Warrior (Navy SEALs Romance Book 5) Read Free Page A

take note of the street lights. There was plenty of light out, even if was pretty late. His only choices were to walk past the car that had Misha so on edge, or to cut her walk short and go back the way they’d come.
    Luckily, he didn’t have to make that choice. The driver’s side door opened and a small figure got out, illuminated by the car’s interior light just long enough for Mike to tell it was a well-dressed woman. She walked around the vehicle, crouched down low, and pressed the screen of her cell phone.
    “Everything okay?” Mike asked as he and Misha approached. He chanced a look down at his dog and saw that she was now more relaxed, even though she sniffed at the woman repeatedly.
    “What? Oh, yes. It’s just my tire,” the woman said, backing up noticeably and positioning herself so the car was between them. Mike smiled, feeling a stab of sympathy for what it must be like to be someone of her stature and in her situation.
    Her smile faltered as soon as she recognized him.
    “Oh, sorry. I didn’t mean to just pounce on you like that. I’m Michael, and I work for SEArch&Rescue. I noticed your car is stopped here, and it’s probably not the best time of night to be sitting this close to the boardwalk.”
    Emily smiled, biting back her anger. “Yeah, I’ve been meaning to get the tires changed, they’re past due for it, but things have been pretty hectic at work.”
    “Tell me about it!” he answered with a good-natured laugh. “You must work long hours if you’re just now headed home.”
    “Are you serious?” she demanded, staring back at Michael with an angry look. Michael furrowed his brow, trying to figure out what had started her misplaced anger. She watched him intently, then realized she was hidden in the shadow of a large palm tree. Emily stepped to the side and held her arms out comically so he could get a good look.
    “Oh…”
    “Yeah, oh. As in, ‘oh, there’s a really good reason I never even texted you to say I’m not interested, but thanks for the dinner.’ Is that what you meant by oh?” she asked, reminding him of their one and only date a few months ago.
    “Sorry about that… I just, I didn’t think you were all that interested in me. You actually seemed pretty pissed at having to be there.”
    “I was pissed! I’d been arm-twisted into a date with someone who was supposed to be exactly my type, and instead I show up to find a guy who seemed pretty put out that his ‘perfect girl’ was an intellectual type. You clearly look like you prefer your women greased up and wearing a bikini!”
    “Whoa, that’s hardly fair. You don’t know anything about my type,” he argued, but even he had to admit that he hadn’t been the most open-minded person on that date.
    “Really? Well, whatever your type is, I’m obviously not it since you didn’t bother texting to even see if I got home okay. Which as you can see from the car I can afford on an associate professor’s salary, might have left me on the side of the road… again.”
    “I’m sorry. You’re right. But I’m here now, and I’m happy to take a look.” Michael smiled peaceably and Emily gestured to the car for him to go ahead.
    Mike crouched down to look at the tire. He ran his fingers over the surface until he found a protruding piece of thin wire. “Yup, these things are so worn the steel belt is coming through. You’re lucky it was just a slow leak; this could have caused a serious accident. I hope your other tires aren’t this bad off?”
    “Well, maybe just a little?” Emily replied, cringing slightly in embarrassment.
    “You know, if it’s a money thing, the city garage has a program…”
    “No, it’s not that, I promise!” she interrupted with an embarrassed laugh. “Really, I just haven’t had the time. I’ve started a new job, and it’s not going really well yet, and with the hours I’m working I haven’t had time to take it in. All the shops are closed by the time I leave