Take a Risk (Risk #1) (5 page)

‘Maybe in a bit,’ she said, trying not to watch one of the podium girls cosying up to Colt.

‘Pay no mind, him and Kitty have been over for a long time,’ Blaser said, putting the first drink on the tray.

‘Sorry? Oh, what? No! Don’t be silly. I told you there was nothing between Colt and I.’

Blaser kept working, but his knowing smile crept higher. ‘He’s been watching you since he came in. That outfit you’re sporting made his eyes bug from his head. I can tell when my brother’s interested, comes from being twins I guess.’

‘Twins?’

‘All our lives,’ he said. ‘Not identical.’ Obviously. ‘We’ve always butted heads, but we’re there for each other when it counts.’

‘What about Ruger?’

‘Colt’s protective of the squirt, but he can hold his own. Has a tendency to disappear without warning for periods of time, but he’s alright.’

‘Why did Colt leave the police force?’

‘That he’ll tell you when he’s ready,’ Blaser said and pushed the tray towards her.

After she’d delivered the order she returned to the now alone Colt whom she was acutely aware of. Blaser was right, every time she checked Colt was looking right at her.

‘What has you so interested, Mr. Warner?’

‘I’m an ass man, Doctor Cutler,’ he said. ‘And you have one worth looking at.’

‘Do you have no shame?’ she asked.

‘Turn around and let me see again.’

And the thrill that zipped through her made her do as he told her, then she tipped her chin to her shoulder. ‘Looked your fill?’

‘If we weren’t in public I might be tempted to touch.’

‘Seeing your ex-girlfriend must have had an arousing effect,’ she said, resting back on the bar she disturbed his view.

‘My ex?’ he asked, propping his elbows on the bar.

‘Blaser said you and Kitty used to—‘

Colt laughed. ‘Miss. Lys, my brother is messing with you. I’ve never been with any of the girls in this place.’ His fingertip met her shoulder. ‘Question is, Miss. Lys… Why did you give a damn?’

The finger trailed down leaving goose bumps in their wake. ‘Cherry,’ she said, bringing her gaze to his. ‘In here, that’s what they call me.’

‘I like it, you came here to pop it.’

‘I came here because I had confidence I’d be safe. You gave that to me. I used to embrace the experience of my behaviour research projects and I relished compiling my book of observations. I looked forward to the day it would be published. I had a lust for life… but recently I’ve been putting my life, my confidence, on hold. You made me see that this guy is closer to breaking me than I realised. I need this. I need to get back to being me.’

‘You’re relaxed and not as distracted as I’ve seen you. It’s interesting to see you lighter.’

‘Thanks,’ she said. This guy spoke about her like he knew her. If he’d been researching and watching her then maybe he did. ‘So you haven’t answered the sixty-four million dollar question.’

‘I haven’t?’

‘Who is the guy? The crazy?’

‘When are you due a break?’ Colt asked.

‘Soon,’ she said.

‘Come up to my office and we’ll talk.’ He got off the stool and got a step away when she snagged his wrist.

‘Should I be worried?’ If he wouldn’t reveal the identity of her stalker here in public then it was possible he was worried about her reaction.

‘Yeah,’ he said. ‘You’re being stalked, that would worry most rational people.’

His arm slid out of her grip and he stalked off through the ogling drinkers to the backstage door. It closed in the shadow and she was left alone to speculate.

‘Cherry!’ Blaser whistled and she turned to see him nodding towards patrons in need of service so she hurried off to do her job.

Colt had always liked having the big screen TV in his office because it gave him a distraction when he needed a break from a case. It was easier and cheaper to work from here, a premises he partially owned, than to rent somewhere else. He needed privacy and didn’t need to see many clients in official premises. The last thing he needed was a shop front to draw attention to what he did.

But while waiting for Lyssa he couldn’t relax in front of the TV and working on her case was out. When he had followed her here last night he thought it was her pathetic and desperate attempt to get in touch with him, hence why he’d avoided Risqué like the plague.

