The Officer's Promise (Brothers in Blue Book 1) by K. Langston Read Free Book Online Page A

enough to fight back?
    The dark thought did a number on the small shred of confidence I’d found over the last few days.
    It was early afternoon. We were on the sofa, Ryker sitting next to me, with both feet propped up on his lap, painting my toenails. I had a hell of a time containing my smile. It was cute watching this tough guy execute such a delicate chore. I had tried to do it myself, finding any little way to feel better about myself since my face was such a mess, but I was still pretty sore and wasn’t doing a very good job. Then when he offered to take over, I melted a little inside.
    “You’re really good at that,” I said, wiggling my toes.
    “Be still or it’s going to look worse than it already does.”
    I stretched my neck, examining his handiwork. “Looks better than I could have done.”
    “Reese broke her left arm skiing when we were fifteen,” he grunted.
    I smiled as I thought about all the ways Reese probably bribed him to do it. He could never say no to her. “You’re such an amazing brother.”
    “I try.”
    “I’ve been meaning to ask, how are your brothers? Did Denver and Suzy ever get married?”
    Sadness stole the smile right from his face before he let go of a long sigh. “They got married right out of high school. Then moved to Breckenridge to be closer to her father who was dying. A few years after he passed away, Suzy got pregnant. The baby made it, she didn’t.”
    “Oh my God.”
    “It’s been hard on him. Almost ten years now and he still hasn’t gotten over it, I don’t think. He won’t date anyone. Hell, he still wears his wedding ring.”
    “Some loves can never be replaced.”
    My chest filled with longing, wondering how different my life would be right now if Ryker had been the one I married and not Trent.
    His face was stoic, but I could see the same longing buried deep in his eyes. “I suppose not.”
    Clearing my throat, I continued. “Did he have a son or a daughter?”
    “Daughter. Her name is Isabelle, but I call her Dizzy Izzy. When she was little she used to love for me to spin her around and around until she got dizzy. She’s a trip. My poor brother—she’s a straight-up tomboy and all sass. He’s so screwed.”
    I chuckled. “I bet he’s an amazing father. Is he the only who got married or has children?”
    Finishing up my pinky toe, he switched feet, taking my casted foot into his lap and starting with my big toe.
    “Asher got married five years ago, but it only lasted six months.”
    “Really? What happened?”
    “She was constantly accusing him of cheating. They were fighting all the time.”
    “Did he?”
    He stopped painting and found my eyes. “Cheat? Hell no. He’s an officer. A dedicated one. We may spend more time on the streets than we do with our family but that doesn’t mean we don’t care about them. It’s because of what we have waiting for us at home—that’s why we fight so hard to keep it safe.”
    There was strong conviction in his voice. A true testament of his commitment to the force. He lived it. Breathed it.
    It was in his blood .
    “You’re not afraid?” I asked, my heart shaded with fear.
    “Afraid of what?”
    Swallowing hard, I had a hard time pushing out my next words. “Getting shot.”
    “Not really, it’s part of the job.”
    “It scares me ,” I confessed.
    “Why?”
    My throat grew tight with emotion, a new kind of fear settling deep in my heart. “Because I don’t want anything to happen to you.”
    “Nothing is going to happen to me.”
    “How can you be so sure?”
    “Well, in case you haven’t noticed, I’m kind of a badass.” He kept his eyes focused on my feet, but the smirk on his lips was glorious.
    I chuckled. I had to agree with him, he was really a badass. And he was good at a lot of things, especially making me smile.
    “Anyway, Asher moved to Memphis not long after the divorce. Our uncle works as a sergeant for the PD there. He just got promoted to lieutenant. He’s a hell