Format: ebook
Source: provided for review
Disclaimer: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Date read: September 1, 2021
Cipher Security
1. Code of Conduct
2. Code of Honor
2.5. Code of Matrimony
3. Code of Ethics - Paperback | Kindle
April White
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Synopsis (Goodreads):
There are three things you need to know about Oliver:Thoughts on Code of Ethics: I've really enjoyed all the Cipher Security books (danger! romance! more danger! cameos by familiar faces!), but DANNNNNG, this one worked for me. Dallas and Oliver were just *smashes fists together and makes flaily noises*... Well, these two had a weird start and they kind of butted heads A LOT, but they ended up being, I don't know, like, their safe places in a chaotic world. Dallas kept Oliver physically safe when he needed it most and Oliver gave Dallas the space to find and forgive herself for something she needed to come to terms with.
1) He’s a fabulously wealthy playboy who incidentally happens to be a code-writing genius,
2) For maybe the first time in his life, he’s trying to do the right thing, and
3) Someone wants him dead.
Oliver’s life has already been saved once by the gorgeous yet grumpy “close protection specialist” provided by Cipher Security, Dallas. She calls him uncooperative. He’d prefer to think of himself as unpredictable and stimulating.
But when an assassin gets way too close for comfort, the party boy is whisked away from the lively city where he’s the social king, to the desolate Yukon wilderness where Dallas is a master of survival (and grumpiness). Living wild and isolated reveals several illuminating truths, and suddenly they both find themselves in uncharted territory where grumpy can be sexy, sarcasm might be hot, capable is definitely dangerous, and trust is the strongest survival skill of all.
And, MAN, did these two have some baggage. Separate baggage. Like, loads of it. Each.
As terrifyingly confident and capable as she is in all things survival (and security) related, Dallas had closed herself off and kept apart from her coworkers and colleagues. She didn't have any real friends at Cipher, although she did have plenty of people who COULD be her friend if she allowed herself to see it. But again, closed off and kept apart and if nobody's close they can't hurt or be hurt by her. Which is a rough way to live, as Dallas comes to see when she's forced back home and is reminded of how close-knit family can be.
On the other side of the coin, Oliver is the guy everyone likes. He's charming (although not as charming as Reed) and confident and "the nicest guy in the room" (in his words!). Except with Dallas. With her, he's short-tempered and snarly and not at all nice and she's the only one he trusts to keep him safe when things go sideways. Which they do. Go sideways, that is. In a kind of big way.
One trip to the Yukon with a whole lot of eccentric family later and Dallas and Oliver are hammering out a tentative truce. He stops snarling at her and she just might like the way he listens when she talks. When danger hits close to home, the two have to rely on one another in all ways to make it out in one piece. As it turns out, Oliver is more than a vapid party-guy with a big brain and Dallas isn't quite as closed-off as she used to be.
This book seriously hit all high notes for me. Dallas is a subtle mess, Oliver is a not-so-subtle mess, and they both have reasons for being that way. As they untangle the things that brought them to that point, they go toe to toe with bad guys, reconnect with family, make new friends, and find a little romance. Yessssssss.
“Oliver,” I said automatically, my eyes still looking in the direction Quinn had gone.
“Excuse me?”
“My name is Oliver,” I said, my eyes finally meeting hers, and I dug for my nicest-guy-in-the-room default. “Yours is Dallas, right?”
“Correct.”
She started walking toward the elevators again, and I couldn’t think of a reason not to follow. I assumed it wouldn’t get me anywhere to go after Quinn, and Dallas seemed to be the only one who cared that I was still in the building.
“Proprietary tech is the only game in the marketplace right now. If my code leaks, my program turns into the equivalent of generic drugs—worth pennies instead of millions.”
We’d reached the elevators, and she turned to face me. I was surprised that she wasn’t taller, because her vibe was all ferocity and overbearing disapproval. “You didn’t ask for my opinion, but I’m going to give it to you anyway,” she said.
Of course she would. Women like her couldn’t help themselves. They had to be right—all the time—out loud. I sighed, too exhausted to bother to dig up more charm for her.
