Game (Gentry Boys #3)

by Cora Brent

  I sighed thickly and looked at the man seated several feet away. I didn’t know him at all.

  “I heard you’ve been in the area for a while,” I said, trying to keep my voice from sounding accusatory.

  “You heard correctly,” Michael said, keeping his tone neutral. “I’ve been around for a little over a month I guess.”

  “Oh.” I crossed my legs and stared down at my lap. I didn’t know how the hell to talk to this brother of mine. I never did. “Did Alonzo know that?”

  Michael leaned back into the ratty sofa and stretched his arm across the back. “Alonzo found out a few hours ago when I came here prepared to remove his fucking lungs with a spoon.”

  I swallowed. “Why?”

  He stared at me solemnly. “You know why, Steffie.”

  Even my own brother saw me naked and disgraced.

  “It wasn’t his fault,” I sniffed.

  “Well he goddamn well didn’t lift a finger to help.”

  “He couldn’t have helped if he tried. I got in over my head, Mike.” My voice was losing strength. “I didn’t want to do it.”

  Michael’s face crumbled and he shut his eyes. “I know. I knew that even before Alonzo told me.”

  There was the murmur of voices just outside. Somewhere nearby tires squealed and a girl laughed crazily into the night.

  “Where have you been all this time?”

  My brother shrugged. “Dozens of places. None of them lasted. None of them mattered.”

  I tried not to get angry over the way he’d largely ignored my existence these past few years. After all, I hadn’t reached out to him either. “But you were keeping in touch when you felt like it. Uncle Rocco seemed to be pretty well versed in your whereabouts.”

  “I wouldn’t have done you any good, Steffie.”

  “Screw that. I would have liked to know that you gave a shit. You’re my brother.”

  He watched me for a minute before answering. “I know. That’s why I’m here now. I’m going to exercise a brother’s privilege.”

  “What does that mean, Michael? Are you going to kill someone for shooting a dirty video of me against my will?”

  “No,” he said shortly. “But I’m going to hold them accountable.”

  “Why?”

  He sighed. “Because I couldn’t do anything about Robbie.”

  “Michael, please stop speaking in riddles and half truths. Do you know who killed Robbie?”

  “No. I tried like hell to find out but no. I knew Dad had an idea but he wouldn’t tell me a fucking thing. He told me I was forbidden from avenging my big brother and that was the last thing we fought about.” Michael crossed his arms over his chest and I saw the inflexible will he had shown the world his whole life. “He didn’t have the right to refuse me that.”

  “He was trying to protect you.”

  Michael’s look was far away. He’d started down a different path already. “Do you know how many fucking times he made her cry, Stephanie? You were always daddy’s little princess. But did you realize what kind of man he was? Shit, if Nick Bransky tells you it’s sunny outside you should still stick your head out the window and let the sun pierce your eyeballs because he lies as often as he breathes.”

  “Don’t, Michael. Don’t do it.”

  I can’t lose my last brother. Please.

  He exhaled and looked away. He’d said he wasn’t thinking of murder but his voice sounded pretty deadly. “Nobody fucking does that to my sister and then goes about his business.”

  I wasn’t going to be able to talk him out of a thing. “Then I’ll ask a different favor. Keep Chase out of it.”

  “Chase,” he snorted. “I met that guy all of ten minutes ago. You think we’re about to partner up and go on a crime spree?”

  “I think you both want the same thing. And it scares me like nothing else.”

  Michael nodded absently. “Don’t worry about Chase. He seems like he might love you more than he wants to slam someone’s head into the ground.”

  In spite of the whole agonizing day and the uncertainty over the near future I smiled.

  “So what about you, Mike? You got a girl?”

  “Steffie,” he answered with a wry grin, “don’t you remember a damn thing about me? I’ve got hundreds of ‘em.”

  “Still?”

  “Always.”

  The conversation more or less died there. For all the blood ties and childhood we’d shared we really were little more than strangers. I struggled to find something else to talk to him about but I’d never been good at such things.

