Rhys by Adrienne Bell Read Free Book Online Page A

stuff.”
    “Thanks.” Tessa’s voice was still guarded as Charlie put the bag down on the bed.
    “Don’t thank me yet. I’m not sure they’ll fit. I had to guess your size, since somebody couldn’t be bothered to check the labels in your old ones.” Charlie shot Rhys a pointed look.
    “I told you they were ruined,” Rhys said in his defense.
    “And I said you could guess,” Charlie shot back.
    “I did.”
    “Tiny is not a guess,” she said. “There is no size tiny . And if you spent any time around women you would know that.”
    Rhys looked over to see Tessa pulling back the zipper on the bag. The corners of her lips lifted as she pulled a delicate blue top out.
    “This’ll do just fine,” she said, looking up at Charlie. “Thank you.”
    “My pleasure,” Charlie said, before turning to Rhys. “Now, why don’t you go deal with the Captain while Tessa and I hang out.”
    His eyes narrowed. “But—”
    “I’ve got this, Rhys.” Charlie’s chin lifted a notch as she met his gaze.
    Rhys stared down at her a moment longer, before shifting his gaze toward Tessa. “You’ll be okay?” he asked.
    She gave him a small smile. “Yeah. I’ll be fine,” she said. It looked like the truth.
    Rhys nodded. “I’ll be just down the hall if you need me.”
    Charlie threw her hands up in the air. “Oh, go already,” she said. “Don’t you see we have stuff to do?”
    “Stuff?” he asked.
    “Yeah, girly stuff,” Charlie said in a mocking voice. “Like washing the blood out of her hair and putting on clothes that fit.”
     
     
    ***
     
     
    “I thought he was never going to leave,” Charlie said the moment the bedroom door closed behind Rhys. “Don’t get me wrong. I know he means well, but sometimes that intensity level, it can be a little much.”
    “Does he mean well?” Tessa wasn’t sure why she even bothered asking. Charlie already admitted to being both his friend and his co-worker. There was no way she wasn’t going to paint anything other than a glowing picture of the man.
    Charlie shrugged. “For the most part. Of course, sometimes he can get that scary, hard look and it’s hard to tell. I don’t think anyone has ever really figured out what’s going on behind that steel wall he puts up.”
    Or then again, maybe the woman could be honest.
    Tessa relaxed a little as she gave the bubbly stranger the once over. Charlie was taller than her—but who wasn’t—and had bright red hair that Tessa was pretty sure wasn’t natural. Her smile was sincere, and more than a little contagious.
    The strange truth was, Tessa found herself liking the woman almost immediately. If they had met at a party, Tessa could even see them becoming friends.
    “I wouldn’t worry about Rhys though,” Charlie went on. “If there’s one thing that man is, it’s loyal.”
    “To who?” Tessa asked.
    “As far as I can tell, it’s not a who as much as a what .” Charlie went back to the bag on the bed and started digging inside. “Rhys has a soft spot for the underdog, the little guy fighting against insurmountable odds.”
    That certainly sounded like her, especially last night. It explained why he’d risked his own skin to save hers.
    But Tessa didn’t need a champion right now. She needed a way out.
    “Yeah, but battling other people’s fights sounds like a good way to get yourself hurt…or worse,” Tessa said. Maybe if she could convince Charlie, she might be able to talk some sense into her friend .
    Charlie lifted her head. “You have no idea who saved your ass last night, do you?”
    Tessa blinked. She’d thought she did. “Some guy that works at a security firm.”
    “Rhys is a hell of a lot more than that,” Charlie said, her grin growing. “He’s ex-Special Forces. And trust me, that Special means something when it comes to Rhys.”
    “So, he’s a badass.” Tessa had already seen the proof of that. No regular Joe could have rescued her from Boyd’s compound.
    “It’s more