Enemy Lines Read Online Free PDF Page B

of course you can't go on an op hung over."
    Connor didn't move a muscle. He still didn't quite understand.
    "Here," she said taking his arm. "You sit here." She guided him into the chair. He sat and noticed his arm tingled where her touch had been.
    "This is not Sovereignty issued auditory enjoyment." He said a bit dazed.
    Lawton laughed! "No! Hell no, it's not!" She laughed again and Connor felt his face break into a genuine smile.
    Lawton saw that the smile almost reached his eyes.
    "All of their music worships the Sov as if it were a deity. This player belonged to my great grandfather. I was able to power it through an old model computer. Each song is a poem set to music. This band is called Bravery. Shh! I love this part, listen." She mused.
    Lawton had no idea just how closely Connor was paying attention.
    "Does the song have a name?"
    "Mm-h mm, Believe."
    Connor nodded then got a whiff of the powerful drink Lawton had just poured over the ice in his glass. "Wow, what is that stuff?"
    "Relaxation juice."
    His next smile was automatic and he wondered where it came from. "Relaxation juice?"
    "Yep." She hitched her dress up enough to reveal her moon white thigh and the blade that was strapped around it.
    Connor cocked an eyebrow at her. She was sexy as all hell - her stance, her posture. She unsheathed the knife and brought it into the tall can on the table.
    "Fruit punch from the old days. This cost me a good barter." With that Lawton poured a generous portion of it into Connor's glass then into her own before returning the blade to its sheath and sitting in the seat at the table next to his.
    "You're going to share it … with me?" He couldn't understand her, not at all.
    "I figured it out Connor. We're both fucked no matter what we do. And I'm not spending my last days on earth angry or crying." She baffled him further.
    "They don't allow…" Connor began.
    "Yeah, I know. You're a big guy, you'll be able to handle it - just go easy. Not too much at once or it'll make you sick as hell. Now," Lawton continued. "An old custom is to cheer or make a toast - you know say something important or meaningful."
    "I don't know what to say." Connor had always been very confident, but Lawton completely undid him.
    "Well … 'To the end of the world' is depressing as fuck." Lawton said thinking out loud.
    "How about the name of that song from Bravery?" Connor suggested.
    "Believe?" Lawton was surprised at his thoughtfulness.
    Connor nodded, "Believe."
    "I like it." Lawton lifted her glass and Connor followed her lead.
    "Believe," they both said in unison and Lawton tapped her glass onto Connor's and they each took a long pull.
    "Holy shit!" He exclaimed. "It's like liquid fire!"
    Lawton started laughing and despite the pang of guilt that squeezed at his guts, Connor laughed too. He took another drink from his glass.
    His laughter made Lawton's anger mellow. She saw him in a different way - a scared little boy - playing soldier to keep his sister alive.
    Connor knew Lawton was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen or known. She thought and fought like a warrior, played with children, said whatever the hell she felt, and was just as stunning when she was angry and full of fury as she was when she was laughing. Oh, and her body … but he knew if he ever attempted to reach out and touch her, she would flutter away on the wind like a butterfly.
    "Let's play truth or dare."
    Connor almost choked on his drink. "Okay,"
    "Full disclosure, Connor." She warned.
    "What does that mean in the game?"
    "It means whatever is asked has to be answered truthfully - no holds barred. And anything we are dared to do - we have to do."
    Damn she was cocky… He thought admiringly.
    "I'l l go first. I'll go easy on you this round." She teased.
    "How old are you?" Lawton started with a truth.
    "Twenty-two,"
    "See, that wasn't so bad. You're turn."
    "How old are you?" He asked.
    "Twenty. What were your parent's names?"
    "Phillip and Glenna." He smiled at