‘I think Ruger should take over from Blaser.’ He was at the same sort of life crossroads that she was and taking over the business could be exactly what he needed to give himself purpose. ‘The role would suit him.’
‘Is that what you were thinking about?’
‘I was thinking that I want to make a go of the salon. I hadn’t realised how important it was until now. I have wasted every opportunity I’ve had in my life so far and I don’t want history to repeat itself.’
‘Why do you think you did that? Why did you waste those opportunities?’
‘Fear,’ Layla admitted, confronting emotions she’d tried for years to bury. ‘I thought I was protecting myself. But I’ve just been juvenile. If I’m not careful, I’ll end up alone with nothing to show for myself.’
Lyssa was easy to talk to. Layla hadn’t meant to open up, yet here she was starting her own impromptu therapy session.
‘And that made you think about your work at the salon and the potential it has?’
‘It made me think about the future.’ For maybe the first time in her life, making plans wasn’t such a terrifying idea.
‘And do you see Ruger in that future?’
‘His family… all of you… you’ve made me feel like I’m a part of something, and for the first time, I find that family is alluring.’
‘But?’ Lyssa asked and Layla could tell she was good at what she did.
‘There are so many things that I don’t know about him, like this debt he has to repay to my brother. How can I be with him when I don’t understand how we ended up together?’
Lyssa got up and came around to sit beside her. With both of their drinks put aside, Lyssa took Layla’s hands. ‘Why did your brother leave the police force?’ Lyssa asked.
Layla had a feeling that the doctor was just being polite and probably already knew the answer. ‘He was suspended pending an investigation into alleged misconduct,’ Layla said. ‘He resigned.’
‘Do you know what the misconduct was related to?’
‘Yes,’ Layla said. ‘He was undercover working for a man named Victor. When Victor found out Drew was a cop he kidnapped Serendipity. Drew did what Victor asked him to because he was trying to protect Serendipity.’
‘Bri was kidnapped by Victor’s gang, just like Serendipity was, and he did it because Ruger refused to work for him.’
‘Oh my god,’ Layla said, twisting closer. ‘That’s why Bri is working with you, because of what they put her through?’
Lyssa nodded. Layla knew the doctor’s speciality and that implied that Bri had suffered true horror at the hands of those criminals. ‘Ruger didn’t know about it at the time,’ Lyssa said. ‘But when Bri told me and the truth came out, Ruger promised to make it right. He promised it to himself and to Blaser and Bri… Your brother is the one who saved her life. The one who got Bri away from Victor.’
So that was the debt owed. As much as she berated her brother for taking risks, she got a sudden understanding of just how those risks could pay off and tears came to her eyes with the guilt that inundated her. Layla complained about his risks, but if he didn’t take them, good people might be dead now. Knowing that her brother had accomplished such a feat made her so proud that he was willing to do what others were unable to.
‘If Bri is your patient…’ Layla whispered and a tear rolled down her cheek.
Lyssa smiled and squeezed both of her hands. ‘She and I spoke about it. I’m not breaking any confidence. She will tell you all the details in her own good time, but we agreed that it was time you knew the truth because you’re part of the family now. Ruger and his brothers, they find it harder to talk about and Ruger would never want to betray Bri, as he may feel he was doing if he told you everything. So I’m taking that dilemma off his hands.’
Layla appreciated being brought into the loop, and now that she had this greater knowledge, so many things made sense to her. Bolstering herself, she wouldn’t ask Lyssa to console her; there was nothing to be sad about now, the situation had turned out well for everyone. Now she could be proud of her brother and proud of Ruger too.
Walking away from a person as evil, as Victor was, was absolutely the right thing for Ruger to do, he couldn’t have known what the consequences would be. But he was a good man. The guilt probably consumed him. Making herself smile, Layla resolved herself to lightening his load for him as best she could.
Chapter Seventeen
‘I think you should do it,’ Layla said.
Ruger had come and picked her up from Colt’s office and now they were in the car on the way back to her salon, her apartment, her bed.
He had been quiet and although he hadn’t filled her in on what the men had spoken about in Blaser’s office, Lyssa had given her the information and Layla was beginning to understand how the process of sharing worked in this family.
The Warner men talked to each other, brooded, and then when it came time to make a decision, they consulted their women. The women did their best to keep the wheels turning and used their feminine alliance to ensure decisions were made with full and accurate details, rather than the perhaps biased view of their partners.
‘You said you couldn’t be with a guy who managed a strip joint.’
Ruger understood the way it was too and didn’t insult her by playing dumb. Colt had gone to his brothers so Ruger knew that Layla was alone with Lyssa in Colt’s office tonight. The unspoken understanding that family was always fully informed and protected to the death—even when they wanted to bang each other’s heads together—emphasised to Layla just how this family had accepted her as theirs, because she was a cog in the wheel now.
‘I said that before I’d been to Risqué and I’ll admit that I was prejudice against strip clubs. I don’t think I like the idea of you ogling naked women all night, but I get now that Blaser doesn’t do that.’
‘After a while it becomes passé,’ he said, leaning toward her.
Exhaling a smile, Layla folded her arms. ‘So you won’t be interested in my naked form later?’
