Edge (Gentry Boys #7)

by Cora Brent

  There was one important thing I’d grown sure of these past few months. Conway liked to act tough and aloof but in the end his good heart always prevailed. I’d watched him discreetly handing off cash to any homeless person we happened to pass. He was doing his best to keep a random teenager off the streets. He cared deeply for his cousins and would fight to the death for his brother, Stone. Yes, sometimes Conway liked to pretend he was a villain but he was really one of the good guys.

  I was falling asleep to nice thoughts of the man beside me when he nudged me gently.

  “Hey,” he said, “just wanted to remind you that we’re going to that show with Stone and Evie tomorrow night.”

  I yawned. “Les Miserables, right? Over at Gammage.”

  “Yeah. Evie’s a huge fan of that thing.”

  “It’s a musical, Con. Based on a classic book by French author Victor Hugo.”

  “Right. I’ll try not to fall asleep in the middle.”

  The first time Conway had brought me around to see Stone and Evie I’d been nervous that it would be awkward. Stone Gentry was nothing like I remembered though. He shook my hand with a smile and even though I was sure he recalled sending me an emotional letter from prison, there was no reason to bring that up now. The years had turned him from a wild, arrogant boy to a considerate down-to-earth man. He absolutely worshipped his fiancé. Evie. There wasn’t much mystery why. Evie was funny and pretty and supremely easygoing. I took to her immediately. Stone and Evie were clearly pleased that Conway and I were together. They invited us out often and I was always happy to spend time with them.

  Conway snuggled closer, nuzzling my neck. I threaded my fingers through his hair.

  “Letting it all grow out and getting back to blonde, huh?” I asked.

  “Why, you think I ought to keep dyeing it?”

  “No. The lighter color suits you. Makes you seem more like yourself, the real Conway Gentry.”

  He curled his arms around me more tightly. “It’s because of you. I feel more like myself because of you, Roslyn.” He seemed to be drifting off and his last words were soft and dreamy. “I’ve been something else for far too long and I haven’t been happy, not really. You make me happy.”

  After that his breathing mirrored the deep, easy rhythm of sleep. I thought about the words he’d spoken. I thought about his smile. And his body. His sense of humor and his mysteries.

  Most of all I thought about how if I’d had a chance to answer Emily’s question earlier this evening, before that knock on the door, I could have done so easily with one single word.

  “Are you in love with Conway?”

  “Completely,” I whispered and kissed his forehead as he slept.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  CONWAY

  “Looking sharp there, Con-man. New threads?”

  I looked up and saw Jackson standing there in the open doorway with a wide grin.

  “Just figured it was time to invest in something button down,” I said as I fixed my collar.

  “Has Roslyn ever even seen you out of your jeans and t-shirt uniform?”

  “Shut up.”

  Jackson stepped inside the room and cut a wide arc, pretending to check me out. “You clean up okay, Gentry.”

  “Thanks.”

  I had gone shopping this afternoon and as I strolled around uncomfortably among the overpriced clothing racks I thought of Roslyn. She’d never said a word about my sloppy wardrobe but lately I kept finding myself thinking about ways to be better. Decent clothes, real job. Maybe it was high time to grow the fuck up and crawl out from the shadows. If I wanted a chance at a real future with the girl I was crazy about then I had to.

  “Where are you going tonight anyway?” Jackson asked, yawning as he leaned against the wall.

  “A musical or some shit. We’re meeting my brother and his girl up there. What about you? Plans with Emily?”

  “No, not tonight.”

  Something in his voice made me turn around. He was leaning forward, elbows on his knees, looking troubled. I waited to see if he’d say more because Jackson wasn’t a guy you could press if he didn’t feel like sharing his plans.

  “Got a fight tonight,” he said, a little too tiredly.

  “Yeah?” I was surprised he hadn’t said anything earlier.

  “No big deal.” He shrugged. “Not even my setup actually. One of Crestron’s boys was supposed to be in the ring as an appetizer for a big match but he pissed someone off and had to go underground. Crestron made me a nice offer to take the spot, just because he needed some filler.”

  Something about that arrangement didn’t sit well with me. On the surface it didn’t sound bad and it would likely be an easy score for Jackson. But some tense instinct in my gut had tightened and wouldn’t relax.

  “How about you let me be your wingman tonight?” I said.

  He frowned. “You never ditch plans with Roslyn.”

  “She’ll understand just this once.” Actually she wouldn’t understand because I wouldn’t be able to give her details but I had faith that I could smooth it over later. It wasn’t like I was stepping out to see some girl. I was looking out for a friend.

  I grabbed my phone from the top of the dresser and went to call her but Jackson reached right over and plucked it from my hands.

  “Don’t,” he said. When I just stood there and gaped at him he smiled and shook his head, handing the phone back. “Never cancel on a beautiful woman who adores you.”

  While I mulled that over Jackson chuckled.

  “I’ll be fine, mama bear. Scout’s honor.”

  “All right.” I stuffed the phone into my back pocket and grabbed my wallet. “Thought you were going to quit that scene though.”

