Delta: Retribution by Cristin Harber Read Free Book Online

“Hello?”
    “Told you I’d call.”
    Her stomach fell, but she smiled. “You did.”
    But “why” was the question. There was no reason for him to throw her a pitying bone. If he hadn’t wanted to call, he’d never see her again.
    Trace cleared his throat. “Are you surviving okay at your place? Because I hate mine.”
    “I dozed off on the couch while watching TV.” God, she sounded like a loser. Why say that?
    Trace laughed. “Me too. Bored as hell. I hit up a game of pool with the guys then came back here. To a townhouse. In a car. Shit.”
    “I don’t get it. How else would you have driven home?”
    He laughed again. “I’m not really a car guy.”
    “Oh. You’re a… like a truck guy or something?”
    “I can deal with any good set of wheels that make a fun time out of escape and evade. I guess the Charger’s okay. It can gun it and all. But… a car and a house make me feel antsy, that’s all. Anyway. What’s the deal with your new digs?”
    She’d already fessed up about being home alone with nothing to do. “The job’s to blame.”
    “Too simple, Marlena. Something else is there.”
    “You’re right, but I don’t want to get into it.”
    “Fair enough. Are you still jumping when doors shut and cars drive by?”
    She sucked in a breath. “No!”
    “Right.”
    “Well, I’ve been by myself. No cars or doors to make me jump.”
    “It’s not abnormal after the shit show you were pulled through.”
    She sighed. “I don’t want to think about it, much less talk about it.”
    He didn’t say anything, and they sat there. She twirled the phone cord around her finger and leaned against the wall. There was a nice level of comfort knowing he was there. If a door slammed, maybe she wouldn’t jump. Then again, she was supposed to be alone, so if a door slammed, she should jump. She pinched the bridge of her nose.
    “I don’t want to be alone tonight.” His low voice made her shiver. “I shouldn’t have left you earlier. I shouldn’t… be saying that. Hell, Mar. I have to go.”
    “Wait!” Wait, what? A man ditching her shouldn’t be such a surprise except that it was, and deep down, it felt as though maybe he needed her that moment more than she needed him. “Trace?”
    Seconds floated by. “Yeah?”
    Her dad would bet against her. Brian would shake his head and say that no one needed her. Marlena closed her eyes and shook her head. Fuck Brian, that piece of shit dad . “I don’t want to be alone tonight either. But I’m not good for much. I’m just—”
    “Meaning what?”
    “I’m too tired to jump you in bed, and I’m too jumpy to be good company. I need to get out of my house. I just—”
    “One eleven Mason Brick Drive.”
    She would’ve expected nerves or anxiety. Anything but the calm that made her feel free from her personal demons. “I’ll be there in twenty.”
    ***
    Walking around barefoot and in jeans, Trace drained a beer and stared at his cell phone. The smart move would’ve been to call her and say he couldn’t keep his eyes open. That maybe another time would be better, like when she was raring to go and wanted to strip down naked. But that wasn’t in the cards tonight. They hadn’t been home from South America more than twenty hours. Sure, she said she’d dozed. But after what she went through, she probably needed an Ambien and a few days of sleep.
    Headlights hit his driveway, and she was there. Damn, if there wasn’t a stirring in his chest. He opened the door and watched her get out of her car then went outside. “Red car, red hair. Suits you.”
    She scoffed but then put too much assurance into her voice. “Absolutely. Power color.”
    Something didn’t jibe, but he didn’t care. “Red’s sexy. No idea about power colors. Like I said, it suits you, Cinderella. Come on.” He took her small hand in his and led her up the stairs. “This is it. Looks decent, feels like a jail cell.”
    As she took in the room, he took her in. Pajamas. A