Hard Case (Hard as Nails #2) Read Online Free PDF

police with him.
    He steps closer and puts a reassuring hand on my shoulder and despite myself, I lean into his touch. “Look, all they need to know is that we were both there. I told them what happened, and I did what I could to paint you as a victim. I’m not doing anything that’s not already part of the bigger picture for you,” he assures me.
    But I’m not feeling reassured. Slate has an answer for everything. It seems there’s not a situation he either hasn’t experienced or hasn’t thought through yet. Suddenly, I feel like there’s something wrong with this fancy, slicked-back lawyer. I don’t know what it is, but I’m going to find out.
     
    * * *
     
    Slate
     
    I don’t know how long she’s been standing on the stairs or what she’s heard, but when I walk back in from my discussion with the police, Rose is standing at the bottom of the stairs waiting for me.
    She has showered and changed clothes. Her auburn hair, still wet, falls to her shoulders in waves. The black blouse she’s wearing hugs her curves, accentuating her breasts. Her jeans hug her hips.
    She greets me with questions in her eyes, asking who was at the door without saying a word. But when I explain why I didn’t ask her to speak to the officers, I get the feeling she doesn’t believe me. She knows something is up. I try to calm her suspicions and assure her I’m looking out for her.
    What I don’t say is I’m also looking out for King. I don’t know what she’ll tell the police if given the chance, and King isn’t someone we want to piss off.
    I’d called him as soon as I’d left her in her room, and the conversation had disturbed me so much I’d actually been able to focus on something other than the image of her naked in my guest room shower.
    While King reassured me he had nothing to do with Rose and I being shot at, he’d also dropped a bomb on me. “It was probably my new associates,” he’d said.
    “New associates?” I’d questioned.
    “Josh Carter wasn’t only working for me. He also did work with some of my newer compatriots. And he stole money from both of us.”
    “And you didn’t think it was important to tell me about these people?”
    “I didn’t think they would move on their own. Especially after I’d told them I had it under control.”
    “You were obviously wrong. And you need to tell your new partners to back the fuck off.”
    He sighed. “Slate, I’m in negotiations with these people. Critical negotiations. I can’t control them. The best I can do is reassure them she doesn’t pose a threat to us. I’m counting on you to reassure me that she’s not.”
    “It’s going to take some time to build her trust,” I’d told him, keeping my voice low and checking over my shoulder to make sure she wasn’t coming downstairs.
    “I’ll see what I can do to slow them down,” he’d told me, “but I can’t make any promises. Get to work, Slate.”
    Get to work . King’s words echo in my mind as I stare at Rose. My attempts to allay her suspicions failed. I just hope if she really doesn’t know what her husband was mixed up in, I can keep it that way.
    Refraining from complimenting her for her keen instincts or addressing the suspicion in her eyes, I hold out an arm to suggest we walk towards the kitchen. “You must be hungry.”
    She cuts me a sidelong glance as she walks by, pointedly ignoring the arm I held out for her. “I am,” she says with a guarded tone.
    “Hold on.” I put my hands on her tense shoulders and turn her around. Unlike when I touched her earlier, she doesn’t lean into my touch. This time, she tenses and shrugs away.
    I narrow my eyes. It’s time to nip this in the bud. “I don’t know what you’re thinking, but I get it if you find it hard to trust anyone right now. At the same time, Rose, you’ve got to cut me some slack here. I know I’m just some random attorney who showed up ready to defend you, and you don’t know me from Adam, but here’s what I