Ghost Dance (Tulsa Thunderbirds Book 3) Read Online Free PDF Page A

was a walking billboard. “Beard is just beard.”
    “I doubt it. You gonna tell me your tattoos are just tattoos next? That they don’t mean anything?”
    “Tattoos have meaning.”
    “Yeah? What’s that one mean?” I nodded toward his hand.
    “It’s personal.”
    “Everything’s personal, Nazarenko.”
    “Dima,” he corrected me. “Or Dmitri, if you want.”
    “How about you answer a question, and then I’ll call you whatever the hell you want to be called?”
    “How about you stop asking stupid questions?”
    I gave him a sly grin over the top of my latte as I sipped. “Been asking them twenty-four years, if you ask my brother, and I haven’t stopped yet. I doubt you’ll have better luck than he has.”
    “Why do you torture me like this?”
    “Torture?” I winked. “If I really wanted to torture you, I’m sure I could find a much better way of doing it than having coffee in a public place.”
    “I need more coffee. To put up with you.” He shoved back his chair and stalked away with his empty cup, ignoring my laughter.
    I watched him as he stood in line, still as a statue. In annoyance, he crushed the cup. Then he tossed it in the nearest trash bin and crossed his arms, determinedly looking anywhere but at me. Once he’d finally received his order, he glared down at his cup and tromped back to our table.
    “What’s wrong?” I asked, still not hiding my amusement.
    He glared at me as he set the cup down between us. It read Sir Grouch-A-Lot this time.
    I snorted from laughing so hard.
    “Yeah, very funny,” he groused.
    At first, I hadn’t been sure I was doing the right thing when I’d blocked him in the locker room and dragged him along with me. It’d just been a gut feeling, something that felt right, after watching him the whole day.
    But now? Now I knew, without a doubt, that Sergei was right. Someone needed to needle at this man, to prod and dig and tease until he broke.
    And while it might amuse me to no end to poke this bear of a man, I wasn’t entirely sure I wanted to be the one to keep doing it. I’d been going at him all afternoon, and he still hadn’t budged. Not even an inch.
    Which told me he was dead set on staying exactly as he was.
    Lost.
    Lonely.
    Angry.
    Beating himself up over a past that could never be changed.
    I wasn’t sure I had the patience to drag him out of that, but I doubted I could back away now.
    His cell phone buzzed in his pocket, and he pulled it out. “Have to go,” he said a moment later. “Need you to take me back to my car.”
    “Something wrong?”
    He shook his head. “Hunter needs my help.”
    “Where? I can take you there.”
    “Just need my car. Fast.”
    “It’ll be quicker if we just go straight from here,” I pointed out. “I can take you back to your car when you’re done.”
    He glared some more, then chugged his second triple espresso. Something told me he wouldn’t sleep for a week. But then he backed away from the table and headed for the door.
    “Let’s go,” he said.
    I followed him, a grin stealing over my face. On my way out, I gave the barista a thumbs-up. I was probably opening up a can of worms I didn’t really want to get into, but at the moment, I didn’t care. It was way too much fun to spar with this guy.

 

     
     

    “YOU CAN GO home,” I said to London as she came to a stop in Hunter’s driveway. “Hunter can take me back to my car later.” The sun was already setting, anyway. No reason for London to stay out with me. Depending on how bad Harper’s current fit was, I might end up staying for hours. Besides, if London came in, Tallie would insist on adopting her like she did everyone, and I’d never get this woman out of my life. Hunter’s wife was relentless.
    London put the car in park and shut off the engine. “It’s all right. I don’t mind.”
    “So, no being subtle with you?” I groused, ripping open the door and climbing out. “I’m trying to tell you to leave.”
    “I’m not