Unbroken by Sienna Valentine Read Free Book Online

with drunks and nutcases, with the occasional psychopath hidden in the mix.
     
    Stumbling out of the car and fumbling with her keys, she made it inside her security door as her taxi pulled away, anxious to return to a more affluent neighborhood.  The walls of the elevator on her way up to the seventh floor seemed to wobble just like in her dream, and for a moment she had to concentrate not to throw up.  Simon had a much higher tolerance for Jager Bombs than she did.  But it was so worth it.  She hadn't had that much fun in a long time. 
     
    Still smiling, Amber pushed open the door to her apartment and threw her purse down, kicking it closed with her foot and turning the lock as she laughed at memories of Simon trying to start up a karaoke session at the bar.  It seemed funny at the time, at least to them - but not as much to everyone else in the bar.  Now that she was starting to sober up, she could see how some of the other patrons had probably just found them annoying. 
     
    The quick nap in the cab had helped to push away most of her drunkenness, years of working in a bar and sneaking the shots that flirting customers had bought her gave her the ability to rebound fairly quickly after a night of drinking, even though she still often felt nausea and instability on her feet until the next morning.   
     
    Stumbling toward the bedroom to sleep the rest of it off, she stopped dead as she passed the couch.  "Joel!  What the fuck are you doing here?"
     
    The well built fighter lying on her couch didn't stir, his chest rising and falling steadily.
     
    Giving in to an overwhelming urge to sit, Amber plopped down onto the couch next to Joel's chest, causing him to bounce on the cushions and then snap awake.
     
    "What?  What's happened.  Where... oh.  Hi."  He shook his head, shaking off the remains of the deep sleep he'd just been pulled from.
     
    "I thought you weren't..." Amber paused as a wave of nausea fluttered through her stomach.  "...coming home tonight," she finished.
     
    "I know.  Look..." Joel started to say something and then trailed off.
     
    "Whatever," Amber said, smiling.  "I'm glad you came home.  I had the best time tonight.  I went out with Simon and he took me to a gay bar and it was so much fun oh my god.  We tried to sing on stage, well, it wasn't really a stage but there was this-"
     
    "Amber," Joel said, holding up his hand to stop her.  She paused, still smiling at him.  He was again quiet for a moment, lost in thought.  Does he know who Simon is?  Does he think I'm cheating or something?
     
    "Simon's just my gay friend," she explained.  "I wanted to go drinking tonight and he always goes drinking after work.  He works behind the bar with me.  He's so funny, you should totally meet-"
     
    Joel held up a hand again.  "I don't care about Simon," he said.  "I wanted to talk to you about something else."  Joel's eyes narrowed and he pursed his lips.  "It's about earlier.  I shouldn't have gone off like that.  I know you... I know you were just trying to help.  I know you aren't after money or anything.  I just... the one thing I learned from my parents was to never be in anyone's debt."
     
    He was trying to apologize, and Amber thought it was sweet until he mentioned his parents.   As soon as he did, she remembered the lie she had discovered earlier and she wrinkled her nose at him.  "Your parents?  You mean the ones that died years ago that you never want to talk about?"  Her resolution not to bring it up until she had time to think about it evaporated faster than the Jager bombs in front of Simon.
     
    Joel sat up on the couch, but he looked away.  "There isn't anything to say about them."
     
    "So you're still going with the story that they're dead?"
     
    Joel's head snapped around as he looked at her sharply, but he said nothing.  Her lips had a mind of their own.
     
    "I know you lied about them," she said.  "Simon and I looked them up."  Anger flared