Ravaged River (Men of Mercy #6) by Lindsay Cross Read Free Book Online Page B

"Ow."
    "Slorry.” The guy didn’t budge an inch and his overpowering smell of smoke gagged her.
    "Move it, freak." Mandy shoved the guy away. "Did you see how red his eyes were?"
    Hayden brushed her shirt and attempted to straighten up. "Up close and personal. Gross."
    The backyard of the frat house was usually all neatly trimmed lawn and landscaped sidewalks. But tonight brain-dead boozers trampled the grass. Mandy elbowed Hayden in the side and nodded toward the crowd in front of them. "Forget him. Look at all these toga-wearing frat boys. Now, what could possibly be better than getting to look at all these half-naked hotties on a Friday night?"
    Going to a movie with a certain brooding military man.
    Hayden took a deep breath, silently forcing that thought down into the deep dark hole where it belonged. "I can't think of a single thing."
    Too bad ALANON didn't accept ex-girlfriends of PTSD survivors. She'd probably learn some useful stress-fighting tips. But for now she would settle for the good ole James family denial.
    "Did you see Chance? He is smoking hot tonight. I swear that guy is a direct descendant of Apollo himself."
    "No, I haven't seen him." And she was thankful for that. Her nerves were raw, edgy.
    Before her life-altering screw-up, she'd been on the fast track to beating her mother's record and becoming the star of every party in Mercy. Then a married man had demolished her self-confidence, self-worth, and self-esteem in one fell swoop.
    To say the ensuing scandal had been momentous would be an understatement.
    Without Hoyt, without his resilient smile and confidence, she wasn’t sure she would have made it.
    The back of her neck tingled and Hayden whipped around, studying the parking lot. For a second she was certain she’d see Hoyt standing right behind her. But the only thing she saw was row upon row of BMW’s and Mercedes. A few older vehicles dotted the back. No Hoyt.
    "Too bad," Mandy said. "Chance and his buddies haven't been to the shop to get coffee all week. And I’ve been stuck with an overabundance of man bag carrying hipsters with scraggly wannabe beards and skinny jeans. I swear, if I have to fix another nonfat soy latte with organic wheat toast for a side, I’ll scream.”
    Hayden didn't have to fake the sympathetic glance to her friend. Most people assumed frat boys would make cringe-worthy customers, but the frat boys were actually a welcome reprieve from the coffee shop’s usual clientele. "I'm sorry. The test in Rhoden's class this week was a killer. I swear I wrote for three hours straight. I couldn't move my hand for a day." She couldn’t help but think about the date Professor Latham and Professor Rhoden were on tonight.
    Mandy snorted and adjusted the strap of the dark one-shoulder shirt that perfectly showcased her graceful neck and pixie-perfect face. Paired with her smoky eye shadow, she could give Megan Fox a run for her money. "Nice try, but you'll get no sympathy from me. My week was way worse. Besides, the only reason Chance hasn’t come in is because he knew you weren't working."
    "Whatever."
    Mandy jabbed her in the shoulder. "Hey, would you get out of your head for long enough to find that hunk of goodness before some ho snatches him?"
    Hayden pressed back against the fence, letting the rounded wood pickets dig into her skin. The physical pain was preferable to the risk of testing her self-confidence. She’d have to socialize and make small talk and actively pursue another man. Three things that she'd purposely avoided for the past few months. And she’d already stepped out of her shell and invited Malik. But wasn't that the whole reason she was here? To not think about Hoyt? To move on?
    "I didn't think it would be this difficult,” she admitted.
    "It's not. You just have to take that first step. The rest is cake."
    "Easy for you to say. You date a new guy every week."
    "How else am I going to find out what I like?" Mandy gave her a wink.
    "Well, guys flock to