the mental accounting: ArcheGrey, Veronika, Hades, Cassidy – though I'd paid in advance on that one.

  Still...I owed people. The money might help buy me out of the favors promised, assuming they were amenable to that sort of thing.

  “Is Mimaw coming with us?” I asked as Lethe pulled away from the curb into the burgeoning Washington traffic. I wasn't going to miss this.

  Lethe shook her head. “She's already back in Texas. She wants you to come see her when you get a chance. Soon, or else she's going to come see you.”

  “Not much of a threat.”

  Lethe cocked her head, and her expression said she disagreed. “Maybe it's because I grew up with her, or because I've seen what she can do, but...I wouldn't recommend crossing her. Just because she's nominally a life goddess, don't take her lightly. You get her mad...well, I mean, there's a reason Hades fears her.”

  “The Queen of the Underworld?” I chuckled. “I can see that.”

  “Anyway, I don't think she's quite up for a four-day drive across the country. And your other friends have already gone on ahead, so...” Lethe looked over at me, and her eyes sparkled blue. Just like mine. “You and me, kiddo. They'll meet us back in Minneapolis.”

  “Sounds good,” I said, heart full for the first time in a long time. The sun was shining, the cool air blowing out of the AC vents. The road was wide open in front of us, the weekend DC traffic not as congested as usual for this time of day. I glanced at the cup holders between us – two full, steaming cups of coffee waited and I grabbed one without even asking, bringing it up to my nose and inhaling the caffeinated perfection. “So very, very good.”

  Lethe smiled, then looked at my bag in the back seat. “That's all you've got?”

  “That's all I've got,” I said, taking a deep breath, turning my eyes forward, to the endless road ahead. “All I need, really, so...” I closed my eyes, and imagined myself already there. “Take me home.”

  Sienna Nealon Will Return in

  SECOND GUESS

  The Girl in the Box, Book 39

  (Out of the Box 29)

  Coming April 2020!

  GET IT HERE!

  AUTHOR’S NOTE

  Thanks for reading! If you want to know immediately when future books become available, take sixty seconds and sign up for my NEW RELEASE EMAIL ALERTS by CLICKING HERE. I don’t sell your information and I only send out emails when I have a new book out. The reason you should sign up for this is because I don’t always set release dates, and even if you’re following me on Facebook (robertJcrane (Author)) or Twitter (@robertJcrane), or part of my Facebook fan page (Team RJC), it’s easy to miss my book announcements because … well, because social media is an imprecise thing.

  Find listings for all my books plus some more behind-the-scenes info on my website: http://www.robertjcrane.com!

  Cheers,

  Robert J. Crane

  Other Works by Robert J. Crane

  The Girl in the Box

  (and Out of the Box)

  Contemporary Urban Fantasy

  Alone

  Untouched

  Soulless

  Family

  Omega

  Broken

  Enemies

  Legacy

  Destiny

  Power

  Limitless

  In the Wind

  Ruthless

  Grounded

  Tormented

  Vengeful

  Sea Change

  Painkiller

  Masks

  Prisoners

  Unyielding

  Hollow

  Toxicity

  Small Things

  Hunters

  Badder

  Nemesis

  Apex

  Time

  Driven

  Remember

  Hero

  Flashback

  Cold

  Blood Ties

  Music

  Dragon

  Control

  Second Guess*

  World of Sanctuary

  Epic Fantasy

  (in best reading order)

  Defender (Volume 1)

  Avenger (Volume 2)

  Champion (Volume 3)

  Crusader (Volume 4)

  Sanctuary Tales (Volume 4.25)

  Thy Father’s Shadow (Volume 4.5)

  Master (Volume 5)

  Fated in Darkness (Volume 5.5)

  Warlord (Volume 6)

  Heretic (Volume 7)

  Legend (Volume 8)

  Ghosts of Sanctuary (Volume 9)

  Call of the Hero (Volume 10)

  The Scourge of Despair (Volume 11)* Coming in 2020!

