Risk It All (Risqué #2) (6 page)

‘Then all you have to do is be good,’ he said. ‘Think you can handle that?’

‘I guess we’ll have to see,’ she said, rising from the couch to head for the exit. ‘Unit six?’

‘Yeah, I’ll take you up.’

‘No need,’ she said, but he took his sports bag to her. ‘What’s this?’

‘A few essentials, linen, towels, I put in a tee-shirt, soap, a new toothbrush. You can keep it all; I figure that’s not what you’re carrying in your bags.’ Grabbing up all of her things, he let her absorb what he’d said.

‘I don’t have household supplies, no. Thanks, I appreciate it.’

When she opened the door, he followed on after her but she paused to look back at him over her shoulder with a question in her eyes. ‘I’ll see you to your door,’ he said. ‘Given what happened tonight outside the club, I think that’s a sensible precaution.’

They went outside and up the stairs that ran parallel to his front door. The external walkway extended the full length of the building. Hers was the very first apartment, she jiggled the key in the lock and opened the door to step inside.

‘I can get bolts and chains put on the inside if it will make you feel safer.’

‘I’ll be safe here… I should call Marshall, he’s been sort of filling in for Gary as a surrogate brother. He calls me a couple of times every day, he called when I was on my way to Risqué. I didn’t tell him that I was going there, but he offered me somewhere to stay when I told him I’d been kicked out of Erika’s. I should let him know that I won’t be going over there tonight.’

He figured that was supposed to be his cue to split, but he didn’t. ‘Is your phone number the same?’

‘As the one you used last week, yes.’

They’d only been back in contact with each other for a few weeks, but he’d had no idea that she’d been in any trouble. Though when Gary found out they were spending time together and that Blaser had moved her back into these apartments, Blaser would be in all sorts of trouble himself; Colt was just going to love that.

‘My cell phone is in my jacket.’ She handed it to him. ‘Do you want me to call Marshall and explain?’

‘Explain what?’ she smiled. ‘If you call Marshall, then all hell will break loose and you know it.’

‘I’m not scared of your brother, or any shit he might try to bring.’

Her smile faded and she lifted her chin. ‘Don’t you go acting tough for me, don’t show off. I hate that you and Gary can’t get along, worrying about you both keeps me up nights.’

‘You still worry about me?’

As soon as he asked, he wished that he hadn’t. She took her bags from him and tossed them into the dark apartment. She then leaned on the door frame, holding the door at her back with her foot.

‘I worry about you every day, Blase,’ she said. Curling her pinkie around his, he watched as she linked them. ‘You broke my heart, Warner.’

‘I was trying to—‘

‘I know what you were trying to do,’ she said, lifting her eyes to his. ‘You broke my heart and then for five years I lived without you. But I looked you up last year because… you never went away.’

He hadn’t expected her to confess any of that. Most of their chats in the past weeks had been quite superficial other than when he’d brought up Lyssa. This was more profound and he wasn’t sure how to respond. ‘We were together for ten years,’ he said. ‘I guess it’s natural that we… care for each other.’

They’d had bumps along the way and broken up for a month or two here and there in the early years. But he’d wanted her since he first laid eyes on her. She snared him right then on that first day without intending to, and he’d never pulled out the hook, he had never wanted to.

‘When we agreed to meet last year… that date…’

‘You never let me apologise for—‘

‘It wasn’t your fault,’ she said with a flare of ire flashing in her eyes. ‘I know exactly whose fault it was. You’re not the one who has to apologise.’

‘If you ever want to talk…’

‘I’ll call up Colt’s fiancée,’ she said and whatever else she’d been planning to reveal was gone. ‘I do appreciate this, you’ve helped me out of a bind. You have no reason to still be nice to me after… I know that things have been tense with you and Gary.’

‘I didn’t put him in jail, Bri. It’s important to me that you know that.’

‘That’s not what he says.’

‘And if you believed him you wouldn’t be here. At least you would’ve spent more time shouting the odds at me.’

Rolling her arm on the door frame, she took a breath. ‘I know my brother well enough to know that there are two sides to every story. He hated it when we started dating, do you remember?’

‘Yeah,’ Blaser said, exhaling a laugh at the memory. ‘I thought he was going to murder me.’

‘It didn’t help that he caught us doing it in the back of your car.’

‘Probably not,’ he smiled.

