Lucky Girl (Lucky Alphas Book 2)
By: Mallory CroweNico let out an exasperated sigh. “Dahlia isn’t in town.”
Lucas smiled fondly at the memory of bright-blue eyes, bleach-blonde hair, her natural talent with her tongue, and some not-so-natural talents she had on her chest. “I’m not calling about Dahlia. I want you to look somebody up for me.”
“Isn’t your job to look people up?”
“You know, the most efficient people are the ones who know how to delegate. Should be easy. I have a name and a picture.” Lucas knew it was only a matter of time before Nico did what he asked. It had been about five years since Lucas had first become intimately acquainted with the lovely Dahlia. Of course, Lucas sleeping with the oh-so-charming Dahlia wasn’t a big deal, but when she’d let it slip about her previous affair with the young up-and-comer Army lieutenant, he knew he’d never be able to pay her back. Because at the time Nico and Dahlia had their fun, Dahlia was married to Nico’s superior officer. Talk about violating the rules of engagement.
“Give me the name. But if it’s not easy to look up, I’m not doing it.”
“Harper Sloan. She would’ve enlisted around—”
“Oh shit. I know her.”
“You’re kidding. Like you’ve met her before?”
“Oh no. I never met her. She was in the Marine Corps.”
“You know some random former marine?”
Nico was Sergeant First Class, soon to be Master Sergeant in the US Army. From Lucas’s experience, the Army and Marines didn’t play nice together.
“The girl was a little notorious. From what I know, and this is all rumor, she had crazy qualifying scores on the proficiency exam when she enlisted. Peak physical condition, could out-run half of the guys. But something happened in the showers early on in recruit training. Something that led to her superior officer ending up with a broken nose and two broken ribs and she was discharged soon after.”
“So she got into a fight. How did she turn into a mini celebrity?”
“The guy was a dick. Back then, we all just figured he was a dick and that was all there was to it. But now with all this #metoo shit coming out, it’s become apparent that Harper Sloan wasn’t the first woman he visited in the shower. Back then, of course, we didn’t know that. And the government was quick to label her as a crazy emotional woman with a violent streak, but her name has been coming up more and more lately. Kinda like the bogeyman for sexual deviance.”
“I swear to God. If I find out that you’re fucking with me....”
“Like I said, all of this is just rumors. Did you still want me to look her up?”
“Yeah, run a search on her for me. Message me anything interesting, but I think that’s enough for me right now.” He was about to hang up and remembered that he might need Nico later. “I appreciate your help,” he forced out.
“Yeah, whatever. Just remember, be careful in the showers.”
Harper leaned into the shower, letting the warm water pour down her neck and over her shoulders like a massage. That’s exactly what she needed. A massage. What were the chances that Birdsville would have any place nice enough for her to trust somebody to touch her naked body?
Not likely. Birdsville had never been a place for trust, especially not for her. The closest she’d ever come to making a romantic connection here was making out with Shane on prom night. And even that had turned out to be a mistake.
Well, not that big a mistake. At least he’d been the first person to prove to her what a man was supposed to kiss like. But Shane had never really been serious consideration for boyfriend material. She could never be a groupie for the rest of her life, and to be in love with Shane meant traveling the country and dealing with all the other horny housewives batting their lashes at him.
Why was her gender so vulnerable to an Irish accent?
Harper shut off the water and stepped out of the shower, wrapping a towel around herself. The motel room included a so-called king-size bed—that couldn’t be any bigger than a queen—some aged, water-damaged carpet, a flat-screen TV, and a mini fridge. Nothing luxurious, but all she needed for the night. She was just about to lie down when her phone rang. She wanted to ignore it, but in her line of work, any phone call could be important. When she glanced at the screen and saw it was Wade calling, she knew she had to answer. “Hey, what’s up?”
