Love On The Ropes (Ringside Romance) Read Online Free PDF

bolt out of the room. She could talk
him out of his dog tags by reading the classified ads out loud.
    “It’s personal,” J said.
    “Okay.” She put up her hands. “I
was only trying to help.”
    Help? Yeah, he could use some of
that, otherwise he’d failed the most miserable assignment of his career. He
could kiss his promotion good-bye, his career good-bye.
    She turned to leave and he touched
her arm. “Wait.”
    She glanced over her shoulder.
    Okay, McBain, come up with
something good .
    “I really need this job,” he said.
    She waited. Damn, now what? How
far could he go without it seeming like an act?
    “I’m broke, got laid off and can’t
find another assignment.”
    “Assignment?” she said.
    “Contract,” he hedged. “My day job
is construction. I dig tunnels for cities. Been out of work for six months, and
I’m late on the rent.”
    “Surely you’ve got friends you can
stay with?” She eyed him and wrinkled her nose. “Or maybe not. What about
family?”
    He clenched his teeth, willing
himself not to say what he was about to say. “They’re gone. Dad died twenty
years ago and Mom…” He hesitated. “She passed on last year.”
    Well, it was partly true. In J’s
mind his father died the day he’d walked out on the family, and Mom passed on
J’s advice to stay away from numb nuts Malloy, a divorcee she’d met at bingo.
Malloy was a loser. J could feel it in his bones.
    “You have no other family?” she
asked.
    “Not really.”
    He thought about his little sister
and brother, Janette and Jordon. Well, not little anymore, but all grown up and
wanting Jason to mind his own business and stay out of their lives. He’d willingly
taken on the role of father when they were kids and was paying for it now.
    Then again, maybe they resented
him for abandoning the family when he’d joined the military. It was the best
thing for everyone. He couldn’t stand his mom’s boyfriend playing father,
pushing Jason out of the lead male role. Unable to voice his frustration, he’d
gotten into trouble with the cops. He’d never forget the look on Mom’s face
when Officer Rogers brought him home in his cruiser. From that point on he’d
decided to make her proud.
    Yet, by joining the army he’d lost
regular contact with Mom, Janette and Jordon. Whenever he’d call to touch base,
his brother and sister acted like he was checking up on them. Hell, what did he
care if Jordon was in his fifth year of college, or if Janette skipped college
altogether to open a beauty salon for rich clients on the North Shore? Deep
down he suspected they didn’t want him in their lives because he reminded them
that they, too, were unlovable in some way that caused Raymond McBain to go out
for doughnuts and never come home.
    “It’s a woman, isn’t it?”
    He snapped his attention to Sandy.
“What?”
    “There’s a woman out there you can
stay with. I feel it.”
    Maybe she wasn’t so good at
reading him. No woman would keep J around for more than one night. Sure he was
good, maybe even exceptional at making love for one long, hot night... and the
next morning. But J wasn’t the reliable type when it came to a long-term
romance. It ran in the McBain genes.
    “No woman,” he said. “I was
counting on this job.” He glared at Cosmo, hoping he’d catch J’s meaning. If
Cosmo was ready to fire an undercover DEA agent for such a small transgression,
he must have something to hide.
    “There’s got to be another kind of
job you can get.” The bossy, adorable Sandy wouldn’t let up. Why did she care?
    “Nope. All I got is muscle and
attitude. I could care less about sleeping on Lower Wacker Drive, but my
sister...” He hesitated. How far should he go? Lay it on thick and make her
feel sorry for you .
    “My baby sister’s been bunking
with me. She’s got some ... emotional issues.”
    What a pile of horseshit. But did
she believe it? Keep your face still, every friggin’ muscle frozen like ice.
    He’d