Take a Risk (Risk #1) (23 page)

Digging her hands into the front jeans pocket of the male, the female pouted and said a few short words. The male then bared his teeth at her and she smiled in triumph. His hand came up and he grabbed her jaw to yank her head up.

‘Is he going to hurt her?’ Suzette gasped.

‘No,’ Lyssa muttered.

The male hauled the little woman to the tips of her toes and devoured her mouth with such a flaying power that Lyssa’s own core began to tingle again and Suzette whimpered.

‘Wow.’

‘No, he’s going to fuck her,’ Colt grinned. ‘Maybe we should get the popcorn.’

‘What the hell are you guys perving on?’ Ruger asked, and she was nudged aside so that he could peer out of the window too. ‘Fuck.’

‘What?’ Colt asked.

Lyssa didn’t like the tone of Ruger’s curse. ‘Do you know them?’

‘You two get into the bedroom,’ Ruger said, shoving both Suzette and Lyssa away from the window. ‘Do either of you know how to use a weapon?’

‘Why would we need a weapon?’ Suzette asked.

‘Ruge?’ Colt asked.

‘He’s a great guy, the best in the business,’ Ruger said. ‘Last time I saw him he took me for everything I had at the poker table.’

‘You’re afraid of a guy you were playing poker with?’ Suzette asked. ‘Do you still owe him money?’

But it wasn’t fear Lyssa saw in Ruger, just a concerned wariness. ‘When he shows up on your doorstep, especially when you don’t know why, there’s a fifty percent chance you’re not going to see daylight, or breathe oxygen, again.’

‘He brought a woman,’ Lyssa said, moving toward the front door. ‘If he was going to hurt anyone, why would he bring a woman that he’s intimate with to—‘

Ruger got hold of her arm to draw her back. ‘No, you don’t understand, she’s as bad. I mean, she’s a sweetheart, but she doesn’t need a reason, if she snaps her fingers he’ll pounce. I guarantee it.’

‘So it’s her you’re afraid of?’ Suzette asked. ‘And I thought you were a big, tough guy.’

‘She kidnapped a woman who upset her,’ Ruger said. ‘Got her trussed up in some abandoned warehouse, he came in and gutted her.’

The eyes of the women flared. ‘That has to be exaggerated,’ Colt said. ‘She doesn’t look like the type to be so brutal.’

With apathetic eyes, Ruger turned to his brother. ‘She cut off the dick of a guy who hit on her.’

Colt’s throat bobbed, and he took Lyssa’s hand. ‘You two go to the bedroom and lock the door.’

‘It doesn’t lock,’ Lyssa said, withdrawing her hand from his. ‘And I like your dick so if there’s a chance anyone will try to hurt it—‘

‘I won’t be hitting on her,’ Colt said. ‘Please, just—‘

The knock on the door interrupted them all. She and Colt were still in a state of semi-undress, but she wasn’t going to back down on this one. Going to the door, she opened it with both men hissing words of discouragement.

There in the doorway was the couple from the parking lot; the man was in front with the woman at his back, partially in view around his bulging arm. From their position it looked like the female had her hand in the man’s back jeans pocket.

The male examined them all, saying nothing, but from where his attention fixed Lyssa would say that he’d stopped on Ruger.

‘Ruger,’ the male growled in a tone so deep she shivered again, but she found herself frowning because it didn’t look like his lips moved at all although the word had been clear.

‘Rushe,’ Ruger said, coming in closer to Lyssa’s back. ‘Is this a friendly visit? Or should I start saying my prayers?’

‘You’re scaring them,’ the female said from behind Rushe.

‘What was the proviso for you coming up here?’ Rushe grumbled over his shoulder.

The female drew her lips into her mouth then shifted in closer to press her mouth to the back of his arm. Rushe fixated on Lyssa and she didn’t want to shrink back, but her quivering muscles made her chill through to the muscle of her hammering heart.

‘If you’re here to cause trouble,’ Colt said and he joined her and Ruger at the door. ‘Let us excuse the women.’

‘Lyssa Cutler,’ Rushe said, much to their collective surprise.

‘Yes.’

