Delta Stevens 2: Storm Shelter Read Online Free Page B

street. Give Megan some time to get used to the fact that you risk your life every night out there.”
    “A year isn’t enough?”
    “Maybe for you. don’t put her on your timeline.”
    Delta thought about this before responding. “I just want her to understand why I love what I do. I don’t think she gets it.”
    “Can you blame her? Not many people understand why someone would want to risk their lives for people they don’t even know. And, considering her own checkered past, she’s going to need some time to adjust. don’t rush her, for God’s sake. She’s the best thing that’s happened to you in years.”
    Delta studied her nails. “She is, isn’t she?”
    “Yes, and she’s trying to understand why you spend twelve hours a day at this crazy job.”
    Delta broke into a grin. “It is crazy, isn’t it?”
    Connie nodded and absent-mindedly started to braid her long black
    hair over her shoulder. “Very crazy. And now that she isn’t in the middle of any craziness herself, she might not understand why you want to be. But, Del, she loves you, not your job.”
    “Yes, she does.”
    “Then, stop your moping around and go tell her how much you love and appreciate her. Damn it, Del, you have to bend here a little, too. You’re so used to getting your own way that, when someone else has their own opinion and ways of doing things, you make them fish or cut bait. Lighten up on her a little, will you?”
    Delta looked down into Connie’s dark brown eyes. Connie Rivera was the only person in the world who could be so candid with Delta without worrying about pissing her off.
    “Con, I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
    “You’ll get my bill.”
    Delta laid her hand on Connie’s shoulder. “You’re worth every penny, my friend.”
    Connie’s eyes warmed. “All I know is that it’s obvious that you two adore each other. don’t let your job stand in the way of your happiness, Del. You can have both, but you have to be willing to compromise as well.”
    “Are you saying I don’t?”
    Connie shook her head and smiled. “Not unless you absolutely have to. You’re the most stubborn woman I know, Delta Stevens. If you want this one to work, you’re going to have to bend.”
    Delta heaved a loud sigh. She wasn’t used to bending. She was used to calling the shots in both her personal and professional life. Patience came seldom and compromise was something other people did. “I’ll try. But we both know that flexibility isn’t one of my character strengths.”
    “Don’t I know it.” Opening the door, Connie walked back to her desk and pulled the disk from Eddie before turning the computer off. “If you’re serious about making your relationship work, you’ll dig deeper into yourself to find a little compromise. Megan deserves that much, Del, and you know it.”
    Picking her keys up off the desk, Delta knocked a small black case onto the floor. She had seen plenty of these cases around Connie’s house, but Connie seldom left them on her desk for any of her “superiors” to see.
    “Not another game,” Delta mocked, tossing it back on the table. “You must spend a fortune on these things.”
    Connie picked the case up and looked carefully at it. “Not this one. It came in the mail for me this morning.”
    Delta took it from Connie’s hands and inspected it. “I can’t believe you still play these silly things.” In college, Connie had been a whiz at beating people in computer simulation adventure games. Connie had graduated from M.I.T., or “The Institute,” as alumni liked to call it, and was exceptional at anything computer-related. When computers started to infiltrate police departments around the country, law enforcement officials were suddenly faced with their own ignorance about computer operations. Many P.D.’s were desperate to hire qualified people who could manage, control, and understand the intricacies of computer operations. Connie was one of those people. She knew