After leaving Drew at her apartment, they hurried over to Ruger’s parents’, but lunch was thoroughly over by the time she and Ruger got there. They were both put to work without delay, so Layla hadn’t seen much of Ruger since they arrived.
Layla was positioned around the kitchen island with Bri, Lyssa and Suzette. The women were allocated the task of folding linen napkins into fancy shapes. A new table had been set up beyond the back kitchen door, and this was where the napkins would be displayed, behind the food that would be presented here, giving guests somewhere to collect plates and arrange their food.
Ruger had been put to work with his brothers, who were removing furniture from the living room and putting down floor coverings to protect the carpet. Lyssa was patient as Layla screwed up the napkins time and again. Her head just wasn’t in the game.
‘I’m sorry,’ Layla said, giving up on her latest napkin effort.
‘It’s ok,’ Lyssa said. ‘Keep practising.’
‘We heard about what happened last night,’ Suzette said, keeping her volume low as Pru Warner was flitting around issuing instructions to the men and making lists meaning she was in and out of the room.
Being a part of the group, in this situation, Layla was reminded of the first night Ruger brought her into this house. The women had been around this island then and being included in the clique had been intimidating. Since then, it had become normal and she knew just what to expect of the gaggle.
Lyssa would be patient and urge her to talk using leading questions. Bri would be quiet, but listen keenly, and she would speak up if someone said something out of turn. Suzette would just be loud and direct, showing no hesitation if she wanted a certain piece of information. Layla didn’t know if Suzette had always been so outgoing or if her relationship with Gus might have brought her out of her shell some.
‘I’m sorry we dragged Colt out last night,’ Layla said to Lyssa, flattening the napkin out to try the folding again.
‘You didn’t drag him out,’ Lyssa said. ‘He has family in the force and whenever the Warner name pops onto the police radio, you can be sure that someone in the family will get a call.’
‘And that’s always Colt?’
‘It’s whoever’s most closely related to the Warner involved,’ Lyssa said. ‘So if it’s Ruger or Blaser then Colt gets called.’
‘Blaser and I have dragged him out a time or two ourselves,’ Bri said. ‘Colt’s great. He’s very understanding.’
These days. Bri and Lyssa made eye contact then smiled, Colt was understanding these days now that he had Lyssa to keep him straight, but Lyssa had told her that wasn’t always the case.
‘I don’t understand why Ruger’s name would have come up over the police radio. We weren’t the ones who called the cops, I mean I tried to, but they were already on their way.’
‘This is a close-knit neighbourhood. Everyone knows Ruger’s girlfriend bought the salon. Pru is conjuring up business for you already,’ Lyssa said. ‘It wouldn’t surprise me if that was exactly what the police were told when the neighbour called in.’
‘Not much business going on at the moment,’ Layla said. ‘I had hoped to open next week, but after last night… a shooting isn’t exactly good for business.’
‘Are you kidding? That won’t deter people around here,’ Suzette said, completing another napkin to perfection. ‘Now everyone will want to know what happened and what you’re involved in. They like to think they’re nice and respectable, but they’re nosey gossip hounds just like women the world over.’
‘Speak for yourself,’ Lyssa said with a smile.
‘You get to pry into people’s private, secret business for a living,’ Suzette said. ‘You can afford to appear aloof elsewhere.’
The women laughed and Pru came over, sticking herself in between Layla and Lyssa. ‘How is it going?’
‘Great,’ Lyssa said.
‘We still have to prepare the canapes, the salads, and the condiments. Why did Colt insist upon making this a barbeque?’
‘Because he’s a guy,’ Suzette said. ‘He’s lost all privileges when it comes to planning the actual wedding ceremony. Lys and I got away with so much just because we gave him carte blanche with the engagement party.’
‘Wise, I suppose,’ Pru said. ‘We’re going to put gifts in the dining room and the bar in the living room. Blaser has chairs at his club, which the boys are going to pick up when they go for the gazebo. Ruger is talking about picking up a sound system. Do we plan to disturb the neighbours?’
‘We don’t need a sound system,’ Lyssa said. ‘But it’s nice of him to offer.’
‘Thank goodness for that,’ Pru said. ‘I’ll let him know.’
