Chapter Two
Damn it all to hell.
Bryce watched Tanya like he might just stalk out there and drag her back to the table. Her sweet ass swayed in time to the rhythm of the music as the bodies around her moved.
With each swing, he could feel his cock getting harder and harder in his pants, pressing hard against the zipper, desperate to be planted between those sweet cheeks.
If he didn't stop watching, he was going to have a hard time walking out of the place. He picked up his beer to help cool his parched throat.
Despite complaining about drinking before, now he wished he had a few shots to down himself and cloud his mind. A single beer just wouldn’t cut it.
"Damn, she is hot,” Reece said.
Bryce nearly choked on the beer he was sucking down. "What?"
Reece nodded towards the dance floor. "The one with auburn hair. I didn't even know my sister had friends who were hot like that."
Bryce didn’t want to point out that Reece’s sister was about as hot as they came, so it was no surprise that her friends would be equally good looking, but he already knew that Reece wasn’t going to even hear that. To him, she was just the little sister who annoyed the crap out of him.
Zane scowled at Reece, and the man held up his hands, realizing that maybe this wasn’t the best group to say that in.
"Well, aside from Ellen, of course."
Bryce sat quietly sipping his beer. It wasn't exactly like he had a lot to say on the subject. Not that Reece would have been pissed. In fact, he was fairly sure, aside from being grossed out, that he would be fine with it.
No, the real problem was the fact that Bryce was about fifteen years too old for the sassy woman on the dance floor. Not that his dick understood age. No matter how often he told himself no, his lower half wasn’t hearing any of it.
Bryce thought about her just about every day. Thought about how much he wanted her and how much he couldn't have her.
The longing about drove him half mad with need, but he was right to stay away. She was twenty-five. Had the whole world in front of her. He'd already had time to have a world of possibilities opened up to him and fuck things up royally. The last thing he needed to do was limit someone else’s chances.
Although he still wasn't sure exactly how he screwed it all up. Joining the police force had been something he’d wanted since the time he was a kid. When all his friends had flipped their dream jobs in their minds, Bryce had held firm to the idea of being a cop.
His swearing in ceremony at the academy was one of the happiest days of his life. Then all of that had come crashing down around him.
Misplaced trust and an eagerness to do what was right had been his downfall. Never again would he let that happen.
Lost in his own thoughts, Bryce didn't see trouble coming in until Zane had nudged him sharply with his elbow.
"What's he doing here?"
Bryce followed his line of vision until he spotted just who Zane was talking about. He clenched his drink with one hand and made a fist with his other.
"So glad to have found you here,” the new arrival said.
Bryce stared at the man in front of him and frowned. It had been nearly five years since he’d last seen his ex-partner. Five years since the man had closed the door on their friendship and camaraderie like he was a bug.
"What the hell are you doing here, Dalton?"
The smile on the man’s face didn't waiver for even a second. Nothing ever seemed to phase him, and if it did, he never showed it. Great cop skill, but not so great in the friendship department.
"I see you're just as charming as you were when you were on the force."
The frown on Bryce’s face only deepened as he stared at the man standing across from him. Dalton might as well be a stranger at this point. The one person he'd always counted on during his ten years on the force. The one person he thought would always have his back until the one day he needed him most, and he was nowhere to be found.
"What are you doing here, Dalton?" Bryce repeated.
Unsurprisingly, the other man pulled up a chair and sat down at the table. Zane and Reece stared open-mouthed at the balls of the other man.
"Called your job to talk with you, and they said I could find you here," Dalton said nonchalantly.
"So much for the security part of the job title," Reece mumbled.
Dalton shook his head and gave a small laugh. "They weren’t going to say anything, but I flashed a badge and said we used to work together." He shrugged. “That’s all true, after all.”
Bryce stared at the other man, waiting for the other shoe to drop. People didn’t just pop back into your life after so many years unless they had a reason to do so.
"I also said I might have a job for you,” Dalton said.
There it was. Of course there was a job involved. There was always something.
Bryce leaned back in his chair and stared down at the other man. “I’m listening.”
Tanya moved on the floor, trying not to look over at him but keeping Bryce just in the corner of her eye.
He’d been watching her, and that knowledge only excited her more. It wasn’t often she dressed up like this. Usually she stuck to t-shirts and jeans, and they didn’t really do much to show off her body.
But like this she was invincible.
Tanya was surprised when she turned slowly on the floor to get a better look, maybe even make some eye contact, and instead found another man had joined them at the table.
She frowned. He wasn’t one of the men from Bryce’s job. Although she didn’t know them all, she did know how most of them looked, and although this man was somewhat handsome and fit, he just didn’t have the guns and body like some of the others. Like Bryce.
“Who’s that?” Ellen said in her ear.
Tanya turned to dance with her friend and shook her head. “No clue,” she said, and glanced back over to the man.
Whoever he was, she could tell that Bryce wasn’t happy to see him.
“Don’t think he has any friends there,” Ellen said, her breath coming out in short bursts from all the jumping and gyrating.
Tanya nodded. It was true. It wasn’t just Bryce. The other men didn’t look nearly as angry, but they weren’t as relaxed as they had once been.
Maybe it was time the three girls headed back to have a drink. Mainly it was a chance to see just who the man was and why he was pissing everyone off, but being nosy didn’t seem like a good excuse.
Heck, for all she knew, the guy was a Russian mobster, though the casual clothing and lack of flash suggested otherwise.
Behind her Kelly swayed to the music, ignoring the few men that had tried to work their way next to her.
“Let’s go get a drink,” Tanya shouted over the music.
Ellen nodded, but Kelly’s eyes widened as she glanced back over to the table. For whatever reason, Reece hitting on her had really thrown her off. Maybe it was all those years of wanting him without him even really noticing she existed.
“It’s fine,” Tanya laughed. “I’ll make sure my horn-dog brother is on a leash.”
A red blush spread across Kelly’s chest and face.
“I’m fine,” Kelly snapped. “I can handle myself.”
Tanya gave a wide smile. She liked the new more self-assured woman her friend was becoming but knew the inner girl was still there and terrified at the idea of Reece.
She flung her arm over her friend’s shoulder.
“You’re right,” Tanya said with a grin. “He doesn’t stand a chance against you. Now let’s go get ‘em, tiger.”
Kelly huffed loudly, but the challenge was just enough to get her moving toward the table, Ellen leading the way through the crowded dance floor.