Only Her (A K2 Team Novel) Read Free Page B

workday, in two weeks, three weeks max, he’d be back in shape.
    The getting his act together? Whole different story. At least, he could admit his head wasn’t where it should be. That was a good thing, right? You couldn’t fix a problem if you didn’t acknowledge it. The nightmares weren’t helping, nor was not sleeping. Damn strange how he had never had a problem with either of those things until he had opted out of the SEALs.
    It was like as long as he was doing his job of killing people, he was good with it. He’d followed the ROE to a T, and those Rules of Engagement had been frustrating at best and downright stupid at worst. Too many times, he’d let a man live who he knew down to his toes was a terrorist, because in a military court his only defense for the kill would have been, “I just knew.”
    Since that would have meant go straight to jail, do not pass go, he’d not pulled the trigger of his sniper rifle without verifiable proof that the terrorist lined up in his sights actually was a terrorist. Maybe what haunted him was the Marine private who had been killed because Cody hadn’t acted on his instincts. If there was one he knew of, how many other brothers in arms had died because of a bad guy he’d let live?

    Riley glanced in her rearview mirror to see the truck behind her turn into the driveway across the street as she pulled into hers. Her mystery man climbed out of a silver pickup with dark tinted windows. She waved as she walked toward her door, and he responded with a barely discernable nod. Right, got it. Not going to be friendly. Probably for the best, because if sexy mystery man crooked his finger, she’d likely head right for him like the sex-starved woman she was.
    All her energy and time the past year had gone into getting her veterinarian clinic up and running so she could pay off her student loans. No time to schedule sex into the appointment book, not even a ten-minute quickie. Before Sexy Mystery Man popped up, she’d not really given sex—or the lack thereof—much thought, being that she was worn out by the time she dragged herself home each night.
    But she was thinking of it now—most especially the lack thereof—since her nameless neighbor had stood on his porch that morning, showing off a six-pack that merited serious admiration. Damn him, anyway.
    Cats fed, a beer in the freezer, Riley took a quick shower, then slipped on panties and a robe. Although it had grown dark outside, she didn’t turn on any lights in her bedroom, but she did open her window. No sound of a guitar, so more disappointed than she’d expected to be, she retrieved her beer-turned-to-slush and spent the next hour trying to catch up on her bookkeeping.
    It had only been the month before that she’d finally felt like there was light at the end of the tunnel where her income versus expenses was concerned. Progress, gotta love it . Arthur, the most affectionate of her three felines, had curled up on her lap while Merlin perched on the back of a chair watching Pelli bat a ball around on the floor.
    Arthur had been the catalyst for giving a lost girl the idea of becoming a veterinarian. Having bounced from foster home to foster home, living with strangers who didn’t really want her, she had befriended their pets. Arthur was the only one that had actually belonged to her, a gift from her last foster mother. He had entered her life during a time she thought of as her Dark Days. Even though a cat, he had been her friend and confidant when she’d needed one the most.
    When, as a kitten, he’d refused to eat, she’d checked out books from the library on the care of felines. Those first books had led to more complicated ones, and soon she was devouring any animal books she could get her hands on, including medical textbooks.
    “You’re my sweet boy, aren’t you?” She scratched under his chin, causing him to purr. Yeah, life was pretty good these days, even if lacking in the sex department.
    The bills paid,