Free Brody: The Bang Shift by Mandy Harbin Page A

Roxie’s brow creased, frowning at her.
    Xan waved her off as she kept walking. “Nothing, nothing,” she mumbled. She turned to face her friend. “You think he’s at his house? His motorcycle was still at the garage when I drove by on my way home, but the shop was closed.”
    “Oh yeah. I heard that bike revving up and peeling away on my way over here.”
    “Good.” Xan nodded, feeling the resolve settle into her bones. If she didn’t do this right now, she might lose her nerve. “Give me that address. It’s time that man learned just who he is playing with.”
    * * * * *
    Brody grunted, stumbling into this house, tossing his motorcycle keys and gun onto the hall table, before walking into the kitchen where he gave his face a quick wash and grabbed a beer.
    He and Blade were jumped by more than just one man in that damn room, though Brody seriously got the worst of it. Blade had jumped out of the way as the other guy came for him, but if his attacker had been just a few seconds earlier, Blade would’ve been just as bad off as Brody was. Unfortunately, neither one of them could grab their weapons in time or had seen the guys who did it before they’d fled. And to top it off, Dale Adams was probably reporting back to his cronies right now. Shit. If they were here because of Xan and Scott, he’d just fucked up big time. The element of surprise was no more.
    And his head hurt like a son of a bitch. He searched the kitchen for some ibuprofen, taking four of them once he found the bottle, and wrapped some ice in a towel for the shiner over his left eye. He twisted the cap off his beer, tossed it into the trash, then stalked into the living room and fell onto the couch.
    The motel wasn’t the only fuckup today. Oh no, seeing that spritely little woman at the gas station brewed an even bigger mess than the one that’d gotten him a fist in the face and, he was pretty sure, a two-by-four to the back of the head. Nope, the wounds he’d gotten from running into Xan wouldn’t leave physical scars.
    God, he hated hurting her. She deserved so much better than the treatment he was giving her. Hell, any woman deserved better than the brushoffs he was dishing out. He took a pull of his beer, drinking half the bottle before setting it back down. He didn’t have a choice. He could not risk her recognizing him. At least not until he got that information from Colonel. He needed to keep his head in the game, not fantasizing about sinking his dick into her pussy. If he thought about it, he’d want to act on it.
    Damn, but he wanted to act on it.
    Growling, he picked up his cell phone and hit Gage’s number.
    “Yeah?”
    “Hey, man. I need a favor.” He needed to stay on track, and he knew just what to do. “I need you to dig up everything you can on Xan Bradley. See what you can find tonight, and I’ll be at your house in the morning to go over it.” Gage was their computer guru. If anyone could find old skeletons or any information floating in cyberspace, he’d be able to do it.
    There was hesitation on the line, so Brody had to rein in his anger. “Why not talk at the shop?”
    “Too distracting. I need to be able to concentrate.” Translation—he didn’t need his ass handed to him by the guys. Brody asking about Xan would be like tossing fuel onto the heckling fire. No thanks. She might make his dick harder than steel, but he still had a job to do here. Drowning himself in research would help keep his mind on his responsibility, but he knew the assholes he worked with. They’d look at this as if he were taking a personal interest in her.
    “Okay, sure. See you in the morning.”
    Brody ended the call and pulled out his laptop. It felt as if his head were in a vise, and he could feel the blood pumping in his bruises. He wasn’t jumping for joy at the thought of digging up info on Xan right now, but he didn’t have a choice. His ass was working and not thinking about her luscious body.
    He got as far as typing