‘Doctor Lyssa Cutler.’

‘Yes,’ she said. ‘What is this about?’

‘My woman has beef with you.’

‘Hey now,’ Colt said, his hand curled around her arm and he pulled her back with such force that she couldn’t resist it until her body was invisible behind him and Ruger. ‘If you have a problem with her then it’s me that you have to deal with.’

‘Wow,’ the voice of the female behind Rushe carried past all the men to Lyssa’s ears. ‘With all of this testosterone flying around it’s a wonder us women can keep our panties dry. Move.’

A manicured hand came between Colt and Ruger, they both shifted, and the female came through the parted men without fear for her own safety. Though with a man like Rushe watching her back it was unlikely this woman ever had to worry about her safety.

‘I’m Flick,’ the woman said. ‘You’re Lyssa. You and I have a mutual interest and concern.’

‘We do?’ Lyssa asked.

‘Martin Schifford, he’s my brother in-law.’

‘Oh,’ Lyssa said, recognising the name of her patient, then the details of his case came flooding back and she blinked at Rushe over Flick’s head. ‘Oh.’

‘Yes,’ Flick said with a broad smile showing shiny white teeth. ‘We’re that couple.’

‘You know what he discussed with me?’ Lyssa asked, unable to take her bulging eyes from Rushe.

‘No,’ Flick said. ‘But it’s difficult to believe that anyone can have a conversation without mentioning that.’ Nodding backward she indicated Rushe, who was completely unmoved. ‘He came to me in confidence, he’s been visiting you while he travels for business. He didn’t want anyone in the family, or in his social circle, to know that he was seeing you.’

‘Given your specialty,’ Rushe muttered.

Flick carried on without acknowledging him. ‘But it seems you’ve come into a bit of trouble… trouble that might visit my family, and that’s a problem for me.’

‘Which makes it a problem for him?’ Lyssa asked, still looking at Rushe.

‘Don’t worry about him. He’s happy on his leash for now and providing that you’re cooperative that situation shouldn’t change.’

‘And if we don’t cooperate?’ Colt asked.

His question attracted the glittering yet determined eyes of the tiny female. ‘Then you better update your will, because we’re happy to sacrifice any, and every, person in this room to protect what’s ours.’

‘You’ve heard about my patients,’ Lyssa said. ‘About what’s happening to them?’

‘Yes,’ Flick said. ‘And if my brother is on your stalker’s list then we want to know about it, and it’s in our interest, as well as yours, that this man is stopped.’

‘We might have already seen to that,’ Colt said. ‘The police are on the case now and they’re closing in on a suspect as we speak.’

‘You have a suspect?’ Flick asked, her demeanour lighting with pleasure. ‘Give me his name and address.’

‘I don’t think so,’ Ruger said.

Rushe growled and stepped forward, his torso came up against Flick’s back, and it was only when Flick spread her arms to prevent him that he stopped. ‘You’re protecting him? The suspect?’ Her head tilted. ‘You are protecting the man who is hurting your brother’s woman? Why would you do that?’

‘If we tell you who he is then he’ll magically disappear,’ Ruger said. ‘I know what you two are capable of.’

‘Then you should know that upsetting us isn’t a smart move,’ Flick said.

‘Is it true that you cut off the dick of a guy who hit on you?’ Suzette asked.

‘Not exactly,’ Flick said. ‘He was my fiancé. Intimacy between us was forbidden, he knew that I belonged to Rushe.’

‘You were engaged to one man, but belonged to another?’ Suzette said. ‘I don’t understand that.’

‘And there’s no requirement for you to,’ Flick said. ‘Now, the suspect, how did you come to the conclusion that this was the man we’re looking for?’

‘You can come in and we’ll talk,’ Colt said. ‘Let Suzette get out of here and I’ll consult with my brother first.’

‘That’s acceptable,’ Flick said. ‘You have five minutes.’

She retreated behind Rushe who came into the space with entitlement, Flick’s hand was already in the rear pocket of Rushe’s jeans again. He led her to the dining table where she sat, but he remained standing behind her chair, looming over her. Flick was unaffected by his intimidating form, all she did was rest her head back against the buckle of Rushe’s jeans, and when her head moved a little Lyssa wondered if there was something more intimate about that move.

