Free Gavin (A Redemption Romance #3) by Anna Scott

have lunch tomorrow. There really isn’t anything going on.”
    Trent’s raised brow challenged me. Cocky bastard, he knew too damned much. Deciding to turn the tables on him, I shot back, “what’s going on with you and Amber?”
    I watched as Trent’s cheeks colored. He actually blushed. My best friend, six-foot-five, tattooed, pierced, bad ass, blushed over talk of the sweet Amber. That shit was so funny, I couldn’t help the laugh that escaped. Of course, that caught Luke and Reed’s attention, stopping their hushed conversation and directing their focus on us.
    Reed’s questioning look made Trent squirm, which again, made me bust out with a laugh. Being the good friends that they were, a little ribbing was in order.
    “Trent, are you blushing?” Reed asked, a mock-serious look on his face.
    “He is; he’s blushing like a virgin. What are you guys talking about?” Luke asked.
    I stayed quiet, not wanting to out him, but this shit was hilarious. Just reminded me why these nights out were necessary. They provided plenty of comic relief.
    “Shut the fuck up, I’m not blushing, it’s hot it in here.” Trent replied defensively.
    “You wouldn’t be talking about Amber would you?” Luke taunted, causing Reed to start laughing too.
    Instead of giving the guys any more ammunition, Trent motioned for the waitress and ordered another round. She walked over, putting a little too much sway in her hips and pressed her huge fake tits into Trent’s face as she leaned over and took his order. She couldn’t have been more obvious if she’d tried.
    Badge bunnies weren’t uncommon, there were a couple of bars around that were Law Enforcement supporters, lots of officers from the different local agencies hung out there, but I hated those places.
    Any woman who would willingly sign up for a life with an officer, simply because he was one, was suspect to me. It wasn’t glamorous, and it sure as hell wasn’t easy.
    That thought made me wonder if Dawn would be able to handle the life of a deputy’s wife. My hours could be long, they could be spontaneous, I worked some weekends and plenty of holidays. We were more fortunate than those guys in the military, at least we were home for our children’s births, but still, it was a stressful job.
    I wanted to pull my phone out and text her, but resisted. The last thing I wanted was the guys' attention to focus on me.
    “Well, seems like if you can’t get Amber on board, you could get that waitress to take care of your – needs.” Reed cajoled with no little humor in his voice.
    “Fuck off.” Trent had lost his comeback skills, it seemed. I didn’t really know what was going on with him and Amber, they’d been dancing around each other for months. There was something there, but it didn’t seem like Trent was going to tell me, surely not now that Luke and Reed were listening. I saw a quick flash of pain in my friend’s eyes, but he masked it quickly and I wondered just what in the hell had happened between him and the lovely Amber.
    After leaving the bar, I noticed it was almost two, so calling Dawn was out. It was completely out of the way, but I found myself driving past her house, just checking on her. With all the shit swirling around Hope, my worry was on heightened alert, especially after the shit my brother had pulled. All was quiet.
    I made a mental note of the vehicles, and thinking back to the ones I’d seen there on Sunday. Nothing stood out as odd, but I did look a little longer at the entrance to the trail than was necessary. I still didn’t know what had caused the strange feeling Sunday, or the one earlier at the bar, but something was going on. I just didn’t know what the fuck it was.
    Since I was in the neighborhood, I swung past Hope’s house too. Though she hadn’t stayed there in weeks, it was late and if someone was going to cause trouble, this seemed like the perfect time. All was good there too. With nothing else to do, I drove back to my