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

looks at the theatre or a fancy restaurant. Scowling at her short, unpainted nails, she could never compete with glamour like that. She was a mom first and foremost and then a teacher. Expensive clothes and jewels were not a requirement.
    She sounded defensive and she didn’t mean to. Her decision to adopt Alex and become his mother had been the absolute right one.
    “Cal is a good man.” Charlotte reached out and patted Mika’s hand. “You told him to go, Mika. You told him to go on to Chicago and that you would follow. You didn’t. You strung Cal along for over a year and stayed here in the end. If anyone has a reason to be bitter…well, it isn’t you.”
    “He could have come back,” Mika whispered, her heart hurting at the memory that still had such power over her emotions. “For the longest time I kept hoping he would.”
    Charlotte shook her head and sighed. “He couldn’t come back. You both took sledgehammers to each other’s hearts. Neither of you hold the moral high ground here. Maybe it’s time to forgive each other and start again.”
    Her friend was actually serious. “Start again? Are you suggesting that Cal and I date or something? That’s absurd.”
    “I wasn’t suggesting any such thing but obviously you’re thinking about it.” Charlotte wore a delighted expression. “I was just saying you could pretend you were meeting him for the very first time. But if you want to ask him out then by all means go for it. I bet he’d say yes.”
    That was scarier than anything.
    *     *     *
    A POKER GAME with Jon and his friends seemed like a great way for Cal to spend Friday night. It had been a long, tension-filled week with Mika and he needed the break. She’d been frosty when he’d tried to engage her in conversation and honestly he was exhausted. He’d tried to put the past behind them and stay in the present but she wasn’t cooperating.
    Jon’s condo in Virginia Beach was the typical bachelor pad, sparsely decorated except for photos of him and his girlfriend Ali. He probably spent most of his time at her place by the looks of things.
    The group was gathered in the kitchen taking a break and diving into the boxes of pizza that had just been delivered. Cal bit into a slice before knocking back a shot of whiskey, feeling the burn all the way to his gut.
    It was exactly what he’d needed to relax and unwind.
    Zane, Rick, and Chris were laidback and didn’t mind losing a few bucks in a card game so they were a-okay with Cal, although it was clear he was the odd man out. The four men knew each other so well from their years as active duty SEALs they barely had to even speak to each other. It reminded Cal of how it had been during those early years in the FBI when camaraderie had been more important than politics.
    Jon slapped Cal on the back and refilled his whiskey glass. “How are you getting settled in? It’s got to be a real culture shock going from Chicago to a little town like Applewood.”
    Cal didn’t gulp the amber colored liquid this time, sipping at it instead. Jon had offered to let him spend the night if he had a few too many but he’d rather sleep in his own bed.
    “It’s going fine but yes, it is a change. Applewood rolls up the streets about nine o’clock on the weekends and nobody locks their door. I’d forgotten any place could be like that.”
    Danger had become second nature to Cal these last several years, always looking over his shoulder. He was only now beginning to lose the paranoia that accompanied deep undercover work. It had kept him alive but now he had no need of it.
    “You got a love a place like that,” Rick chuckled, grabbing another slice of pizza. “The world is a dangerous place and yet they have no idea. I hope they can hold onto that innocence awhile longer.”
    “Me too, although I’m not sure how much longer I’ll be there. Mom’s feeling better every day and honestly Dad should just retire and close shop.”
    Jon frowned. “If