Hot SEALs: Discarded Heart (Kindle Worlds; Danger Incorporated Book 2.5) Read Online Free PDF Page A

has in mind.”
    Alex kicked at the table leg, his lower lip protruding. “You’re gonna say no, aren’t you?”
    “If you sulk like that? Absolutely. Act like a big boy and I’ll treat you that way. Now put that lower lip back before a little birdie perches on it and builds a nest.”
    Her teasing wrangled a smile from her son and she patted him on the back and pressed a kiss to his forehead. “Give me five minutes to get my things together and then we’ll go get pizza. Why don’t you go say goodbye to Doris?”
    Alex skipped off and passed Cal coming the other way, his toolbox in his hand, looking exhausted. Hardening her heart, she stood up a little straighter and crossed her arms over her chest.
    “What do you think you’re doing, Cal? You should have talked to me first.”
    *     *     *
    MICHAELA’S CHEEKS WERE red with anger and he couldn’t say he blamed her. The whole situation wasn’t ideal but he’d been unable to turn Alex down. He held up his hands in a sign of surrender.
    “Mea culpa, Mika. I should have talked to you first but he kind of cornered me. How do you say no when he looks up at you with those puppy dog eyes? Shit, I didn’t want him to cry or something.”
    She huffed and began to roll up the sketches, her lips pressed together in a thin line. “I’m the mom and sometimes that means doing things that don’t make me popular. This has put me in a difficult situation. Can’t you see that?”
    Cal placed his toolbox on the table and leaned forward so he could see her pissed off expression. She’d always had a head of steam but it usually didn’t last too long.
    “I can see your point. But let me ask you a question… Are you upset because you don’t want me to spend time with Alex? Or are you upset because you don’t want to spend time with me?”
    Mika opened her mouth to answer and then snapped it shut. Her hands were visibly shaking and he felt a twist in his gut that he was the cause. He’d meant it when he told his father that he didn’t want her to be stressed and hurt by his presence. It was time they hashed out all the pain and recriminations and moved on with their lives.
    “This is not about me. This is about a little boy. All I need is for him to get attached to you and then you leave. He’s had enough of that in his life.”
    She’d wrapped her arms around her torso as if she needed protection from him. Some kind of shield to keep him at arm’s length. She didn’t need it. Their past was barrier enough.
    “I’m not trying to hurt your son, Mika. He started talking to me.”
    “He’s curious about a lot of things but I don’t indulge him when he wants to play with matches or knives.”
    Her anger was already starting to abate, never able to hold a grudge. She’d been grasping at straws anyway in her attempt to paint him as the villain.
    “I’ll gladly take my share of the blame here, Mika. Most of it, in fact. But not all.”
    Her fingers curled around her large leather purse as she stuffed the sketches inside. “You make me so angry I can’t think straight. I’m normally the most placid person anyone could ever know but a few minutes in your company and I’m a total bitch. I don’t think it’s healthy, honestly.”
    Placid? Since when could Michaela Adams be called placid of all things? She’d been a firecracker with a snarky mouth when he’d known her.
    “Why would you even want to be called that insipid word? Hell, that’s not the woman I knew. The Michaela I loved had fire and passion. She cared about people and causes. She was brave and strong. She sure as shit wasn’t placid.”
    “I am strong. I’ve just grown up—something you might want to try. My life isn’t about just me anymore. Unlike you.”
    Another dig at his solitary lifestyle. He wasn’t going to bite. Not tonight.
    “I’m tired of arguing with you. We never get anywhere and simply run laps, saying the same things over and over. When you’re ready to have an