Read Reckless Heat: A Hostile Operations Team Prequel for Free Online Page B

’m confused when I wake up. It’s dark, but this isn’t my bed. I sit up, and my mouth feels like a desert. I can use some water. My head is throbbing, but not badly. It’s the Old Charter kicking in, of course, and I’m pissed that I had enough of that stuff to fuel a headache.
    I’m still fully dressed. I swing my legs over the side of the bed and sit for a second. It takes a moment, but I start to make out objects in the room. Stuffed animals. A small dresser with a mirror. A lamp on the bedside table and a pile of books.
    It occurs to me that the pleasant scent surrounding me is Evie’s. I’ve been lying on her bed, my face in her pillow, breathing in her shampoo for who knows how many hours.
    I shove myself to my feet and make my way from the tiny room and out into the hallway. There’s a night-light glowing softly. I keep going until I reach the living room.
    There’s a form on the couch and I know it’s Evie. She put me in her bed and took the couch. God knows what she told her mother. There was no need to tell the old man anything. He’s at a strip club or a dive bar and unreachable, guarantee it.
    “Evie,” I croak because my throat is so dry.
    She gets up instantly and comes to my side. Her fingers on my arm are cool. “Hey, you okay?”
    “Yeah. Just need something to drink.”
    I need to piss too, but I don’t tell her that. I know where the bathroom is. Hell, I know where the kitchen is. So why did I wake her?
    Because I want to hear her voice again. Because I want her to be awake with me so I don’t feel so alone.
    “Come on,” she says and leads me into the kitchen where she gets a glass, puts some ice in it, and adds tap water.
    I take it and drink it down. She fills it again while I say, “Be right back.”
    She knows where I’m going. When I return, she’s leaning against the sink, glass in hand. She gives it to me and I chug half of it. It’s cool and crisp with a slight taste of chlorine or whatever it is they add to the water in Rochambeau.
    “What did your mom say about this?”
    “Not much. She agreed that bringing you here was better than taking you home. She called and left a message on the answering machine in case your dad comes home. Just said you were staying with us tonight. No mention of drinking.”
    I rake a hand through my hair. “Shit, did I get you in trouble, Evie?”
    “No, I’m not in trouble. I didn’t drink anything, and Mama believes I’m old enough to make my own choices. She also believes I’ll make good ones, though I’m sure if I made a bad one, there would be consequences.”
    “She’s pretty cool.”
    “She is. How do you feel?”
    “Better now that I’ve had some water. But not great, no.”
    “Want something to eat?”
    Actually, I am kind of hungry. But I have a feeling there are some things I shouldn’t eat. Hamburgers. Greasy fried food. That sort of thing.
    “Got anything easy on the stomach?”
    “Cereal?”
    “Sounds great.”
    “Sit down and I’ll get it.”
    I sit at the small table near one window, and Evie goes to work pulling out a bowl, a box of cereal, and some milk. Then she brings the bowl over to me and I thank her. I can tell it’s Rice Krispies by the crackling sound.
    She sits down and yawns, and I feel a prickle of guilt that I woke her. But the scent of her shampoo is still in my nose, and I’m glad she’s here.
    “Sorry about, you know, what happened at the party.”
    “Which part?” she says, and the guilt rises a little higher.
    “All of it,” I say, figuring that’s the right answer. I remember that I tried to force her to leave, and then I remember dancing with her after shoving Jimmy away. I also remember letting Jeanine climb all over me and Evie chasing her off.
    Shit, I am a jerk.
    “It’s okay,” she says. “I ground the gears in your car and couldn’t get out of second for about a mile. I figure we’re even now.”
    I don’t even care about the car, but yeah, it kinda shocks me that