Total pages in book: 114
Estimated words: 109205 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 546(@200wpm)___ 437(@250wpm)___ 364(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 109205 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 546(@200wpm)___ 437(@250wpm)___ 364(@300wpm)
“I see Jack doesn’t care much for poker night,” I said as I took off my jacket and put it over the back of a chair.
Hunter looked over at the sleeping dog and smiled. No wonder the bastard was single, with the way he looked at that dog. No woman would ever be able to compete.
Turning back to the table, Hunter said, “You know everyone except for Mitch Hathaway.”
A bigger guy around our age stood, and I instantly saw the SEAL trident tattooed on his arm.
“SEAL?” I asked as I shook his hand.
“Damn right, I was. I’ve heard about you, O’Hara. You had quite the reputation. One of the best snipers the Navy has ever seen,” Mitch said with a grin.
Hunter glanced between me and Mitch. “You didn’t tell me you knew Aiden,” Hunter said, a confused look on his face.
Mitch sat and picked up his cards. “Yeah, well, some SEALs you know, some you don’t.”
I turned and looked at Kyle, Adam, and Bishop. They were all gaping at me, but I chose to ignore the looks on their faces.
“Kyle, Adam, Bishop. Good seeing you again.”
They all nodded and gave their replies, but I could still feel the way they looked at me with a new set of eyes.
Finally, Bishop broke the silence in true Bishop fashion. “Christ, are you some sort of fucking hero we don’t know about?”
I smirked and sat down. “If I told you, Bishop, I’d have to kill you.”
Everyone laughed except for him.
Hunter sat down and dealt a new round as Adam brought out cold beers from the kitchen after putting the ones I had brought into the fridge.
“How’s being back home, Aiden?” Adam asked as I popped open a beer and took a drink.
I looked down at my cards and shrugged. “It’ll take some getting used to.”
“You’ll go fucking crazy at first,” Mitch said, and I looked up at him.
“Yeah. I imagine so,” I replied, taking a quick look at Hunter, who didn’t seem to be paying any attention. “What BUD/S class did you graduate in?” I asked Mitch.
He moved a few cards around in his hand before he answered.
“You know Pete Langer?” I asked. “He was in that same class.”
Mitch looked up. “Yeah. I knew Pete. He was a good guy, hated hearing about what happened.”
I nodded.
“What happened to him?” Kyle asked.
When I didn’t answer, Mitch did. “He was shot by a sniper during an op in South America.”
“South America?” Bishop asked. “Shit, all you ever hear about is Afghanistan and the Middle East. You never hear about other places.”
I threw two cards down, and Hunter gave me two new ones. “There’s evil everywhere, Bishop,” I said. “Somalia, Middle East, Asia. Even here in the States. How long have you been out?” I asked Mitch.
“Three years. Decided I had enough of living that life and got out. I heard you took one in the knee that ended your SEAL career. I’m really sorry, man.”
I glanced up and gave him a quick head bob. It was time to change the subject. “So, how come none of you assholes are settled and married yet?” I asked as I looked at Hunter, Kyle, Adam, and Bishop. Then, with a jerk of my chin at Bishop, I added, “I get why you’re no longer married.”
Everyone laughed again except Bishop who shot me the finger.
“Adam here is engaged,” Hunter said as everyone started making girly sounds directed at Adam. He laughed and took it good-naturedly.
“You jerks are just jealous I found someone,” he countered.
“What about you, Hunter?” I asked. “I always thought out of all of us, you’d be the one to settle down first.”
“He’s married to Jack there,” Kyle said with a chuckle. Jack lifted his head, took in everything, decided there wasn’t anything interesting going on, and closed his eyes again.
“What about Arabella? You always did have a thing for her,” I said. Hunter gave me a look that said he wasn’t in the mood to talk about Arabella.
Adam cleared his throat and spoke. “She’s pretty much kept to herself since leaving college early. Doesn’t date or anything like that. The last year, though, she’s been hanging out with Willa more.”
“Willa?” I asked.
Kyle nodded. “Yeah, she and Willa sort of connected after Willa left Brian. They’ve become pretty good friends.”
I turned and took aim at Kyle. “What about you, dude, no special someone in your life?”
Kyle laughed. “Hell, I’ve had my heart broken one too many times. The last thing I need or want is a woman in my life. I may end up getting a K9 partner like Hunter here to fill all my lonely nights.”
“Instead of that blow-up doll you have?” Bishop asked on a bark of laughter.
“Fuck no,” I said, laughing. “Dude, tell me you don’t have a blow-up doll.”
Kyle shot Bishop a dirty look. “I don’t. Bishop is just jealous because the only thing that gets his dick hard is a fucking Christmas tree sapling.”