Read Online COLE (Dragon Security Book 1) by Glenna Sinclair - Free Book Online
Authors: Glenna Sinclair
Ads: Link
him even as she tugged at the bottom edge of her pink cardigan.
“Go to hell, Hayden,” she said as she brushed past him.
“I’m sure I will. Someday.”
He watched her go, naked interest in his eyes as he did. The two of them got along like oil and vinegar. They were either going to sleep together or kill each other. I was rooting for the former rather than the latter.
“What can I do for you, Hayden?”
“Has she always dressed like that?”
“She thinks she’s quite fashionable.”
The truth was, Sam did tend toward the conservative in her style of dress, but it came from the fact that her mother was one of those nearly crazed, ultraconservative Christians. It was hard to break out from under that sort of control, even for someone as strong and together as Sam was.
Hayden shook his head.
“So I was in the office last week when that pregnant woman came in to speak to you?” He studied my face, waiting for some sort of acknowledgement. I gestured for him to continue. “I thought I recognized her. And, this morning, I realized why.”
He pulled a photograph out of an envelope he had in his hand and slid it into my hands. My heart stuttered when I realized what it was.
“You took photos at Peter’s funeral?”
“I was a SEAL. This sort of thing is kind of second nature to me.” He moved up beside me and touched a portion of the photograph that showed a couple of people standing behind the chairs that had been set out for family. “Isn’t that her?”
I held the photograph up a little higher so that the light would shine on it just right. Sure enough, Amber Zavalas, a thin veil over her face, was standing at the back of the crowd, off to one side, almost as if she didn’t want anyone to notice her. But she was there.
“She told Cole and me that she didn’t know Peter was dead.”
“Looks like she was lying.”
I stared at the picture a moment longer, noticing something else.
“Do you have more of these?”
“Yeah. A dozen or so.”
“Can I have them?”
“Of course.”
Amber’s face wasn’t the only odd one in the crowd. There was another face I recognized, one that shouldn’t have been anywhere near that funeral.
Kurt Sanchez.
He bullied Peter in high school and then went to work for a rival telecommunications company. They’d gotten into it a couple of years ago at some sort of conference. He absolutely hated Peter. Why would he be at his funeral?
It bothered me all the rest of the day. When I finally got home that night, all I could think about was a hot bath and bottle of wine. I lay there under the suds, my mind going round and round. But, as it often did, my thoughts began to drift toward Luke. He was my first love. My only love. We met as children and began dating my sophomore year of high school. All through high school, the military, everything, we stayed together. And, finally, he was ready to settle down.
“It’s all over, babe.”
That’s what he said. Like me, he’d gone into the military right out of high school. But after a year in the SEALs, he was recruited into the CIA. He couldn’t talk to me about what he did there, but we managed to sneak out time together between his missions and my work in the military. And when I left the military and started my company, there was even more time. And those weekends…it couldn’t possibly be that perfect with anyone else.
We had dreams. We’d talk about them on those weekends. And then he finally gave me a ring, told me no one else would ever be to him what I was. We went through the process of the engagement photos, the parties my mom threw. Laughed over the invitations with the tissue paper that my mom insisted on, discussed cakes and flowers and wine. Even bought a tuxedo that had to be custom made to fit his broad shoulders. We were going to do it.
The night before, we went to the rehearsal dinner together. He was relaxed, laughing with Peter and Cole, promising to never hurt me, pretending to be afraid
“Go to hell, Hayden,” she said as she brushed past him.
“I’m sure I will. Someday.”
He watched her go, naked interest in his eyes as he did. The two of them got along like oil and vinegar. They were either going to sleep together or kill each other. I was rooting for the former rather than the latter.
“What can I do for you, Hayden?”
“Has she always dressed like that?”
“She thinks she’s quite fashionable.”
The truth was, Sam did tend toward the conservative in her style of dress, but it came from the fact that her mother was one of those nearly crazed, ultraconservative Christians. It was hard to break out from under that sort of control, even for someone as strong and together as Sam was.
Hayden shook his head.
“So I was in the office last week when that pregnant woman came in to speak to you?” He studied my face, waiting for some sort of acknowledgement. I gestured for him to continue. “I thought I recognized her. And, this morning, I realized why.”
He pulled a photograph out of an envelope he had in his hand and slid it into my hands. My heart stuttered when I realized what it was.
“You took photos at Peter’s funeral?”
“I was a SEAL. This sort of thing is kind of second nature to me.” He moved up beside me and touched a portion of the photograph that showed a couple of people standing behind the chairs that had been set out for family. “Isn’t that her?”
I held the photograph up a little higher so that the light would shine on it just right. Sure enough, Amber Zavalas, a thin veil over her face, was standing at the back of the crowd, off to one side, almost as if she didn’t want anyone to notice her. But she was there.
“She told Cole and me that she didn’t know Peter was dead.”
“Looks like she was lying.”
I stared at the picture a moment longer, noticing something else.
“Do you have more of these?”
“Yeah. A dozen or so.”
“Can I have them?”
“Of course.”
Amber’s face wasn’t the only odd one in the crowd. There was another face I recognized, one that shouldn’t have been anywhere near that funeral.
Kurt Sanchez.
He bullied Peter in high school and then went to work for a rival telecommunications company. They’d gotten into it a couple of years ago at some sort of conference. He absolutely hated Peter. Why would he be at his funeral?
It bothered me all the rest of the day. When I finally got home that night, all I could think about was a hot bath and bottle of wine. I lay there under the suds, my mind going round and round. But, as it often did, my thoughts began to drift toward Luke. He was my first love. My only love. We met as children and began dating my sophomore year of high school. All through high school, the military, everything, we stayed together. And, finally, he was ready to settle down.
“It’s all over, babe.”
That’s what he said. Like me, he’d gone into the military right out of high school. But after a year in the SEALs, he was recruited into the CIA. He couldn’t talk to me about what he did there, but we managed to sneak out time together between his missions and my work in the military. And when I left the military and started my company, there was even more time. And those weekends…it couldn’t possibly be that perfect with anyone else.
We had dreams. We’d talk about them on those weekends. And then he finally gave me a ring, told me no one else would ever be to him what I was. We went through the process of the engagement photos, the parties my mom threw. Laughed over the invitations with the tissue paper that my mom insisted on, discussed cakes and flowers and wine. Even bought a tuxedo that had to be custom made to fit his broad shoulders. We were going to do it.
The night before, we went to the rehearsal dinner together. He was relaxed, laughing with Peter and Cole, promising to never hurt me, pretending to be afraid
Similar Books
