Friendly Fire (The Echo Platoon Series, Book 3) Read Online Free Page A

were known to have higher-than-average IQs. They endured way more mental and physical hardship than the average human and thrived in hostile environments. Tristan had traveled to places she'd never heard of, let alone wanted to visit, and he had articulated his position on national security with such sound reasoning, citing historical examples to bolster his argument, that she found herself admiring his point of view even if she didn't exactly agree with him.
    "Hey, listen," he said, leaning an elbow on the bar and dipping his head to speak in a conspiratorial murmur while his eyes tracked her sister's progress to the snack bar. "I could use your help," he stated.
    She went instantly wary. "With what?"
    When he looked directly at her with his dark blue eyes fixed on hers, her insides turned warm and fuzzy. She wasn't used to that. Where men were concerned, she called all the shots. Most of them were colleagues or criminals, men whom she never got involved with.
    "I happen to know my buddy, Bullfrog, is in love with your sister."
    She laughed out loud at the unlikely statement. "What?"
    "Seriously. All the pieces of the puzzle fell together when they ran into each other in the hallway this morning. He's always talked about this one perfect woman he loved and lost. It's her. She's the one."
    His assertion intrigued her. "But he was her student," she protested.
    "I know. And something happened between them. I heard her apologize to him just a second ago, saying she hoped he'd forgiven her."
    "And then he got up and walked away," she recollected. Turning her head, she reconsidered her sister, who was right then handing Sammy a tall glass of lemonade.
    "I think they had something going on when he was in college."
    She looked sharply back at him. "Five years ago? My sister was married back then. She would never have cheated on her husband. He was the lowlife bastard who cheated on her," she added with heat.
    "Sorry to hear that," Tristan said, looking like he meant it. But then his smile reappeared, a little crookedly, making her stomach flip. "I love how brutal you are," he admitted. "I imagine you can keep a man on his toes."
    "Don't change the subject," she ordered. "I'll accept your assertion that they had something, maybe a friendship, until I learn otherwise. But what do you need help with?"
    His smile faded. "I want to throw them together and see what happens." His expression grew serious. "Bullfrog is the purest human being I've ever known."
    "That's a strange word to use," she said.
    "If you get to know him, you'll see what I mean. He's spiritual. He's clean. For all the time that I've known him, he's kept to himself. He reads instead of going out. He meditates to keep his cool. I happen to know he came on this cruise just to make me happy, not for his own enjoyment. But if anyone deserves happiness, it's Bullfrog. And I think your sister is the key to his contentment."
    Juliet sucked her lower lip between her teeth. He'd given her a lot to think about, not the least of which was the intriguing notion that Emma had gotten emotionally involved with one of her own students, while she was married.
    Something else Tristan said caught her notice. "Why would he have felt the need to make you happy?" she demanded.
    Tristan grimaced and dropped his head. "You don't miss anything, do you?"
    "Not usually, no." She tapped her finger on the bar as she waited for his answer.
    "All right." He raised his head to take in her reaction. "I had planned to bring my girlfriend on this cruise and propose to her, but she broke up with me two weeks ago, and Bullfrog offered to come in her place."
    Something inside of Juliet sank, but she ignored it. "You had no idea she was going to bail on you?"
    He blew out a breath and looked away. "Maybe I did. I thought the cruise would spark something fresh between us. Things had flat-lined," he admitted.
    "How long were you together?" Whoops, that nosey, personal question slipped out before she could filter