Mercy: Second Chance Military Romance by Abbi Hemp Read Free Book Online Page A

Mercy left FOB Rushmore in Afghanistan. Captain Jeffries, involved heavily with the smuggling operation, had ordered her to the chopper after Roger blew himself up.
    The damn fool had constructed a bomb from mining dynamite. It had gone off before he had a chance to take it off the base. He had said it was to shut-up a local Afghani who wanted to report us.
    I glanced up at her building from across the street, wondering what apartment was hers. Was she looking out a window at me right that moment? I checked her address on my phone then put it away.
    After more than two years of not hearing from her, I had looked up her information online. It had cost me two hundred dollars, but I got her current address without any problems.
    Crossing the street, I wondered why she hadn’t contacted me over the years. Her last night in Afghanistan had turned hot and heavy, but she left before we actually got down to the act.
    The physical blue balls sensation went away, but I had been stuck with mental blue-balls for too many months. I made it to the front door of her building, not seeing a doorman.
    I scanned the buzzer box quickly, finding her name. With a deep breath, I pressed the button. She’s not home , I thought immediately, stepping away. I’ll come back some other day .
    “Hello? Who is this?”
    The sound of her voice thrilled me.
    “Me,” I said.
    “Who is me?”
    “Tyler.”
    “Tyler?”
    “Yeah, from Afghanistan. We almost…”
    “Oh, Tyler! Come in.”
    The door buzzed and clicked, unlocking. I opened in and went into the lobby. On the way to the elevator, I thought about the two years since I’d last seen her.
    Was I insane for showing up out of the blue? Questions went through my mind as I rode the elevator up to the eleventh floor and her apartment.
    I knocked on the door when I reached it. She opened it right away. When I saw her beautiful face, memories of the naked moment we shared in Afghanistan flashed through my mind.
    “Tyler,” she said, her long, red hair as curly as ever. “What are you doing here?”
    “It’s been two years since we met, and I thought I’d look you up.”
    She did not appear as happy as me.
    “Come inside a minute. I need to leave for work.”
    I stepped into her apartment.
    “Anyway, like I said, we were separated a bit abruptly, and…”
    “Yeah,” she interrupted then took a step toward the floor-to-ceiling windows on the other side of the living room.
    Her shoes tapped on the well-polished wood floor as she walked over.
    I followed her, admiring the view.
    “That’s quite a view.”
    “Right? It’s why I moved here. The rent is crazy expensive, but I think it’s worth it.”
    “You must be some big-name journalist by now.”
    She frowned.
    “No. I’m an editor now.”
    “Oh, working on the other side of the equation? Still a journalist though. They kicked me out of the Army about a year after you left. I’ve been roaming around since then.”
    “I’m not actually a journalist anymore. I edit…other stuff.”
    The way she said “other stuff” intrigued me to no end.
    “I’d love to talk with you about it.”
    “Like I said, I’m on my way to work. It’s weird that you caught me. I’m usually not here this late in the morning. How did you find me, anyway?”
    “Oh, some stuff I did online.”
    She smiled.
    “Turn-about is fair play.”
    “How about dinner tonight?” I asked.
    I watched as she took a deep breath. No matter how hard I tried, I wasn’t able to stop thinking of her naked body. If anything, I found her even more beautiful.
    “Okay,” she said. “But I need to go now.”
    She put her hand on my arm then let go and walked toward the door.
    “I’ll pick you up around six?” I asked as I followed her.
    “Yeah, that should work. Give me your number.”
    “Here…” I dug my phone out and handed it to her. “Call yourself.”
    As her fingers manipulated the screen, my eyes kept stealing glances of those perfect breasts. Her puffy,