  Ashes of Luukessia

  A Sanctuary Trilogy

  (with Michael Winstone)

  A Haven in Ash (Ashes of Luukessia #1)

  A Respite From Storms (Ashes of Luukessia #2)

  A Home in the Hills (Ashes of Luukessia #3)

  Liars and Vampires

  YA Urban Fantasy

  (with Lauren Harper)

  No One Will Believe You

  Someone Should Save Her

  You Can’t Go Home Again

  Lies in the Dark

  Her Lying Days Are Done

  Heir of the Dog

  Hit You Where You Live* (Coming in 2020!)

  Her Endless Night* (Coming in 2020!)

  Burned Me*

  Something In That Vein*

  Southern Watch

  Dark Contemporary Fantasy/Horror

  Called

  Depths

  Corrupted

  Unearthed

  Legion

  Starling

  Forsaken

  Hallowed* (Coming in 2020!)

  Enflamed* (Coming in 2021!)

  The Mira Brand Adventures

  YA Modern Fantasy

  (Series Complete)

  The World Beneath

  The Tide of Ages

  The City of Lies

  The King of the Skies

  The Best of Us

  We Aimless Few

  The Gang of Legend

  The Antecessor Conundrum

  *Forthcoming

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  Thanks to Lewis Moore for the edits, Jeff Bryan, for the proofing, and Lillie of http
s://lilliesls.wordpress.com for her work proofing and compiling my series bible.

  Thanks also to Karri Klawiter of artbykarri.com for the cover.

  Special thanks, too, to C.G. Cooper for brainstorming with me and leading me back to the core idea of this book. How could I write a Washington political thriller without using the classic “presidential assassination” plot?

  Thanks, too, to my family for making this all possible.

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Contents

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Chapter 39

  Chapter 40

  Chapter 41

  Chapter 42

  Chapter 43

  Chapter 44

  Chapter 45

  Chapter 46

  Chapter 47

  Chapter 48

  Chapter 49

  Chapter 50

  Chapter 51

  Chapter 52

  Chapter 53

  Chapter 54

  Chapter 55

  Chapter 56

  Chapter 57

  Chapter 58

  Chapter 59

  Chapter 60

  Chapter 61

  Chapter 62

  Chapter 63

  Chapter 64

  Chapter 65

  Chapter 66

  Chapter 67

  Chapter 68

  Chapter 69

  Chapter 70

  Chapter 71

  Chapter 72

  Chapter 73

  Chapter 74

  Chapter 75

  Chapter 76

  Chapter 77

  Chapter 78

  Chapter 79

  Chapter 80

  Chapter 81

  Chapter 82

  Chapter 83

  Chapter 84

  Chapter 85

  Chapter 86

  Chapter 87

  Chapter 88

  Chapter 89

  Chapter 90

  Chapter 91

  Chapter 92

  Chapter 93

  Chapter 94

  Chapter 95

  Chapter 96

  Chapter 97

  Chapter 98

  Chapter 99

  Chapter 100

  Chapter 101

  Chapter 102

  Chapter 103

  Chapter 104

  Chapter 105

  Chapter 106

  Chapter 107

  Chapter 108

  Chapter 109

  Chapter 110

  Chapter 111

  Chapter 112

  Chapter 113

  Chapter 114

  Chapter 115

  Chapter 116

  Chapter 117

  Chapter 118

  Chapter 119

  Chapter 120

  Chapter 121

  Chapter 122

  Chapter 123

  Chapter 124

  Chapter 125

  Chapter 126

  Chapter 127

  Chapter 128

  Chapter 129

  Chapter 130

  Chapter 131

  Chapter 132

  Chapter 133

  Chapter 134

  Chapter 135

  Chapter 136

  Chapter 137

  Chapter 138

  Chapter 139

  Chapter 140

  Chapter 141

  Chapter 142

  Teaser

  Author’s Note

  Other Works by Robert J. Crane

  Acknowledgments

 

 

 


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