Wicked Games Read Online Free Page B

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    With her head resting on the back of the seat, Brianna closed her eyes as the plane lifted off. Living as someone else for the past three years had exhausted her to the bone. She figured if someone had been watching her townhouse, she had a few hours before he realized she was gone. It was still daylight and the rain should have started by now, so nothing would appear out of place, until later when the darkness inside her home would be obvious. Hopefully she would be settled in some out of the way motel in Miami before then.
    She was going back to Miami as Leslie Solomon , but wished like hell she could just be Brianna Tate and be done with all this mess. She had missed her three sisters and her parents, more than she could bear at times. She had missed so much of their lives. Were any of her sisters’ married yet? Was she an aunt? 
    She tho ught of her mom and dad often. She worried about their health, and the strain losing her had put on them. Most of all, she missed laughing with her family, regaling stories of each other during family dinners, and just spending time with them. 
    Her dad had been such an instrumental part of her getting her first big job after college. Her parents took a chance on real estate development at the most opportune moment. After making their first small fortune, they decided to expand into high-rise executive offices , and eventually moving into establishing their own luxury hotel chain across the Eastern U.S. Neither of her parents was thrilled with her career choice, since they both obviously wanted her to be interested in business and run their hotels.  But being cooped up in an office every day was never in her plans. 
    And Noah – oh God, how she missed him. She never got the chance to finish that conversation with him the last day she saw him. It tore her heart out to think that would be the last time they ever talked.
    As she drifted off to sleep with the gentle rocking of the plane, her unconscious mind took over and replayed the entire scene in her dreams of when she met Noah. She was twenty-two, just out of college, and had convinced her editor of the Atlanta Journal to send her to a top-secret military base in the Middle East to interview members of the elite, covert military group, the Delta Force. 
    With her dad’s business ventures, he had developed friendships with some high-ranking government officials , who helped Brianna get the exclusive interview of the Army’s “quiet professionals.”  There were stipulations, of course. She couldn’t know any real names, no pictures were allowed, any article for publication had to be approved by the DoD first.  She also had to be blindfolded upon her arrival and departure, and she was not allowed to leave the base unescorted at any time. Young, impetuous, and ambitious, she jumped at the chance and never even considered the implications of her safety. She hopped on a military flight and fifteen hours later, she arrived at the top-secret base.
    As she exited the Humvee, she took in her surroundings , and thought it resembled the old TV show MASH, but with sand colored tents instead of the Army green. Large Army tents scattered throughout the base, Humvees, Jeeps, and large trucks moved slowly through the streets. It was incredibly hot, hotter than Atlanta ever thought of being, and she immediately wondered how the soldiers could tolerate it for so long. She strode towards the tent her escort pointed out, and thought of how she would approach the band of elusive soldiers.
    She was glad she had her sunglasses on , because her eyes must have been as big as saucers.  One man was sitting in a folding chair, wearing his government issued hat, Oakley sunglasses, no shirt, and his fatigue pants rolled up to his knees. He was evidently working on his tan, but she couldn’t tear her eyes from his chiseled chest, the muscles in his shoulders, his arms and… oh wow , his six-pack abs. 
    His thighs and calves were obviously