“Millions are just zeroes and ones in an account,” she continued. “This is your life, and I think the Russian will do a lot worse than try to knife you if he manages to catch you alone.”
I’d just hit the button, but I whipped around to face her. “The Russian? What are you, partners?”
The woman almost rolled her eyes at me, and I was glad to get a rise out of her. It was way more fun than panicking, which was my other option.
“I heard him swear in Russian,” she said in a voice that was back to ice queen inflection.
“You speak Russian,” I scoffed.
“Enough,” she said. The elevator doors opened behind me, and Dallas reached a hand past me to hold them.
“What did he say, then?” I asked. She took a step forward, crowding me back into the elevator.
“Ty moy, suchka.”
“Which means?” I asked, taking a step forward when I realized that she’d managed to make me move with just her body language.
She let go of the elevator doors. “You’re my bitch,” she said, and I had to jump back as the doors closed between us.
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Excerpt
“Is there something else I can help you with, Mr. Curran?”“Oliver,” I said automatically, my eyes still looking in the direction Quinn had gone.
“Excuse me?”
“My name is Oliver,” I said, my eyes finally meeting hers, and I dug for my nicest-guy-in-the-room default. “Yours is Dallas, right?”
“Correct.”
She started walking toward the elevators again, and I couldn’t think of a reason not to follow. I assumed it wouldn’t get me anywhere to go after Quinn, and Dallas seemed to be the only one who cared that I was still in the building.
“Proprietary tech is the only game in the marketplace right now. If my code leaks, my program turns into the equivalent of generic drugs—worth pennies instead of millions.”
We’d reached the elevators, and she turned to face me. I was surprised that she wasn’t taller, because her vibe was all ferocity and overbearing disapproval. “You didn’t ask for my opinion, but I’m going to give it to you anyway,” she said.
Of course she would. Women like her couldn’t help themselves. They had to be right—all the time—out loud. I sighed, too exhausted to bother to dig up more charm for her.
“Millions are just zeroes and ones in an account,” she continued. “This is your life, and I think the Russian will do a lot worse than try to knife you if he manages to catch you alone.”
I’d just hit the button, but I whipped around to face her. “The Russian? What are you, partners?”
The woman almost rolled her eyes at me, and I was glad to get a rise out of her. It was way more fun than panicking, which was my other option.
“I heard him swear in Russian,” she said in a voice that was back to ice queen inflection.
“You speak Russian,” I scoffed.
“Enough,” she said. The elevator doors opened behind me, and Dallas reached a hand past me to hold them.
“What did he say, then?” I asked. She took a step forward, crowding me back into the elevator.
“Ty moy, suchka.”
“Which means?” I asked, taking a step forward when I realized that she’d managed to make me move with just her body language.
She let go of the elevator doors. “You’re my bitch,” she said, and I had to jump back as the doors closed between us.
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Amazon UK: https://amzn.to/3yPk4dR
Amazon CA: https://amzn.to/3xoY4VF
Amazon AU: https://amzn.to/2TXKBGC
AppleBooks: https://apple.co/3luYkA7
Nook: https://bit.ly/3inehX3
Kobo: https://bit.ly/3fvld2h
Google Play: https://bit.ly/2TSH1xk
Add to Goodreads: https://bit.ly/3yR8yOP
Start the Cipher Security Series of standalones TODAY! https://smartypantsromance.com/worlds/seduction-in-the-city/cipher-security/
About April White
** Vivian Award Nominee, 2021 **
April White has been a film producer, private investigator, bouncer, teacher and screenwriter. She has climbed in the Himalayas, survived a shipwreck, and lived on a gold mine in the Yukon. She and her husband share their home in Southern California with two extraordinary boys and a lifetime collection of books.
Her first novel, Marking Time is the 2016 winner of the Library Journal Indie E-Book Award for YA Literature, and all five books in the Immortal Descendants series are on the Amazon Top 100 lists in Time Travel Romance and Historical Fantasy.
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