MILITARY ROMANCE: The War Within Himself (Alpha Bad Boy Marine Army Seal) (Contemporary Military Suspense & Thriller Romance) by Claire Branson Read Free Book Online Page B

selfless act, and I appreciate it."
    She hadn't really minded having him around all that much, she admitted to herself. Despite his annoying habit of constantly trying to escape the couch, he was funny, and a good conversational companion. And, if she was being honest, it was nice to have someone around the house. She hadn't shared her space with anyone in a long time.
    "If you really appreciate it, you could do me a favor and hand me the remote."
    He laughed as he handed it over, and she flicked on the TV. They settled into watch whatever movie was showing on Fox for the night. It turned out to be something decent, lots of explosions. It seemed to hold Devlin's interest, at least.
    "I should be going," he said when the movie was over.
    She'd picked up a shirt for him, so at least he had that.
    "Where will you go?"
    He turned to smile at her.
    "Home, actually. It's far enough away that I'm glad you helped me out. I don't know that I could have made it in the state I'm in. But I'd like to get back there, and I feel guilty about taking up your couch and your time."
    "I don't mind," she said again. "Honestly. Don't worry about it."
    "I’ll find a way to thank you,” he said, rising from the couch and slipping his wallet into his back pocket. "For real."
    Erin nodded. Though she wasn't sure she expected him to follow through with the promise, and she got up to take the ice cream bowls into the kitchen.
    That was when the door smashed open, crashing against the wall. She spun to stare as three men, all of them easily as big as Devlin, stalked into the room.
    "There you are," the tallest of them said, a smile curving his mouth. "I was beginning to worry you'd gotten away from us."
    Devlin immediately put himself between Erin and the men entering, settling into a fighting crouch despite his injures. He took a step back and so did she, around the edge of the couch and toward the hall that led back to her bedroom, her heart beating hard against her ribs. She tasted metallic fear at the back of her tongue, swallowed it down and clenched her teeth. If these assholes thought they could just march in and attack her patient on her watch, they had another thing coming. It wasn't a long hall. She could make it down the length of it in a few seconds if Devlin could hold them off.
    "And who is this?" one of the others inquired. "Looks like you found a nice way to pass the time."
    "It was nothing like that, Riff," Devlin answered. "Why don't you three get lost?"
    "Come on, Devlin. You know why we're here."
    Devlin made a sound like a growl, low in the back of his throat. Erin took another step back, then a third. They didn’t seem to be paying much attention to her.
    "We can take this outside," Devlin said. "She's not involved."
    "Isn't she, pretty boy?"
    Their leader had a crooked nose, a break healed badly. He looked like a fighter. All of them were bulky with muscle where Devlin was lean and corded. She didn't really like his chances.
    "We'll do you a favor and save her for last though, if you like. That way you don't have to watch."
    Devlin flung himself forward with a noise that was definitely a snarl, and Erin spun and ran for the bedroom, locking the door behind her. It wasn't going to do Devlin much good, but some backup might. She opened the door of the nightstand and pulled out her pistol.
    It took a matter of moments to load. She’d practiced.
    She'd never actually shot a person before, and she thought with a sick twist of her stomach of the oath she had taken to do no harm, but these men weren't her patients. Devlin was. She could hear them rolling around in her living room, and hoped some of her neighbors had the sense to call the cops already. Gun loaded and held out in front of her, Erin pulled the chair away from the door and stepped out into the hall.
    She saw the two others before she saw Devlin and the leader. Devlin was fighting, and for the moment he was holding his own, but she knew that those ribs were disadvantage,