Free Defending Serenty by Elle Wylder

“Who’s Monroe
working for, Dan?”
    He pauses so long I don’t think he’s going to
answer. “Chase Beaumont.”
    The name is familiar but I can’t remember
where I’ve heard it. Dan leaves and it’s closing time anyway so I
wash up and call Hunter. No answer. I try Walker and get the same
result. This shit is getting old fast. I’m not sure what to do next
so I head over to the gym. I find them all in the office.
    “No one can answer a damned phone?” I
snap.
    Hunter gives me a surprised look, like he
can’t believe I’m questioning his leadership. I’m not, but I’m sick
and fucking tired of being in the dark so I don’t modulate my tone
or hold back my anger.
    “Dan Phillips just came to see me,” I say.
“He wants to know if we’re making a move against Monroe. And can he
get a heads up first.”
    “Shit,” Hunter says dragging a hand over his
face. “We aren’t. There’s nothing to tell him.”
    “Okay.” I already know that. “Who’s Chase
Beaumont?”
    “Beaumont is Monroe’s backer?” Hunter
asks.
    He sounds relieved. Hopefully this means I
don’t have to worry about Serenity or getting her to back off the
investigation she seems so hell bent on.
    “That’s what Dan says. How do I know that
name?”
    “I did some work for his father. In
Birmingham,” Walker says. “They’re dangerous but they won’t go
after a cop.”
    Serenity is safe then. The relief is immense.
I don’t ask what Walker got messed up in while he lived up north.
He wouldn’t have dealt but there were plenty of other options
around drug dealers.
    “Did he say anything else?” Hunter asks.
    I start to shake my head but remember what
he’d said about contacts. “He implied Serenity has powerful friends
in law enforcement. That it wouldn’t take much for her to get them
involved down here.”
    “She does,” Walker confirms.
    The last thing any of us want is a bunch of
investigators from the state down here but I’m torn. I want her out
so if they can take over I’m all for it. January fifteenth isn’t
soon enough. And Beaumont may not be a danger to her but Monroe
sure as fuck is. I want to go find her now. Talk some sense into
her if that’s even possible. Hunter blows that plan.
    “I need you to do a run with Ryder,” he
says.
    I’m back in that easily? I nod but I wonder
if this is a test. “No problem,” I say.
    A few minutes later I sit in the passenger
seat of Ryder’s truck. I haven’t talked to him much since I’ve been
home and I expect to get the third degree about Serenity. He
doesn’t let me down.
    “So what’s up with you and this woman?”
    “Sex,” I answer curtly.
    He gives me a disbelieving look. “You can
laid anywhere but you went after a cop. I can’t decide if you’re
ballsy, bent, or just plain dumb.”
    “Probably all three,” I mutter.
    It hasn’t escaped my notice my life is more
bizarre outside of prison.
    “She gonna come to the fight?”
    I shake my head. “I don’t think so. She’s
knows about though.”
    I rub a hand over the back of my neck. I’m
tense, hungry, and confused. I don’t like complicated and my life
sure as hell ain’t simple right now.
    “I didn’t tell her so she must have asked
around,” I continue.
    “I’m not gonna ride your ass about her, man.
I figure the rest of the guys have done enough of that.”
    Wasn’t that the truth?
    “We all know the best thing to do is walk
away from her now.” Not gonna ride my ass, huh? “But I know you
won’t.”
    I’m not sure what to say to that so I keep
quiet and he goes on.
    “After she leaves the department how far are
you bringing her in?”
    My knee jerk reaction is not at all. She may
not be a cop in a few weeks but she’ll still be burdened with that
do-gooder conscious. Some aspects of my life I think she’ll
reluctantly accept--the fights for instance. Anything else? I
seriously doubt it. But if we’re going to be together for awhile
I’m not sure how much I’ll be