Page 31 of Beaten

She shoved another bite into her mouth, then thanked me around a mouthful of eggs.

I cooked more eggs and topped off my coffee. We ate in silence, except for the occasional happy moan Ashley made every couple of bites.

“I almost feel human again.” Ashley leaned back and finished her bottle of water. “Aspirin should fix the rest.”

“I’m surprised you’re up this early. I expected the two of you to sleep in for a few more hours.”

“Em might, she’s a lightweight, but not me, I do this all the time.” She glanced up at me and backtracked. I wasn’t judging, but she felt the need to explain, anyway. “Not get crazy drunk, but I drink often enough that I’ve built up a tolerance over the years. Don’t judge.”

“No judgement.” I raised my hands in surrender. “I’m just glad it was here and not at a club where it’d be harder to keep an eye on her.”

“Is she really in danger? I mean, I know you’re all afraid Asshat Craig might come after her, but how realistic is that?”

I grinned, loving the nickname they’d given Emily’s ex.

“It’s hard to say, but based on his history of drunken violence, we’re assuming it’s likely.” I couldn’t tell her anymore than that without violating our client confidentiality agreement. Besides, it was Emily’s place to tell her, not mine. Though it was safe to assume Emily had already told her some of what had happened.

“So you probably wouldn’t approve of me dragging her out to go dancing one night.”

“It’s my job to keep her safe, not to tell her what to do” I sipped my coffee and thought about how much I’d hate it if she went out dancing.I don’t think I can handle watching guys hit on her. “It might make our job a little more difficult, but we can handle it.”

“So it wouldn’t bother you if I took her out and tried to hook her up with some hot guy in tight jeans for the night?”

I almost spit out my coffee. “Jesus Ash. No, it wouldn’t bother me.” So why did I feel like I was lying? The thought of Emily going out and meeting people, men, shouldn’t botherme. She’s an intelligent, beautiful woman, and she deserves to have fun. Just not with hot guys.No, that’s none of my business. She can do whatever she wants. And she should. She should totally go out and have some fun. I could feel my shoulders tightening as I thought about some guy grinding up against her.

“Riiiiight.” She drew it out while nodding her head slowly. “You’re not a very good liar, Jamie.”

“Just thinking about the logistics of providing protection in a loud and noisy nightclub, that’s all.” I lied, again, as I got up and cleared our dishes, hoping she’d drop the subject. I didn’t want to think about how I reacted to Emily. And I sure as hell didn’t want to think about how strongly I felt about breaking the arms off any random guy who touched her.

“Lucky for you, she’s not interested in going out.” She paused for dramatic effect. “At least not yet.”

I didn’t give her the satisfaction of getting a rise out of me. Instead, I grabbed the coffeepot and refilled my mug, then held it up in her general direction. “Refill?”

“Yes please. Anyone ever tell you you’d make a great housewife?”

I almost choked on my spit when I laughed. “No, they haven’t. Though Isabelle used to tell me I was a great husband.”

“I bet you were.” Her tone turned more serious. “I’m sorry about Isabelle, Jamie. I didn’t mean to remind you of your loss.”

“Thanks. It’s getting a little easier to talk about her as time passes.” I hadn’t meant to drag the conversation down with my confession.

“Hot and sensitive, you’ll be a great catch for some lucky woman.” She grinned before taking a sip of her coffee. “When you’re ready.”

“Thanks.” I laughed. I was about to ask her how things were going with her when my phone buzzed. It was Chris, wanting to know how Emily was doing. I sent a quick reply, assuring him she was still sleeping, safe and sound, and said I’d check in when we got back to Weatherford. Then I called Jack and asked him to rearrange the schedule. The morning shift was due to start soon, but I’d be covering until Emily got home.

When I asked him for an update, he said, “Doug’s reviewing the surveillance footage around Emily’s office to see if Craig has shown up. So far nothing.”

“Good. Let me know if he sees anything.”

“Yes, sir.” I could almost see his salute. “How’s Emily this morning?”

“Still sleeping it off.”

“Tell your hottie, baby brother I said Hi.” Ashley was waving her arm back and forth like a maniac.

“Ashley says hi.”

She rolled her eyes at me when I refused to finish her message.

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