‘The women in Risqué aren’t the same thing, they’re employees and a lot of them have been there for a long time. They’re like cousins or sisters or something and they’re completely off-limits. I’m the type of guy who doesn’t like flashy women, and you don’t get much flashier than a stripper.’
‘And so my naked form is…?’
‘Private and high on my list of priorities.’
‘That’s good to know,’ she laughed.
Ruger pulled his vehicle into a parking space at the front of the building and as they were making their way inside, his cell phone beeped. Thinking that it could be Drew with an update, she paused to watch him retrieve his phone from his pocket and read the message.
'It’s Dax, he’s on the road north and wants the address of my warehouse. He’s going to check it out. I offered him a cut for selling off the goods still on my books,’ he said, thumbing in a response to the message. ‘I guess he finished vetting me or Blaser talked him into it.’
When he was finished, he rested a hand between her shoulder blades to direct her inside. Jumping into bed would come, but neither was in a rush. Layla got out of her outdoor gear and her shoes, Ruger threw off his jacket and then went to retrieve a bottle of wine from the fridge. Only when they were together on the sofa, did the conversation continue.
‘So you would be open to it?’ he asked, pouring the wine. ‘To me taking over Risqué?’
‘I think the question is whether or not you’re open to it. I didn’t ask you before I signed the lease on this place, did I? You have to do what feels right for you.’
‘Cards on the table,’ he said, sitting up to hand over her wine. ‘Being with you feels right.’
‘That’s a good place to start.’ The corners of her mouth began to rise. ‘I think it might be interesting to maybe…’ Lacing their fingers together, she toyed with his digits.
‘What?’ he asked, raising their joined hands to his fa
ce. ‘Maybe what?’
‘Hang around and see where this goes.’
‘Yeah?’
‘I can’t keep running forever, can I?’
‘No, you can’t,’ he said and dipped his head to try and tempt her mouth, but she kept them apart.
‘Lyssa told me,’ she said. ‘She told me about the debt, about Bri… about how you met Drew through Victor.’
For a moment, he leaned back and his furrowed brow made her hold her breath in anticipation of how he might react. Then he exhaled and his expression relaxed into a smile. ‘Thank God,’ he said. ‘I didn’t want to keep anything from you, but I wasn’t sure… I didn’t want Bri to think that I’d—‘
‘I understand,’ she said, pressing a finger to his lips. ‘We don’t have to talk about it. I just wanted you to know that I knew.’
Bowing to her, he brought up her chin to find her mouth. Ruger had put his life on the line for her, he was working to protect her brother to repay a debt. Honour was important to him and a man with such integrity wouldn’t stray.
Except to an outsider Ruger’s honourable nature wouldn’t be obvious now. With a certain move, he scooped her legs up off the floor and got her onto her back on the couch.
Getting comfortable between her thighs, he picked up the hem of her top and he nibbled her jaw as his hand went upwards to seek out her breast. His squeeze was enough to wring a whimper from her. They’d had the day together, but he’d helped her out in the salon and she’d been strict about them working during the day light hours.
If Ruger was going to start managing Risqué then he would probably be out all night and she would have to make exceptions when their schedules allowed precious time alone. Layla almost couldn’t believe these thoughts belonged to her. She was actually considering mundane day-to-day life in a nine to five while dating a guy who she could actually have a future with.
Laughing, she pushed his torso up so that she could look him in the eye. ‘Something crazy happened the day I met you,’ she said. ‘I don’t know what it was but… all of this feels a bit cosmic doesn’t it? If you hadn’t gotten involved with that maniac, Victor, then you never would’ve met my brother. You’d never owe him a favour and you’d never have come for me.’
‘Cosmic is good,’ he said, though he maintained eye contact to imply he was listening and interested in what she said, he was also fumbling behind her trying to elevate her weight to give him a shot at her bra clasp.
‘There’s been a long train of events which have brought us to this moment. That can’t be an accident, can it?’
Layla had never given much time or thought to fate, but she had to admit it was hard to argue against. She would never have considered Ruger if they’d come across each other in the course of life because he was too casual, too much of a joker.
She’d have dismissed him as a man after one thing. He didn’t show the responsible side of himself to many people. Because of this situation they were in, she had experienced it and been drawn into the bosom of the Warner clan. They were all here to look after not only themselves, but those in the exclusive club.
‘I should know better than to try and talk to you when your hand is in my bra,’ she said.
‘I’m listening,’ he nodded. ‘But can I respond after… you know.’
‘Oh, honey,’ she said, crunching up, she gave him the access to unclasp her bra and as it released his face lit with joy.
Consuming each other in their kiss again, the weight of Ruger came down onto her. She hadn’t taken off her top, but he seemed to enjoy teasing her mouth, trailing his mouth to her neck, up to her ear where he would whisper words of his pleasure into her, then he went back to her mouth.
His teasing tongue didn’t only enjoy using words to torment her, he also used it to tantalise her flesh. Wriggling, she couldn’t stop herself moving up against him, trying to stimulate herself. The twist of dynamic bliss that curled and sparred within her made her move faster and whimper louder.
