The Farther I Fall Read Online Free PDF Page A

long past washed-up—who’d sat him down before Lucas was released.
    He had more than a few harsh truths to impart, and Lucas had listened with as good a grace as he could manage then—which wasn’t great. One of the things Tom had said was, “A man like you is never alone. Always someone around to party.” For better or worse, the people surrounding him now weren’t there to party, and he didn’t know yet how to respond to them.
    He turned his attention to Gwen and Craig. They faced each other, deep in conversation, ignoring him. Lucas studied Gwen’s profile. She narrowly missed “cute” by virtue of having a long, lovely neck and a strong jawline—but the slight upturn at the end of her nose and the faintest dusting of freckles (he’d bet she hated them) would make people continually underestimate her. He had. For all of his bitching to Craig earlier, she was picking things up faster than he’d expected.
    He’d been an ass this morning, and she’d overheard it. The embarrassment of it pricked at him, making him even more irritable.
    â€œWhen we get to D.C. on Tuesday, Marshall is going to try and skim as much as he can off the take. He always does,” Craig said. “And for the love of Christ, don’t let him give you a check. Cash only.”
    â€œBad?” asked Gwen. Her short, sensible nails pried at the upholstery on the back of the seat. There was a slight tremor in her left hand that Lucas hadn’t noticed before.
    â€œRubber wishes it could bounce that high,” Craig said. “We’d get paid eventually, but better to avoid the annoyance.”
    â€œRight. Anything else I should know about?”
    â€œYeah.” Craig raised his voice enough to make it clear he wasn’t speaking to Gwen alone. “Watch out for that bastard behind us. When he’s got that look on his face, it means he’s about to cause trouble.”
    Lucas pulled his attention away from Gwen to Craig. “What look? This is my face.”
    â€œExactly,” Craig said, and Gwen laughed. Lucas hated Craig right then, for being able to make her laugh.
    â€œHonestly, I was only trying to learn something about Sergeant Tennison,” Lucas said.
    â€œGwen,” she said. “How many times do I need to tell you?” She smiled blandly, and God he wished he had a way past the mask, to see something of the real her. “What would you like to know?”
    â€œWell, I know the basics,” Lucas said, settling back against the bench seat. “Sergeant Gwen H. Tennison, age thirty-f—or maybe I shouldn’t say. You were a medic, so you’ve got some medical training, but for some reason, you didn’t go to medical school. Grades not good enough? Or maybe you felt a rush of patriotism and wanted to serve Queen and country.” Being charming was so much easier when he was high. Sober, he was an asshole.
    Gwen glanced at Craig, then turned back to Lucas. Her eyes were flint-gray and infinitely patient, as if she’d listen to him for ages without showing him a thing. She wore the same faint hint of a smile, or maybe a suggestion of bared teeth. “I could dig up my transcripts for you, if you’d like.”
    Lucas smiled a slow, lazy smile. “That’s not necessary. You won’t be removing my appendix anytime soon, so I couldn’t care less about your academic qualifications.”
    â€œWhat do you care about, then?” Gwen asked.
    Lucas leaned forward and lowered his voice. “I care about the woman who was willing to practically fuck me in the middle of a dance floor. Where did she go, Gwen?” He took some satisfaction in the way she blushed.
    â€œShe’s a smart girl,” Gwen said. “She figured out if you spend too long around an arsehole, sooner or later you’re going to get shat on.”
    A chorus of snickers came from behind him, and he flushed. “Well,