‘Come on,’ Colt said, taking her hand, then she, he, Ruger, and Suzette all went back to his bedroom to come up with a plan of attack… or maybe it was one of defence that they needed now that Rushe and Flick were on the scene.

No one got the chance to do much talking because by the time they convinced Suzette it was time for her to go to her sister’s, Lyssa felt that there was no time to ask too many questions of her own. The fact that Ruger had been silent was a red flag, and his scowl underlined it. Gone was the fun-loving, easy-going Ruger Warner and in his place was an edgy man on alert.

Lyssa and Colt got dressed, which put them on a more even footing with the people in Colt’s kitchen. It wasn’t civilised to have a conversation of this magnitude while not wearing underwear. Ruger wasn’t keen to leave Rushe and his cohort alone for too long, though whether he was worried about appearing rude, or their guests gathering intelligence while no one was watching them, Ruger didn’t say.

The three of them made their way back into the kitchen. Rushe was now in the seat that Flick had occupied. The little woman was in his lap with her arms looped around him, wearing something of a saucy smile. The smile was odd and out of place because Rushe appeared as severe as ever and unaffected by whatever amused the woman on his lap.

‘You’ve got some nerve showing up here,’ Colt said when his trio entered the kitchen. She had no idea that he was going to take such a hard line with this couple, and Flick appeared as dumbfounded as she felt. ‘That’s your woman, right?’ Rushe nodded once. ‘And if you were trying to keep her protected from a manic, how happy would you be that a random couple showed up demanding answers because some guy you don’t give a fuck about might be in danger.’

‘I give a fuck about him,’ Lyssa said, facing her lover. ‘You know how I feel about my patients and any of them being hurt. I’m pleased that these people care about Martin enough to—‘

‘Actually,’ Flick said, drawing the spotlight. ‘Rushe couldn’t care less about Martin. He actually thinks that leaving the guy to sort out this mess on his own might toughen him up a bit. He doesn’t know him as well as I do because I can tell you that’s never going to happen.’

‘You and your brother in-law were never particularly close,’ Lyssa said, pulling up a chair next to the couple. ‘And yet you’re here in support of him, bringing with you a lover who has cleaned up your family messes before.’

‘He told you about that?’ Flick asked, glancing at Rushe who fixed narrow eyes on her.

‘No specifics,’ Lyssa said, ‘and you’re covered by doctor-patient confidentiality because he didn’t talk in explicit terms about any criminal acts that may, or may not, have taken place. So I’m certainly not compelled to report anything that he might have mentioned.’

‘He got one thing right then,’ Ruger muttered and Rushe’s focus moved to him.

‘Silver was looking for you,’ Rushe said, which somehow came across as a veiled threat.

Ruger lifted a hand. ‘I don’t want to talk about that in current company.’

‘Ah,’ Flick said. With a burst of elation, she tightened her grip around Rushe. ‘Did you hear that, lover? The brother and the good doctor don’t know Ruger’s dirty little secret.’

‘Yeah,’ Ruger said, propping a hand on the fridge to relax his weight on it. Others may be intimidated by the thought of having their secrets spilled, apparently Ruger wasn’t one of those people. ‘Who helped you to clean up your little mess with the King Club? And hooked Eric up with the pharmacist? If you want to find yourself another supplier…? I heard a whisper that Scott was back in the country, either of you want to comment on that?’

‘Are you threatening us?’ Flick demanded and moved as though to get up from Rushe’s lap, but the brute took hold of her hips.

‘Kitten,’ he growled with a sort of implied warning that didn’t require him to move his lips.

The woman went limp, dropping her arms from his neck to fold them under her generous breasts. ‘We came here to help because we have a shared interest and I thought they’d be receptive,’ Flick said to Rushe. ‘I should’ve let you do it your way.’

‘Which was what?’ Ruger asked. ‘To come in all guns blazing?’

Lyssa had no idea at the complexity of the relationship between these three but she was seeing even more layers to Ruger than she ever could have imagined and she reconsidered her assessment of his need to wear women’s clothing. Ruger was a guy in charge and he seemed to have sway in circles that she didn’t know existed.

