Free Defending Serenty by Elle Wylder Page B

attention of everyone in
the bar now. I look around, sizing them up. Most are just watching
and I don’t think they’re gonna give us any problems. The two in
front of us on the other hand… Mike stands up and charges me.
Fuckin’ idiot. I knock him down with one punch. Ryder gives me a
dirty look and I shrug. The dumbass on the ground doesn’t have the
sense to stay there, though. He climbs to his feet.
    “You’ll pay for that.”
    I sigh. Great. With my luck he’ll press
charges and I’ll end up spending the night in jail even though it
was self defense. I haven’t had much luck with that explanation in
the past. Thankfully, Mike is pretty wasted.
    “Just pay up and we’ll be gone,” I all but
growl.
    The dumbass gets in my face. I have this
thing about personal space. As in don’t get in mine. He moves
another inch closer and I punch him in the gut. I don’t hold back
either and my knuckles ache when they connect to his belt buckle.
Right now I really don’t give a shit. I’m getting pissed. With a
grunt, Mike makes his first smart move and sits back down.
    “The money,” Ryder reminds him.
    “I don’t got it,” he mumbles.
    I sigh and move to grab his shirt and haul
him up but Ryder shakes his head. He leans down and whispers in
Mike’s ear. Whatever he says makes the man turn pale. He nods
shakily.
    “Sure man, whatever.”
    “Three days. Don’t forget,” Ryder warns
him.
    Back in the truck I let go of my temper.
“What the fuck was that, man? You should have warned me about that
before we went in there.”
    He doesn’t answer. If I’ve passed his test I
don’t know. “What did you whisper to him?”
    Ryder grins. “He wants to clear the books so
we have a little job for him. That’s why Hunter let him get in so
deep.”
    The day before Christmas Eve. I wonder what
they have planned. “Am I going to be busy that day?”
    “Worried about your girlfriend?” he asks.
    I glare but I’m getting used to people
describing Serenity like that. I kind of like it.
    “You should be home by breakfast,” he says.
“Job starts at midnight.”
    I don’t ask any more. Yet. I’m pretty sure
we’re stealing something. Probably a couple cars. I flex my fist
and it smarts. In the low light of the interior of the cab I can
see it’s bleeding. I’ll have to clean up before I go to Serenity’s.
We aren’t too far from the gym and in a few minutes I’m back in my
car. But instead of going home I drive to her place. The front
light is on and the door is locked. It’s easy to pick and I hope
she doesn’t shoot me when I walk inside. She doesn’t even look up.
She’s sitting cross legged on the couch, her computer in her lap.
Her hair is pulled up in that damned pony tail again and she’s
wearing a slinky little nightgown I haven’t seen before. It’s dark
red and hugs her in all the right places leaving her legs mostly
bare.
    “You need to stop breaking into my house,”
she says. Testy tonight is she?
    “You need better locks.”
    I can’t believe I haven’t thought of that
before but until tonight I’ve been with her since she got home from
work. I don’t worry about anyone getting through me, but what if
Monroe gets desperate and sends someone after her? There’s a man
missing already and he’s most likely dead. I’ll replace the locks
tomorrow that way I’ll be sure I have a key. She finally looks at
me, scrutinizing me from head to toe. She sets the laptop aside and
stands.
    “You’re bleeding.”
    I look down at my fist. “It’s nothing.”
    I walk through the house to her bathroom. I’m
running cold water over my knuckles when she walks in.
    “Do I want to know?”
    I have a lie all figured out, but I don’t use
it. Things are tense enough between us. There’s already so much I
can’t say. Lying to her would make it worse. It just feels wrong.
So I shake my head and I swear to God I see tears in her eyes.
Christ. I’m such an ass. I can’t have this woman, not