Hard Work Read online

  Hard Work

  Copyright © 2019 by BJ Harvey

  Edited by Lauren Clarke

  Cover Designed by BJ Harvey

  Photo sourced from Big Stock

  Formatted by Integrity Formatting

  ISBN: Kindle—978–0-6485280–6-7

  ISBN: Epub—978–0-6485280–1-2

  ISBN: Print—978–0-6487638–0-2

  Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of the above author of this book.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.

  Cook Brothers Series

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Epilogue

  About the Author

  Other books by B.J. Harvey

  Full series available to order:

  Work in Progress—Jamie

  Work Violation—Jax

  Working Back—Bryant

  Hard Work—Cohen

  Working For It—Ezra

  ***

  Game Saver—Abi Cook’s Fake to Real Romance

  Also Available For Free:

  Game Player (Game #1)—Enemies to Lovers

  Cohen

  One year ago

  Another day, another dollar. Or, in this case, another night, another patient.

  I hand off a code-three at Northwestern Hospital’s ER, and my stomach lets out a loud, rumbling growl.

  “I’ll do the call sheet and buy dinner if you drive,” my EMT partner, Corey, says, bumping my shoulder with a laugh as we walk out into the chilly night.

  “I definitely need food. It’s been call after call since this morning,” I say, swinging open the ambulance door then jumping behind the steering wheel. Corey hops in the passenger side and picks up the clipboard to do the paperwork.

  “It has. And I know how hangry you get when you miss lunch.”

  “Hey, I’m not that bad.”

  “Dude, you once snarled at the McDonald’s cashier when she said the fries would take two minutes.”

  “Look, she caught me on a bad day,” I say, still feeling guilty about the look of fear on the woman’s face. Before that, she’d been kind of flirty, and although I had no intention of going there, I’ve never seen the harm in not returning the favor. It’s the gentlemanly side of me. Well, that’s what I tell myself anyway.

  Corey chuckles. “I wouldn’t inflict you on anyone in that state.”

  “My appetite is both a blessing and a curse,” I say with a grin. “Blame my mother.”

  Twenty minutes and a good burger-and-fries meal later, we’re back on the road, heading for the station.

  “So I’ve got something to tell you…” Corey says, breaking the comfortable silence in the ambulance.

  A quick sideways glance while we wait at a set of lights shows my EMT partner for the past two years, clenching his jaw and not looking at me.

  “Cor, what gives?” I ask when he doesn’t elaborate. He sighs, flips a completed call sheet over so it’s ready for the next call, then dumps it back on the dash.

  “Look, I was going to tell you sooner, but the captain thought it was best to wait until you could actually meet her.”

  “Meet who, Cor?”

  “I’m going back to college in January, so I’ve given my notice, and your new partner is coming by the station at the end of shift to meet the guys—and you.”

  I grip the steering wheel and clench my teeth as we take off again.

  It’s not that I’m not happy for him. But it sounds like I’m the last to know, especially since there’s a new girl I’m about to meet. Yet another new partner to learn how to work with.

  “And, um… saying she’s new might be a bit of a stretch…”

  Oh shit. Is this like the ghosts of girlfriends past? Is it that stage-five clinger from dispatch I had a brief grope-and-stroke with at a Christmas party at HQ a few years ago? Or that female firefighter candidate who slipped and just “happened” to find herself naked and lying on top of me in the back of the ambulance six months ago.

  “What do you mean?” Please, no clinger. Please, no clinger.

  “Your new partner is Marco and Luca’s baby sister. Which means you can’t—”

  I roll my eyes. Once a man-whore, apparently always one. “Cor, I’ve only ever been with two CFD employees. Two!”

  “And the fact I know that,” he says with a smirk, “and Marco and Luca know that, means you have absolutely no chance of surviving with your dick intact if you even look at their sister sideways.”

  I sigh and shake my head, flicking on the turning signal and pulling into the firehouse driveway.

  Backing the bus into our designated spot in the garage, I leave the engine idling and turn to face my partner.

  To his credit, he does look apologetic for springing this on me. “Look, I know it’s out of the blue, but knowing you, you’ll have her trained up to be just like me in no time.”

  “Smartass,” I say with a laugh. “But Marco’s sister? Really? Isn’t there a policy about siblings working in the same firehouse?”

  “Well, considering we’ve already got two brothers, what’s a sister added to the mix? Besides, she’s related to Marco, I bet you she cooks like an Italian nonna which means…”

  “Sexist much?” I say, but I can’t help but smile. Corey is twenty-four going on eighteen most days.

  He rolls his eyes. “You know what I mean.”

  “Bet Marco would love to hear it.”

  His mouth gapes open before he recovers and narrows his eyes. “You wouldn’t dare.”

  I shrug. Who knows? “I guess it would be a shame if you couldn’t walk on your first day back at college.”

  “You’re such an asshole,” he says with a grin.

  “Just you wait, Cook. I’ll get one over on you before I leave.”

  Unease settles at the bottom of my gut. What exactly is going to happen with this surprise new partner of mine?

