Free Protecting His Assets by Cari Quinn Page A

much as digging a ditch, then why shouldn’t I go dig that ditch? Yeah, the perks are better. The money, the lifestyle.” Jax rotated his bulky brown watch around his wrist. Nothing flashy for him. From what Chase had heard and seen, Jax’s particular charm with the all-too-willing females was his low-maintenance, “aw, shucks” attitude, though he’d grown up as a Yankee. “The attention.”
    “The pussy,” Chase said flatly, unsurprised that Jax merely shrugged again.
    “Not sure that’s true. I guess I’m not into that as much as I once was, you know?”
    Chase cocked a brow. “You switching teams?”
    “Nah. I just want…” Jax blew out a breath, shook his head. “Something more.” Before Chase could begin dismantling that ridiculous idea, Jax’s gaze sharpened on his face. “So, how’s your sister?”
    Chase leaned back and linked his fingers over his stomach. He didn’t much appreciate the segue in conversational topics, not when he wondered why Jax had picked that particular moment to mention Cass. “She’s fine. Busy.”
    “Drove by Triple Scoop on my way here. Almost stopped in to say hello, then thought better of it.”
    “Why? You and Cass were always friends.”
    “Like we were?”
    Chase said nothing, waiting while Jax scraped a hand over his head, barely ruffling the short dark hair cropped close to his skull. “Last time I was home, some stuff went down between her and me.”
    Chase kicked out his feet, narrowly missing Jax’s legs. “Such as?”
    “Nothing major.” Jax adjusted his watch, fiddled with his fork and generally avoided Chase’s narrowed gaze. “We got into it a bit, like you guys used to get into it.”
    Considering Jax had never spoken a cross word to Cass in Chase’s presence, he had trouble believing that. Something was up. “Somehow I doubt it. What happened?”
    “Seriously, it’s no big deal. You know how women get overly emotional about stuff.”
    “Stuff like what ? Cass would have zero reason to be overly emotional over a guy she hasn’t seen in forever. Tell me what went down. Now.” And if Jax veered in the direction Chase didn’t want to consider, he’d rescind his job offer before he’d even made it.
    His baby sister didn’t need Jax Wilder-sized problems in her life. He wasn’t the worst the MLB had to offer, far from it, but the bottom line was that Jax wasn’t known for sticking with one woman much longer than Chase himself. Speeches about saving-the-pussies aside.
    Cass couldn’t just jump into relationships. She had to be more careful than that. And if Jax had anything to do with why Cass had seemed quieter than usual the last few months, he’d use his ex-best friend’s nuts for earwarmers.
    Screw the bodyguard thing. Screw trying to make amends with his past. His sister’s wellbeing trumped everything.
    “Thanks for the reminder that I haven’t been part of her life in forever.” Jax gave him a thin-lipped smile. “I forgot for a minute there.”
    Chase gripped the hem of his shirt, pulling it tight. “Look, man—”
    The waitress reappeared with their meatloaf. They must’ve kept it on standby. Since his stomach was roaring now, not growling, he didn’t much care. Throw some sauce on it and he’d be good to go.
    “Here you boys go. Gotta make sure you stay nice and strong.” She pinched Jax’s biceps and grinned at his wink. The guy was going to develop a twitch, if he hadn’t already.
    The minute she’d gone, Chase seized the pepper and started a brutal assault on his slab of meatloaf. He wasn’t going to let one brief flare of well-deserved guilt distract him from his interrogation. “I asked you a question,” he said, voice low. “What exactly went on between you and my sister? And when?”
    “Damn, you’re suspicious enough to be a cop. Ever consider that line of work? Think you’d be a natural.” Jax cut into his own meatloaf, sampled. Apparently declaring it more friend than foe, he continued to eat