Billionaire Bodyguard by Kristi Avalon Read Free Book Online Page A

But as a kid, that must have been hard.”
    “It was all I knew.” She wasn’t looking for sympathy. “My parents lived an adventurous life, but part of me always wanted one place to call home.”
    Vivi’s blue eyes glazed over, missing the shadowed undertones of Allison’s private torment. “How fabulous! So, what brought you to America?”
    More discussions around the table ceased. She gained a larger audience. She dug her nails into her leather chair. “I met a soldier. An American. His description of this country was what I’d always wanted. The land where dreams come true.” She swallowed hard. “I believed him.”
    “You’re not with him anymore.” Vivi’s over-statement of the obvious demanded explanation.
    Allison made the mistake of glancing across the table. Rick’s glare was fastened on her. As if he’d been waiting for this moment. Easy access to a point of personal humiliation. But she refused to break so easily. “My ex-husband is no longer with us.”
    That shut them all up. Not even a whisper followed. Rick’s reaction was visceral. He didn’t need to speak. His look of disgust all but called her out on the lie.
    Whether he knew it or not, her admission was essentially true. When it came to Trevor’s mental state. Her ex-husband’s descent into psychosis turned him into an abomination of the young man she met at eighteen.
    She hated the stares digging into her, some pitying, others eager for scandalous details. She denied them the sick pleasure. “If you’ll excuse me.” She scraped her chair back from the table.
    Logan stood, too. He reached for her but she brushed past him, heading to the restroom. There she splashed cold water on her cheeks, trying to soothe the burn of embarrassment. She lifted her face, drying her chin as she looked at herself in the mirror.
    Whatever beauty Vivi pointed out wasn’t in the reflection Allison saw. Her inner landscape was so damaged and desolate she’d never understand why anyone found her attractive. Least of all Logan. The sparkle that once lit her green eyes had faded long ago. She barely knew the person staring back at her. “God, my life is a disaster.”
    “And I thought I had problems,” a brusque female voice responded. A faint trace of cigarette smoke hung in the air.
    Allison’s gaze snapped from her own reflection to Devon standing behind her. Her insides still writhing, she couldn’t stand another minute of being vulnerable. She spoke with forced humor. “I put on quite a show. Sorry you missed it. I gave Vivi enough gossip to last a year.”
    Devon shrugged. Her dark eyes were kind. “Don’t take it hard. Trust me your fifteen minutes of infamy will fade by next week. People may toss around interesting theories or pity for a while, but that requires more energy than the accepted pastimes of bitching and back-stabbing.”
    A puff of laughter escaped Allison. “That actually makes me feel better.”
    “I thought it might.” Devon smiled. “Want to join me at the main restaurant bar?”
    “I’d love to,” Allison said a little too eagerly. She tossed her paper towel in the trash. “There’s no way I’m going back into that private room.”
    “Don’t blame you.”
    “I’m a cheap date tonight,” Allison added, in case the woman considered changing her mind. “Ginger ale is about all I can stomach.”
    “Fine by me.” They exited the restroom together. As they took two seats at the u-shaped bar in the dining room, Devon sighed. “I tried to warn you about Vivi Dunn. The demon spawn dug her hooks into me years ago.”
    “Two seconds too late.” Allison shook her head. “You weren’t kidding about the Plague.”
    “Would I sugarcoat that hell-on-wheels?”
    As they waited for drinks, Devon shared the amusing story of how she first met Vivi. The major’s straight-faced depiction had Allison doubled over with laughter. 
    Allison eyed her gratefully. “Thanks for saving me. If you weren’t here, I wouldn’t