  Hopping out of the ambulance, I’m stopped in my tracks by Marco, and moments later, Luca, their expressions unreadable yet terrifying at the same time.

  I anticipated this show of brotherly love. I just don’t entirely understand why I’m the one getting the confrontation treatment. I’m not the only single guy who works here. Although I am the one with the most recent record of fraternizing in-house.

  “You’ve got a sister, right?” Marco says by way of a welcome.

  “Hello to you too,” I reply with a cocky smirk. I’m playing with fire, but I’m a smartass when I’m eleven hours into a shift. I’m a rebel when I’m tired. “And yes, Marco, I have a sister. No, I won’t touch yours.” I reach out, cup his shoulder, and shoot him a grin. “Good chat,” I say with a nod, stepping around the brothers and walking across the garage and into the main dining room and kitchen, leaving Corey behind with my welcoming committee.

  Scotty and Zach, two of our firefighters, are sitting on the couch.

  “You get warned off?” Zach asks, quirking a brow. “I gave Marco a good pep talk on your behalf.”

  I roll my eyes. “Thanks, man. Just what I needed.”

  Zach holds his hands up. “Hey. My best friend has three sisters, one of whom is now my wife. I know the drill because I was the drill.”

  “I don’t shit where I eat, Zach. It’s far too messy, and I avoid messy as much as possible,” I reply. Zach gives an approving nod before turning back to the TV.

  “Cohen?” my captain says, walking into the room.

  “Yes, sir?”

  “I need to talk to you before you leave. Grab Corey and come see me, yeah?”

  “Sure thing. But I already know I’m getting a new partner.”

  He gives a curt nod. “Good. Then all you’ve got to do is meet Skye. She’s waiting in my office.” With a sweeping look around the room and at the rest of the crew, he disappears again.

  “You’re in trouble, Co,” Scotty pipes up.

  I walk to the kitchen, open the fridge, and grab a bottle of water. “Yeah? And why’s that?”

  “‘Cause you haven’t seen your new partner yet.”

  “She’s just another person to work with. What’s the big deal? We work, we maybe become friends, and then we go home at the end of our shift and do it all again two days later.” My lips twitch. “Do you know it’s possible to just be friends with women, Scotty?”

  “Where’s the fun in tha
t?” he asks. “Zach here didn’t fight it.”

  “I tried, but then I couldn’t resist her,” Zach replies.

  I point at Zach and pin Scotty with a narrowed glare. “Exactly. Why cause trouble when there’s no need to? I’m not that pent up that I’m panting after every woman with a pulse. Unlike someone…”

  Scotty flips me the bird. Zach just laughs.

  Corey walks in, Marco and Luca following.

  “We good?” I ask Marco as he reaches the kitchen counter.

  “Yep. You keep things above board with my sister, and we’ll stay fine.”

  “Jesus, Mar. I’m not going to bang your sister!”

  “Good to know,” an amused voice says, coming from the doorway to the offices. “It’s always best to set boundaries right at the start of a new partnership.”

  I turn toward her and stop, my arm hoisted halfway to my mouth, which has dropped open like one of those Scream masks. Seems Marco and Luca had a reason to give the big brother speech because Skye is infinitely better-looking than those two. She’s fucking stunning: straight platinum-blonde hair that stops at her shoulders, mischievous sapphire-blue eyes, curved lips painted sinful red, and a body that is all woman. Fuck.

  I shake my head, but not before I make a point of looking her up and down and sneaking a sideways glance at two glaring Italian stallions who look ready to cause damage.

  “Oh for God’s sake, boys,” Skye says, narrowing her eyes at her brothers. “I’m not going to jump my new partner before I’ve even gotten to know him.”

  “Or at all,” I add. Her lips quirk up at that as she turns her attention back to me and gives me the same up-and-down treatment. “Nope. Not going to happen. I’m all work and no play.”

  “Where’s the fun in that?” Scotty pipes up from the cheap seats.

  Corey, ever the peacemaker, steps forward and enters the fray. “Just ignore all of them, Skye.” He holds out his arm, and they shake hands. “Cohen is not nearly as bad as you’ve heard. He’s only had to issue one restraining order that I know of.”

  Skye’s eyes widen before dancing with amusement. “Oh, so he attracts fire bunnies then?”

  “Or girls from dispatch,” Marco says. Laughter from the others fills the air.

  I sigh. “That was an isolated cas—”

  “Don’t forget the candidate who lasted a whole two weeks after hooking up with our resident EMT Casanova.”

  Skye’s mouth curls into a knowing smirk. “I guess I don’t need to come up with a nickname for you then. Casanova, it is.”

  Corey laughs, and Marco walks over to his sister and throws his arm around her shoulders, pulling her into his side. “Already giving Co shit. You’re gonna fit in just fine, brat.”

  I lean against the bench and watch the two of them, my eyes meeting Skye’s as Luca and Corey join them.

  It’s not that she doesn’t tick all my boxes physically, because Skye Rossi just shot to the head of the class in that respect, but I meant it when I said I don’t shit where I eat, and I need my job to get money.

