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The Center
The Center
Series · 5 books · 2014-2017
By
M.C. Lee
Books in series
#1
You Don't Know Jack
2014
Jack has never known an ordinary life. “The Center,” a shadowy organization with its own hidden agenda, has been his home, his school, and his job. Under the command of a man he knows only as his guardian, Jack has trained relentlessly in order to carry out the Center’s secret missions. In the three years since he turned thirteen, he’s been given more and more complex assignments, rarely questioning the reasons behind each operation. Now, going by the name Jack Carlisle, his orders are to go to Maine and befriend high school track star Leo McCormack. Jack finds Leo easy to like, and soon the like becomes something more. He knows he shouldn’t act on his attraction—it’s against all the rules. However, Leo wants Jack in his life as much as Jack wants Leo, and soon the two begin a relationship. Jack gets a sweet taste of real life, but when the mission ends the fallout could be disastrous—and not just because Leo’s father is the target of the operation.
#2
If You Knew Jack
2014
A Harmony Ink Press Young Adult Title Sequel to You Don't Know Jack Jack Carlisle has returned to the Center after an assignment designed to push him to the edge of his limits—and beyond. He is given just a few short days to get used to a new identity and a new team. He’s been trained to assume a new identity, but working with a new team is more difficult, especially since it throws him back in the path of Leo McCormack, the boy who stole Jack’s heart and handed it back broken into tiny pieces. With “Jack Carlisle” dead and “Jack Cross” reborn comes a new mission. Jack Cross and his team are sent undercover to Forbes Academy, an elite boys’ school in rural Connecticut. Here they must protect Adam and Sam North, whose lives are threatened by an unknown source. Jack’s training never prepared him to deal with the animosity he still feels toward Leo, but he knows the only way to figure out the cause of the danger in time to save Adam and Sam is to work together.
#3
Like I Know Jack
2016
Sequel to If You Knew Jack Jack is about to embark on a new mission. Agent Anna Baxter has tried his patience on previous assignments, and he expects more of the same. On the bright side, he’ll also be working with Leo McCormack. The three agents must go undercover to insinuate themselves into a drug ring led by Gregor Slovik, and to do so, they must gain the trust of Gregor’s friend, high schooler Connor White. This creates a dilemma for Jack—Connor is gay, which gives Jack an opening to make a connection with him. But should he exploit it? Luckily Jack has Leo to turn to for advice and support, and together they try to avoid falling into the traps that arise during the mission. But Agent Baxter has an agenda of her own—one that forces Jack into a treacherous situation.
#4
The Shadow Operation
2016
As a teenage agent for a shadowy organization known as the Center, Jack is used to danger and intrigue. But his newest assignment will push the boundaries of what he’s come to expect. Jack poses as Jack Elliot, an identity assigned to Alex Sutherland after Alex’s family is forced to enter a witness protection program. Something is awry, and the family’s two previous relocations have been compromised. Jack and the Center must determine where the leak is coming from—within the program, or from the Sutherland family itself. Along with Sean and Instructor Clare Colson, Jack slips into Alex’s life, deliberately putting a target on his back in the hopes of drawing out whoever is betraying the Sutherlands. Matt returns to the team while Martin and Leo provide support, and together they must discover who is revealing the family’s secret identities—before it’s too late for everyone.
#5
Bait and Switch
2017
A Harmony Ink Press Title Sequel to The Shadow Operation Leo’s mission is supposed to be routine—befriend high-school student Freya Moore. But things rarely go as planned, and Jack is called in to provide assistance. Questions quickly arise: Why is the Center interested in Freya, who is fellow student Ryan Anderson, and what is he trying to accomplish? The answers will alter Jack’s life forever. Allegiances will be strained, and Jack’s history, identity, and reasons for being at the Center will finally be uncovered.
Author
M.C. Lee
Author · 8 books