The woman disappeared and Lyssa folded a final napkin. ‘Pinch can get anything,’ Lyssa said. ‘But his place of business is quite a drive away.’
‘Pinch?’ Layla asked.
‘One of Ruger’s contacts,’ Lyssa said and left her stool to begin moving the napkins from the isle to the table. ‘Most of the neighbours are coming to this party. Colt’s known them for years, so I don’t think there will be anyone who can be bothered by the noise.’
‘It’s not a frat party,’ Suzette said, getting up to join her friend. ‘And you did offer to do it in the middle of the day.’
‘Early evening is the middle of the day as far as Colt and Blaser are concerned,’ Bri said, taking her share of napkins over to the table. Layla might not have been great at the folding, but she could carry with the best of them, so she gave up with the cloth and took the last of the napkins to the table where Lyssa was now arranging them in neat groups.
‘That’s true,’ Lyssa said. ‘The pair of them work at night.’
‘Who is looking after Risqué tonight?’ Layla asked.
‘Dax, Ivy and Crystal,’ Bri said, examining the spread on the table.
‘I thought Dax was in Atlantic City,’ Layla said.
‘He is, but he’ll be back tonight. Crystal will be in charge until then,’ Bri said. ‘He’s already driving, so he’ll be back as early as he can be.’
‘Oh, great,’ Suzette sneered. ‘At least I won’t have to be around to hear Ivy welcoming him home.’
Bri and Lyssa just laughed, so Layla figured that the teasing was good-natured. She wasn’t sure who knew what, or who was supposed to know what and so she kept her questions to herself. Lyssa helped to answer some of those questions with her next statement.
Leaning in closer to the huddle of women, she fixed on her best friend. ‘When you move downstairs into Gus’ place, that won’t be a problem for you anymore, will it?’
Bri laughed and Suzette hissed at her friend to quiet down, so Layla asked. ‘Why are you keeping your relationship with him a secret?’
‘Because he’s an oaf,’ Suzette said.
‘Yes, but he’s your oaf,’ Lyssa said and looped her arm through Suzette’s. ‘You’ll have to give in to it eventually. Don’t let your experience with Pete put you off commitment. Sometimes you have to take a risk.’
‘I know that,’ Suzette said with a long fed-up sigh. ‘You’ve worked with me so much since then, I’m not nearly as meek and jumpy as I used to be.’
‘Hard to imagine you like that,’ Bri said, a warm smile bloomed on her face. ‘Hanging around in Risqué so much has changed you.’
‘Gus has changed her,’ Lyssa said. ‘He’s given her new purpose and a reason to stop drinking so much.’
‘Pete was the reason I drank so much. I had to after the humiliation he put me through,’ Suzette said.
‘Who’s Pete?’ Layla asked.
‘My psycho ex-fiancé who stalked Lyssa,’ Suzette said. ‘And I’m not holding back because of Pete. I… Gus hasn’t promised me the world or anything, I’m trying not to get ahead of myself.’
‘You know what Gus is like,’ Bri said. ‘He asked you to move into his place, didn’t he? For him that’s like a marriage proposal. He makes other men’s nonchalance look like mayhem.
He just doesn’t understand urgency at all.’
‘There’s no urgency,’ Suzette said. ‘I’m happy to see where it goes.’
‘You’re desperate to be married and don’t even deny it,’ Lyssa said. When she left the group, Lyssa went to the fridge and the rest of the women returned to their places at the kitchen isle to unpack the food which Lyssa was retrieving.
‘I don’t see Gus getting down on one knee,’ Bri said. ‘If you want it to happen then you have to make it happen.’
‘I don’t see a ring on your finger,’ Suzette said, leaning back to glance at Bri’s hand.
‘That’s not because Blaser hasn’t asked me,’ Bri said, holding up her hand to examine the vacant spot. ‘I keep telling him to slow down.’
‘And Lys says I have issues?’ Suzette said, leaving her seat to retrieve the kitchen utensils required for the food prep.
‘We all have issues,’ Lyssa said, handing out the vegetables. ‘Even I’m not perfect.’