‘He was going to swipe the doc,’ Flick said, her demeanour becoming more satisfied. ‘Draw out the crazy fucker.’

Colt approached and Lyssa could feel the tension radiate from him. Reaching out for him, she clasped the buckle of his belt and looked up at him, silently pleading with him to calm down.

‘They can swipe all they want,’ Ruger said from behind her, but Lyssa knew that he wasn’t talking to her. He was more likely focused on the couple sharing the kitchen table with her. ‘Is Tawny still living with that computer geek?’

Rushe was out of his seat, which forced Flick up, so Lyssa felt compelled to stand too. The burst of testosterone fired her adrenaline and she began to worry that they’d never resolve anything while these three men circled each other trying to establish who had the dominant position.

‘They didn’t do that, did they? No one touched me,’ Lyssa soothed, holding up restraining hands to the Warners, who were the only two she could hope to have any influence on. ‘And their intention was never to hurt me.’

‘Lover,’ Flick whispered in her own attempt at placation. While the chest of the man who stood at her back swelled with silent panting breaths, he did eventually sit again, snatching Flick’s hips and yanking her down onto him.

‘He doesn’t watch her directly,’ Colt said to Rushe, ready to be the bigger man, which Lyssa greatly appreciated. ‘You wouldn’t have caught him by snatching Lys and hoping to lure him out. He taps into the city video surveillance network and picks up her image and follows her through the system.’

Lyssa didn’t know that, and she didn’t know that Colt knew that either. ‘You never told me that.’

‘Because I didn’t want you to be paranoid every time you walked down the street,’ he said. ‘I told you that the angle of the shots was interesting. They were taken from above because that is where the cameras are located. From there it wasn’t a leap to figure out who would have access to those systems after a bit of investigation.’

His phone rang and he retrieved it to answer. The first few words were normal, but he became more deadpan and she knew that couldn’t be a good sign. When he turned his back on the group and lowered his volume Lyssa left her seat to move closer to Ruger’s side. He took her hand in a comforting gesture, he must have assessed Colt’s actions in the same way that she had.

Colt hung up and didn’t turn for a few seconds as though composing himself before he came back to the group. When he did turn he was all aloof determination. ‘I have to take you home,’ Colt said to her.

‘What? But—‘

‘Is Archie still there?’ Colt asked.

‘Well… I… yeah, I think so.’

‘Does he know how to use a gun?’

‘What?’ Her shock came out as a shout. The man standing before her now wasn’t the same one who had just made love to her on the couch. The hardened look in his eye was unamused, in fact it was downright pissed off, and she wanted to know what was going on. ‘Colt—‘

‘Answer the question,’ he said. ‘Does he know how to use a gun?’

‘What’s going on?’ Flick asked, apparently not as shocked as Lyssa was. ‘We have weapons in the car if—‘

‘We have supplies,’ Ruger said.

‘Supplies are not the problem,’ Colt said. ‘Manpower is the issue. Lyssa doesn’t know how to use a gun.’

‘They learn fast,’ Rushe muttered, and Lyssa saw Flick pinch him.

‘My girlfriend won’t have to,’ Colt said, taking her shoulders and shaking her focus back to him. ‘Lys, does he know—‘

‘But… yes,’ she said. ‘Yes, he does, but—‘

‘Good,’ Colt said. ‘I’m going to call Blaser and he’s going to take you home. I want you to stay there until you hear from me. Blaser will talk to Archie and make sure that you’ll be safe.’

‘Talk?’ Lyssa said, not liking the idea of her boyfriend’s brother talking to her ex-husband. ‘Archie doesn’t know anything about what’s going on here and to be frank I don’t want to include him in my business. I wouldn’t trust him to look after my hamster… if I had one.’

‘Blaser will make it clear what the consequences will be if he lets anything happen to you,’ Colt said. ‘You’re going to be safe.’

‘Who is Archie?’ Flick asked.

‘Her ex-husband,’ Rushe answered. Surprised by his knowledge of her history, Lyssa began to wonder just how many people were checking her out these days.

