Watching From The Shadows: Trident Security Book 5 by Samantha A. Cole Page A

together.”
    “Fuck you.” He didn’t care that Brody and he had shared many women over the years. The thought of Harper in any other man’s arms, even his best friend’s, made his blood boil, even though he had no claim over her. “And I’m not marrying anybody. No fucking way!”
    “You asshole,” Brody snarled, pushing off the truck and pointing his finger at him. “You better man-up and do the right fucking thing.”
    Tossing his hands up to the side, Marco stared at his friend. His voice got louder with every word. “What? Get fucking married, just because she had my kid? I refuse to be trapped in a fucking marriage because of a fucking mistake! Stay the fuck out of this, Brody…I’ll support the brat financially, but that’s fucking it!”
    “You son-of-a…”
    He didn’t hear the rest as his jaw exploded in pain when Brody’s fist connected with a right hook. As soon as the words were out of his mouth, he’d known they’d been the wrong things to say. The anger that had flared in the other man’s eyes was something Marco had only seen there while in combat. But he was just as pissed off, and beating the hell out of somebody, even if it was his best friend, was something he needed right now. Bending at the waist, he caught Brody in the gut with his shoulder and the two of them hit the pavement—hard.
    While they were the same height, the geek had about ten or fifteen more pounds on Marco and used every one of them to his advantage. The two men had sparred in the gym and given each other bloody lips and bruised ribs on the basketball court many times over the years, but this was the first time they’d ever hit each other in anger. Grunts, growls, and curses were aplenty as they both wrestled, punched, and jabbed. And blood flowed. Using a tactical maneuver, Brody ended up behind him, wrapping his arm around Marco’s throat and squeezing. Turning his head into the crook of the elbow, Marco was able to use that bit of extra space to continue getting air into his lungs as he tried to dislodge himself. Thrusting his elbow back, he connected with hard flesh and heard a satisfying grunt, but the bastard wouldn’t let go of him. Reaching up over his shoulder, he managed to get a hand under Brody’s chin and pushed upward. In response, his opponent rolled to the side, trying to pin the free arm to the ground.
    Assorted shouts and barking reached Marco’s ears and suddenly he was free. But not for long as Ian and Murray, the day guard, hauled his ass up and held him back from lunging at Brody again. The geek was being restrained as well, by Carter and Boomer, but from the look on his face, he was ready to start round two. Well, fucking bring it on!
    “Fucking knock it off, assholes,” Ian roared. “Now!”
    After a few meager attempts to break free, both men reluctantly backed off, knowing there was no way their friends were going to let them get near each other again—at least not until they’d both cooled off. Even Beau was standing between the two of them, and the trained guard dog’s incessant barking was cut off by a curt command from Ian. Marco’s lungs heaved for oxygen as his best friend glared at him while wiping the blood from the side of his mouth with his fist. Brody shrugged out of Carter and Boomer’s grip.
    “I’m good. I’m done,” he growled at them before pointing a finger at Marco again. “You better do the right fucking thing man, because if you don’t, I will.”
    “What the fuck’s that supposed to mean?” he spat. His jaw was throbbing in pain.
    “It means, fuck-wad, if you don’t man-up and start acting like a father to Mara…a real fucking father…then I will!”
    Marco scowled at Brody’s retreating back as the man headed toward his truck, jumped in, and peeled out of the parking lot. Wisely, Ian, Boomer, and Murray backed off, but Carter surprised him by stepping forward, ignoring Marco’s angry stare. Evidently, someone had filled the guy in. “He’s