They were kids and so full of potential, none of them could have foreseen the way things would work out in their lives. ‘I thought he’d never forgive us, but he did… I think he actually sort of grew to like the idea of us getting together. But now…’

‘Hey,’ he said, resting a hand on her shoulder. ‘Don’t waste your time trying to figure out the dynamics of my relationship with your brother. I usually can’t figure out my relationship with my own brothers. Gary and I want you to be safe, we have that in common. Focus on that.’

‘Ok,’ she said, accepting that for now, but he knew it wouldn’t stick. ‘Thank you, Love.’

‘You’re welcome, and you don’t need to say that anymore.’ He had meant the thank you, but the pet name stuck in his throat too. It had been a long time since he had been her love.

‘Ok, I’ll try, but I make no promises.’

‘You sleep well, Bri and if you need me…’

‘Just stamp,’ she said with a nod and a smile. ‘Goodnight.’ Then she closed the door.

Running back down the stairs to his apartment, he reprioritised his day for tomorrow. He’d have to fit in Bri’s paperwork somewhere and figure out if she needed help to move. He would also have to figure out what to tell the guys.

It might be later in the night than he’d hoped, but when he eventually got to bed he was loose and content; he’d done something good and productive with his day. And whether it made sense or not, knowing that Brianna was safe and asleep in the bedroom above his made him feel better.

The night’s sleep from which she’d just awoken was probably the best she’d had since the last time she woke up in this complex. Being back with Blaser, at least in proximity to him, was comforting but she was also aware of how dangerous it was. Seven years ago she thought that she was with the man she was going to spend her life with and then he was arrested.

He pled guilty, so they were spared a trial, but he went straight to prison where she vowed to stand by him, then he’d asked to see her. Brianna didn’t think twice about going to visit him, she liked that he wanted her company, so she went without thinking anything sinister of Blaser’s request.

After he broke up with her letters were exchanged, but he refused to see her again. Then the letters stopped so she tried to call, again nothing. Eventually resolving herself to the fact that Blaser no longer wanted her she decided to get a clean break, away from him and away from Gary, and that was when she moved to New Jersey.

So many nights she had thought about Blaser and it didn’t matter how well things were going for her in Jersey, it was Blaser who occupied her mind. Dreaming about this apartment complex, and the time that they spent here, got her through tough times. When she felt scared or alone, she reminded herself of what it was to be safe and loved, and that was what she was truly looking for in life.

Not being able to get Blaser out of her head made her reach out to him, for curiosity sake. A year and a half ago she’d looked him up, after a few flirty emails, they got to talking on the phone, and eventually they agreed to a date.

Bri had been sitting at that restaurant, nervous and excited that this could be the beginning of her future. Blaser was her first love, he was her only love. The truth was that there was nothing horrible about the way they had broken up; nothing except how little choice she had in the matter.

Still lying in the sheets that Blaser had stuffed into the sports bag for her, Bri told herself that she couldn’t lie here all day because there was too much to get done. It was also only a matter of time before Rafe tracked her down.

She made herself get out of bed and get ready for the day. Coffee was all she could think about throughout her shower, so as soon as she was out of the bathroom she darted along the hall and into the open plan living-kitchen-dining space.

The sight of a person in the kitchen brought her up short. Bri was relieved that it was a strange woman, and not a familiar male such as Rafe, who would have sinister intentions.

‘Can I help you?’ Bri asked.

The brunette whipped around and her stunned expression quickly became a smile. Bri relaxed further when she recognised her therapist, Lyssa Cutler. ‘Sorry… I had no idea that Blaser had rented the apartment already and to a female no less,’ Lyssa said. ‘That just confirms how special you are to him.’

‘To Blaser?’ Brianna said. ‘I guess if you suck a guy’s dick enough times he starts to take a shine to you.’

Instead of shocking Lyssa, Bri was surprised to see the doctor’s smile get wider and her eyes begin to glitter. ‘Wow, take you off the therapy couch and you really open up,’ she said.

‘I’m sorry, I… I don’t know why I said that,’ Bri said, ashamed by her urge to try and shock or scare this intruder away.

Lyssa’s smile faded and her posture straightened. ‘Don’t feel ashamed of being honest. It’s fine to be sassy. I invaded your space… unknowingly I’ll admit. But you’re allowed to be annoyed and to express that annoyance.’

‘I know that,’ Bri said. Swallowing, she moistened her lips to delay asking the question she wanted the answer to. ‘Did you…? Have you spoken to Colt about what I said? Did you tell him that I came to you?’