Ruger took hold of her shoulders to pin her down and when their eyes converged she was drenched in the intensity he fired into her.
With ideas of their intimacy and being lost to the hormones pumping through each of them, she barely heard the shatter of glass or the explosion of sound that came before it. Only when they were showered with plaster did she realise something was happening. The crumbled material was rough against her skin and crowded her eyelashes. Luckily she’d been drowsy enough that her eyes were almost closed, so the plaster hadn’t damaged her corneas.
Ruger was on his feet, giving her leave to sit up and bend to shake the dry dust from her face. ‘Are you ok?’ he asked, crouching beside her to get a better look at her.
‘Yes, I’m ok. What was that?’ The window had a large jagged hole in it with cracks emanating right to the frame. Twisting in her seat, she sought out the burst plaster and saw something embedded in her wall. ‘What was that?’
Ruger pounced up, examined the hole in the wall for two seconds, then went to the window. ‘Gun shot,’ he said. ‘Wait here.’
‘No, but—‘
He was already past her and running down the stairs. If someone was shooting in her window then that person could still be outside and she didn’t want Ruger to face such a dangerous person alone. Making a target of herself by going to the window wouldn’t be smart, so she stayed on the couch and lunged across it to grab the phone, which had just been installed that day.
She dialled nine-one-one, but she could already hear distant sirens, so she assumed someone else had called in the shot. She was still on the phone when Ruger came back up the stairs with a gun in his hand.
‘Where did you get that?’ she asked, fearing he’d gotten hold of the perpetrator and possibly done him damage.
‘My truck,’ Ruger said. Distracted, he went back to the window to observe the street below. ‘The fucker is gone.’
‘Good,’ she said and he spun around. ‘What were you thinking running down there like that? You could’ve gotten yourself killed!’
‘That was a risk I was willing to take. They know where you live, which isn’t a leap given that they’re watching you. But that was a warning shot. I have a feeling that they meant to miss. Next time we won’t be as lucky. I have to call Jansen.’ Storming over, he snatched the phone out of her hand and hung it up.
‘What are you doing?’ she asked, leaping to her feet. ‘I was waiting for the operator.’
‘The cops are already on their way,’ he said and she snatched the phone back and hung up before Ruger finished dialling Drew’s number.
‘If they know where we are then they could be listening, remember? You told me that. You said they had the means to listen in to phone conversations.’
‘It’s not as difficult as it used to be. But you just had this phone put in, I doubt they’ll have bugged it already.’
‘That’s not a risk I’m willing to take,’ she argued, standing up to him though he towered over her. ‘If they can listen then they might be able to trace and I will not let you endanger my brother.’
The sirens wailed into the street and she reached past him to put the phone on the hook. ‘What are we going to tell them?’ Ruger asked.
‘The truth,’ she said. ‘We were making out when someone shot through our window.’
‘They’ll want to know about enemies. They won’t assume that this was a skilled assassin, they’ll assume that the shooter meant to kill you.’
Taking his hand, she was reminded of the gun and she stepped back. ‘Unless that thing is registered, you better put it away.’
‘It’s registered,’ he said. ‘I have the paperwork. They won’t give me a hard time about it.’
‘They might.’
‘We have relatives on the force and Colt has contacts from his time working there. So don’t be surprised if they treat you well and believe what you say.’
‘My brother used to be a cop too, you forget,’ she said. Someone started hammering on the
door. ‘And I’ll bet that Colt’s already on his way over here.’
‘That’s usually the way it works. This is a good neighbourhood and we’re close to my mom’s.’ He headed for the stairs. ‘We better let them in before they damage your property.’
‘I guess that having connections works sometimes,’ she said, joining him as they descended the stairs. ‘But don’t forget how things turned out for Drew, the cops are great when they’re on your side, but if they turn on you.’
‘They had good reason to turn on your brother,’ Ruger said. ‘He screwed them over.’
Ruger opened the door, but she stayed still. Did Ruger honestly believe that her brother hadn’t been justified in what he’d done to protect Serendipity? They hadn’t discussed details of the past, about how he got involved with Victor, or how Drew had gotten out of the peril he and Serendipity were in and managed to save Bri in the process. Before she made big plans to hitch herself to the Warners she would have to have the conversation with Ruger. She’d thought it wasn’t necessary. Apparently she was wrong.
Colt had shown up ten minutes after the cops. Ruger had noticed his brother on the perimeter of the property talking to various cops and neighbours. But both Ruger and Layla were kept away from others while they gave their official statements. Some of the neighbours gave statements as well.
As perplexed as the local cops were by this random shooting in an affluent neighbourhood, they did their due diligence and asked all of the appropriate questions, so someone was going to be looking into this incident further.
Ruger began to make plans to get in touch with Jansen to find out how things were going at his end and if the chase was heating up. When the cop taking his statement wandered away, Colt was soon in his place.
‘How close did they get?’ Colt asked, probably trying to lighten the mood in this tense scenario.
‘Too close,’ Ruger said. ‘Thank God I was the one on top.’
‘You weren’t…’
‘Almost,’ Ruger said.
Game Of Risk (Risqué #3) Page 20