‘Oh my god,’ Suzette said, stalling and holding up both hands. ‘Did everyone hear that? Quick, someone write down the date and time.’
‘Bri will get there when she’s ready,’ Lyssa said, handing out chopping boards.
‘Except there is a looming deadline,’ Suzette said and Layla joined in looking at Bri because she was curious about the woman’s reaction.
‘Maybe that’s why I don’t want to do it,’ Bri said. ‘I don’t want to rush such an important decision.’
‘But you know you’re always going to be with Blaser,’ Suzette said.
‘She sure is,’ Blaser said, drawing the attention of the women.
The three brothers, along with their father, were negotiating a large tabletop and its separate legs out of the living room and through the kitchen to take it into the back yard. As they were doing that, the women watched while dealing with the vegetables, but none of them said anything else about the sensitive topic while there were listening ears in the vicinity.
Pru zipped across the kitchen in the wake of the men. Only after she disappeared outside—presumably to tell the men how to put the table back together in the place she wanted it—did the girls in the kitchen carry on their conversation.
‘We’re looking for somewhere new to live,’ Bri said. ‘Once we do that, we’ll need our cash to get setup for the baby and Blaser is talking about starting a second garage closer to home. It’s a busy time for us and our finances are tied up. I’m not going to be happy hurrying a wedding while I’ve got a conspicuous baby bump. There’s no rush, that’s what I keep telling him, but he keeps on pushing.’
‘Because he loves you,’ Lyssa said. ‘We can talk about that if you bring him along to your next session.’
‘You know he’ll say he doesn’t have time,’ Bri said.
‘When you tell him it’s important to you, he comes,’ Lyssa said. ‘And you can promise him that we won’t talk about his dick at all.’
‘Typical conversation for my fiancée,’ Colt said, sauntering into the kitchen and coming up behind Lyssa to watch what she was doing. ‘What are you girls talking about?’
‘Blaser’s penis,’ Lyssa said and carried on with what she was doing.
Layla might have expected Colt to be shocked or upset, instead he smiled and kissed the top of his fiancée’s head. ‘I really need to learn to stop asking.’
‘We’re actually not talking about it, which is sort of the point,’ Bri said.
‘What are you not talking about?’ This time it was Blaser who was entering through the back door, and he too went to his girlfriend. Wrapping an arm around her shoulders, he stole a raw carrot stick that Bri had just sliced.
‘Your dick,’ Colt said and Blaser grumbled, which made everyone laugh.
‘We’re really not,’ Bri said, trying to turn and see Blaser.
‘It’s ok, Doll, I’m getting used to it,’ Blaser said, massaging her shoulders as he munched on the carrot.
‘Where’s Ruger?’ Layla asked.
‘Making a phone call,’ Colt said. ‘My parents are arguing about the yard layout. We thought we’d leave them to it.’
‘Who is he calling?’ Layla asked, unsure if she was more uncomfortable asking or not knowing.
‘Your brother far as I can tell,’ Colt said. ‘Ruge said that Jansen showed up this morning at your place.’
‘After I spoke to him last night I thought I was going to be going to him,’ Layla said. ‘I didn’t expect him to show up.’
‘You were going to leave?’ Lyssa asked.
Each of the faces in the room were trained on her. Everyone knew the full situation, even if she hadn’t been the one to tell them. So with a sigh, Layla relented the truth. ‘The story is going to break soon. Drew is expecting an answer on the print date today.’
‘You think Ashcroft is going to step up his game?’ Colt asked.
‘I think that my brother shouldn’t face being discredited alone,’ Layla said. ‘I want to be with him, to show my support.’
‘That’s incredibly stupid,’ Blaser said. ‘Your brother is vulnerable already because he has Serendipity with him. Having you too… he can’t watch you both at once, that’s how Ruger got involved in this in the first place, remember?’
She didn’t need to be reminded and she especially didn’t appreciate being reminded in such a condescending way, but Blaser was right.
‘I know that, but once the story is out there, the danger goes away, doesn’t it?’
‘Maybe, maybe not,’ Colt said. ‘What’s Jansen’s plan?’
‘He said he plans to lay low, maybe get out of the state with Serendipity for a while until the circus dies down.’
