Collision Course Read Online Free PDF

military, he hated the new setup
attaching women to Special Ops, a traditional male stronghold. Maybe he hated
women in general. Whatever, he’d made her life a living hell during her last
year in the Army. As if Afghanistan hadn’t been tough enough already.
    Back
home in Connelly—her life in pieces, her foundation knocked out from under
her—she made a strong effort to keep her parents from seeing how destroyed she
was or how much she felt like a displaced person. Her one outlet for her anger
and pain turned out to be the time she spent each morning on the gun range.
What did it say about her that her two best friends were her firearms?
    “I’d
hate to be either of those guys you’re shooting at,” a voice from behind her
joked.
    Casey
jerked at the sound, almost dropping her gun. Her nerves were less than stable
and anything could bring out the fear she tried to keep so well hidden. But
when she lifted her gaze from the table, she saw the grinning face of Ira
Guillory, the owner of the shooting range, and relaxed. Her father’s friend,
he’d known her since Doug McIntyre had first brought her out here and taught
her about guns.
    “Trust
me, Ira, you’d have to try extra hard to be like either of those assholes.”
    “Tsk,
tsk. Such language from such a pretty woman.” He chuckled.
    She
grinned at him. “Bad habit I picked up hanging out with men.”
    “So.” He
sat on the empty bench at the next table. “Now that you’re out of the Army and
back home, what’s next for you? I hear you spent the last year working with
Special Ops. Nothing around here that exciting.”
    Yes.
What is next for me? Any jobs for women who are ex-Army with Special Ops
experience, toting around a badly crushed heart? Oh, and don’t forget a college
degree with majors in political science and criminal justice and six
disillusioning years with the FBI.
    Tired of
the suffocating federal bureaucracy, she’d quit and enlisted in the Army,
disappointed to discover the same bureaucratic layers she’d run away from. Now
she had skills she didn’t know what to do with and a serious issue with trust.
    So where
did she go from here? A question she asked herself daily. She felt like a
balloon waving in the breeze, tilting one way then the other, unable to find a
safe place to land. Some days she was disgusted with her inability to move
forward, with the unsettled emotions constantly plaguing her.
    “Casey?”
    Ira’s
voice cut through her reverie.
    “What?”
She blinked. “Sorry. Must have taken a short vacation here.”
    “I
asked, what’s next in your life?”
    “I
haven’t thought that far ahead.” She finished picking up the discarded brass
casings, trying to reassemble her fragmented mind. “Thought I’d take a little
time and figure out what I wanted.”
    Ira
cocked his head. “Don’t know if you’re interested, but the sheriff could use
some more volunteer deputies. And you’ve got a good law enforcement
background.”
    Casey
refrained from pointing out to him the world of difference between operating on
a national level and handling crime in the local area. Nothing much happened in
Alvarado County, population twenty-five thousand, anyway. But with the budget
for the sheriff’s office stretched thin, volunteers made up half the deputy
roster.
    “Yeah?”
She shrugged, trying to appear nonchalant. Maybe this opportunity was the kind
of thing she needed to get herself out of her rut. At least she had the skill
set for it. “Thanks for the tip. I might check into it.”
    Ira
grinned, a teasing light in his eyes. “We got a new sheriff since you’ve been
gone. Don’t know if you’ve met him yet. Ben Russell?” He winked. “Good looking
guy.”
    Casey
sighed. “We’ve met. He eats at the Half ’n Half a lot. Meanwhile, I need to get
home and change. It’s about to get busy at the restaurant.” She gave Ira a
smile. “Nice talking with you.”
    “Same
goes. You come on out here anytime. No charge.” He