Read Online Ex-Con: Bad Boy Romance by Shiloh Walker, M. S. Parker - Free Book Online Page B

his older brother.
    His gaze skipped away from me to linger on Jake and then moved to Ryan and Carly. “Why don’t we step outside, Cantrell?”
    I gave him a terse nod. I wasn’t about to make a scene here.
    Jake moved in front of me. “Care to explain why?” He glanced at me and made an accurate guess. “Detective?”
    “It’s okay, Jake,” I said, even as something I couldn’t immediately identify rushed through me. Shit. It was gratitude. Jake knew what I’d done. I’d told him. And he knew the guy in front of me was a cop. But he didn’t care. He was taking my side.
    “No, Bobby.” Jake smiled easily, never once taking his eyes away from Dale. “You see, you’re not doing anything wrong. You’re here doing the job you were hired to do. You haven’t caused any problems.” He paused, continuing to stare at Dale. “So, again...why do you need Bobby to step outside?”
    In response, Mitchell pulled out his badge and flashed it. “Because an officer of the law is requesting it, and this man is a convicted felon.”
    He smiled smugly as he said it, as if waiting for a reaction to his announcement. But all Jake did was give him a steady look.
    “Yes. He’s a convict. An ex-con, I believe is the term he used when he told us about his past. As in, he served his time. But...” He nodded and gestured toward Ryan. “I do believe he’s allowed legal counsel, correct? My associate, Mr. Harmon, is an attorney. He is only licensed to practice in New York and California, but I’m sure he wouldn’t mind at least assisting in this matter.”
    I swung my head around to stare at Ryan. He gave me a faint smile. He was a lawyer ? No wonder he and Jake had realized what I was.
    “I wouldn’t mind at all.”
    “You’re supposed to be taking care of Carly,” I said tightly. Under clothes that still felt as unfamiliar as somebody else’s skin, my shoulders were tight, and I was painfully aware that people were staring at us. I just wanted to get out of there, even if it was with Dale.
    “Is there a problem, Dale?”
    And now my humiliation was complete. Mrs. G had rejoined us. Now, she looked and sounded very much like the Grande Dame of something, her tone regal, her head inclined imperiously, her gaze frosty.
    Dale jerked his head at me. “You aware you’ve got a convicted in attendance here?”
    Mrs. G’s gaze flitted toward me. There was surprise in her gaze, but she hid it quickly and she waved a hand. “I see no need to do a full background check on those my guests bring. Besides he’s one of Carly’s security people, which means he passed inspection with her people. That’s more than enough for me.”
    “He’s a killer.” There was a vein throbbing in Dale’s forehead now.
    Blood roared so loudly in my ears, it was amazing I could hear him. Or anybody else for that matter. But I did. People were starting to murmur, and I saw more than a few of them carefully edging away from me.
    But Carly stepped toward me.
    With bold, deliberate steps, she moved to my side and hooked her arm through mine. “I thought the whole point of the prison system was reform, Detective,” she said, her voice dripping sweet. “Or are you of a mind that once a man commits a crime, we just lock him up and throw away the key, let him rot there?”
    Carly’s simple, unequivocal defense of me was something new. A knot would have formed in my throat if I’d let it.
    Dale took a step forward and I automatically nudged Carly behind me, putting myself between her and him.
    “Leave her out of this,” I said softly. “You’ve got a grudge against me, and you’ve a right to it, but don’t drag her into it.”
    His lip curled and there were words in his eyes, on his face. He didn’t speak them, but he didn’t need to.
    I could hear them well enough. I’d been telling myself a version of them from the first moment I realized I wanted to be near Carly.
    You dragged her into it just by being here with her.
    He left without