Gaming for Keeps (Entangled Ever After) Read Online Free

trying to trim the fat.” Marron paused, like he hoped Cal would cave. He should have known better. “Fine. You get your days back, plus the entire weekend becomes a business expense. You get to go on our dime. If you finish the job tomorrow night, you have the rest of the weekend all to yourself.”
    Too bad he didn’t want it to himself, and worse, the person he wanted to spend it with was out of reach. The instant Megara said she was going, he’d made the decision to ask her out, regardless of how ridiculous it might be to base that on nothing more than their interaction in a role-playing game. For all he knew, Megara was a three-hundred-pound perpetual college student who lived in his parents’ basement.
    Some part of him knew better, even if she had played coy about meeting. Everything about her, the way she played, the way she chatted, the way she always said thank you when he healed her or pulled agro or… Definitely female.
    Too bad she sounded as if she’d been burned at least once meeting people online. He should have anticipated that. The fact anyone in his or her right mind ever risked hooking up with a virtual stranger said a lot about society. That so many times it ended badly said worse things. He wished there were some way to let Megara know he wasn’t a stalker or an ax-murderer, but he couldn’t even tell her where he worked. Secret agent sounded like such a great job title. Too bad reality tended to get in the way of the image.
    Cal swept his hair back from his face, reminding himself once more that he needed to get it cut soon. It was already well beyond what his mother would call fit-for-public-viewing. Good thing he wasn’t going to Oklahoma for a visit until Thanksgiving.
    Josh’s voice, heavy with exasperation, broke through his thoughts. “Hey, earth to whatever planet Calvin Burrows resides on these days. Are we good? You know what you need to do?”
    “Yeah. Get the program. Break the code. Get with Trevor and formulate a plan of attack before the deal goes through.” Cal stuffed the costumes in his suitcase and zipped it shut. After stashing extra sponges for the body paint in his smaller bag, he closed that, too. “Bad guys locked up by tomorrow night, and then I can have my vacation time, paid for by the government. Honestly, though, I’m not sure what else you expect me to do on the con floor.”
    “Christ, Cal. Make sure you stop by the field office tomorrow before you head to Condemned—I want to make sure we’re one-hundred percent here. That’s an order.”
    He dragged the suitcases down the hall and propped them by the door. “It’s ConDamned.”
    “What?”
    “The convention where your mission is going to take place. It’s not Condemned, it’s ConDamned.”
    “And that was clearly the most important part of this entire conversation. You’re lucky you’re so good at what you do. My office, tomorrow, nine a.m.”
    “Yes, sir.” Cal hung up before Josh said anything else. This entire con was turning into one big clusterfuck. First he wouldn’t even get a chance with the girl, and now he was working, which had the potential to end in a whole lot of bloodshed. He could only hope any bloodletting was reserved for criminals and his role actually ended tomorrow. At least then he could get his game on and have some fun.
    Too bad he knew things never worked out that way. Nothing ever happened the way it was supposed to. An image of his old instructor, broken and bloodied, shifted to a tiny, dark-haired wood elf rogue in a similar state. For the first time he wished Megara wasn’t going to ConDamned and kicked himself for asking her about it. The last thing he wanted was to be responsible for her getting hurt. He shoved the thought back into the hidey-hole in his brain where it belonged. Somewhere dark that he avoided visiting.
    It wouldn’t stay tucked away, though, almost as if thinking of Meg brought home the certainty that something would go wrong on this mission.