  “I am. Just doing one last very lucrative favor. What about you, Con? I hear you’ve been making noises lately about leaving this life behind for something prettier.”

  “With a longer life expectancy at least. Racing and gambling isn’t exactly a retirement plan.”

  “True.”

  “You know,” I said slowly, “between the two of us we know a hell of a lot about cars. I bet there’s always room here in the valley for another garage.”

  Jackson stared at me. He didn’t smile or say anything and when half a minute went by I felt the need to speak up.

  “So what do you say? I mean, it’s cool if you don’t want to be in business with me, but I’d like to state for the record first that I think we could make it work.”

  He cleared his throat and shifted his weight, looking down at the floor. “You want us to be business partners, Con?”

  “Absolutely. Outside of my family, I can’t think of another man I’d trust more than I trust you.”

  He looked me straight in the eye and slowly nodded. “Yeah,” he said. “If you’re serious then I’d jump at the chance.”

  “I am serious. While we’re on the subject, we ought to really start thinking about getting out of the illustrious San Gabriel. We stay here and the temptation to backslide will always be too strong. Plus it’ll never be a place fit to bring a lady.”

  “It sure won’t. What about the boys though?”

  “You probably already heard Kilt’s thinking about heading back to Montana this summer. His dad’s sick and he misses the ranch. And Eli told me today he’s tossing around the idea of moving in with his ex-girlfriend next month. I’m having trouble picturing Eli being faithful but there’s a kid involved so he might give it a shot.”

  “All right.” He was smiling broadly now. “So we’re really doing this? Getting out and opening up a garage?”

  “Hell yes. Shake on it.” I held out my hand and he slapped his palm into mine.

  “I’m going to see Emily after the fight. You mind if I tell her?”

  “Go for it.”

  Jackson was about to walk out the door but he paused and turned around.

  “Gentry,” he said seriously, “you’ll be my friend till the day I die.”

  He left wi
thout waiting for a response.

  When I got to the lobby I found Ranger, the teenager I’d been helping out. He was fixing a table and chair set that our resident night owl addicts had dismantled for the sake of some puzzling experiment.

  “How’s it going, kid?” I asked, pausing for a moment because I really cared about the answer. I saw too much of me in that boy and I wanted him to make it. He was still cautious about handing out personal details and I suspected he was on the run from something or someone. But if he didn’t want to tell the story there was no forcing the matter.

  “Good,” he said, wiping the sweat from his forehead as he looked up from his work. “I started work yesterday at Burger Haven, so thanks for that. Them manager mentioned he was a friend of yours and you’d asked him for a favor.”

  ‘Friend’ wasn’t what I would have called a racing rival who owed me a pile of cash but that was okay. The debt had already come in handy once and might come in handy again someday.

  “No problem,” I answered smoothly. “You give any more thought to school?”

  He scowled and picked up a screwdriver. “Not really.”

  “There’s a program for kids like you, an alternative high school setting so you can work during the day and go to class at night. My girlfriend told me about it.”

  Ranger perked up. “You mean that hot redhead I keep seeing you with?”

  “That’s her.”

  “She seems cool. You’re lucky.”

  “And I know it.” I flicked his right shoulder. “Think about school. I’ll check in with you in a few days.”

  “Will do. And thanks.”

  I was a few minutes early to pick up Roslyn so I stopped at the corner market to buy some flowers. At first I grabbed for the roses but then changed my mind and went for the daisies instead. They seemed more like her style.

  She was beaming even as she opened the door. I bent down for a kiss, circling one hand possessively around her back. When I gave her the flowers she carried on about how daisies had always been her favorite. She was fussing, arranging them carefully in a large glass vase when I pointed out that we had to get going.

  Emily was there, sitting on the couch reading. She looked up long enough to order us to have a good time. I didn’t mention anything about Jackson because I had no idea what he’d told her he was up to tonight. He didn’t like to let her know about things like fighting matches just like I didn’t like to let Roslyn know about street races and other perils.

  When we were outside Roslyn’s apartment I pulled her in for a real kiss, a heart-stopping sloppy tongue exercise that would have led straight to filthy things if we hadn’t already promised to be somewhere.

  “You look nice,” she said when the kiss broke and we linked hands.

  “So do you,” I told her, checking out the view. She was wearing a sexy dark blue dress that ended just above the knees and made her tits pop out so much I couldn’t stop staring.

  I could get used to this, used to being with her everyday. I could get used to it in a permanent kind of way. Sometimes I thought about telling her that but then I’d think about where I lived and the people I hung around and the things I did to put cash in my pocket. I had to leave all that behind if I was going to stay with Roslyn. She deserved nothing less.

  On the drive to the theater I thought about my earlier conversation with Jackson. I felt good about it. The two of us could break the cycle and find something worthy of a future with the women in our lives. We’d both skidded over some rough patches in life’s great game but we could reverse course now and head in a better direction.

  After all, Stone had managed to do it. Hell, maybe I could even talk my brother into joining us on our planned business venture now that we were getting into something legitimate.

  Stone and Evie were already waiting in front of the theater, which had been one of Frank Lloyd Wright’s final architectural projects. I knew that because Roslyn had just told me as much in the car.

