Midnight Action Read Online Free PDF Page B

practicing for a marathon?”
    Sullivan’s silver eyes twinkled. “Bloody right. Stella and I beat my record today—seven times.”
    “Stella...Have I met her?”
    His buddy snorted. “We hooked up with her sister a few months ago.”
    “Shit. Right.” A laugh flew out. “You’re such a whore, bro. Just
had
to make a move on the sister, huh?”
    “Uh-uh,
she
made the move,” Sully said smugly. “What was I s’posed to do, turn her down? That’d break her heart.”
    Liam couldn’t help but laugh again. Truth was, he appreciated Sullivan’s open attitude toward sex. Until he’d become friends with the cocky Australian, he’d never known anyone with that reckless anything-goes mentality.
    “Anyway, it’s a bloody shame you bailed today. You woulda had fun.”
    Liam didn’t doubt it. He always had fun with Sullivan.
    But...maybe it was
too
much fun.
    Their sexual antics had begun to distract him lately, even confuse him, if he were being honest. And he valued their friendship way too much to watch it crash and burn because of some weird, complicated tension he couldn’t even explain.
    Liam’s eight-year stint in the DEA had made it impossible to form any lasting friendships. He’d been in deep cover for most of his career, cozying up to slimebag drug dealers and kingpins in order to take them down. A damn lonely way to live, but the extent of his loneliness hadn’t truly sunk in until after he’d gone private and hooked up with Morgan. The easy camaraderie he’d witnessed among Morgan’s men had been a major reason why he’d joined the crew full-time, and once he’d become ingrained in a team, he’d realized just how much it sucked to work alone.
    To
be
alone.
    His friendship with Sullivan Port, girly as it sounded, meant a lot to him. He’d never connected with another guy the way he connected with Sully. The two of them could read each other’s minds, and with the rest of Morgan’s men dropping like flies into commitment territory, Liam and Sully were among the few remaining hound dogs of the bunch.
    “Yeah...sorry,” he told Sullivan, keeping his tone vague. “I had a shit ton of e-mail to answer.”
    “Your family’s on your case again, eh?”
    He sighed. “Yup. But that’s what happens when you come from an Irish Catholic clan. Eight kids, for fuck’s sake. I don’t know what my folks were thinking.”
    “Ah, mate, you’re lucky. You’d hate being an only child, not to mention an orphan.”
    Liam gulped at the wistful note in Sullivan’s voice, suddenly feeling like a total ass for complaining about his family. He’d been raised by parents who adored him, and surrounded by seven boisterous siblings who always had his back, while Sully had spent his entire childhood in foster homes. Sometimes he forgot that, especially since Sullivan didn’t talk about his upbringing often.
    “Anyhoo,” his teammate hurried on before Liam could say another word, “wanna go downstairs and spy on the boss?”
    “Nah. I don’t feel like being murdered tonight.”
    That got him a loud laugh. “Another good point. Fine. Let’s watch a movie, then. I don’t feel like going to bed yet.”
    He hesitated, then said, “Pass. I’m frickin’ exhausted.”
    “Jeez, Boston, you’re such a bloody pansy.” Rolling his eyes, Sullivan heaved himself out of the chair and rose to his full height. “If you change your mind, I’m down in the theater.”
    “I won’t. I’m ready to collapse.”
    The blond man headed for the door, then paused to toss a quick taunt over his broad shoulder. “Night, Princess.”
    “Fuck off.”
    With a laugh, Sullivan left the room and closed the door behind him.
    The moment he was alone again, Liam leaned back against the pillows and released an unsteady breath. Shit. Sooner or later, Sully would start noticing the distance Liam kept placing between them, which meant it was definitely time to try to get his head on straight.
    Before he screwed up the one friendship