Game of Love Read Online Free PDF Page B

wall. He took a deep breath and closed the gap between them, then lowered his voice. “You are not chaos, and I’m not saving you. You’ve never needed saving, Ellie.”
    Her chest rose and fell with each angry breath. “Right.”
    “Right.” He grabbed the suitcase and whipped it out of her hand. “But there’s no way in hell I’ll let you walk the streets after midnight with no clue as to where you’re going. And I don’t care if you fight with me about it, because I’m a friend, and that’s what friends do.”
    “Right.” She didn’t move.
    “Right?” Was she really agreeing with him?
    “Right, and that’s why Regina is watching you.”
    Dex whipped his head around. Regina and Mitch stood outside the bar watching the scene unfold. Damn it. What the fuck are they doing? Couldn't he have an hour to himself? The truth was, in game development and especially this close to the release date, no, he couldn’t have an hour to himself. Every Thrive employee counted on the release to be a success. He felt Ellie’s fingers prying his from the suitcase.
    “Ellie.” Her name was almost a whisper.
    She looked up at him with an expression that said, Don’t . She shifted her gaze to the dark alley beside the bar.
    “All it takes is one wrong person to drag you into a dark alley like that. Don’t make me worry. Please? I’ll walk you to your friend’s house.”
    She stood with her hand atop his for what seemed like an hour but in reality was only seconds; then she gave a barely there nod of her head, though her eyes clearly said, Whatever. Let’s just get out of here.
    Dex looked back at Regina and Mitch. “One hour,” he hollered.
    Mitch pointed at him, then steepled his hands in the gesture that they’d come to know to convey, Your place.
    He nodded, agreeing to meet them at his place in an hour; then he swung an arm over Ellie’s shoulder and finally breathed again, ignoring the rigidity that had once again claimed her body.
    “Let’s find your friend’s apartment.”

Chapter Five
    BY THE TIME they called information, tracked down Dina’s address, and reached her apartment, the sharp edge of Ellie’s buzz had softened. She never would have been able to decipher the directions if it weren’t for Dex. She was glad for his company, too, even if she had no idea how to handle her racing heart when he was around. She hadn’t remembered how alone a big city could make a person feel.
    The foyer of Dina’s apartment was barely large enough for Ellie and her suitcase. To her right was a cozy living room with just enough room to walk in front of the couch and put her feet up on the coffee table. To her left was the smallest—and maybe the messiest—kitchen she’d ever seen, and just beyond, a full bathroom. The door to the bedroom was off the living room and it was closed, with no light snaking out from under the crack and no signs of life behind it.
    “Do you think she’s here?” Dex asked.
    Ellie shrugged. Now facing the reality that she didn’t really know Dina at all, the nerves in her neck tightened. She reached up and rubbed the ache. What had she been thinking when she called Dina? They’d hung out with the same group of friends, having shared the same floor in the dorms. She’d seemed nice enough, and they’d often talked in the middle of the night, when Ellie couldn’t sleep and would hunker down on the couch in the recreation room. She knew then that Dina came out of her room those nights as a hint for the guys she’d picked up for one-night stands to take off, but she’d never carried that thought through to her decision about calling her for a place to stay. She’d been so damn desperate to leave Maryland that, in lieu of Dex, Dina had seemed to be her only option.
    “I don’t know. It’s awfully quiet. Maybe they went to his apartment after all.” Ellie set her suitcase on the coffee table, then flopped on the couch. “I’m sorry, Dex. I didn’t mean to make a scene in