‘I’m not going anywhere until you tell me what is going on,’ Lyssa said to Colt.

‘The DA issued the arrest warrant but they can’t find the suspect,’ Colt said. ‘That was Hoburn on the phone. I’m going to meet up with him and find out what they’re trying. We’ll do everything that we can to help.’

‘We can stay with the doctor,’ Flick said. Colt was already on his way to grab his jacket and Ruger disappeared into the back of the apartment.

‘You go wherever you want, sweetheart,’ Colt said. ‘But if you’re really here to stop this guy from doing any more harm then I’m going to need help from your boyfriend… if he can play nice with others and get the job done?’

Rushe and Flick were on their way to the door, but she stopped when Colt said this. ‘Seems to me that you’re the one who can’t play nice,’ she said. ‘You can’t have him, unless—‘

‘He needs people who can track this guy, unofficially, without following the rules,’ Rushe said.

‘Oh,’ Flick said. ‘In that case you can have him; actually you can have us both, because we stay together.’

‘Always?’ Lyssa asked, letting Colt help her on with her jacket. ‘You’re always together?’

‘Unless he ties me to something and leaves me there, yeah,’ Flick smiled, hooking a hand into Rushe’s back jeans pocket.

‘Does that happen often?’ Lyssa asked, guessing that Colt was as taken aback by this declaration as she was.

‘Not as often as it used to,’ Flick said.

‘Not as often as I’d like,’ Rushe said, following up on what his girlfriend had said.

Lyssa had no time to continue her questioning because Ruger came back with a small sports bag over his shoulder. From the determination on his face and in his gait, she didn’t need to ask what was in the bag.

‘Everybody ready to bail out?’ Ruger asked.

Colt was already on the phone to Blaser who was no doubt at the garage, meaning he could meet them out front in a matter of seconds. She was being railroaded into taking the safe route. As much as she wanted to be involved, she didn’t want to be petulant when these capable men were doing what they were sure they needed to do. So when she was taken outside with the group and swept down the stairs, she went with it. But that didn’t quell the sense of impending catastrophe webbing within her, sending her psyche-senses into overdrive.

After Colt put her into a truck, Blaser had showed up in the apartment block’s parking lot and spoken briefly with Ruger and Colt. Rushe joined the men after he locked Flick in his own car, and the introduction of Blaser and Rushe was so uneventful that her interest was piqued.

When the men were finished talking they all got into their respective cars, meaning that Blaser got in with her, Rushe got in with Flick, and Colt shared a vehicle with Ruger. She and Blaser were going over to her place, while all of the others were going to join the police for the manhunt – at least that was what Lyssa assumed they were doing.

On the journey over to her house, she tried to open a dialogue with Blaser but he wasn’t interested in small talk and didn’t say much during the drive at all. Blaser wasn’t really one for gossiping, which she thought he would be more used to tolerating given his work at Risqué.

Archie was present in her townhouse when they arrived and he was surprised to see not only her, but yet another intimidating man at her side. Colt was difficult enough for him to take, but she wasn’t about to explain her relationship to Blaser. The lack of explanation seemed to work in their favour because he was suitably off-balance when Blaser took him aside to talk to him. Although she didn’t hear the specifics, Archie was considerably paler when the men came back to her.

‘I’m going to get going,’ Blaser said. ‘I have to hook up with Colt.’

He was already running down the stairs, so she left Archie in the living room and ran down after him. ‘Wait, Blaser,’ she said and he paused at the front door. ‘I want to… I mean thanks for helping with this.’

‘It’s family,’ he shrugged, then lifted a hand to his shoulder which still had to be stiff.

‘I’m sorry about that too,’ she said. ‘I can’t believe that you got a hole in you because of this, because of me.’

‘You’ve already been told several times that this was nothing to do with you,’ he said, indicating his injured shoulder. ‘Not everything in our lives started when you came into them.’

‘I haven’t been told what it is about,’ she said. ‘So until I know I’ll just assume that you’re both covering for Colt.’

‘For Colt? Do you think he shot me?’

‘No, but he doesn’t want me to be hurt and he knows that I feel guilty about people being injured because of—‘