  When I opened the door to Al’s apartment, the Gentry brothers, all three of them, were right on the other side. Chase reached for me and I went to him gladly. I never wanted to let him go.

  “Now can we go home?”

  “Yes, sweetheart. And we can stay there.”

  He meant that he was done with this. He wasn’t going to pursue those men and he wasn’t going to do anything to risk what we had. This morning’s terrible argument could be dealt with another time. I couldn’t even remember what it had been about, not really. My new unwanted celebrity status meant the coming days were bound to be tough. I would need to figure out how to get through this, but with Chase next to me I knew it could be done.

  Michael waved from the doorway of Alonzo’s apartment. He hadn’t made me any promises and I did not know when or if I would see him again. I waved back.

  Cord and Creed followed us down the stairs silently as Chase kept his arm around me.

  “Good night, kids,” said a soft voice in the darkness.

  “Good night, Al,” Chase said rather flatly. Then he seemed to rethink things and held out his hand. “I’ll see you.”

  As we reached the parking lot, Cord’s phone rang and it was obvious he was talking to Saylor. He had a smile on his face a mile wide.

  “I’ll be home soon, honey. I love you too.”

  When Chase saw that we’d driven here in my car he tossed Creed the keys to the truck. Creed seemed reluctant to move for a minute. He stood there looking directly at me. “You take care, Steph,” he said in a voice that was pretty damn close to friendly. Then he climbed in the truck and hollered at Cord to wrap up his phone call and get moving.

  Chase drove my car the short distance back to my apartment. He turned the ignition off and hesitated, looking down.

  I reached for his hand. “Stay with me tonight?”

  His blue eyes were searching and hopeful. “You sure you want me to? I swear to god I won’t be pissed if you say no, Stephanie.”

  I brought his hand to my lips. “I want you to.”

  It wasn’t late so we sat on the couch and watched television. Chase held me close but seemed otherwise reluctant to touch me, probably because of the way I’d recoiled from him earlier. It was fine because I wasn’t ready to be touched. When I began yawning he turned off the television and stood, holding out his hand. We went to the bedroom in comfortable silence and he kept the light off while I undressed quietly in the corner.

  He waited for me in bed, pulling the covers back and then tucking them carefully around me when I crawled inside.

  “Chase,” I whispered and touched his face as he bent forward for a kiss.

  We kissed softly and gently for a long time, as though he guessed doing more would be too much right now. His heart was pounding and he was breathing hard so I knew without looking down how much of an effort it was for him not to go further. I loved him even more for that.

  Chase kissed me deeply for another minute and then broke away, sighing into my neck before he curled himself around my body and rested his head on my shoulder. It was the perfect way to fall asleep and I’d never felt so completely sheltered and loved. Nothing could hurt me while I was there.

  The journey down the rabbit hole had ended. I was no longer falling.

  CHAPTER TWENTY EIGHT

  Chase

  As long as she was in my arms I didn’t need anything else. I could wait u
ntil the shock of this nightmare had worn off and she felt comfortable again. I could wait as long as it took.

  Truly walked through the front door early, before Stephanie was awake. Creed had retrieved her from work after he and Cord drove away from Al’s place. He had told her everything and she was terribly worried. She’d wanted to come home and talk to Stephanie but Creed convinced her that having me there was enough.

  “I didn’t watch it,” she said with tears in her eyes. “Hearing about it was awful enough. How is she, Chase?”

  “She’ll be fine,” I answered firmly, sitting at the kitchen table. “Stephanie’s tough.”

  “Yeah,” Truly grinned. “She is tough.” She threw down her purse and started bustling around the kitchen. “And when she wakes up she’ll be hungry.”

  “Hey, don’t forget about me. I’m hungry too.”

  She laughed. “Chase, I couldn’t forget about you if I tried.”

  I drank a cup of coffee while Truly quickly tossed varied ingredients into a mixing bowl as she hummed. She had a batch ready to hit the oven inside of ten minutes. When I headed back to the bedroom to check on Stephanie, Truly stopped me.

  “Thanks,” she said softly, her warm brown eyes fastened on me affectionately.

