Free Solid Muscle (Unseen Enemy Book 5) by Marysol James Page B

usual kind of bodyguard thing?”
    “Oh, no. Not even close. It’s deep undercover stuff and the people involved are going to be in contact with some real lowlifes.” She was silent, turning her coffee cup around in her slim hands. “They’re on their way there now and Dallas is going to follow them in a few days, to act as back-up just in case things… happen.”
    “Oh.” Beth set down her cup. “You’re scared.”
    “Oh, yeah. I’m scared for all of them.”
    “I’m sorry, sweetie,” Emma said softly. “That’s stressful, huh?”
    Liv shook herself a bit, tried to lift the mood again. “Well, a bit. But Dallas is great at this and anyway, it’s way less stressful than other stuff in our lives recently, huh?”
    The other women nodded: their lives had been rough over the past year in so many ways and they felt like the worst of it had passed. They were lucky to have had amazing, supportive men to help them through and they never stopped being grateful for that.
    “Anyway!” Liv said again, with more enthusiasm this time. “We have the final dress fittings in four weeks, so make sure you mark your calendars.”
    Emma groaned and ran her hands through her short, dark hair. “Am I going to fit in to my dress on your wedding day in six weeks?”
    “Doubtful.” Liv grinned. “We’ll need to do an extension for sure.”
    “Or just buy two sizes up!” Beth said merrily. “Just to be safe!”
    Emma glanced down at her plate. She had three croissants on it and she fully intended to eat each and every one of them. “Maybe three sizes.”
    **
    Dean Jessop stood over Chris Brooker, spotting the man as he lowered three hundred and fifty pounds towards his chest. Chris handled the weight easily, lifted it, lowered it again. By the ninth press, Dean saw the strain begin and he leaned over his friend.
    “You got this, man. Three more.”
    Chris’ massive arms shook, every muscle defined and cut. He did two more reps, struggled on the last one. Dean helped him set the bar back on the holder and Chris sat up, stretching his chest.
    “God,” he said. “I’m getting old, man. I used to be able to do that no problem.”
    Jim grinned as he taped his hands. “That’s why I stick to the punching bag. No showing me up when I can’t struggle through twelve reps.”
    “Yeah, you may be on to something,” Chris mused as he wiped down the bench. “Or maybe I’ll go to the rowing machine.”
    Dallas, Dean and Jim stared at him.
    “ Why ?” Dallas said, aghast. “You might as well just hit the stairmaster.”
    “Oh, I know.” Chris wiped his sweaty face with his towel. “Us military boys need to punch things and pump iron at the gym, huh?”
    “Damn right,” they answered in unison.
    “So.” Dean reclined on the bench and Chris moved to spot him. “How’s Beth?”
    Jim paused. “Honestly? I’m not sure.”
    That got their attention and they all looked at him, waiting.
    “She’s not as happy about Ferguson being dead as I thought she would be.” Jim looked at his friends. “I mean, I know what it says about me, but I’m fucking thrilled he’s dead.”
    “You didn’t want him taken alive?” Dean asked quietly, brushing his blond hair back off his face. “Didn’t want him to stand trial?”
    “No.” Jim shook his dark head. “I knew if it went to trial, it’d drag on for years, most likely. Beth would have had to testify and that would have been a nightmare for her, having to talk about all the things he’d done to her.”
    The guys nodded.
    “She’d have to live with it every day that things were in court and she’d have to see him… she'd sit there in the same goddamn room and just know that the monster who killed her baby and made her run for all those years was being defended. Like… like any of what he did was actually fucking defensible .”
    “Yeah,” Dallas said heavily. “And in the end, he may have been free in just a few years anyway.”
    “Look what happened to