Hennessey's Handler (Protect and Serve #4) - Pandora Pine Page 0,19

if I were going to have any kind of friendship or relationship with Morrison that the truth was going to have to come out. I figured that conversation would happen on my terms. “You’re here to ruin my life, just like you promised you’d do when you were sentenced to Leavenworth.”

“Leavenworth?” Morrison gasped. “The federal prison?”

“Got it in one,” Stan said, his full attention focused on Morrison. “Your new butt-buddy should have been my bunkie, but he made himself a sweet deal with the prosecution. He got an honorable discharge, meaning he got to keep all his benefits, while I got the shaft. Figuratively and literally.”

Never in my life would I wish another person harm. As reprehensible as Stan was then and now, he didn’t deserve to be raped in prison.

“Look, I don’t know what the hell is going on here, but if Hennessey wants you to leave, you should go.” Morrison held his ground, refusing to be drawn into a debate he knew nothing about.

Stan tsked his tongue against the roof of his mouth. “It’s obvious you have no idea what’s going on here. If you did, you wouldn’t be sitting here making moon-eyes at Henny Penny.” He hooked his thumb at me.

I hated that fucking nickname when Stan was my commanding officer. I didn’t like it any better now, but I wasn’t going to raise a fuss about it. If Stan was there to embarrass me, I could take it. God knows I’d done just that for the years I served under him. “You’ve made your point. It’s time to leave.” I pulled out my phone and got ready to call Kennedy. If this asshole wasn’t going to leave under his own power, I had no trouble calling for backup.

Stan laughed. “I haven’t even begun to make my point, son. It’s your fault I ended up in prison. All you had to do was keep your fucking mouth shut, and we both would have been set for life. But no, you went against me. I promised you when I was sentenced that I would find you and pay you back in full, and that’s exactly what I’m here to do. You won’t know a peaceful moment until I decide you’ve had enough.”

My patience was at an end. I shoved Stan. He overbalanced and nearly fell out of the booth before managing to grab the edge of the table. “Get out of my bar. You’re not welcome here.” I shoved him again, forcing him out of the booth and onto his feet. I was right behind him.

“You have no idea what you’re up against,” Stan whispered, low enough so only I could hear him.

I knew exactly what I was up against. I’d fought him before and came out on top. I would again. “Get out, now.”

“He’s a filthy traitor!” Stan shouted, grabbing the attention of everyone in the bar. “Right here under your noses. A traitor to this country, to the Coast Guard, and all the people he vowed to protect and serve.”

“You need some help taking out the trash, boss?” Seth asked from behind me before cracking his knuckles menacingly. Seth and I had gone to high school together. He knew the bare bones about the circumstances that caused me to leave the Coast Guard.

“I’ll be seeing you.” Stan grinned again before walking out of the bar.

“Are you okay?” Seth asked.

No. I was not okay. Not by a long shot. “I’m good. Thanks for the back-up.” I looked around the bar. All of my customers were staring at me. “Sorry about that everyone. Your lunches are on the house.” A cheer went up around the room, and no one made a move to leave.

“I’ll take care of the checks.” Seth moved around the bar, stopping to talk with the customers. I assumed to reassure them that everything was okay.

Speaking of reassuring, there was Morrison to contend with. When I turned back to him, I noticed he hadn’t moved a muscle. His eyes were on me, but he wasn’t betraying a hint of emotion. “I owe you an explanation.” I slumped back into my seat.

“You don’t owe me anything,” Morrison assured me. “If you’d like to tell me what that was all about, I’ll listen. If you’re not ready to talk about this since we’ve only known each other for a few days, I’ll understand.”

Christ, how the hell had I ended up with the kindest man on earth? “There’s not much to tell.” Actually, there was, but Morrison didn’t