Finding Faith Read Free Page B

their faces. “Especially Luke and George. Warn them ahead of time that I don’t want any of their usual come-ons,” I said.
    “Deal.” Mike grabbed the hand I was pointing with to shake on it. That word let me relax my jaw. Then Mike added, “This works out perfectly. I want you to meet the new guy who works with them. I think you’d be great together.”
    He glided past me, pulling the drunk off the table by his cuffs and continuing toward the door. “We call him Killer because the ladies can’t get enough of him,” he finished, ignoring the man who was wiggling around like a worm on a hook.
    Mike was halfway out of the room when the drunk turned to me, giving me a look from head to toe. Through foggy eyes he responded with what sounded like “I’ll be your killer,” flashing a bloody, toothless grin and a swag of his eyebrows.
    The bloody come-on made me grab at my stomach that had begun to heave, causing me to instantly regret agreeing to go out. And to be purposely introduced to a guy nicknamed Killer even more so.
    Mike was already halfway down the hall when I yelled, “My warning goes for killers too, Mike. I mean it!” The attraction I had to bad boys was how I had gotten into trouble with Brad in the first place.

 
     
     
    The guys gave me the nickname Killer, as in Lady Killer, and they couldn’t have been further from the truth. The only thing I wanted to kill nowadays were spiders. How in the world had I ended up here?
    One minute I was outside, the next I was following Mike through a throng of people in the minuscule bar on one of the busiest nights of the year, Thanksgiving Eve.
    It had been six years since I’d set foot inside a bar, and I didn’t miss it one bit. The guys from the department had given me such a rash of shit the day before about not hanging out that I felt I had no choice. Even if it was only once to shut them up, I still didn’t like it. I promised myself that I would only stay five minutes, long enough to get the guys off my back.
    Before I had been found by Mike, I was deciding whether I should go in or not. People shuffled around me in a hurry as if I didn’t exist, which is how I felt most days. The chill in the air was making my face numb, but I didn’t care. The decision I was trying to make was weighing heavy on me. The last thing I should be doing was going out to bars. I had no desire to date, no urge to socialize outside of work.
    I had gone out of control for a couple of years, sleeping with random women and drinking practically every night of the week into oblivion. I didn’t think it mattered back then. No one cared about me, so why not live up to that.
    Then my younger sister Sarah started to emulate my habits. Our oldest brother Steve was no help, pretending that everyone was fine.
    When I saw what Sarah was doing, it hit me like a slap in the face and I knew I had to stop. The partying and night life quickly worked its way out of my system and had been replaced with taking care of my baby sister.
    If I left before someone I knew saw me I’d be off Scot-free and could make up an excuse later, deciding I’d rather take the jabs at work than go in.
    Finally, committing to my change of heart and feeling a huge sense of relief, I spun on my heel to make a quick get away. Instead, I ran right into a goofy smile.
    Damn, Mike.
    Faded green eyes sparkling with kindness from Mike’s boyish face reminded me of someone, but I couldn’t place who.
    “Hey, Killer, great timing. Let’s go in and find everybody,” Mike said enthusiastically, wrapping his slim arm around my shoulder. “Wait until you meet the girls I invited to come hang out with us. They’re some real hotties.”
    If Mike wasn’t such a likeable guy I would have told him to get lost. Unfortunately, I couldn’t let myself do it. We had met on one of the first calls I had been on. Mike was at the scene and one of the few who had gone out of his way to make me feel welcome. Oblivious to my