Broken Soldier: A Novel Read Online Free Page A

easiest path through life and fall willingly into the grave. A woman like Emily, one with a real fire, a real passion, it made him feel alive in a way nothing had for six months.
    He looked up, realizing that she had asked him a question. “I’m sorry?”
    “I asked if you wanted another round.”
    He glanced at his glass, saw that it was empty. “Please.”
    The second round was followed by a third, and then a fourth, and somewhere along the way Emily mentioned that Gulliver’s had the best scotch selection in town. By the time they had finished a flight of samples, his head was swimming.
    “I think,” he blinked a couple times, trying and failing to clear his vision, “I think I should stop.”
    “Me, too,” Emily said. He wasn’t sure if her eyes were unfocused, or if it was just his own eyes failing him, but they had both had a little too much.
    He felt great.
    Better than he had since leaving for that last shura .
    Someone from the restaurant stopped by the table. “Can I call you folks a cab?”
    “I think that would be a good idea,” Emily said.
    Rafa nodded. He wasn’t driving home, that was for sure. “What part of the city are you in?”
    “Out west, up the mountain a bit.”
    “I’m out east.” He waved toward the bartender. “I’ll have him call a second cab.”
    “Put your hand down,” she said.
    He cocked his head. Was she inviting him to her place? “Are you... are you sure?”
    “Absolutely.”
    Rafa sucked in a deep breath. His stomach felt like it had butterflies in it, and he knew it wasn’t just the alcohol. He adjusted his right leg, feeling painfully aware of his deficiencies. How would she react if they...
    No, better not to think of it. One step at a time, Rafinha.

Chapter 6

    T RAFFIC  was light so late in the evening, so it didn’t take long to cover the few miles to Emily’s side of town. As the cab pulled in front of her apartment block, she suddenly doubted herself. He’d been wonderful at dinner, but was she really prepared to invite him upstairs?

    The cab eased to a stop and Rafa looked over. He reached across with his good left hand and set it on top of hers.  “Well, have a good rest of the evening. If you need help car shopping, perhaps you could call me?”
    Emily met his gaze and looked into those smoldering green eyes. The cab felt suddenly stuffy, as if someone had opened the door of an oven. “Do you... I... uh...” She had to break the contact just to form words. “I know it’s a giant cliché, but do you want to come up for a cup of coffee? Or a brandy?”
    “I would love to.”
    Emily remembered to breathe. She pushed some cash to the cabbie, then climbed out of the backseat. Her legs wobbled as she led him to the front of the building. She wasn’t sure exactly what she planned to do with him, but if it didn’t end with both of them naked for at least a couple hours, she was going to be very disappointed.

Chapter 7

    T
    HE apartment was modern and clean, an Ikea show room with an excess of bookshelves. Rafa wobbled over to the nearest one and skimmed through the titles while Emily went to the kitchen to start the coffee. Shelves of psychology texts, a long row of John Grisham and, tucked away at the bottom of a shelf, enough romance novels to catch even his mother’s eye.

    “You weren’t kidding about being a reader,” he called into the other room.
    “I was not. Cream or sugar?”
    “No, thank you.” He slipped around the leather sofa and took a seat on the end. He still wasn’t entirely sober. There was no television in the room. He wondered if there was one in the bedroom. No, better to not entertain thoughts of the bedroom. The boys at the barracks had talked about the “cup of coffee” being the last step before the bedroom, but he didn’t want to get ahead of himself.
    As if going back to her house after the second date wasn’t getting ahead of himself.
    Emily came in with two steaming mugs. She still looked amazing. The