‘No,’ Lyssa shook her head. ‘Colt knows nothing about it. I don’t discuss my patients with him.’

‘I’m not your patient, though, am I?’ Bri said, tucking in her towel again to keep it secure. ‘I mean, I’m not paying you or anything.’

‘You are my patient and everything you say to me is confidential. My specialty is sex therapy, and I deal with abuse victims all the time so I know that trust takes time to be earned,’ Lyssa said, fishing in her purse and pulling out a business card. ‘My personal phone number is on this.’ When Lyssa began to cross the room, Bri backed away, holding up her hands.

‘Please, don’t,’ Bri said and Lyssa immediately stopped. Maybe it was because she was naked, or because this woman knew intimate things about her, but her proximity alarm manifested as a tickle of anxiety on the back of her neck. ‘I don’t consider myself an abuse victim.’

‘How do you identify what happened to you?’

‘It didn’t happen to me, it—‘ Biting her bottom lip between her front teeth, she rolled her gaze to the side. The familiar scorch in her sinuses was a prelude to tears that she promised herself she’d never let come again. ‘I’m really not interested in talking about it here.’

‘Ok, we can leave it until our next appointment,’ Lyssa said, nodding, but she put her card on the kitchen table. ‘It’s been my experience that these things fester and seep into other areas of victims lives. I tell all of my patients that letting their experience taint their other relationships and the way they live their lives only lets their attacker keep on winning.’

‘My attacker is dead,’ Brianna said. ‘The Sniveller isn’t winning anything anymore.’

‘That’s what you called him?’

Brianna nodded. ‘The others called him Skeeve. There was a gang of them, but… he had no power with his colleagues, I think he used women as a way to…’

‘Feel powerful?’

Brianna nodded and let the weight of her head fall. ‘I really don’t want to talk about this.’

‘Ok,’ Lyssa said. ‘I really hope that you’ll come back to see me. We can talk about whatever you would like to, there’s no pressure to rush any particular discussion. You’re important to Blaser and I’m marrying his brother, so we should get to know each other.’

Brianna frowned. ‘We should? Why? Colt hates me. Have you heard the way he talks about me?’

‘No,’ Lyssa said, grinning and taking on a sarcastic air. ‘But if he so much as thinks about saying anything negative about you in my vicinity he’ll find himself sleeping in the spare room.’

Brianna didn’t want to like this woman, but she did. She had never really given much thought to the women that Blaser’s brothers saw in the past. Perhaps that was because he hadn’t spent a lot of quality time with his brothers while they were together, Colt especially.

Colt had been a cop, married, respectable, everything that Blaser wasn’t. The funniest part of it was that they were twins, yet you couldn’t get two brothers who were more different.

‘Colt is a good guy,’ Brianna said, feeling guilty for her outburst. Her emotions were right on the surface these days, being with Blaser and talking to this doctor made a lot of things bubble up from the dark place she’d tried to repress them in.

‘He’s a great guy,’ Lyssa said. ‘That doesn’t mean he always makes the best decisions. I’ve treated people that he doesn’t like before. What Colt thinks doesn’t have an effect on what I do, or who I do it with.’ She seemed to consider this for a moment then a smile quirked to her lips again. ‘Professionally at least.’

‘Carrie would’ve said the same thing,’ Bri asked. Carrie was Colt’s first wife, she had cheated on him and broken his heart. That Bri had this protective, defensive urge toward Colt with the woman he was engaged to surprised her. Colt was known for giving Blaser a hard time, and as Blaser’s girl she got the brunt of it too because she and her family were blamed for every bad decision that Blaser made.

She’d often questioned if maybe she was the one to blame for Blaser getting into so much trouble in his youth. After Gary had accepted their relationship his bond with Blaser got deeper and Blaser wanted to be with her, so he put up with or complied with everything Gary wanted. Maybe if Blaser hadn’t been so intent on keeping her happy, and keeping the peace with her brother, he wouldn’t have done some of the things that he did; half of which she didn’t know about at the time.

Lyssa must have registered her harsh words and the emotions behind them because her head tilted and Bri sensed her intrigue. ‘I would never cheat on Colt. I love him so much you wouldn’t believe… Did you know Carrie?’

‘I was at the wedding.’

‘Sure, you were with Blaser then.’ She nodded. ‘Were you close with Carrie?’

‘No,’ Bri said with an involuntary bark of laughter. ‘Carrie looked down her nose at everyone; the only person I ever saw her getting along with was Ruger.’