  “For being eager to eat your cooking? You are damn welcome.”

  “No.” Truly Lee cocked her head and gave me a warm grin. “For being a good guy, Chase. And for loving my friend.”

  “Well, I can admit to being a work in progress. But I’ll keep progressing. As for loving her, that’s the easiest thing I’ve ever done.”

  Stephanie stirred when I sat on the edge of the bed. She was the most beautiful thing I’d ever laid eyes on. Her hair was everywhere and I brushed a curl from her forehead as her eyelids fluttered and her soft lips pursed together.

  “Hey, sweetheart,” I said softly.

  She sat up and sniffed the air. “Are those cinnamon rolls?”

  “Yup.” I handed her my cup of coffee and she started drinking it immediately while I watched.

  “Don’t,” she grumbled, handing me the cup back.

  “What?”

  Stephanie pulled her knees up to her chest and looked at me seriously. “Don’t pity me, Chase. Please. I swear I won’t break.”

  I hadn’t been pitying her at all. I’d been looking at her lips as she drank from the cup and wanting to feel them on various parts of my body. But I couldn’t say that either.

  “I don’t pity you,” I growled and set the cup on the floor. I climbed back into bed and held her to me. She snuggled against my body and let out a sweet little sigh while I suppressed a groan because I was getting hard as fuck.

  Steph ran her fingertips lightly up and down my arm and we watched the morning shadows sift through the blinds.

  “You going to class today?” I asked her.

  “Yes,” she answered stubbornly. “And then to work. Don’t get me wrong, I’d much rather hide out in here. But if I don’t get out today then it’ll only be tougher tomorrow.”

  “I checked this morning. Video got taken down if it makes you feel any better.”

  “You think it’ll just show up somewhere else?”

  There was no point in lying to her. “Yes.”

  Truly’s bright voice sang out from the kitchen. “Breakfast is ready!”

  “She’s a saint,” Steph moaned, sliding off the bed. She kept her back to me as she pulled a long t-shirt over her bra and panties. My dick liked the view anyway.

  Truly gave Stephanie a sisterly hug and that was the only reference between the two of them to the awful events of the day before. She sat with us at the kitchen table and talked brightly and extensively about her Thanksgiving menu. That was the awesome thing about Truly; she didn’t require too much out of you.

  “Mmmm, I forgot about Thanksgiving next week,” Steph said, stretching. I stared at the way her breasts strained against the fabric of her shirt and nearly dropped the plate I was holding.

  “You okay?” Truly frowned.

  “Fine,” I insisted. Except I was a pervert. An absolute fucking pervert. But if I didn’t take care of this myself, and soon, then I wouldn’t be able to function for the rest of the goddamn day. So I thought about dead bunny rabbits until I could stand up without shocking the ladies in the room. Then I excused myself and said I needed to get home so I could shower and change.

  Stephanie followed me to the door. She wrapped her arms around my neck and pressed herself against me, prompting a reaction that a thousand dead rabbits couldn’t fix.

  “It’s not that I don’t want to,” she whispered in my ear.

  I held her face in my hands and ran my lips over hers. “It’s okay, honey. I can’t help being a horny bastard but there’s no pressure.”

  She laced her fingers through mine. “Meet me later?”

  “Naturally. You’ve got class at one, right? I’ll be over at noon to take you to lunch and head over there with you.”

  I was prepared for an argument, for her to scoff and tell me she was just fine on her own, but there was no way I was letting her walk onto that campus alone today. She didn’t argue though. She actually smiled.

  When I got home Cord had already left for work but Creed and Saylor were sitting in the living room as if they were waiting for me.

  “I’ll answer questions,” I muttered, “but give me fifteen minutes first.”

  I headed straight for the shower, blasted the hot water and then jerked off like the future of my dick depended on it.

  When I made it back to the living room, wrapped in a towel, Saylor was reading a book and Creed was playing Xbox. He smirked when he saw me.

  “You feel better now, junior?”

  I sat on the couch. “I always feel better after I take a shit.”

