Tanner's War Read Online Free PDF Page B

happened to Beth
...
    He was dimly aware of
Tamsin whispering in his ear, her tongue flicking around his neck, but it was
irritating instead of arousing. He shifted in his seat, just enough to break
the contact, and Tamsin moved back, pouting.
    "You can just say
you're not interested," she said, reaching for one of the shot glasses
Roxy had brought over. "I'm not a bunny-boiler."
    "Are you okay,
Alex?" Roxy asked, looking up from her conversation with Judge. Her dark
eyes glowed with genuine concern. That was Roxy. She had the biggest heart of
anyone he'd ever met.
    "He met a
girl," Judge said, kissing Roxy's hair. "Got himself all tied up
about her."
    Roxy and Tamsin let out
identical squeals of delight. "Alex! Are you in love?" Roxy teased.
    "Where is she? Who
is she?" Tamsin put a little distance between them, her manner changing
immediately from 'girl on the prowl' to 'girl ready to offer relationship
advice.'
    "It's not like
that." Tanner glared at Judge, who shrugged and took another shot of
tequila. "I figured you'd be more sympathetic."
    "If the girl's
come from a bad place, I got all the sympathy in the world," Judge said.
"But it doesn't sound like you know her story. Until you do, don't go throwing punches, that's all I'm saying."
    Tanner sighed and
slumped in his seat, feeling defeated. Tamsin patted his knee, in sympathy this
time, and offered him a shot of tequila. He took it gladly.

Chapter Five
     
    Beth awoke
disorientated and panicked, and it took her a second to remember where she
was—and more importantly, where she wasn’t. She sat up, kicking off the sheets
that now felt too heavy and restricting, and inhaled slowly. She wasn’t at the
Church. She wasn’t in the dilapidated house she shared with her family. Better
than that, she wasn’t in Abram’s house, Abram’s bed.
    She was free. Sort
of.
    It was dark outside and the storm
had passed. Beth padded to the window and threw it open, breathing in the
scents of wet grass and clean air. The world stretched out before her, shadowed
but within her grasp. That was a new experience. “So what now?” she whispered
into the night.
    There was no answer, of course. She
wondered if she should pray, but her prayers had never been answered before, so
why start now? Everything she’d achieved in life—which
wasn’t much at all—she’d achieved through her own efforts. She wasn’t really
sure whether she even believed in God, and she was almost certain she didn’t
believe in the vengeful, cruel God that Abram preached about. Fire and brimstone, blood and venom, sacrificed children … Who
would serve such a God willingly, lovingly? Who would turn to Him for
help?
    So she didn’t pray for guidance,
but she did hope for clarity. Direction. It would
come, if she looked for it, she was sure. It only took a moment to change
things. Wasn’t the very fact that she was here proof of that?
    She closed the window and went to
find the shower. Most of the noise she’d heard earlier, the pounding music and
muffled cries of pleasure, were dimmed now. She showered and went back to her
room without seeing anyone, which was a relief. After Rattler, she wasn’t sure
she wanted to meet anyone else, no matter what Tanner said. Something about him
had reminded her of Nathaniel and Abram. Some cruelness, some
arrogance. She guessed she couldn’t avoid the other people here forever,
but just a little longer would be nice.
    She put on the clothes Tanner had left
her, made the bed, and then wondered what to do next. Go find Tanner? Would he
still be here? The thought that he’d left her alone was a little unsettling,
but it didn’t last long. The way he’d behaved with her, right up until the
moment he’d kissed her hair and told her to sleep well, had been nothing less
than caring. She didn’t think he’d abandon her in a strange place without
saying goodbye. Her only lingering concern, that he was an ex-convict, she
pushed to the back of her mind. She shouldn’t