‘Everybody loves Ruger,’ Lyssa said.

A chill made her tense and Bri kept her teeth together, fearful that if she let them separate she would say more than she wanted to. ‘Ruger can go to hell,’ she said, managing not to move her lips.

‘You don’t like Ruger?’

‘Oh, he’s great if you’re on his good side. But piss Ruger off and… let’s just say he has friends in all the wrong places.’

‘The wrong places?’

‘Did you come here for a reason?’ Bri asked, suddenly very aware that they were on her property and that Lyssa hadn’t been invited.

‘Yes. I came to get a bag that we forgot,’ she said, glancing at a fabric tote bag on the kitchen counter. ‘I was next door having coffee with Suzette, she’s staying in Ruger’s place while he’s gone. I just picked this up in passing, like I said, I didn’t realise that Blaser had rented out the place.’

‘Well, he has,’ Bri said. ‘So I’d appreciate it if you and your fiancé stayed out of here.’

‘We will, of course,’ Lyssa said. ‘Well, I’ll go and… leave you to your day.’ She went and grabbed the bag and began to head for the door. ‘I’m looking forward to our next session, I really think that I can help if you give me a chance. I promise you that everything you say will be confidential.’

‘Sure, thanks,’ Bri said, knowing that sharing her deepest secrets with Colt’s future wife would be difficult and not just because of her fiancé. Lyssa’s half smile was comforted, yet gave the impression of knowing Bri’s thoughts on the matter.

‘It was nice to see you again.’

Bri didn’t reciprocate the nicety but followed Lyssa’s exit with her gaze. Once the door was closed behind the doctor Bri went straight over to double bolt it to ensure there were no more uninvited guests wandering over her threshold.

First item on the agenda was getting new locks and a few slide bolts for both external doors of this apartment, front and back. The Warners were adept at everything and knew people with all kinds of skills. She had come to Blaser for help with her problem, but as time passed, she was reminded that Blaser was her biggest problem, just as he always had been.

Blaser’s day was shaping up to be manic already. At ten AM he was dashing away from the garage, through the gate in the chain link fence, and across the back yard of the apartment block. He had to tell Gus about putting Bri in Colt’s place before he wandered in on her naked or rented it out to someone else.

The development with Bri meant that Blaser had to take a detour from his usual routine. On a typical day, he would be spending this time getting through the half dozen jobs he had on at the garage before he had to run over to Risqué.

Ivy had been a godsend, she’d taken on the admin work of the garage without blinking, she never complained, just did what needed to be done to keep the place going. With that relief, Blaser managed to get his hands dirty again, a thing he often missed. 

When he got to Gus’ place, his cousin was sitting at his kitchen table drinking coffee and still bleary eyed from bed. In years gone by Blaser had been just as lazy, doing the barest minimum in order to pay the bills or at least selecting the easiest, often criminal, tasks to achieve what he needed. Nowadays he wondered how he’d ever existed that way. Of course back then, he had great incentive to stay in bed, and that incentive had just moved in upstairs to his brother’s old place.

Blaser remained beside Gus’s front door after he closed it because he had left the oil draining out of two vehicles at the garage, meaning he didn’t have much time to hang around shooting the breeze.

‘Glad to have it occupied,’ Gus said after Blaser had filled him in about their new tenant. So far he had managed to avoid telling his cousin about Bri’s trouble with Rafe. ‘Are you going to be alright with having her around? Gary’s in jail now, but he’ll get out. He’ll go crazy when he finds out that you’re screwing with his sister again.’

‘I’m not sleeping with her,’ Blaser said sick of being accused of it. Much as he hated everyone jumping to conclusions, he didn’t regret going to Erika’s to find Bri or helping her now.

‘I didn’t say that you were,’ Gus said. ‘I’d guess that if you were sleeping with her you would have moved her into your place instead of Colt’s. Doesn’t mean Gary is going to be happy that she’s over here.’

‘Bri makes her own decisions,’ Blaser said. ‘And she’s not going to stay around here for long.’

‘You think?’ Gus asked, swinging back in his chair. ‘Something happens when the two of you get together.’

Blaser didn’t want to address that. Everyone seemed to think it was their place to comment on his relationship with Bri, and nothing pissed him off more. But he didn’t want to fly off the handle and reveal the strength of his feelings on the subject because he knew it would raise questions that he couldn’t begin to answer for himself, let alone answer them for others.