COLE (Dragon Security Book 1) Read Online Free PDF

back at the diner. Amber was still at the counter, eating the last of the sandwich I’d left behind. She was hunched over like an animal protecting its prey. What was it that Peter saw when he looked at her? She was beautiful. Her hair was like spun straw and her eyes this shade of green that seemed to see right through me. But there were thousands of beautiful women in Houston alone. What was it about this one girl that drew Peter to her?
    What the hell was going on here?

Chapter 4
     
    Amber
    I could feel his eyes on me as I worked my shift at the diner. He stared at me as though I were some sort of enigma he was trying to solve. I wished he would just leave, just leave my baby and me alone. I wished I’d never gone to Houston. I’m not even sure why I did. That guy…he never approached me, never said anything to me. For all I know, it was a coincidence that he was outside my trailer that morning. Maybe he was looking for someone else.
    But I knew deep in my gut that he was there watching me. And that scared me to death.
    I had enough trouble without having some bald guy following me around, watching my every move.
    “How’s it going, Amber?”
    Tyler, a guy I went to school with once upon a time, smacked my ass as I walked past him, two plates of food heavy in my hands. I nearly fell, but managed to catch myself by smacking my hip painfully against the side of a stool.
    I didn’t see Peter’s brother—Cole—come up until I heard his voice.
    “What’s the matter with you?” he asked Tyler in a low, deep tone. “You get off on hitting pregnant women?”
    “Just gave her a tap, friend.”
    “You nearly knocked her over.”
    “Not my fault the girl has no balance.”
    Tina, one of the other waitresses, shot me a warning glance. I quickly delivered the food I was carrying and backtracked to the counter.
    “The girl’s pregnant. I suggest you leave her alone.”
    “And I suggest you mind your own damn business!”
    “She is my business.”
    “What? Are you the father?”
    I managed to step between them just as Cole looked like he was going to go ballistic. I lay my hands on his chest, trying to ignore the fact that he was incredibly fit under that snug, black t-shirt, as I pushed him back against the stool that’d saved me from falling flat on my face.
    “That’s enough,” I said, trying to keep my voice low so that Art, my boss, didn’t hear what was happening.
    “Who is this guy, Amber?”
    I twisted, pushing Tyler back into his stool. “Nobody. Just…let it go, okay?”
    “He needs to apologize,” Cole announced.
    “No…”
    I shook my head, but I knew this thing was out of control already because Art was coming out of his office, his beady eyes stuck on me. This wasn’t good.
    “I need to apologize? For what? For slapping Amber on the ass? She don’t mind, do you, sweetheart?”
    Tyler grabbed my ass again, squeezing it hard, right under Cole’s nose. I reacted—knowing that I shouldn’t—turning slightly and slamming my knee into Tyler’s crotch. It couldn’t have been that bad since my belly got in the way and I wasn’t able to give as much force as I wanted, but it got the job done. Tyler fell to the floor, grabbing his crotch and moaning.
    “You’re fired!”
    “Art…” I turned and could see by the look on his face that he wasn’t in the mood to negotiate, but I had to try. “He grabbed me first. What was I supposed to do?”
    “This is the third time you’ve done this! The second to Tyler. I can’t have this sort of thing going on in my diner, Amber. I told you that the last time.”
    “So I’m supposed to allow him to grab me wherever he wants?”
    “You’re a waitress, Amber. Not the fucking Queen of England. It comes with the job.”
    I just stared at him, lost for what to say. I couldn’t lose my job. Not now. But this…I walked around the counter and grabbed my bag.
    “I could sue you for this, Art. And all these people”—I gestured round the