  “That ain’t what you did in there.”

  “Fuck you, Creedence.”

  Saylor was watching me solemnly. “How is she?”

  I paused before answering. Saylor’s hand was resting on her growing belly and I suffered a moment of dizziness as I realized she was sitting in exactly the same place she’d been sitting one morning last May when she’d stumbled back into our lives, bruised and lost. If anyone knew about overcoming cruelty and humiliation it was Saylor.

  “She’s trying,” I sighed. “She wants to be okay.”

  “And is she?”

  “I don’t know. I hope so.” I broke off and thought about the girl I loved. I wanted the other people I loved to know her too so I told them a few things, about how Stephanie was actually intensely private, even shy. It was what made this whole thing even more excruciating.

  Creed listened with his head down and Saylor squeezed my hand a few times. I sighed and leaned back into the couch.

  “Chase,” said Saylor gently. “This would be difficult no matter who Stephanie is. She was violated and it’s out there for the world to see. I’m not going to compare my experience with hers because we’re different people. There’s no way to guess what it’s going to take for her to move on. All you can do is hold her when she cries and still be there when she’s finished.”

  “Whatever it takes,” I said immediately and I meant it. Then I nodded at Creed. “Look, Steph’s working at the restaurant later. I was gonna hang around during her whole shift, just to make sure she didn’t run into trouble, but it’s been a while since I’ve been to a meeting and-”

  “I’ll be there,” he interrupted. “I’ll keep an eye on things. Anyone who hassles her will wish he’d stayed in his mother’s sorry ass womb.”

  I smiled. Creedence, for all his grumpy flaws, was a damn good man. “Appreciate it.”

  He grinned back. “What are brothers for?”

  Stephanie was quiet, even quieter than usual, as we walked over to campus in the early afternoon. She squinted into the sun and kept her arms crossed. Once I spun around at the sound of an obnoxious whistle but there was no one in sight. She held onto me for a minute before heading into the busi
ness building, then she breathed deeply and walked determinedly inside, keeping her head up. People would stare. They would say things. I couldn’t stop them. But eventually something else would catch their attention and they would tire of it.

  An hour later she was incredulous to find me in the same place she’d left me. “You waited here the whole time?”

  “Of course,” I answered with a cocky grin. “I was worried you’d get lost without me.”

  She rolled her eyes and held my arm. “Reminds me of how you once boasted of your superior navigational skills.”

  I pulled her against me and kissed her temple. “All true, even though at the time I was trying to nail you again.”

  “Well, it worked.” She inhaled deeply and exhaled with a smile. “It’s a nice day out.”

  “It is a nice day out. It is even possible to stand in direct sunlight for longer than ten minutes without succumbing to heatstroke. We should enjoy this brief respite of temperate weather in the desert.”

  “Okay. Let’s go for a hike. I don’t have to be at work for two hours.”

  I carried her backpack while we climbed the short distance up the side of A Mountain. She reached for my hand as we looked out over the landscape of the university and beyond that, the rest of Tempe. The clustered office buildings of downtown Phoenix beckoned in the west.

  “I didn’t just need somebody,” I told her.

  She looked at me like she didn’t understand.

  “What you said yesterday morning, about how we found each other at a time we both just needed somebody, that was never it for me.”

  “Chase, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean-“

  I embraced her hard, holding her against me in a way that wasn’t sexual but felt even more urgent. “Listen to me anyway.”

  She swallowed and relaxed. “Okay.”

  “Stephanie, I could tell you a hundred stories starring me as a supreme asshole in every single one. Yeah, I had a crummy childhood. And yeah, being attached to the Gentry name meant it was widely known that I would be the same rotten shit as my father and grandfather and probably my great grandfather. I don’t want to try and justify everything I’ve ever done because I can’t. I also can’t pretend that some days aren’t a struggle for me. I understand now that might always be the case. But I swear on my brothers that I wasn’t just looking for something to cling to when I stepped into that elevator in Vegas. I didn’t just need someone. I needed you. Don’t doubt me, Steph.”