Teddy Bear Sir (The Sloan Brothers Book 3) by Jo Willow Read Free Book Online Page B

moment.”
    “ Mr. Sloan, you are another Sloan, correct?”
    I held out my hand.
    “ I apologize for my manners.  I’m Pierce Sloan.  The gorilla with no manners is my brother Anton and the one who thinks pregnancy is a fatal illness is my brother Deacon.”
    She smiled then and appeared to relax as she shook my hand.
    “ Mr. Sloan, I can tell you that she’s fine.  She’s in pain, but they’re giving her something for that.  As far as the gentleman that did this to her goes, it appears he may be the one that’s worse for wear...”
    All sorts of things flew through my mind and I couldn’t help but grin a little.
    “ Please explain.  I know Melody well and nothing you can tell me would surprise me.”
    “ It appears that the man in question showed up on her doorstep and angered her.”
    “ Wait.  She was alone?”
    “ As near as we can tell, yes.  She answered the door, words were exchanged, and she proceeded to kick the man in his privates.  That’s how she broke the bones in her foot.  While he was down, she kicked him in the face, causing further injury.  They’re casting her foot and ankle as we speak and she should be released shortly.”
    I couldn’t help myself.  I started laughing and then I patted her on the shoulder, her eyes going wide.
    “ Thank-you for that.  Of all the people that would end up in a confrontation with him, it had to be Melody.  Tell me, how is Dorothy handling this?  Deacon is worried out of his mind and rarely lets her out of his sight.”
    She smiled and raised her eyebrow.
    “ Your sister-in-law hasn’t stopped laughing.  I’m assuming she’s taking it well.”
     
    A few seconds later, I could hear laughter followed by an angry voice.
    “ If you don’t stop with the fucking laughter, I’ll kick YOU in the nuts next.”
    Then a pause before the double doors opened and I saw Chase pushing Melody in a wheelchair, flanked by Dorothy and Austin.  Chase and Austin?  Why were they back there?
    Melody was looking up at Chase.
    “ And you, Sherlock, why can’t the cops find a limping asshole covered in his own blood?  Huh?  He’s hobbling down the streets of Manhattan.  This should not be difficult.”
    Chase rolled his eyes and stopped her in front of me.  I beamed at her and she narrowed her eyes.
    “ Hiya Gimpy.”
    “ Fuck-you Teddy Bear.  I suppose Anton’s ready to rip me a new one.”
    “ Oh he’s in line alright.  Ready to go home?”
    “ For how long?”
    “ Stellar question my dear.”
    Then it was my turn to be pushed aside as Deacon pulled Dorothy away, running his hands over her bump and kissing her cheek, while Anton took Melody’s crutches from her lap.
    “ Well at least these should slow your ass down.  We can’t leave you alone for five damned minutes, can we?”
    Melody was loaded for bear.
    “ Bugger off Anton.  Where’s your date?”
    “ I took Janet home the minute I got the call that we were rallying the troops.  What the hell happened?”
    “ Can we get home first?  I’ll tell you all about it then, I promise.”
     
    All further discussion was tabled until we made the trek to Melody’s condo.  Ayla stayed quiet in the car on the way over and I couldn’t tell if she was mad because I’d hit her with the first of many rules, or if she was considering the injuries that Tony had inflicted on Melody.  Either way, she had a right to her private thoughts and I assumed that if she wanted to discuss them, she would.
    You know what they say about the word “assume”.  If I’d had a brain in my head I would’ve started defusing the situation then and there, and if I’d had any experience with relationships at all, I probably would have.  The problem was, I didn’t so I didn’t.
     
    By the time we got to Melody’s place, the arguments were in full bloom.  Since we weren’t in a public place, I saw no reason to get involved unless I had something valuable to add to the discussion.  Melody was ensconced