  Evie ran right over, kissed me on the cheek and grabbed Roslyn’s hand. Stone and I trailed the two of them inside and as I looked at my brother I thought about what he had been like a million years ago, back in Emblem. A player, an adventurer, a juvenile delinquent, a producer of constant sarcasm, and the best brother anyone ever had. He’d matured past most of those traits but the important things stuck. In spite of everything we’d been through or maybe because of everything we’d been through, he was still the best brother in the world. And I admired the hell out of him.

  “You sick?” he asked me as we reached the crowded lobby and the girls wandered over to the refreshment bar.

  “Nah.” I swiped at my eyes. “My contact lens came loose.”

  “You don’t wear contact lenses, Con.”

  “Well, I think I ought to start. You seem kind of blurry. Never mind, that’s just the way your face looks.”

  He grabbed me around the neck, trying to get me in a headlock as if we were still kids. “Don’t make me bring you down in front of all these fancy folks, little brother.”

  I reared my head back and managed to clip him under the chin. “As if you could, asshole.”

  Evie arrived on the scene with her hands on her hips. “What are you guys doing?” she demanded in a maternal tone that warned we’d better step right the fuck back in line.

  “Hugging,” Stone answered in a serious voice as he enveloped me in an obnoxious and rather painful embrace.

  “We love each other,” I croaked as my brother squeezed my ribs so hard I could hardly breathe.

  “Oh my god,” Evie muttered but she couldn’t quite keep the smile off her face.

  Roslyn laughed outright.

  Since Stone had decided to try to crush the life out of me I didn’t feel bad about stomping on his foot. He yelped and let go.

  Evie and Roslyn wanted to sit next to each other so Stone and I sat on their other sides. Roslyn handed me a theater program and briefly outlined the plot in a whisper as the other patrons took their seats. The crowd hushed expectantly when the lights dimmed and a moment later the first powerful burst of music had them erupting in collective applause.

  The main character was a guy who escaped from prison, became a mayor, adopted a little girl and tried to stay out of trouble as a revolution brewed. It wasn’t a bad story, although I could have done without all the singing and dancing. By the intermission I was struggling to stay focused as the actors capered around in strange clothes and sang about rebellions and barricades. I craned my neck and looked pointedly over at Stone to see if he was into all this. To my surprise he seemed rather captivated as he stared at the stage and held Evie’s hand.

  Intermission turned out to be really short. There was time to run to the men’s room and that’s about it. A second after I entered the auditorium I felt my phone vibrating in my pocket but the announcer warned that the show would resume in sixty seconds and since Roslyn was here with me I figured whoever else was calling could wait a few hours.

  The second half of the show had a lot more excitement, though there was still too much singing for my taste. Still, even I had to admit that some of the music was catchy and at the end when Jean Valjean died I found myself feeling a little sad. When the rest of the audience rose to give the cast a standing ovation I stood up too and clapped as loud as anyone.

  After the four of us left the theater and stood around in the parking lot trying to decide what to do next, my phone buzzed again. This time I looked at it. I frowned.

  Roslyn had been giggling about something with Evie but she must have seen the look on my face because she stopped.

  “Con? What’s wrong?”

  Kilt had called eleven times. Eli had called eight times. Neither one of them was prone to clingy fits of phone hysteria.

  “Hold on,” I said. “I’ve got to make a quick call.”

  I could feel their eyes on me as I stepped a few feet away. For some reason my stomach was hurting again. I called Kilt and he picked up immediately.
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br />   “Shit, man, where have you been?” His voice was hoarse, raspy. Almost like he’d been crying. I could think of few things more improbable than Kilt in tears.

  “Just at a show. What the hell’s going on? Are Eli and Jackson with you?”

  Kilt took a deep breath and told me. He cried when he said it. I should have cried too and I knew that sooner or later I would. I asked two questions and he answered them. Finally I told him I would be there soon and I hung up.

  “Conway?” Roslyn touched my arm, her voice full of worry. Stone stood right behind her, concern all over his face.

  “Jackson’s dead,” I said because it was true and there was no hiding from it.

  Roslyn cried out and put her hand over her mouth. Stone’s shoulders slumped. Evie looked at all of us with confusion.

  “What happened?” Roslyn whispered.

  “It doesn’t matter what happened. He’s dead.”

  “Damn it.” Stone said miserably and then I remembered that he’d actually known Jackson. Not like I had though. He hadn’t known him as an unwavering friend, as a man who was trying every day to be better than he was the day before.

  Evie slipped her arms around Stone’s waist and hugged him tightly even though she obviously had no idea who we were talking about.

  “Does Emily know?” Roslyn asked and I saw she was crying. I’d never seen her cry before.

  “I’m not sure,” I said, although it was unlikely that Emily was aware at this point. Kilt and Eli were still reeling and didn’t know her well enough to pay her a visit. Someone would have to tell Jackson’s girl that he was gone. He didn’t have any family worth speaking to. I wouldn’t even know where to start looking for them. He’d been a throwaway kid. Like me, only I’d had the rest of the Gentrys to pick me up and Jackson had no one.