Read Online Last True Hero by Diana Gardin - Free Book Online Page B

so intently I could melt beneath that gaze.
    I sigh, counting to ten exactly like my mother does when she’s frustrated. Then I raise one hand and waggle my fingers at him.
    “What are you doing?” he says with a smile.
    “Putting another spell on you with my evil vixen siren song.”
    His chuckle is low, husky. I’m in such big trouble.
    “I knew it!”
    Then he drives me home, and I squeeze my thighs tightly together in order to release some of the tension this soldier has just created.
    Trouble. Capital freaking T .

7
Dare
    T he incoming call is from Chase, and I curse when I read his name.
    I’ve been dodging his calls for a week. It’s been…difficult to figure out how I can help him out of his latest pile of shit when I can’t stop imagining being holed up in my truck, pressed up against a very wet Berkeley.
    Groaning, I roll my head back and stare at the ceiling.
    The call goes to voice mail, and I glance down at my phone as it buzzes with an incoming text.
    Stop avoiding me, bro. I need you.
    “What are all those faces about?” asks Drake.
    “My brother is at it again.” I lean back in my chair, glancing up at Drake where he stands, grilling steaks on the deck.
    Drake jerks around to look at me. “Chase?”
    I nod.
    “Fuck,” he mutters. “What’d he do this time?”
    I pause, because I don’t know exactly what Chase did this time. I haven’t called him back yet.
    “I only know he needs money. Trouble with some dudes back in Florida.”
    Drake curses again. “You need to stop bailing his ass out, Dare.”
    “He’s my brother. What am I supposed to do? He says it’s bad.”
    “Of course it’s bad. Nobody comes to collect unless you owe them big. Chase is into the worst kind of bullshit, Dare. You gotta cut him loose. He’s not gonna learn. He’s not gonna change.” Drake has completely abandoned the grill in favor of a stern look in my direction, and wispy, fragrant smoke is billowing into the evening sky.
    “I’ll figure it out, Drake. I’ll figure something out.”
    “You got hella cash saved, and it’s for you. Your life. Don’t blow it on him.”
    I nod. “I won’t.”
    He turns back to the grill. “You seen Berkeley since you two went out?”
    There it is. A stab of longing in my gut so sharp, I glance down expecting to see blood. I’ve managed to go all week without speaking her name, but Drake was about to ruin that.
    “Nah.” Even though my answer is neutral, the pang in my chest is anything but.
    “She wasn’t all she was cracked up to be once you got her alone?” He flips the steaks.
    I suck in a breath. I’m pretty damn sure she’s more than I imagine her to be. Judging from one kiss, she’s fucking lethal. A kind of lethal I’ve never dealt with. Berkeley isn’t in my wheelhouse.
    I haven’t been able to decide what I’m going to do about her. There’s no way in hell I’m just going to let her write me off after what happened in my truck when we got drenched. I don’t know what she meant by “not available,” but that kiss said it all. I need more of Berkeley. And I’m not going to let her brush me off that easily. Not when I don’t even know the real reason.
    The E.V.S. Recovery mission begins tomorrow. There’s no way in hell I’m letting that evil vixen siren just walk away from me.
      
    When I start awake, golden sunlight is streaming in through my window and my sheets are twisted and sticking to me. I half-crawl, half-slide over to the window to peek through the blinds. The ocean greets me a mere football field away, lapping gently against the shore, and I gape in disbelief. Then my mind begins to clear, and I realize I’m in Lone Sands.
    My time in Africa haunts me. But only in my dreams. I’ve conquered the beast during the daytime, but I can’t seem to control my nightmares. I squeeze my eyes shut, willing the memories to fade, and I suck air in through my nose, then push it out through my mouth.
    I plant my feet on the floor and let