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

take notice. “You have been gone a while. He finally landed that job at Encore. He’s been MIA for weeks. They’re working his sexy ass off.”
    “That’s a shame.” And it was. Not that Ian gave a rat’s ass about Ryan’s. Sexy as it was, apparently. Ian needed to be pushed to his limits. He needed to peel his muscles off his bones, work them until they screamed for mercy. He needed to feel something other than the pain of watching Kayla flounder.
    At least if his abs burned and his thighs ached so badly he couldn’t stand after taking a dump, he knew that pain would go away.
    Maybe what he really needed was to consider moving. To Zimbabwe or freakin’ Timbuktu.
    “You need a spotter?”
    His turn to laugh. “Like you could help me?”
    She frowned, her full lip going pouty. “Hey. I’m stronger than I look.”
    “Thanks, but no thanks. I think I’ll just hit the treadmill.” Lame. Seriously damned lame. He had a treadmill at home, and he sure as hell didn’t enjoy playing hamster. He knew all about running and getting nowhere. Story. Of. His. Life.
    He crossed the gym and climbed aboard. A few beeps and the tread chugged to life. Setting the pace for a six-minute mile, he checked out the wall of TVs and focused on the closed caption. Good ol’ KKLV was covering the latest in the attempted murder of Shayne Santiago. Court dates were set. Man, Ian hoped they all got the chair. They deserved worse, but vigilante justice wasn’t legal.
    Ah, and the next story was an update on Leon’s killer. The drug dealer turned murderer had been apprehended in Yuma, Arizona. Apparently the dumb shit didn’t quite run far enough.
    Ian wondered if Kayla knew yet.
    Did it matter if she did?
    He wiped at his face with his forearm and closed his eyes. He really didn’t want to see her sad expression, her tears, but there they were on the dark side of his lids.
    Shit!
    He stumbled, doubled his step and cursed again. Enough was enough. He pounded the giant red stop button and all but leapt from the hamster wheel. His desire to ache somewhere other than his heart drove him to the free weights.
    He’d start with his legs and work up. He adjusted the weight limit. Lying back on the padded bench, Ian positioned himself on the leg press. He pushed upward, extending his legs. A familiar strain tensed his thighs and calves. Bending his knees, he brought the weight and his legs back toward his chest. Up, down. Up, down. His breaths matched the motion. In, out. Up, down.
    The light clanking of the metal filled his thoughts. For the first time in weeks, he felt grounded. He hadn’t realized how disconnected he’d become. He didn’t even recognize the man beneath the skin. What the hell had happened to him?
    “To update our top stories. Bernardo Ruiz, the man who shot and killed Detective Leon Black last month, has…”
    Ian squeezed his lids shut. Yeah. That was the reason his life become a train wreck.
    “I don’t need you. This isn’t your problem. I don’t need you.”
    Dammit, h e wanted to be needed.
    “ Um…Ian?”
    His eyes flipped open. Denali smiled at him. She tucked a strand of blond hair behind her ear. A brow rose, her blue eyes twinkled. “You all right?”
    “Yeah. I’m good.”
    “Why you sitting over here all folded in half?”
    “I’m not…” The denial died on his tongue when she giggled.
    She sank down on the weight bench next to his, her tight belly showing up at eye level. “What’s wrong?”
    “Just got a lot on my mind.” He unfolded his body from the leg press. Twisting around, he dropped his feet to the floor, leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees.
    She leaned forward, too. “Does it have anything to do with why you haven’t been around?”
    He didn’t want to talk about it. And yet… “Yeah.”
    Her soft hand gently covered his forearm. “Maybe you need to go out and have some fun.”
    He grunted.
    She laughed. “How about Friday night? My treat.”
    Did she