‘Smart,’ Colt said. ‘Once the story is out there, the rest of the media will take over the digging, and the DA will have to investigate. He can’t be seen to be complicit in Ashcroft’s games.’
‘That’s what Ruger said,’ Layla admitted.
‘Never thought my baby brother was that smart,’ Blaser said.
Ruger came in now, but he didn’t come over to the island, he went to the living room door. ‘Lay, can I have a sec?’
She didn’t like how solemn his expression was. Ruger wasn’t known for being so grave. ‘What is it?’ she asked, sliding off her stool. ‘Is it Drew?’
Ruger trusted everyone here, but he still took the time to look at them all before he came over to her and took her hands. ‘The story is going out tomorrow.’
‘Tomorrow? That’s sudden.’
‘Everyone reads the Sunday papers,’ Colt said.
Layla kept her attention on Ruger, who gave her a squeeze. ‘I guess they got the confirmation they needed. This is going to get serious very quickly.’
‘Where’s Drew?’
‘On his way back to Serendipity. He wants to get back there as fast as he can and he asked me to look after you.’
So either Drew didn’t want her there or he still had concerns about keeping her safe while attending to Serendipity. ‘Ok,’ Layla said, trying to process as quickly as she could. ‘Ok.’
Withdrawing her hands from Ruger’s, she went back to her job peeling vegetables. ‘You don’t have to be here,’ Lyssa said. ‘Both of you, if there’s somewhere you need to be or—‘
‘No,’ Layla said. ‘There’s nothing that needs to be done. Now we just have to carry on and the party is going to be great.’ Forcing a smile, those around her began to relax.
‘Ok, you heard the woman,’ Ruger said, clapping his hands together. ‘Let’s get into the party mood. Who wants some music?’
They had talked Ruger out of music in favour of getting the work done as quickly as possible. The women were still preparing food, and the men were in their trucks, preparing to pick up all of the items needed for that night. Pru was outside on the drive handing out final lists to the men of what tasks had to be completed and when they should be home for.
‘Pru really knows what she’s doing,’ Suzette said. ‘She’s a real god-sen
d.’
‘She’s been wrangling those males for years,’ Lyssa said. ‘She is well-practised.’
‘Something you’ll be in a couple of years,’ Layla said to her.
‘Oh, Lyssa already knows how to push all of their buttons,’ Bri said. ‘Reading people is something she does well.’
‘It’s part of the job description,’ Lyssa said, taking the trays of completed canapes over to the counter to be covered before she refrigerated them.
‘How long has Pru been out there though? It must be half an hour at least, do you think we should worry?’ Bri asked.
‘I’m here. I’m here,’ Pru said. ‘Sorry, I got talking to one of your guests who arrived early, but he’s not shy and he says that he’ll help us out, isn’t that sweet? I didn’t realise your well of friends ran so deep, Lyssa.’
This statement intrigued them all to stop what they were doing and turn to see who was going to come in behind Pru as she came further into the room. All of the others drew in breath when Governor Ashcroft walked into the Warner kitchen.
‘Call the cops,’ Lyssa said.
‘Now don’t do that,’ Ashcroft said, holding up both hands in surrender. ‘I just came here to have a conversation. You wouldn’t begrudge me that now, would you? Not when you’re about to take a man’s life.’
‘What’s going on?’ Pru asked with a tremor in her voice suggesting she recognised her misstep.
‘Don’t worry,’ Bri said. ‘We can call Blaser and—‘
‘Is that your man?’ Ashcroft asked, putting a hand on the back of Pru’s neck to bring her closer to the girls. ‘I watched this nice lady pull weeds for a clear ten minutes before I approached and we talked for more than ten after that, your men are all gone, ladies.’
‘It’s me that you want,’ Layla said, pulling off her kitchen gloves and hopping off her stool. ‘Leave these kind people out of it.’
‘I want to have a conversation with you, Layla, see if I can’t make you see sense,’ Ashcroft said, giving Pru a nudge forward so she hit the centre isle. He unbuttoned his jacket and pulled half aside to show a gun in his belt. ‘And if these kind people like you, they’ll let us have this conversation in peace and not do anything stupid.’
Game Of Risk (Risqué #3) Page 23