Out of CTRL

S.A. Walsh

Andrew had no intention of ever going back home. But circumstances force him to face his painful past and the friend who betrayed him.

Andrew Finley has no intention of going back to his hometown—ever. After he’s caught hacking into the CIA, he builds himself a new life as a computer guy for the very government agency he hacked. But over the past few months, something has been bothering him, and his boss is acting more paranoid than usual. Every time an operation fails, Andrew collects information that could prove someone is selling secrets. Now he’s pretty sure his boss is trying to kill him, so he has no choice but to go back home to buy some time. Home may be more dangerous than facing his boss. Nine years ago, his former best friend and first crush Teddy betrayed him, and let his evil sister and her minions send him running.

But he’s back now and not everything is as clear-cut as he thought. Teddy may not be a Judas but can Andrew catch his fireman without getting burned, or is coming home going to kill him?

One corrupt boss, one evil sister, enough family drama to fill a dozen daytime chat shows and an ex-best friend whom he’s been in love with for half his life makes for one hell of an interesting trip home.

Excerpt

Andrew was almost sure he was certifiably insane for coming back without being dragged kicking and screaming. Standing in his apartment making the decision to return had seemed almost freeing, but now he had the urge to run as fast as he could in the other direction. However, he couldn’t leave yet.

Something had been bugging him about part of the information he’d seen pass through Martin’s server. Monitoring his boss wasn’t illegal or the wisest thing he could be doing but every time he spoke to Martin, his instincts flared, telling him there was something not to be trusted about the man and that Andrew should be careful.

It seemed his paranoia was proving correct. Martin was up to his neck in trouble. His boss had been transferring information to outside CIA-sanctioned servers.

Andrew took his custom-built tablet out of his bag to browse through some of the files he knew Martin had looked at recently. It didn’t take more than a few keystrokes to set up a secure Internet connection via his phone signal and encrypt his devices. That way, if anyone took an interest in what he was doing, the person would only see generic Internet browsing behavior. He called it the Window Shopper Program. Not even the other techs he’d befriended on various jobs had been able to recognize it as a program, let alone hack it.

Andrew was particularly proud of that.

The information he suspected Martin had sold had no common denominator other than it was high profile and it appeared to have been assigned to other supervisors in the agency, even though he knew it was a case Martin worked. On its own merits, there was no link to Martin but Andrew knew the man’s code and there was definitely something off about the whole thing.

Everything consisted of coding in this day and age—all the digital stuff anyway. On the surface, the encryption within Martin’s communications looked fine, but when Andrew delved deeper, he saw the recipients of a few messages were almost too clean, too polished.

The only person he knew with cypher this clean was himself. He’d spent years secretly cleaning up his code. With every camera that recorded a person, every time someone logged in to work or on his or her computer, even to communicate with someone through a device, a person always left a trail. That’s how Andrew found people of interest for the CIA.

He studied the code, trying to figure out what exactly was wrong with it. The pattern relayed monetary transactions from Martin to unknown recipients. The unknown element angered Andrew.

He smacked the tablet screen, exiting the analysis program. He should have seen it earlier—the code had been altered. When it came to watching Martin, he should have been more vigilant.

This wasn’t going to help anyone now. The agents and assets from the jobs that had been compromised were either lost or dead.

Andrew should have noticed everything earlier. The only thing he could do now was figure out a way to stop Martin from doing this again.

Sighing in frustration, Andrew disabled the connection and swiped his tablet into ‘off’ mode, then shoved it back in his bag.

About S.A.

I’m SA Welsh and I write because the voices in my head keep making me. I love reading and I love letting the characters and stories in my head come to life in a book. I can’t function in the morning without a cup of tea and when I’m not writing I’m reading. I have enough books to last me through an apocalypse but don’t ask me to share them unless you are a fellow book worm and know how to treat and appreciate a good book. It is thanks to the writers that inspired me to put myself out there that I became an author and the editors that make sense of my chaos that I keep writing. You can find me on facebook or on my website

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Review

Title: Out of CTRL

Author: SA Welsh

Genre: Romantic Suspense

Length: Novella (151 Pages)

ISBN: 978-1-78430-279-5

Publisher: Totally Bound (November 14th, 2014) Early Download October 17th, 2014

Heat Level: Moderate

Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥ 4 Hearts

Reviewer: Leigh

Blurb: Andrew Finley has no intention of going back to his hometown—ever. After he’s caught hacking into the CIA, he builds himself a new life as a computer guy for the very government agency he hacked. But over the past few months, something has been bothering him, and his boss is acting more paranoid than usual. Every time an operation fails, Andrew collects information that could prove someone is selling secrets.

Now he’s pretty sure his boss is trying to kill him, so he has no choice but to go back home to buy some time. Home may be more dangerous than facing his boss. Nine years ago, his former best friend, and first crush Teddy betrayed him, and let his evil sister and her minions send him running.

But he’s back now and not everything is as clear-cut as he thought. Teddy may not be a Judas but can Andrew catch his fireman without getting burned, or is coming home going to kill him?

One corrupt boss, one evil sister, enough family drama to fill a dozen daytime chat shows and an ex-best friend whom he’s been in love with for half his life makes for one hell of an interesting trip home.

Purchase Link: https://www.totallybound.com/out-of-ctrl

Review: Drew is your general CIA computer hacker, only working for them because he got caught. He left home as soon as possible because of something his crazy sister did to him. And he never really planned on going back.

However, one of his good sisters finally convinces him to come home for his father’s 60th birthday. And this is where the fun starts. So Drew is back dealing with his father’s birthday, his former BFF/crush, one evil-ass sister, throw in his boss trying to kill him and you have a good action packed book.

His best friend as a kid was Teddy. Also, the man Drew had a crush on most of his teenage years. Due to the above mentioned crazy sister, Drew always thought Teddy was involved in the most horrible betrayal that his sister committed against him. When Teddy and Drew finally get the stories straight, and the truth is revealed both of them realize they do and have loved each other all along. What better than a hot fireman to keep Drew safe and warm? Teddy loves Drew just the way he is, nutty quirks and all. Plus Drew needs all the help he can get what with a murderous boss on his tail.

I loved this book. It’s a fast paced, sexy, and hilarious ride from start to end. Drew and Teddy are adorable together. The supporting cast adds just as much to the story as the MCs do. Add a few hot loves, some funny moments, some hacking, and a little danger and you have a good perfectly enjoy book. The evil doers get their comeuppance in the end and the MCs have a HEA.

So I recommend you go get this book now, as it’s up for early download and enjoy the ride.

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