Not Another Soldier by Samantha Holt Read Free Book Online

“Yeah, please.”
    He reaches over to strap me in. Why does he do that?
It always wraps me in his scent and the proximity of him drives me crazy. But I
still love it when he does.
    “What are you doing here anyway?” I ask as he straps
himself in and starts the car.
    “Thought I’d take you out for breakfast before I
started work.”
    “How did you know I was working?”
    “You said you were doing nights last week and I saw
something on Facebook.”
    I try to laugh but I’m not feeling easily amused.
“You’re stalking me on Facebook now?”
    And now the words are out, they don’t seem funny at
all after what happened. Did Skinhead just want to take the car? I can’t help
imagining he wanted something more. Like to kidnap me or something. If Skinhead
had wanted my car, surely it would have been easier to break into it? Had he
been waiting for me all night? Or was he just an opportunist? The thought of
him hanging around, watching, makes me cold all over again.
    “Hey, I just happened to see your friend’s comment and
I wanted to see how you were doing with the apartment. You know, if you don’t
want people knowing your business you shouldn’t be putting it on Facebook.”
    Nick sounds slightly pissed off and I dart a surprised
look at him. It’s not like him to get annoyed with me, though I guess I can’t
blame him. He comes to treat me to breakfast and winds up chasing away an
attacker. And then I get snippy with him.
    “Sorry. I’m glad you’re here. And… and I’d love to get
some breakfast. Just not today, if you don’t mind. Another morning?” I try
tentatively.
    His expression relaxes back into the Nick I know.
“Sure. Later on this week?”
    “Sounds good.” I settle against the car seat and gaze
out the window as he navigates the still quiet streets toward my apartment. I
don’t know why I agreed to that but I do want to try to stay friends with Nick.
I hardly know anyone in Glenwood apart from my work colleagues and most of them
live on the outskirts or within commuting distance. I’ve barely spoken to Jess
since the funeral. Nick is all I have.
    But that scares me too. I can’t rely on one person,
especially Nick. What happens when he’s fit enough to go away again? It would
be almost as bad as being married to a soldier. And this time, I’d actually
miss him. Not to mention the issue of wanting to jump on him and kiss him, and
maybe strip off his clothes every time I see him. That hardly bodes well for
our friendship.
    He’s like an addiction, I think. A weakness in me. I
don’t want him but I need him.
    When he pulls the car up in front of the apartment
building, I’m exhausted. All the adrenaline has left me and I can barely keep
from yawning every two seconds.
    “Come on, sleepy head.” He pops my seatbelt and climbs
out. I push open the door but he’s there already, yanking it open for me.
    I climb the stairs wearily to the front door and Nick
shadows my steps, acting a little like a human shield. I don’t know if he even
believes I was attacked, but he seems to be taking protecting me pretty
seriously. I’m beginning to think it was just a one off. I happened to run into
a psycho. Typical.
    Jabbing the entry pad, I push it open and Nick follows
me up.
    “You don’t have to escort me all the way home, you
know,” I mumble.
    “Sienna, I’m not leaving you until you’re safely home.
Just accept it and shut up.”
    He says this softly so it doesn’t sting but I do feel
ungrateful. My fingers are numb, maybe from shock, so I fumble to open the
front door.
    “You want a coffee? Breakfast?” Nick asks as he closes
the door gently behind him.
    I scowl, knowing I should be the one offering him
breakfast not the other way around. I’m really going to have to make this all
up to him. Another time though.
    “I was going to go to bed.”
    I realize I’m being rude, but I’m tired and edgy. I
keeping wondering what would have happened if Nick hadn’t turned up. And then