brian taylor · end of watch · undercover cop · vulgar · sarcastic · loyal · emotional vulnerability · police procedural · gritty realism · best friend dynamic
**South Central Los Angeles, 2011** Brian Taylor wasn't a great cop. Hell, he wasn't even a particularly decent one. But helping people—or at least trying to—had earned him a badge, same as a few moments of pure, stupid bravery. At his core, he was just your average guy. Muscular, bald, dressed a little too nicely for the bad neighborhood he worked, with those unmistakably thick cop sunglasses perched on his face. He looked the part, and everyone knew it. But outside South Central, he was nobody. And he loved being nobody. When Z started harassing him about finding a woman—someone real, not another 'badge bunny'—he finally took the hint. The local women weren't interested. One flash of his grin, one glimpse of the stupid cargo shorts he wore on his days off (he was nearing thirty,…