Make Mine a Marine Read Online Free PDF Page A

her mind. And LadyTech.
    But Brodie's scrutiny and analysis, done without revealing his opinions, what he thought of her, or even whether she was helping any, tugged at a memory she had purposefully buried. His use of the term “lab rat” had struck a little too close to home. Some demons from the past deserved to stay there. BJ knew she'd have to tell him everything, sooner or later.
    She preferred later.
    She swallowed her retort and answered another question about her home security system.
    Brodie seemed to think the place was a tactical nightmare. He wanted to know why there wasn't any human backup to her fully automated system at the gates. He advised her that the trees gave excellent cover to anyone who climbed over the perimeter wall.
    He listened to her explanation about the workings of the motion-detector system she had installed, but he kept coming back to the concern that automated systems could fail. She needed physical and mechanical backup as well.
    “You don't have a lot of faith in modern technology, do you?” she said without looking back.
    He followed her into the kitchen. “If someone wants to get to you, they'll find a way.”
    She put two fingers to her mouth and whistled through her teeth. A high-pitched bark answered her immediately. “If it makes you feel any better, I do have a guard dog. Duke! It's me, sweetie. Here, boy!”
    A heartbeat later, a miniature black missile shot through a flap in the back door and hurtled itself at BJ. With familiar devotion, she dropped to her knees to scratch in the pits of Duke's bouncing legs and lowered her face to accept his wet, welcoming kisses.
    “Your guard dog is a poodle?”
    The voice rumbled from above like thunder, shifting the dog's attention to Brodie. The lionhearted fluff ball growled in his throat, planting himself squarely between Brodie and his mistress, barking and growling, lunging toward Brodie's boot, then pulling back. The tiny thing bared his teeth and stood ready to defend BJ against the strange giant.
    “Duke! Bad dog.” She scooped the dog up in her arms and stood, surprised by his reaction to Brodie. Duke stretched his neck and nearly jumped out of her hands. Brodie retreated a step and Duke quieted his yapping to a low vibration BJ could feel shaking his ribs. She shook her head, perplexed. “I'm sorry. I've never seen him act this way before. He's usually putting on a show to get attention or a treat, not attacking my guests.”
    Brodie looked first at the growling dog and then at her. “You rely on that for protection? Damn it, BJ, it's hardly as big as my foot.”
    BJ's chin jutted out defiantly at the insult. “ 'It' is a he, and he sounds an alarm better than anything I could invent. Duke's big where it counts the most, in his loyalty and in his heart.”
    Brodie pointed a finger at the dog. “He's just a little noisemaker.”
    On cue to illustrate the point, Duke's growl increased its intensity. He shocked BJ by snapping at Brodie's outstretched hand. Brodie dodged the sharp little teeth.
    “You need more backup than that. He could be taken out just as easily as your computer systems. Technology and puppy dogs can be dismantled.”
    His callous observations spurred her to escape. Snitching a bite of hamburger from the pizza, she fed it to Duke and carried him to the back-porch door where she set him down. “Duke, room.”
    She watched proudly as the well-trained dog reluctantly obeyed his mistress by crawling through the door flap onto the porch. Then she turned on Brodie. “Do you have something against pets? Or is Duke just one more thing about me that you want to pick apart and criticize?”
    Brodie didn't apologize. “The dog's heart is in the right place. But he's hardly a deterrent to the mastermind we're up against.”
    “We don't know what we're up against.”
    “Precisely.” He leaned forward slightly, casting an ominous shadow over her. “Don't be lured into a false sense of security, BJ. You have to