Did you ever wonder how long it took you to sum up the stranger who just walked into the room? Twenty seconds? Ten? What if it took just three? How accurate do you think that first, fleeting glance was, and more importantly, what would it take to make you change your mind?
Disappearing was the only way Monique Vachon could stay alive. It was that, or a lifetime of servitude and a protracted, painful death. A decade later, an unexpected change of plan puts Monique in the wrong place at the wrong time. Her new life is in danger of being exposed as she unexpectedly finds her husband deep in conversation with undercover cop Nate Stelling. Shocked by the connection between the two men and fearful for her safety, Monique begins to question everything she knows about the man she loves. And as his behaviour pushes her further away, her resolve to hold on to the life she's worked so hard for rapidly dissolves, leaving her no choice. She runs.
But this deal is just a way in for Nate, a gateway to a bigger score, and Monique is exactly the leverage he needs to get what he wants. Her absence isn't an option he's willing to accept, but his attempts to find her may just get her killed. From the verdant hills of the English South Downs to the untamed wilderness of Andalucía, Nate plays fast and loose with the rules as his life and the life of Monique, his best chance of success, fall hopelessly apart.
The Three-Second Rule is the first book in the suspense noir Trilogy 'The Rules', where even those you trust the most will do anything they can to get what they want, whatever the cost.