Tonight, when she’d returned he’d wondered if it was the same thing. But for more than an hour he had sat outside waiting for her to exit. When she didn’t come out, he came in to find her and got the update from Blaser. Then he’d seen her.

That tiny skirt was a second skin that just managed to cover her high, tight ass. The smooth skin of her toned waist took his eyes up to those voluptuous breasts usually showcased in a white cotton shirt, tonight they looked ready to party.

Craving a client was firmly against the rules, but she gave him trust and lit up in his company. He gave her hope and for the first time in his life, failure wasn’t an option. Except so far that was where he was headed.

A tap on his door alerted him to her imminent entry, but it didn’t diminish the effect of seeing that body again, this time in a quieter, lighter environment.

‘Is this a good time?’ she asked, helping herself to a seat on his couch and kicking off her shoes to lie her legs along his furniture. ‘How much extra do I have to pay you for a foot massage?’

‘You’ll get used to wearing the shoes… if you’re here long enough.’

‘Did you get used to them?’ she teased, spreading her hair over the arm of the couch behind her.

‘That’s what the girls say.’

‘How long have you guys had this place?’

‘A couple of years,’ he said. Leaving the desk, he moved to join her on the couch, choosing to sit on the arm of the couch beyond her feet.

‘Do you enjoy it?’

‘This is Blaser’s bag,’ Colt said, admiring her legs while her eyes were closed. ‘Ruger and I just ponied up some cash to get him started. I help out when I’m needed and Blaser lets me work from here.’

‘Why don’t you two get along? You seem friendly with each other.’

‘We’re brothers so we’ll always watch each other’s back. We butt heads sometimes, that’s all.’

‘I’m an only child,’ Lyssa said.

‘I know.’

‘Of course you do,’ she smiled and her eyes parted to sleepy slits. ‘You’ve been learning about me, watching me.’

‘I have.’

‘And what have you found out?’ She sat up in the centre of his couch, bending her knees to the side and tucking her feet by her ass.

‘That you don’t sleep well, that you toss and turn then get up to make hot milk or read, which makes you feel guilty for being awake so you go back to bed only to go through your insomnia again. Because of your restless sleep you struggle to wake up in the morning, but you always do your yoga and shower before going down to your office at eight thirty sharp.

‘You see your first patient at nine thirty, and stay in the office until one, when you either go to lunch with Suzette at the Wright Bite or have salad in your kitchen while talking to her on speaker phone. You’re back in the office by two, your last patient leaves by six and you’re upstairs immediately after a brief stint on the computer. Then you change from your work clothes, go to the gym, out with Suzette or you read, work and eat alone.’

From the silent shock written all over her face he wondered if he’d said too much. ‘You know all of that?’

‘You asked. You’ll always get the truth from me.’

‘Who is he?’ she asked. ‘That’s what I want to know.’

‘Your stalker? The man who brought us together.’

‘Stop vamping and tell me,’ she said, sliding closer and taking his hand. ‘You’re starting to really worry me.’

She and Suzette held hands regularly, or linked arms, so he took it that Lyssa was a tactile person. That knowledge didn’t lessen the effect of her delicate digits between his clumsy ones. ‘Colt?’

‘I haven’t seen a soul. Whoever he is, he’s not watching you, at least not pathologically.’

‘So he’s gone? I’ve not had any calls or flowers this week.’

‘You told the cops that he’s done this before, disappeared for a while. Maybe he works away or has other commitments.’

‘Thank you for not believing I’m just a nut.’

‘A nut who made up a stalker just to get close to me?’ he smiled, which caused her hand to squeeze his. ‘You have no reason that I’ve seen so far, to make this up.’

‘Thank you not for giving up on me either.’

‘You’re paying for a service and I intend to deliver. It might just take us longer to get results. We’ll have to wait for this guy to spring up again, and he will eventually.’

‘You’re committed,’ she said.

