Burnout: A Legal Heat Novella Read Online Free Page A

well…the weapons I ordered from Korea got seized by the port authorities. Major fucking disaster. The police were all over the container. Dogs, trace, the works. I’ve got some very, very unhappy customers. They think I screwed them over. So the job I discussed with Ryder is off, but I am expecting another shipment in two weeks.” Jason’s voice dropped low. “I’ll need protection for the transport south, especially since my current buyers are out for blood.”
    “Call me when it’s ready to go. I’ll let Ryder know this one was a bust.” Ace hesitated and then dived in with the topic that was foremost in his mind. “I heard your sister just moved to town. Is she helping you out? You want me to add her as a contact?”
    Jason’s jaw tightened. “She got transferred here from Toronto. She thinks I’m an account manager for a paper company. If she found out what I really did for a living, she’d go ballistic.” He narrowed his eyes. “And just in case you get any ideas, she’s not your type. She’s straight-up conservative—little miss law and order. We don’t usually socialize with the same crowd, but she’s been through one hell of a rough ride with her ex who’s now locked up in a penitentiary out east. Shame ’cause if I ever got my hands on him—”
    “Jason!” A short, purple-haired chick, covered in tats and piercings, grabbed Jason’s arm. “Greta was just trying to freebase in the kitchen and set fire to her hair.”
    “Gotta go.” Jason whirled around. “Enjoy the party. We’ll talk next week.”
    Deal done, there was no real reason to stay. Still, Ace’s gaze drifted to Sophie. She hadn’t struck him as conservative. Not with that mouth and definitely not with that sass.
    Maybe he’d stick around for a while. Have another drink.
    *     *     *
    “Hey, sis. Didn’t think you’d actually come to one of my parties. You having a good time?” Jason gave Sophie a warm hug and brushed a kiss over her forehead.
    “I didn’t think I’d come, either, but now that I’m here, I think I might be able to make my arrest quota for the week without even opening the door to my police car.”
    “Shhhh.” He leaned down and whispered in her ear. “Some of my friends are kinda sensitive about the cops.”
    “Like I didn’t learn that lesson when we were teenagers.” Sophie laughed. They had always run with different crowds, and yet she was closer to Jason than she had ever been with her parents, or even Ryan. He had always been her protector, confidant, and best friend. “Except back then you didn’t want them to know I was your straight-laced, honour roll sister, or that I worked part-time in the library.”
    “It was seriously embarrassing.” Jason shook his head, but his voice took on a teasing tone. “How could I be cool when my sister was a fucking librarian?”
    “You seem to have turned out okay.” Her gaze flitted over to the fence, where Jason had been standing with Ace only a few minutes ago. “You have a few… interesting friends.”
    Jason’s expression darkened, and he led her toward the kitchen with one hand against her lower back. “You were talking to Ace. He’s bad news, Soph. At least for you.”
    Sophie snorted a laugh. “I hardly need your protection anymore. I walk around every day with a belt full of weapons, and I know how to use them.” She looked around for Ace—again—disappointment spearing through her when she didn’t see him. Still, she sensed he was somewhere nearby, imagined him watching her, and fantasized that she would take him home, have mind-blowing hot sex, and then kick him out in morning. Happy and content.
    Insta-lust . She’d read about it, laughed at it, never dreamed it would happen to her. But she should have expected that, after a year dating accountants and middle managers, the first remotely dangerous man who crossed her path would become the only wine that would quench her thirst.
    “You thinking about me,