Free Drunk Dial (Hard Core #1) (Hard Core Series) by Carly Michaels Page B

her hands into my hair and plastering her tight little body against mine. Our tongues danced, both of us getting hotter with every stroke, and I knew if I didn’t get the hell out of the club, I’d take her right there on the desk.
    “Gotta go,” I panted, tearing my lips from hers. “While I still can…”
     

 

Chapter Seven
    Lacy
     
    “This can’t be happening,” Ash said, pacing his penthouse. “How the hell did this happen?”
    He turned on our older brother, Cooper, and glared at him. Coop, not one to be intimidated, glared right back.
    “Don’t blame me!” Coop shouted. “I’m just the messenger! If I had my way, that prick would be in jail for the rest of his life after what he did to Lace.”
    The prick my brother was referring to was my ex-husband. The man who’d tried to take my life. According to the prosecutor who’d put him away, Jordan had paid his debt to society, and now he was getting out early for good behavior.
    I thought I’d have more time to live my life, more freedom. By my sentence came early. Eighteen months early. Now his period of incarceration was ending, and mine was just beginning. I knew he’d come after me. His last words still haunted me. A threat promising it would never be over, that he’d never let me go.
    “He can’t come within fifty feet of her,” Coop said. “And he’s still on probation. He’ll have to check in with his probation officer for the next—”
    “Are you even listening to yourself?” Ash asked, throwing his arms in the air. “You think this son of a bitch gives a goddamn about some restraining order? You’re a cop, Coop. You know those things aren’t worth the paper they’re written on half the time.”
    Coop was an undercover cop who busted drug dealers. He looked the part with his bulging, inked biceps, faded jeans, leather jacket, biker boots, and black bandana. No one would question whether he was a legit member of the motorcycle gang he was currently trying to infiltrate.
    “Well, it’s all we’ve got,” Coop said with a worried glance in my direction. “Besides, she’s not as defenseless as she was back then. She’s got a gun, and she knows how to use it. I made sure of that.”
    I loved going to the shooting range with my brother, but the thought of putting a bullet through someone, a man I’d once loved no less, scared the hell out of me. “I’ll be fine,” I said, trying to assure them as well as myself.
    Not looking convinced, Ash said, “Maybe you should stay with me for a while, until we can figure out what he’s got planned. This building has twenty-four security and—”
    “I won’t be his prisoner,” I said, thinking of the dark days when he’d made me just that. “Not anymore.”
    Coop’s eyes softened before he pulled me into his strong arms. Ever since we were kids, these two guys had been my lifeline. I knew I wouldn’t be as brave as I was if I didn’t know they had my back, that they’d lay down their own lives for mine.
    “You don’t have to be,” Coop said fiercely and kissed the top of my head. “Because I swear to God, if he comes after you again, I’ll hunt him down like a dog, and this time I will kill him.”
    Last time it had almost come to that, but I’d convinced Coop to let the law handle Jordan. I just assumed he’d get more than seven years for attempted murder and kidnapping. But he’d cut a deal. It seemed like a long time ago when the prosecutor proposed the plea deal that would allow me not to testify at his trial. I thought I’d have more than enough time to banish the ugly memories, but I still woke up screaming and thrashing, begging for my life and feeling as though my hands were bound while his threats echoed in my ear.
    “What’s this I hear about you having a new boyfriend?” Coop asked, holding me at arm’s length. “Are you really dating a fighter?”
    “Not anymore.” It had been five days since I’d heard from York. He’d probably forgotten about me