Hard as You Can Read Online Free PDF

Jeremy made his way down the ladder.
    “Eh. I’ll live.” Shane shrugged. “How’s the leg?” He grinned. Marz had taken three gunshots in last night’s firefight, all of them miraculously shooting through the bottom half of his right pant leg, the one that was mostly empty save for the metal rod of his prosthesis.
    Marz barked out a laugh. “Good as new, baby.”
    Jeremy climbed down the ladder, shaking his head. “You guys are a little twisted.”
    “Says the guy wearing a T-shirt with a log-holding beaver asking, ‘Are you looking at my wood?’” Shane said. Jeremy had a whole collection of dirty and irreverent shirts, apparently.
    Everyone chuckled.
    “Hey, I never said I had a problem with twisted.” Jeremy hefted the ladder and moved it to the next position.
    Everyone halted as a three-legged puppy came bounding down the driveway.
    “Speaking of twisted,” Shane said, earning a few more chuckles. Becca had rescued the German shepherd from scavenging the hospital trash cans a few days before, and now the cute mutt with a pair of inordinately huge ears had everyone wrapped around her oversized paws.
    “Dude, no making fun of Eileen,” Marz said, scooping her lanky black-and-tan body into his arms. Their shared missing-leg status had created a huge soft spot in the man’s heart for the puppy.
    “Who, me?” Shane reached over and gave her silky ears a quick stroke. “Besides, how could I possibly make fun of a three-legged puppy with cartoonish ears named Eileen?”
    “Last night you claimed credit for the name,” Nick said. “Even though I was the one who sang Becca the song.”
    “Don’t remind me. The memory of you down on your knees singing eighties anthems is burned into my brain forever. Besides, you’re just mad that Becca liked my name best.”
    The smirk on Nick’s face made it clear he was gearing up for a juicy retort, but just then, Becca rounded the corner from the back of the building. The woman was all-American-girl pretty, with blond hair, blue eyes, and a warm, bright smile. “You guys aren’t making fun of Eileen, are you?” A chorus of negatives rang out, and Becca rolled her eyes. “You totally were. You’re going to give her a complex.” She nuzzled the puppy in Marz’s arms. “It’s okay, pretty girl. Don’t listen to them.”
    “You know I wasn’t doing anything but loving her. These guys, though . . .” Marz shrugged.
    “Hey, don’t throw me under the bus. I didn’t say a word,” Jeremy said, leaning the ladder back against the building. “It was these assholes.” He pointed at Shane and Nick.
    Shane had a defense on the tip of his tongue, but Becca turned her feigned outrage on Nick. “How could you?”
    Nick nailed his brother with a glare as he stepped right into Becca’s space. “I didn’t say a damn thing, sunshine. Promise.”
    “Uh-huh,” she said, trying to hold back a grin as Nick kissed her cheek.
    Shane turned away and busied himself with filching a bottle of water from the box that held Marz’s supplies. The H 2 O was warm but did the job.
    “Okay, you two. Get a room,” Jeremy said.
    “Aren’t you the one who supposedly walks around naked?” Becca asked, crossing her arms.
    Jer reached for the button on his jeans and tugged it apart. “No, but your wish is my command, sweetheart.” He winked, stomping all over Nick’s most exposed nerve. Shane rather respected the younger Rixey’s ability to get under his brother’s skin. Nick was usually buttoned up pretty damn tight.
    Nick’s glare slipped into an outright scowl as he pulled Becca in tight and buried her face in his chest. “Quick. Hide your eyes, or you’ll be scarred for life.”
    Her laughter was free but muffled. “It’s not my wish, Jeremy, it’s not my wish,” she said. She pulled back, face all squinched up, and asked, “Is it safe yet?”
    “Yeah, yeah,” Jeremy said. “Just know it’s a standing invitation.”
    Nick darted around Becca and tackled Jer