One Was a Soldier Read Online Free PDF Page B

glanced to where Poison was rocking back and forth on the floor. “Although it looks like you didn’t really need it.”
    She snorted. “Right. John McClane with boobs, that’s me.”
    Carter stared at her chest. “Who?”
    “ Die Hard, ” she and Flynn said at the same time. He dropped his eyes to the floor and smiled before looking back up at Carter.
    “You know this guy?” Flynn gestured toward the black soldier, who was sitting quietly, bent well forward to take the stress off his shoulders.
    “Never saw him before in my life.” Carter dragged his gaze away from Hadley’s chest. “But I know that dipshit.” He flicked a finger at Poison. “We worked together on the new resort before his ass got fired.” Carter shook his head, sending his blond hair swinging. “What a tool. I figured if he was against somebody, I’m for him.”
    “What’s his name?” Hadley asked.
    “Wyler McNabb.” Carter smiled winningly at her, displaying teeth as dazzling as the diamond studs in his earlobes. “What’s yours?”
    “Not Available.” She turned toward Flynn. “Will you find out what McNabb’s story is? I want to talk to her.” The brunette was hunkered down next to Nichols, arguing with him, from the tone and her body language, though Hadley couldn’t make out what they were saying.
    Hadley slid her baton back in her duty belt and squatted next to the girl. “Ma’am, I need to talk with you.” Hadley stood up. “Leave your friend for a minute, and let’s go over there where we can have some privacy.” She waited while the girl rose, then steered her toward the dark corner past the jukebox.
    “Am I in trouble?” Up close, she was older than Hadley had guessed. Flynn’s age, maybe; twenty-five or twenty-six.
    “Let’s try to figure out what happened before we start assigning blame. What’s your name?”
    “Tally. Tally McNabb.” She rubbed her hand over her IN MEMORIAM tattoo. “It’s really Mary, but nobody ever calls me that except my mom.”
    “Okay. Private McNabb?”
    “Specialist. But I’m out of the army now. It’s just plain Tally.”
    “Okay. Tally. Chief Warrant Officer Nichols there said he was talking to you before the fight started, but you two didn’t just meet tonight, did you?”
    Tally shook her head. “We served together.”
    “In Iraq?”
    Tally nodded.
    “Did Nichols come here looking for you?”
    Tally nodded. She looked at her feet. She was wearing red and white high-tops. “He wanted to see me again.”
    “Uh-huh.” Hadley glanced over to where Flynn had hauled McNabb off the floor and was questioning him. “Is that your brother, then?”
    Tally sighed. “My husband.”
    Oh ho ho . “Wait here.” Hadley crossed the floor, now decorated with blood spatters to go with the spilled beer, and gestured to Flynn. “Officer Flynn?”
    He laid a hand on the guy’s shoulder. “Sit down.” McNabb did so, groaning theatrically. “I’ll be right back. Don’t move.”
    Hadley retreated a few steps to make sure the guy couldn’t overhear them. Flynn closed in, towering over her. He was definitely taller than she had remembered. Either he had grown or she had been squashing him in her mind’s eye. “What is it?” he said.
    “What’s his story?”
    “He says he works construction for BWI and your girl over there’s his wife. He claims the black guy came into the bar and started hassling her. When he told him to back off, the guy swung on him.”
    Hadley nodded. “I got a slightly different take. The one on the floor is Chief Warrant Officer Quentan Nichols. Specialist Tally McNabb says they served together in Iraq and that Nichols came here because he, quote, wanted to see her again.”
    “Ah-hah.” Kevin sucked in his lower lip. “Yeah, that does put a different perspective on it. Whaddaya want to do?”
    She felt a flush of pleasure. He might be eight years her junior, but he’d been on the force for five of those years, and whatever they’d had him