‘We signed a contract. I intend to do my job.’

‘This might be an everyday occurrence for you, but it’s not for me. I’ve never met anyone like you with such patience and a singular concentration.’

‘I’m focused,’ he said, grazing her jaw with the back of his fingers. ‘I won’t let you down.’

‘I believe that, Colt. I know you’re capable and I’m glad that Chavez recommended you.’

‘What did you tell Suzette?’

‘That it didn’t work out. She wants to try a different PI, but I’m holding off for now.’

‘I’d appreciate not having a dick on my tail.’

‘Most men who identify as straight wouldn’t,’ she said. ‘I don’t like lying to my best friend.’

‘Keeping my involvement a secret is the best way to assure there’s no tampering with, or pollution of, the evidence.’

‘You think that Suzette would blab? I’d trust her with my life, she would never endanger—‘

‘You would be surprised how often these situations are perpetuated by those we trust most. Even if you’re right, Suzette wouldn’t have to intentionally discuss it to harm you. This way is best.’

‘You’re the professional,’ she sighed. ‘I ask my patients to trust me every day. It’s odd to be on the other side of the advice.’

‘Once I find this guy, and I start to tail him then we’ll know what we’re up against. After that we can revisit letting Suzette in, depending on what turns up.’

She nodded and left the couch, without releasing his hand. ‘I have to go back to work and I guess you do, too.’

‘You’re always safe here, even if I’m not around. Blaser keeps good security and would never let anything happen to any of his girls.’

‘I’m not really Blaser’s girl, you introduced me to this place.’

‘Are you saying that makes you my girl?’

‘Maybe,’ she said. Her lips curled and her eyes lit. Their still joined fingers wrapped tighter, and her leg grazed his when she moved closer. ‘For a minute there, babe, it sort of sounded like you cared.’ She bent at the hips giving him an up close unhindered view of her cleavage when she touched her lips to his ear lobe. ‘I won’t tell anyone.’

‘Get back to work, Cherrypop,’ he said, giving her ass a smack, after she winked, to send her on her way.

He remained on his perch for a few minutes after she left, before he went to his desk and hit speakerphone to dial his youngest brother’s cell phone.

‘Yo, bro!’ Ruger answered. ‘What’s up?’

‘Where are you?’

‘Mom’s.’

Colt sank into his desk chair. ‘You’re in town?’

‘Just got back,’ he said. ‘It’s late, what’s bugging you? Or did you just roll out of a chick’s bed? Not like you to love ‘em and leave ‘em.’

Grabbing up a pen, Colt began to tap the end on the desk. ‘Have you ever…?’ He closed his eyes and sucked it up. ‘Have you ever been attracted to a client?’ Nothing but silence answered him. ‘Ruge?’

‘Hold on, I’m getting out of the kitchen.’

Their mother was always in the kitchen, the woman lived in that room. If she wasn’t in the kitchen then she was on her way to the kitchen. A door closed and Ruger exhaled.

‘What’s her name?’ Ruger asked.

‘She’s a doctor, she’s been stalked for months by an as yet unknown prep. I just caught the case from Mig.’

‘What kind of doctor?’

‘Therapist,’ Colt said and as he anticipated, Ruger laughed.

‘Sounds perfect for you. Brunette?’

‘How did you guess?’ Covering his eyes, he propped an elbow on his desk.

‘So what’s the problem? If you’re hot for her, then go for it.’

‘That’s the kind of advice I’d expect from Blase, you’re supposed to keep me in check.’

‘This is an ethical problem and you’re the one with the strongest moral compass,’ Ruger laughed. ‘I’d tell Blase to back off and leave her alone because he would probably hurt her. He can be casual about women, but you can’t.’

‘I’ve had one night stands.’

‘Not since before you were married. When you say you like a woman, then you’re already invested. What’s her name?’

‘That’s confidential.’

‘Protecting a client from me? You know I can keep a secret… which means there is more to this than simple client confidentiality.’