Chronic (Se7en Deadly SEALs Book 2) Read Online Free PDF Page A

floor, and stared at this tiny baby in her arms, doing my best to blink back tears.
    “Her name is Cherie Esperanza. Do you want to hold her?” Annie’s kind eyes focused on me, as if she understood me. Or maybe the emotions in the room were causing me to read way more into this situation.
    Esperanza —hope in Spanish. Could meeting this little baby be a sign for me not to lose hope? I didn’t want to hold Cherie, not because I felt cold and emotionally dead inside, though that was part of it. I didn’t want to cradle her, see her cute little button nose, lips the shape of a bow. One coo and I’d have a breakdown. Not here, not now. Not when I’d come so far to forget.
    Before I could object, Annie placed the precious baby in my arms. I held in a breath as the fresh new baby smell wafted through my nostrils. One lone tear escaped from my eye before I could stop it. This beautiful baby forced me to savor living in the moment. A lump grew in the back of my throat and for the first time since I’d transformed, I was angry. Angry at the man who ruined my life and destroyed my relationship with Grant. Angry at the drunk driver who killed my parents. Angry at whoever killed Tiffany. And frankly, angry that Joaquín was stupid enough to put himself in a situation like that. I had to believe this life detour was part of my path and that one day, I’d be lucky enough to have my own family. Joaquín would be free, he would rebuild his life and so would I.
    Cherie started squirming. I didn’t want to let her go—I held her so tight, and reluctantly handed her back to her mother.
    “I’m gonna try to put her down,” she said in a whisper. “I’ll join you all out in the backyard when I’m done.”
    The blonde with the dancer’s body left the room with me, while the other two women stayed behind with Annie. Once outside the house, the blonde approached me. “Sorry, I didn’t introduce myself back there. I’m Sara. How long have you known Grant?”
    I studied her face; she looked familiar. “Only a short time. He is good man. Who are you together with?”
    She laughed. “Kyle.”
    Whoa. I’d known Kyle for over four years. He’d never had a girlfriend, ever. Such a player. I was intrigued though that he possibly could’ve found whatever he was looking for.
    Outside, Sara joined Tori and Dara at the patio table. Pat was grilling while that surfer dude, and the Marine helped him out.
    I made my way over to Grant and his buddies—Kyle, Pat, Joe, Vic, and Paul. Grant put his arm around me. “Ksenya, this is my buddy Joe.”
    “Nice to meet together with you.” I offered my hand. Joe looked the same—hulking arms, long brown hair, brown eyes. But he almost seemed too good to be true.
    Kyle winked at me. “I have an announcement. This beautiful doll has just been hired as the new bartender at The Pickled Frog. I know you’ll all miss Vic’s ass moping around, but I’ll just keep him in the kitchen since no one wants to look at him.”
    Vic’s lips widened into a grin. “That’s not what Sara said last night.”
    All the men just laughed. I held back my own giggle, a tinge of sadness creeping over me. I used to love listening to Joaquín and his buddies razz each other.
    Vic was sexy as all hell, dark skin, glinting eyes, dimples for days, full-sleeved tattoos. Since his divorce a few years ago, I’d never seen him with another woman. He didn’t seem like the stripper-loving type. Then again neither had Joaquín or Grant.
    My attention turned to Paul. Totally stood out from the rest of the men—short brown hair, no tattoos. If you ignored his cut body, he could easily pass as a Wall Street banker. He had money, was educated at Annapolis, a classy officer type. The party Tiffany died at was held at his in-laws home.
    Maybe an unknown person had been at the party. I couldn’t imagine any of these men, killing Tiffany. There had to be another explanation.
    But I had to remember that no matter how these men