Page 10 of Her Rugged Guardian

Bruno hesitated, acting as if he was going to say something then thought better of it. Meanwhile, my jaw remained clenched.

When Riley slid onto the now vacant barstool beside me, he gave Scotty the same nasty glare.

Neither one of us said anything for a few seconds, at least until he had a fresh bottle of beer nestled in his hand. From what I’d seen and heard, my brother was drinking almost every night. That didn’t bode well for a rigorous and extremely physical career but he’d stop listening to my advice years ago.

“You gotta let the past go, Jake.”

“I didn’t beat Bruno’s face into pulp, now did I?”

“I didn’t know you were going to be here, or I wouldn’t have asked him to come with us.”

“Spur of the moment thing.”

“You should know that my heart almost stopped a few seconds ago from seeing you inside a bar. Hell, seeing you anywhere outside of your house.” His grin remained, although he was only partially teasing me. He’d cajoled me more frequently over the last few months to come back to the land of the living.

“Yeah, well, I needed a drink tonight and you’re always reminding me it’s not a good thing to drink alone in my own house.”

“Hey, I just want what’s best for you. That’s all, you big lug.”

Snorting, I tossed him a hateful look, but he wasn’t paying any attention, keeping his eyes locked onto the television screen and whatever preseason football game was on. While he might be a star player for the Seattle Sabers, the season didn’t start for another three weeks. Until then, I had a feeling he was going to be a pain in my ass.

“I’m a big boy, Riley. I can take care of myself. Maybe you should look in the mirror every once in a while.”

“It appears you’ve done a bang-up job so far. That’s for certain. And what the hell do you mean look in the mirror?”

“It means you’re slurring your words. If you came here to give me a hard time, don’t. It’s been a shit day.”

“Fuck you.”

“Yeah, so you’ve told me many times.”

The last two years of trying to carry on a conversation had been excruciating.

“What’s Bruno doing in town?”

Riley took a few seconds to answer. “Just visiting his folks.”

“Right.” I knew there was more to the story. I just didn’t care.

“Why the shitty day? Is that because of the gash you have on your forehead?” He lifted his eyebrows as he turned his head toward me, his grin now what I’d call shit-eating.

I involuntarily touched it, wincing as soon as I did. “Nope. I had a run-in with a toaster.”

“What?”

“Yeah, you heard me. Some chick bought the Tangerine Sunset. She whacked me across the head when she found me inside.”

“That’s what usually occurs when people find a stranger inside their home. Why the hell were you in that old place?”

“Because I was hired to do work there.”

Riley rolled his eyes. “You mean you were hired by a dead woman, the same one who didn’t pay you when she was alive? How much did she owe you, like twenty grand?”

“Don’t you fuckin’ talk about Margaret that way and no, it wasn’t that much.” Although if I’d added up all the service calls, my bill would likely be in that neighborhood. What did it matter now? My voice had risen more than I’d intended. I felt the heat of several patrons staring in our direction, likely talking about the guy who’d killed a little girl. Fuck me. I turned away, tossing back the whiskey shot and lifting the empty glass toward Scotty, who just happened to be staring at me.

“Jesus. You’re surlier than usual.”

“No, I’m not.”

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