JARED: The Justice Brothers Series Read Online Free PDF Page A

the bar and quaffed half of it. Glaring at his brother, he said, “How about you be on your best behavior instead, little brother? We have some serious shit to deal with, Jared, and I do not like having a rookie officer involved in it.”
    Hailey hated that her usually pleasant commander was clearly annoyed with her—but she had expected that. God knows she deserved his anger. What she hadn’t expected was that Agent Justice would continue to taunt her with overt overtures. Obviously he saw her as a bungling woman with long blonde hair, big tits, and a nice ass; certainly not as a respected fellow officer of the law. But then most of her colleagues couldn’t seem to get past her appearance either. The problem with the amused man grinning at her was that her actions had earned his disrespect. She could almost handle that. What she couldn’t handle was the knowledge that her commanding officer had relegated her to the same unprofessional camp. Ducking her head against Solly’s shoulder, to keep from looking at either of the Justice Brothers, Hailey promised herself that she would slit her wrists and bleed to death right there on the Justice’s imported carpet if a single drop of the waterfall burning her eyelids dared to fall.
    From the shelter of Solly’s massive chest, Hailey didn’t see Jared coming toward her. She could only let out a startled squeak when he wrested her from the gigantic sergeant. As if she weighed nothing, Jared carried her over to the brocaded divan and set her down. He propped her up against one of the large rolled arms then put several throw pillows under her injured foot. When she managed to meet Jared’s gaze, Hailey was startled to see that he looked serious, the way that he had in the forest when he realized that she was hurt. She didn’t know which was more challenging, his open derisiveness or this grim, narrow-eyed focus on her. Both made her feel insignificant and helpless in the face of his overwhelming presence.
    His voice was crisp, authoritative.
    “Hailey, before we get started, we need to get some serious drugs into you. I wouldn’t want that pained expression on your face to take hold. Don’t want to be responsible for spoiling perfection. Which makes me think that whatever drugs my big brother comes up with will be better washed down with a glassful of booze. Tell me, Sugar, which best suits your taste, expensive whisky or even more expensive scotch?”
    Before she could answer, Jared added, “And don’t you dare tell me you prefer wussy white wine.”
    Hailey managed a small laugh. She paused for a moment, realizing that for the first time Jared had called her by her real name rather than one of his disparaging nicknames. And considering what he’d said about her face, he might actually have paid her a compliment. Of course, it was all about her looks rather than her actions, but given his stream of seemingly never ending put-downs, she’d take a compliment no matter how lukewarm it was.
    Hailey acknowledged that Jared was right. He’d pegged her as a clueless California beach bunny and before she’d started training for the Academy, that’s pretty much what she was. And, yes, she did prefer white wine over hard liquor. It was disconcerting that just having met her, he knew her so well. But when she saw the handful of pills Lt. Justice put in front of her, Hailey decided she better man up.
    With a determined sigh, she said, “Since I’ve never had either one, I guess I’ll start with the scotch.”
    Jared laughed. “Good choice, Angel Face. What with your first acquaintance with the hard stuff combined with some righteous drugs, we’ll have you toughened up in no time. Besides, if the Glenmorangie Scotch doesn’t float your boat, you can always hit the Maker’s Mark.”
    When both he and Jake had piled on, Jared knew he’d gone too far with his relentless teasing. Hell, given that Hailey was a newbie, and a fucking clueless one at that, the least he and his