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CHAPTER 1

PJ Rutherford cocked back her chair and flung her boot on top of the table in front of her She adjusted her straboy hat so her eyes were barely visible and stared over the s the far wall

The waitress thumped a bottle of beer on the table next to PJ’s boot and then sashayed away, her attention reserved for the male customers she flirted with and chatted up

PJ wasn’t a chatter She’d never spoken to anyone in all the tiular, but yet, in all her irregularity, she was

This was her place to unwind between missions It wasn’t what most would consider a place of rest and relaxation, but for PJ it worked to throw back a few beers, inhale sos and watch a few bar fights

She winced when the guitarist riffed a particularly bad chord and then ground her teeth together when the uys were a, whichibuprofen for the headache she’d be sure to have

But it beat spending the evening alone in her aparth she wasn’t even sure it could be considered jet lag She’d been three days without sleep, so truly she could sleep at any time, but she ired and still buzzed froht

She ound tighter than a rusted spring and there was no give in her , happy one on at the Kelly coh true love and babies and bullshit to ills, hadn’t helped

Not that she was a cynic when it came to romance She had her roainst anyone giving her shit over reading them

But so in the sheer sugary sweetness of all that unconditional love and support Did no one ever get pissed off and start a fight?

The truth was, she just felt out of place, which hy she’d rather stick to her own team, let Steele take the orders from Sam or Garrett Kelly and she’d follow her team leader The day Steele became e up her rifle and called it quits

She liked Steele She knehere she stood with Steele Always He didn’t sugarcoat shit If you fucked up, he called you on it If you did your job, you didn’t get any special accolades Not for doing your fucking job, as he put it

And she liked her teaiant pain in her ass But he was a cute pain in the ass and he was haring on Easy Too easy He rose to the bait on too many occasions for her to count

She was the better marksman She knew that without false modesty But it didn’t stop a healthy rivalry between her and Cole when it came to sniper duty

It pushed them both, made them better at their jobs andand casual Just the way she liked it

The current song ended, and she sighed in relief The band looked to be taking a short break, but her ears were still roaring fro sounds of justfor her beer when she saw a group of threethe bottle over Her sto a break for the restrooer replaced the sudden panic What the hell was she conte Her ex-lover and his buddies had hung her out to dry Not the other way around

She forced her gaze away, pretended interest in an object across the room and hoped they wouldn’t notice her From her periphery, she saw the nized her

He went coed Jimmy and Mike and pointed in her direction

Fuck They alking this way Just what she goddaht she just wanted to be left alone

She was still staring ahead when Derek stepped in front of her, blocking her vision She slowly looked up,sure her expression was cool and unruffled

"So is this where you’re hanging out now, PJ?" Derek drawled "Didn’t figure you one for trolling this kind of place"

The insulting tone grated on her nerves

"Get out of my space, Derek"

He lifted an eyebrow and quirked the corner of his mouth up in a sneer "That’s not what you used to say Of course that was before you decided to shit on your tea these days, PJ? Surely not here You don’t quite have the body to pull this gig off"

The old PJ would already be in his face and would have knocked him on his ass The new PJ

Fuck it There was nothing wrong with the old PJ

She rose from her chair, tipped back her hat and leveled a cold stare at the three Back in the day they’d been tight All four of them She and Derek had been lovers for two years They’d hooked up almost immediately after PJ had joined the SWAT teaed to keep their relationship a secret, hiding behind friendship Friendship they genuinely shared with Jiured she’d turn and walk out Because that’s what she was good at Running

Not this tiht in the nose

His hand flew up as his head whipped back and he staggered backward several steps

His fingers caround, refusing to be intimidated by the asshole

"What the fuck was that?" he roared

"Soo," she said calmly "Listen up, pencil dick I don’t have tiive a shit about you or your lame sidekicks, so do us both a favor and leave me the fuck alone"

"Once a bitch always a bitch, huh, PJ?" Mike said with curled lips

"You think what you want, Mike," she said in a calm, measured voice "I walked aith a clear conscience Can you say the saer bristled visibly from him He started toward her but Jimoing to start a fight in a public bar with a woman?"

"Feel free," PJ said sweetly "I’m more than happy to kick his ass"

"What happened to you?" Derek deive ave me so well I wasn’t the one as dirty That’s on you and your buddies You expectedet the hell out of my space"