Free Beast (A Righteous Outlaws Novel #4) (The Righteous Outlaws) by Savannah Rylan

over a girl, and I got in the way.”
    “Where the fuck was your partner?” There was a reason to have a partner. They served a goddamned purpose, and were supposed to be there to help protect you. To keep you from getting punched in the face by some drunken asshole.
    “The guy got away from him.”
    How the fuck did he let a drunk guy get away from him? Wasn’t he trained? Did he have any goddamned strength at all? “Fucking pussy.”
    “It happens,” Ryan said, and it pissed me off that she was blowing it off so easily. Shit like that wouldn’t have happened if I were there. If a real man were her partner, instead of some fucking weakling who probably couldn’t even bench his own body weight, her pretty face would not be marked in black and blue. I would have had that son of a bitch in a choke hold before he even knew what was happening. And he’d be knocked out cold by time he realized.
    “It shouldn’t,” I mumbled, the anger brewing just beneath the surface.
    “Well, it did.” Ryan rolled her eyes, not saying another word and went to her cruiser.
    I tried to force the rage down. I shouldn’t even give two shits about some cop, but there was something about her that made me want to protect her. Make sure she was safe and to prevent the same fate that…
    The door to the station opened and Reed stepped out. The anger that I had been just barely controlling exploded. My vision blurred and everything around me vanished. Every logical thought fled, and all I could focus on was Reed’s pasty ass neck. I stormed toward him. “What the fuck kind of man are you?” I demanded, scaring the shit out of the asshole, and making him stumble back with his hands up.
    “What are you talking about?”
    “I’m talking about that!” I swung my hand wide to point toward Ryan. “It’s your job to protect her.”
    “I tried,” he growled, but it was as intimidating as Beauty’s.
    “Well, try fucking harder or, next time, you’ll be the one hurt.”
    “Is that a threat?” Reed stepped toward me, finally finding courage that I didn’t think he had in him. He patted his chest. “Do you not see this badge? Threaten me again, and I will have your ass thrown in jail.”
    I moved toward him, closing the gap even more, and refusing to let him think he intimidated me. Jail didn’t scare me, not after everything I’ve been through. Hell, jail was like a walk in the fucking park in comparison.
    I met his eyes with the same intensity, letting him see his badge meant shit to me. I didn’t care who the fuck he was.
    “What the hell is going on here?!” Ryan yelled, slamming the cruiser door and pushing Reed and me apart. I didn’t take my eyes off of his. I wouldn’t be the first one to break. The bastard was just as stubborn. No matter how many times Ryan shoved at our chests and tried to get our attention, neither one of us broke.
    “Goddamn it, Beast! Knock the shit off!”
    My lip curled in disgust at Reed before I finally looked away from him and at Ryan. She quickly spun to Reed. “Go to the car. I’ll be there in a second.”
    “You want me to leave you alone with this monster?”
    “I’ll be fine.”
    “Remember what I said, Ryan. People talk. You need to be careful.”
    I didn’t like his tone, or his words, and the little bit of control I had left snapped. “Are you threatening her?”
    Red-hot anger spread across Reed’s face. “It’s none of your fucking business.”
    “Hey!” Stanson yelled from the doorway. “I don’t know what the fuck is going on out here, but it ends now.”
    Reed and I stood off again, neither one of us willing to be the first to back down. “I swear to god, if I have to come off this step, I’ll throw both of your asses in jail for public disturbance.”
    Reed clutched his fists at his side before taking a step back. “Do yourself a favor and stay the fuck away from me.”
    “Oh, I’m so scared.”
    “Enough!” Ryan yelled, and Reed finally went to go sit in