Unlikely Hero (Atlanta #1) by Kemmie Michaels Read Free Book Online Page A

had napped off and on for hours and was getting stiff from lying on the couch for so long. He had only woken up with nightmares once, which is pretty good for right after a fight. Usually when he allowed himself a trip to the darkest reaches of his mind, he came back with quite a bit of baggage. Usually, a few days would have to pass for the nightmares to cease. Today, he found pleasantly, he woke up from one dream about a puppy licking his nose. He laughed at that one and fell right back to sleep.  
    By four o’clock, though, every ounce of him ached from so much time on the couch. He heard a truck in the alley beside his apartment and headed downstairs.
    “You want help unloading?” Marcus asked George and the delivery guy.
    “You look like hell, kid,” George responded playfully. “Nah, you’re too beat up. Take a break from the heavy work. There’s some ribs out on the block in the back room that need trimming if you’re looking for something to do.”
    Marcus tilted his head back in a nod and reached for a vinyl apron from the line of hooks. He headed back to the cutting tables and got to work on the ribs. George had been teaching him trade skills like he was an apprentice.  
    George always told Marcus that he never had a son to teach this stuff to and he felt lucky for the help. Marcus felt lucky because helping out gave him something to keep his hands working when there was nothing else to occupy him. Plus, the work helped him feel like he was earning all those steaks, burgers, and sausages he ate.
    “Hey, George — I don’t work until Monday night and I’m not going to the gym until this rib heals. You need an extra hand tomorrow?”
    “Sure. We can put together some picnic packs. Those are always big in July. It helps to get an early start.”
    Marcus nodded again and got back to the work in front of him, still thinking about Erin Connor. He shook his head at himself and hoped he didn’t lose his janitorial job. That’s all he was going to hope for.  

    Marcus spent Monday sleeping on his couch in the morning and putting ground chuck through the patty machine for the picnic packs in the afternoon. He and George worked most of the afternoon on those, shrink-wrapping sets of burgers, hot-dogs, and brats, and boxing them. One of the big walk-in freezers was dedicated for bulk-package deals and the pair was filling the shelves for the summer picnic season. Other workers bustled with the heavier work in the refrigerated processing room.
    Mostly, Marcus and George talked about the different fights of the weekend and other sports. The whole time, however, Marcus was distracted by thoughts of Erin Connor. He flipped back and forth between confidently assuming she’d leave him the notebook to read again, and fearing terribly that she’d turned him in and he would be fired.
    “What’s with you today, kid?” George asked with a smile. He just nodded with a bigger smile when Marcus stopped to look at him. “Who is she, then. Come on. Let me hear it.”
    “Shut up,” Marcus grinned. “Nah, it’s nothing. Just sort of met someone who has a good story. Well, it’s a shit story, but it’s looking like it might have a good ending. That’s all.”
    “How’d you meet her?”
    “Didn’t yet.”
    “What?”
    “Try to keep up, old man,” Marcus said with a grin. “I told ya, it’s nothing. It’s just that I might find out more of the story tonight. I’m interested, that’s all. Plus, I’m just bored from not training for two days. My mind wanders.”
    “Sure,” George said with a knowing grin. He had never seen Marcus distracted before, but he liked seeing the lighter look in his eye. He always hoped the kid would find something in the way of happiness that didn’t involve getting his face kicked in on a regular basis. Maybe the story would help…or the girl who was attached to the story, anyway.  
    “I think I’m gonna kick off now. I want to get a little more shut-eye before my