Chapter One: Ares – Heather Slade

CODE NAME: ARES

Two agents. One global conspiracy.
As they fight to save lives, can they resist losing their hearts?
In the war against human trafficking, Ares and Nemesis’ love might be the deadliest weapon of all.

ARES
As a former CIA operative, I thought I’d seen it all. Then I met her—Margeaux “Nemesis” Jordan, the brilliant and infuriatingly stubborn leader of the UK’s anti-trafficking task force. Now, we’re forced to work together, leading a UN coalition against a global human trafficking network. It should be simple: focus on the mission, ignore the attraction. But with every lead we chase, every life we save, I find myself falling harder. In a world of shadows and danger, can I protect both the innocent and my heart? Or will choosing duty mean losing the one woman who could be my perfect match?

NEMESIS

I’ve spent my career fighting criminals, but nothing prepared me for Philip “Ares” Kappas. He’s reckless, charming, and far too tempting for my own good. As we race from the docks of Felixstowe to the streets of Bulgaria, unraveling a web of corruption that spans continents, I find my carefully constructed walls crumbling. With hundreds of lives at stake, I can’t afford distractions. Yet every time we’re together, the line between professional and personal blurs. Can I trust him with my heart as I’ve trusted him with my life? Or will opening up mean losing everything I’ve worked for?

CHAPTER ONE

“He’s ridiculous. I mean, have you seen him? He’s a walking, talking cover model for a romance book,” I overheard MI5’s human trafficking expert say as I approached the place where she and I were scheduled to meet with her boss, Z Alexander.

I didn’t wait to hear his response. Instead, I stalked into his office despite the protests from his secretary, ordering me to stop.

Comments like the woman’s were something I’d heard most of my life, coupled with things like “Greek god” and “Adonis.” And, worse, a comparison to the model whose likeness had been used for the Marvel comic book character, Ares. True, it had been the fodder used when I was given my code name. However, the initial sketches had been drawn for the release of an issue that came out twenty years before I was born.

I cleared my throat, which was unnecessary for Z, who watched me walk in and didn’t bother to try masking his amusement at my hearing what the woman I was assigned to work with had to say about me.

“Good morning,” I said, taking a seat in the empty chair before it was offered. “You must be Margeaux.” I looked her up and down, letting my gaze linger a little too long on her ample cleavage.

While my intention had been to make her feel as ill at ease as her inappropriate comments had me, the stirring I felt in my groin was as surprising as it was unwelcome.

She folded her arms, covering her breasts, and raised her chin. Her eyes bored into mine when I finally looked up at her face. “Point taken,” she muttered.

My smile was as unexpected as the rate at which my attraction to her was building. Good on her for not pretending she hadn’t classified me as a piece of meat, as they say.

Z cleared his throat like I had when I walked in. “Well, this will be interesting,” he muttered.

I couldn’t agree more.

NEWSLETTER SIGN UP | JOIN MY READER GROUP | CONTACT ME | HEATHER'S BOOKS | PRIVACY POLICY