Title: Dirty Red (Love Me with Lies #2)
Genre: New Adult Contemporary Romance
Publication Date: December 21, 2012
Synopsis:
Dear Opportunist,
You thought you could take him from me, but you lost. Now, that he's mine I'll do anything to keep him. Do you doubt me? I have everything that was supposed to be yours. In case you were wondering; he doesn't ever think about you anymore. I won't let him go....ever.
Dirty Red
Leah Smith finally has everything she has ever wanted. Except she doesn't. Her marriage feels more like a loan than a lifelong commitment, and the image she has worked so hard to build is fraying before her eyes. With a new role and a past full of secrets, Leah must decide how far she is willing to go to keep what she has stolen.
Excerpt
She looks the same. Raven hair hanging wildly to her waist. She looks almost gypsy-like in her teal linen pants and a cream sheath shirt that hangs casually off one defined shoulder. I eye her gold hoop earrings, which are big enough to fit my entire hand through. They make her look exotic and slightly dangerous. She has always made me feel plain.
Her eyes rove over the handful of occupants in the diner, searching for a face she recognizes: an old man, a couple who share the same side of a booth, two servers folding silverware into napkins … and me.
I see the shock overcome her features — the parting of her lips, the slight spreading of white around her irises. Suddenly, she stiffens. Her eyes chase to the four corners of the room, and I know she is looking for him. I shake my head to tell her he’s not here. I take a sip of my coffee and I wait.
She moves with purpose toward my table. When she reaches where I am sitting, she doesn’t sit but stares at me expectantly.
“An old client?” She says dryly.
“Well, I am, aren’t I?” I motion for her to sit. I’d sent an anonymous message to her office, claiming I was an old client in desperate legal trouble. I’d asked her to meet me at a diner named Tiffany’s. I had no idea if she’d come or not, but it was better than showing up at her office.
She slides cautiously into the seat across from me, never taking her eyes from my face.
“Well, what the fuck do you want?”
I flinch. Louboutins or not, she’s still the same crass piece of white trash she used to be.
“I thought maybe you could look over this document for me.” I reach into my purse and pull out the papers I’d stolen from Caleb’s filing cabinet. Placing them on the table, I slide them toward her.
“What is this?” she asks. She eyes me distastefully. How dare she look at me that way? She has singlehandedly ruined my life. I’d have everything if it weren’t for her devious, overreaching hands.
I’d probably also be in prison. I push that thought away. Now is not the time for gratitude. Now is the time for answers. I poke the document in front of her.
“Take a look. See for yourself.”
Without moving her head, she looks at the papers then back to me. It’s a smooth, hard, impressive piece of intimidation. The art of her body language is something to be admired.
“Why would I want to do that?” she says.
She’s making me feel chilled. I get a flashback of being on the witness stand, and my heart rate spikes. I practice to see if I can do it too.
“It’s Caleb’s,” I say, only moving my lips.
I don’t know whether it’s the mention of his name or if my imitation of her body language is working, but she tenses.
A server approaches our table. Olivia reaches for the papers.
“Get her a coffee, two creamers.” I say, waving him away. He hurries off. Olivia, who is reading, briefly glances up at me. I spent almost every day with her for nine months. I know what she likes.
I sip my coffee as she reads, watching her face.
Her coffee arrives. Without looking up, she pulls the lids from the creamers and dumps them into her cup.
She lifts the mug to her lips, but halfway there her hand freezes. Coffee spills onto the table as she slams the mug down. Abruptly, she stands up.
“Where did you get that?”
She is backing away from the table, shaking her head. “Why is my name on there?”
I run my tongue across my teeth. “I was hoping you could tell me that?”
She bolts for the door. I stand up, tossing a twenty on the table and go after her.
I follow her into the parking lot and corner her by the newspaper stand. “You are not getting out of explaining why your name is on this deed along with my husband’s!”
Her face is washed of color. She shakes her head. “I don’t know, Leah. He never — I don’t know.”
