Page 2 of Delta: Retribution

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Oh my God.What had Marlena done? She’d fallen into the eyes of a dangerous-looking man? For what? For insane, liberating sex? Well, yeah. But ugh, holy moly, she’d had aone-night stand. The words played over and over in her head as if she were a dirty slut puppy who needed that shower she’d just ducked out of.

A one-night stand? That was so not like her.

Stomach churning, she thought she might puke, and that had nothing to do with a few too many drinks. Brian’s voice burned in her ears.No one will ever want you. They’ll use you and walk away. Just like me.

But with his voice on replay, she’d hit the bar to drink a German. The bar crowd hadn’t actually been Germans. They were US military from a nearby base—the same base that she’d been brought onto and sneaked out of.

All the slinking around made her feel dirty. They never wanted anyone to see her, but as soon as they could ditch her, they did. They watched her and protected her until they were done. Then she was released into the world, on her own until they flew her back home.

If you were so smart, they’d make sure your work didn’t kill you.That’s what Brian had said. Could she ever ignore him? No. But maybe in this situation he was right. It seemed the US military wanted her brains but didn’t care much about her. He was right. He was always—

No. Marlena shook her head. Well, Brian—her user of a father who wasn’t worthy of the term “dad”—was right, up to a point. If the wrong person knew that she was more than a college kid, that she was the designer of one of the most dangerous weapons the US had ever manufactured, they’d torture every bit of knowledge out of her then leave her to die. Maybe she should’ve played dumb when those military folks approached her, asked her a few questions, then promised the world if she came to work on a top-secret project. They’d played to her weaknesses. They’d said she’d make a difference, be important. Matter.

What a joke. She was smart; they’d used her—were still using her—and she had learned barely anything about the dangerous world she was tiptoeing around.

A familiar cold panic spread through her veins. She knew nothing about protecting herself, and making up a stupid fake name hadn’t done anything to make her safer.Mallory? Come on, Marlena. Too bad the glowing high from her sex with a stranger hadn’t last long. Tonight was the first time in a very long time that she’d let go. It felt so good, but wow, was it stupid.

She pulled out her hotel room key and pressed her head against the door, shaking it. Mar hadn’t even been smart enough to have a one-night stand in a different hotel. Brian would laugh.

Stop it. She sucked in a breath and pushed her shoulders back. She’d fake it until she had it—the “it” being confidence. That was her grand plan to get over the ridiculous ideas Brian had planted in her head. If uncertainty pricked at her thoughts, she’d shut it down with a faux confidence.

That was complicated. Faking a backbone could easily be construed as bitchy.An ugly bitch, just like—

Screw Brian and his promises that no one would ever find her attractive. She’d known better. Deep, deep down, Mar knew that if she could let go, she could be herself, and that self was a sexy handful. Even if that meant she had to try it with someone she’d never see again, she’d succeeded. That big, bad, tattooed man wanted her. The thought of his blond five o’clock shadow on her palms made shivers cascade down her spine. The hard set in his amber eyes turned her to mush, even while it said his soul was years older than his physical age.

He had been out of her league in a built, brawny way, and she’d walked out on him without saying good-bye. Swinging the hotel room door open, she had taken enough steps to collapse on her bed in the dark. Running out on him wasn’t fake-it-‘til-ya-make-it confidence. It was a complete-bitch move, coupled with a solid dose of insecurity.

Marlena sat up on her bed and hung her head in shame. She’d be back in the States by tomorrow, and this would be a distant memory. Until then, her hair might’ve smelled like the bar, but the rest of her smelled like a rugged man who’d almost orgasmed her to death. She’d shower later, thank you very much.

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