Anabel Unraveled Read Online Free PDF Page A

opinion. It was a refreshing change from Washington. I answered her question with a curt nod, but thought to myself, All right, Anabel. You and I are going to be friends.
    ***
    After dinner I asked her to show me around. Jonathan Martin’s place is practically a castle, and since we were on an island in the South Pacific, I figured I might get some time on the beach. That particular evening, however, Anabel wanted to stick to the house, which was fine with me—as it was, I had a long trip over there. She didn’t seem to want to walk next to me, keeping her pace just above mine, no matter how much I increased my step. Watching her move, a slight wiggle in her hips, caused me to lose focus and stare at her.
    “What do you like to read?” she asked, shaking me from my thoughts.
    “Why do you ask?”
    She turned and rolled her eyes. “You asked to see my library. I was merely curious as to what you liked to read.” She quickened her pace again.
    I decided to give her a surprising answer. “Byron,” I called.
    Her steps came to a halt. She turned to me with an amused glance. “You read poetry?”
    “Stranger things have happened,” I offered.
    She still looked unimpressed. “Are you a fan of the Romantics then?”
    “They were much less depressing than the Victorians,” I replied.
    She smirked, and I could tell she was trying not to laugh. Then she flung open a door. “This is my library,” she proclaimed.
    I was floored. Never before had I seen such a collection of books. Bookcases were wall to wall, with patterned rugs over the stone floor. Two armchairs sat in front of a blazing fire.
    “Anything you don’t find in here, well . . . you’ll find in my dad’s library, but it’s all the way on the other side of the building and I don’t feel like walking over there.”
    “Have you read all of these?”
    She grimaced. “One gets bored.” She flipped her hair over her shoulder. “Surely you don’t expect me to hang around with Jonathan all day?”
    I laughed, letting my guard down. That left me unprepared for when she pushed a strand of hair out of her eyes and glared at me. “Why are you here, Jared?”
    “What do you mean?”
    Again, she smirked at me. “Come off it. I know you’re here for some other reason than to pay a visit to the island.” She flopped into a chair. “It’s not exactly the most happening place. Did my brother send you?”
    I wasn’t going to lie to her. “Yes, Sam sent me. He’s concerned about you.”
    “He must be,” she remarked. “He doesn’t normally share the fact that we’re related, but you knew it, didn’t you?” She tilted her head. “I was a bit of a shock to my sister-in-law, I can assure you.”
    She had trapped me. I improvised. “Well, he brought me into his confidence two days ago. He sent me here because he thought I was the one to get the job done.”
    “Oh?” queried Anabel. “And what job is that, exactly? I mean, my father thinks you’re a snake, and Charlie spent the first part of my day warning me to watch my tongue around you. I’m not even kidding,” she continued, taking in my stark surprise. “Jonathan went on and on about what a horrible person you were, and I think if he had the resources, he would have had me fitted for a chastity belt then and there. So what’s the deal, Sorensen? Why does everyone think that you’re the big bad wolf?”
    I cleared my throat. “I don’t have the best reputation in DC.”
    “And why is that?”
    “I have a lot of girlfriends.” There was no point in evading her.
    “I bet you do.” She uncrossed and recrossed her legs, and I really needed to not watch her do that. Your best friend’s sister, I scolded myself. Anabel was only nineteen, and I had to remind myself that she was still practically a girl.
    But looking didn’t hurt, right? “So will we be spending more time together?” I asked her.
    She sighed. “Probably not. I don’t care much for other people. I’m fairly