  And I need funds to move out of my parents’ house and get my own place. I won’t be able to do that if Marco and Luca Rossi rip me apart limb by limb for messing with their baby sister. So, really, the decision is easy.

  There will be no touching, no kissing, and definitely no screwing my new partner. I’m friend-zoning her at first meet.

  Besides, it’s a hell of a lot easier to work the hours we do if you actually like your partner.

  Decision made—as if there was ever a question—I cross the kitchen toward Skye and hold out my arm. Her skin is warm as she slides her hand against my palm and shakes it with a surprisingly firm grip. “Nice to meet you, partner,” she says with a knowing expression.

  “The feelings mutual, brat.”

  Her lips twitch. “I think we’re going to get along fine, Cohen Cook.”

  In my family, whenever someone full-names you, it only means one thing—trouble.

  I’m determined to buck the trend this time. Friends, partners, colleagues—that’s it.

  I can be friends with a woman and not sleep with her.

  Wanting to, though? Well, that’s a different story.

  Cohen

  “Co, I think you better go rescue Ez,” my brother Jax says, appearing at my side.

  My head jerks back before I turn toward him. “Why?” My eyes scan our parents’ backyard, which is full of family and friends here to celebrate the vow renewal of another of my brothers, Bryant, and his wife, Faith.

  Then I spot our honorary brother, Ezra, and suddenly Jax makes sense. That’s because my EMT partner and partner-in-crime, Skye, is all over him like white on rice. Her hands look rather ‘friendly,’ like the hands of someone who has been drinking steadily for the past few hours, despite having never said anything more than hi to the guy in the past year she’s been in our lives.

  I chuckle and down the rest of my water, having switched from beer as soon as I realized Skye was going to need a chaperone.

  Who knows if it’s a wedding thing or the allure of an open bar that was too much of a temptation? Drunk Skye is always a laugh, and we’re rarely off-duty and able to let loose. With that in mind, I figured it would be entertaining to let her do her thing, knowing whatever happens, I’d be close if she got herself into trouble. Looks like I might’ve underestimated her propensity for getting into mischief.

  I move around the edge of the makeshift dance floor and across the grass. Ezra spots me and sends me a look of ’save me now’ just as I notice one of Skye’s hands moving down his chest, destination ‘never gonna happen.’ Ezra falls for women far too easily, but he usually goes for models and women far too high-maintenance for my taste—and his wallet if his two divorces are anything to go by.

  I purse my lips and whistle just like Skye and I do to each other at work, instantly grabbing her attention. She looks over her shoulder, her lips curving into a huge smile when she sees me. She spins around, almost overdoing it as she teeters on one foot, Ezra seemingly all but forgotten.

  She skips over to me and jumps up, wrapping her arms around my neck and her legs around my hips. I lock my knees to stop both of us from falling to the ground, but her momentum is too much. In the blink of an eye, I’m falling backward onto the grass, taking Skye with me, earning myself an unfortunate knee to the balls.

  She rolls to my side, still all over me as I turn into the fetal position, my eyes watering, and my teeth ground tight as a low grunt of pain escapes me.

  I look up to the black night sky, a deep, burning ache now making itself home where my testicles used to be. Skye burrows into my chest, snorting and giggling like a loopy loon. One by one, like a bunch of nosy meerkats, my brothers’ heads all appear in my line of sight.

  “Now that is what I call taking one for the team,” Ez says, his lips curved up.

  “How’s the junk, Co? You want me to call it in and get a bus around here to check you’ve still got at least one nut left?” Jax asks, making Bry laugh with him.

  “He can be called ‘Balls-no-more Spice.’”

  “Still better than your wives carrying yours in their handbags,” I squeak, wiggling my toes to try and get the blood circulating again.

  Ez grins. “Not mine.”

  “Nah, they’re equally split between your exes and your divorce lawyer,” Jamie says with a shit-eating smirk.

  “Touché,” Ez replies. “I’m still better off than this little shit though.” He holds out an arm and grabs hold of my wrist. I mirror his grip, and when Bry and Jax help lift Skye off me, I let Ez pull me up, so I’m at least sitting on my ass.

  “Uh, Co. Looks like Ez isn’t the only one who’s going to need your help tonight,” Jamie announces just as a soft snore comes from my right. I don’t even need to turn my head to know who it’s coming from.

  I let out a loud resigned sigh before looking back up at my oldest and most responsible brother. “Can I leave her here? I’ll give her a blanket and pillow and make sure she’s still alive in the morning.”

  Jamie snorts and shakes his head. “Nope, but we can either carry her up to your bed, and you can set up a bucket, a towel, water, and painkillers, or we can help you get her into your car so you can take her home.”

  I look back down at her sleeping face that’s somehow cute and innocent, even if her mouth is open, her tongue is sticking out a little, and I swear she’s drooling too. After I hold my hands up to Jax and Bry, they pull me to my feet, and I gingerly move around, arching my neck from side to side and cracking my back once I’m upright. I even carefully adjust myself and check that I’m still intact down below, earning a few smirks and laughs from my obviously sympathetic brothers. Assholes.