Hard Break (Deadlines & Diamonds, #5) by Morgan Kearns Read Free Book Online Page A

mostly eaten burger in the crinkly paper and chucked it in the garbage. He took a final swig of the Coke, tossed the can in the recycle bin and strode out of the kitchen.
    Kayla didn’t follow and had to admit to being a bit surprised when the front door opened and closed quietly. She owed him an apology, but she’d be damned if she could summon the courage to chase him down and offer it.
    Lif e would be easier without Ian. That wasn’t exactly true. The hellish rollercoaster she was on would definitely be easier with Ian in the passenger seat, but he didn’t belong there. He had a life of his own to live.
    Besides he’d leave eventually and if she’d come to depend on him…
    It’d definitely be much better if he walked away now.
     
    S ometimes Ian wanted to shake Kayla silly. Just grab her by the shoulders and shake her until her head cleared. She frustrated the shit out of him. It wasn’t as if he were asking her to marry him. Hell, he’d done his damnedest to keep his feelings under wraps.
    S he was in hell, no denying that. But he’d shown up with a fire hose, trying to keep the flames at bay while she picked up the damn pieces of her life. He hadn’t asked her for a freakin’ thing. Not one. Damn. Thing.
    Maybe she was right.
    Maybe this mess wasn’t his problem. Maybe she and the kids would be just fine and he was spinning his wheels, tromping all over hallowed ground.
    His stomach growled. Dammit . Whatever. He shouldn’t be eating that nuclear waste anyway. Eat clean. It wasn’t just a gimmick. Ian’s body had been all out of whack since Leon’s death. He needed to get his shit together.
    Screw all this drama.
    Ian needed to hit the gym, wipe Kayla and the kids out of his head. Even if only for a couple hours. Because fool that he was he’d jump right back into the madness that was Kayla’s life as soon as she opened the door again.
    Color him stupid.
    He jogged up the stairs of his house, changed into a black wife-beater and shorts, grabbed his Nikes and headed back downstairs. The whole ordeal took less than five minutes. Add three to the clock and he was out the door, keys in hand.
    The local country station had been taken over by sad and sappy, so he turned the dial to something loud and angry. Hard beats, insane guitar solos and incensed lyrics drove the thoughts of his home situat ion out of his head. Except the moment he praised his ability to forget them, the Black family showed up in his frontal lobe.
    A police cruiser pulled up behind him at a light.
    Perfect.
    He prepared himself for the flash of the red and blue, mentally handing over the license, registration and proof of insurance. The only light he saw, though, was the flash of red to green.
    Slowly, gently pressing his foot against the accelerator, the Mustang eased off the line. North Las Vegas’ finest stayed close, but as Ian turned into the gym’s parking lot, the uniforms kept right on driving.
    What a joke.
    He hadn’t done anything wrong. Now he’d drifted from pathetic to paranoid. Awesome!
    Ian got out, lo cked his Mustang and strode toward the gym. The parking lot seemed a little barren, familiar vehicles lacking.
    The moment he opened the door a sense of rightness welcomed him. He’d missed this place and hadn’t realized how much until just now. He took a deep breath. If testosterone had a scent, surely this was what it’d smell like.
    “Well, hey, stranger.”
    Ian looked into the big blue eyes of Denali, a living breathing Barbie doll. With her long blond hair and killer body, men stopped to take notice. Her shorty shorts and sports bra with the six-pack in between didn’t hurt things.
    “Hey, babe. How you been?”
    “Good.” She smiled. Lots of perfect white teeth. Total freaking package. “Where the hell you been?”
    In hell . “Just had some shit to take care of.” He shot a glance around the gym. “Diaz around?”
    Her laugh spoke of humor…and sex. The low husky tone making his groin stop and