She covers her face with her palms, and I hear her sob. That only makes me angrier. I take a threatening step toward her.
“You’re sleeping with him, aren’t you?”
She pulls her hands away and glares at me.
“No. Of course not! I love my husband.” She is clearly insulted that I would even accuse her of such a thing.
“I love mine!” My voice cracks. “ — So, why does he love you?”
She looks at me with true loathing.
“He doesn’t,” she says simply. “He chose you.” It pains her to give me those words. I can see the emotion spilling from her skin.
I hold up the deed and shake it. “He bought you a house. Why did he buy you a fucking house?”
She snatches the deed from my fingers and points to a date. “Did you miss this little detail? Long before you, Leah.” She shoves it back at my chest. “But, you know that. So, why did you really trick me into coming here?”
I swallow — a nervous reaction. She sees it and smiles cruelly.
“I should have let them throw you in prison, you know that.”
She turns away, walking toward her car door. Her statement infuriates me. I follow her, digging my fingernails into my palms, I breathe through my nose.
“So you could have him?” I blurt. My blood pounds in my ears. I ask myself that question all the time. I say it again. “You should have lost the case so you could have him?”
She freezes, looks at me over her shoulder.
“Yeah.”
I didn’t expect the truth. It frightens me. I open my mouth — force the words out. “I thought you loved your husband.”
She blows air through her nose. The action reminds me of an agitated horse. Her eyes drove from my shoes and land in disgust on my face.
“I love yours too.”
Review
It
took me a long time to process this book before I could put into words what
this book did to me. I stayed up until 2:38 am. Who needs sleep on a work
night? Sleep is overrated. Right? Not sure if any review can do this genius
book justice, but I will try.
So,
after reading the first book in the series, The Opportunist, I will admit that
I was sad the second book was from Leah’s POV. I mean, Leah?! Seriously?!
Everyone hates her, why read a book about her? Wrong! Everyone should read this
book. There are so many twists and turns in this one. Dirty Red is the perfect
title for the second book in the series. The story picks up right where the
first book left off. We get to see the story move forward in Leah’s POV. She’s crazy, mean, and she made me
cringe but I enjoyed every second of the book. We get to understand her side
and why she is the way she is. We are thrown into her world and see just how
hard she is willing to work to keep Caleb.
Leah
is still manipulative. Things happen in the story where your jaw will drop and
you will need a minute to just understand what just happened. You will not be able to put this book
down. Trust me, I tried. Make sure you have no obligations because you will not
want to do anything until you finish this book! And you might get mad with anyone that tries to get in your
way. Not kidding. We do get some Olivia in the book. Just a small part, but
it’s such an intense scene. It’s like you know it’s going to be a disaster, but
you still have to look anyway!
I
absolutely love Tarryn Fisher’s writing. It is still very similar to the first
book, where there is past and present. I enjoy that because the reader gets to
see and understand the depth of the characters and their story. Her writing
style is like no other. She contemplates every word written, as every word
contributes to this story.
Let’s
talk about the ending. OMG. That ending was just….no words. It blew me away.
Sure, a small part of me might have seen it coming. But, then again, I was like no way. Then boom. It drops, and
my mouth is left hanging wide open. Hence why it took awhile before I could
even put together a coherent sentence regarding this book. Overall, this book
was genius. If you loved, The Opportunist, this one will rock your literary
world. Literally.
Purchase Dirty Red Now!
About the Author
I am a real life villain, truly. I drink sick amounts of Starbucks.
Most of the time my hair smells like coffee.
I was born in South Africa, and lived there for most of my childhood.
I moved to Seattle just for the rain.
Rome is my favorite place in the world so far, Paris comes in at a close second.
I read and write more than I sleep.
When I was eleven, I wrote an entire novel about runaway orphans, using only purple ink. I am addicted to Florence and the Machine and will travel to see concerts. I love scary movies and giraffes. I spend way too much time on Facebook. Meet you there?…
Connect with Tarryn
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