I published part of this as a bite on Book+Main, but I thought y’all might like a sneak peek at a slightly longer clip. Enjoy!

“I know it doesn’t make sense,” he continued. “That’s what you said to me. Remember? And then you asked me to trust you. Now I’m asking you to trust me. I promise, I’ll make it up to you for all the lies. And some day, I’ll tell you what you want to know.”

He was awfully close, and awfully earnest, and I so-so wanted to believe that the only friend—the only living friend—I had was trustworthy.

“At least tell me you’re one of the good guys.”

I’d meant it as a joke, but he didn’t give me the rah-rah answer I expected. Instead, he said, “It’s…complicated. I can tell you that I will do everything in my power to keep you and Geordi safe from the Dioguardis, and the Rousseaux, and anyone else who tries to hurt you. But when you learn the truth…you may not want me to.”

His words made no sense, but they weren’t what I focused on now. His body was close. And the emotion in his eyes—the pain, the fear when he’d talked about me being dead, and now something more, something hot and urgent and unleashed—was enough to scorch me from the inside out, until I smoldered like a peat fire, burning toward the surface. It was hopeless. I was going to believe him, even though he’d revealed absolutely nothing.

“You’ll tell me everything?” I managed breathlessly, lost in the dark depths of his gaze.

He leaned in closer, his mouth hovering over mine as he breathed, “Everything…”

From DEBRIEFING THE DEAD, available now from The Wild Rose Press and other retailers!