Risk (Gentry Boys #2)

by Cora Brent

  As soon as we stepped inside the doors of Cluck This, Saylor set down the pitcher she was holding and rushed straight to Cord. He lifted her slightly and kissed her neck.

  Another waitress, some bland-looking chick with skinny legs, greeted me with a pat on the arm. I had no idea what her name was and I didn’t care. She tried to get me to look at her every time I stopped by. The fact that I’d never even answered with a hello only seemed to make her more determined.

  Truly had her arms full of chicken baskets. She hadn’t seen me yet. I stood behind her and waited as she briskly got her table served. I stared at her ass the whole time.

  When she turned around she let out a little gasp. I saw the blush cross her face and knew she was happy to see me even if she tried to act all cool about it. She put a hand on her hip and looked me up and down. “I suppose you’re looking to eat.”

  I smiled. “I could eat.”

  Her mouth twitched. “Chicken, Creedence. That’s what we serve here.”

  I sat down at a nearby table. “I’ll eat whatever you want to serve me, Truly Lee.” She was just standing there staring at me. I grabbed her hand and tried to pull her over. “Do I get a kiss?”

  She tried to twist away. “Creed, my boss is watching.”

  “Kiss me, baby, or I might have to shove my hand down your pants.”

  She shook her head but I could tell she liked it when I talked like that. She liked it a lot. I stood up and made a grab for her waist, acting like I was going to tear the snap off her jeans.

  “All right,” she laughed, giving in and standing up on tiptoe to reach my mouth.

  I wrapped my arms around her. I wanted to get closer. I wanted to do it now.

  She retreated. “Sandwich, right? With a beer?”

  “Sandwich yes, beer no.”

  I returned to the table and Cord joined me. I checked my phone, a little surprised to see how far into the afternoon we were.

  “Where do you think our brother’s at right now?”

  “He’s got a three hour lab today. Doesn’t let out for a while.”

  “Ah, right.” I looked over at Saylor as she ran a credit card through the register at the bar. I dropped my voice. “So, am I supposed to know about your lady’s delicate condition?”

  Cord couldn’t hide his smile. “We only found out for sure last week.” He looked thoughtfully over at Say. “I don’t think it’ll bother her if you know.”

  “Still getting married?”

  He looked surprised. “Of course.”

  I was proud of my brother. He was really going to make this happen. He would have a family, a home, the good life. As my gaze fell on Saylor again I couldn’t help but feel a surge of affection for the girl who was giving all that to him. She saw me watching and shot me a funny look.

  A few minutes later Truly brought my food out. Then she sat down in a chair and gave me a flat stare.

  “You joining me?” I asked.

  “I’m taking a break.”

  “Will your boss pitch a shit fit?”

  “No. He left to go run some errands.”

  Cord coughed once and stood up. “Think I’ll see if I can be of any use in the kitchen.”

  I took a large bite of the chicken sandwich. Truly watched me as I chewed and swallowed.

  “There something you want to say to me, babe? Look, I’m sorry I took off so early this morning. Didn’t have anything to do with you.”

  “What did it have to do with?”

  I sighed. “Truly, I’m no good at this bullshit. Can you just tell me what’s on your mind?”

  She toyed with her ponytail and looked out the window. “When’s your fight, Creed?”

  I shoved the sandwich away and sat back in my chair. “Oh, that. I guess Saylor felt the need to tell you about it.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me about it?”

  “Because when I’m with you I don’t like to think about a bunch of dirty bastards screaming for my blood.”

  She wilted a little. I winced, wishing I’d taken it easy on the imagery.

  “Look at me, Truly.”

  She looked.

  I pulled her chair close to me and placed a hand on each of her thighs. I didn’t know if I could put my thoughts into words but I was going to try. “Look, I don’t know what to call this. But I know that I think about you all the time.”

  She touched my face. Her eyes were soft. “I think about you too.”

  I had to tell her something I’d never told anyone before. My heart was actually pounding from it. “There’s no one else, okay? It doesn’t even cross my mind.” I took her hand from my face and kissed it.

  “Creed.” She stood up and wrapped her arms around me. Our faces were inches apart. “Just don’t mess me up. Please.”

  “Never,” I said but Emilio’s image crossed my mind. I didn’t tell her about that. Maybe I should have.

  “So do I get to see you tonight?” I could hear the smile in her voice as she ran her hands down my arms.

  I stood up, pressed her against me. “You can see me right now.”

  Her breath caught a little and her eyes closed. “I have to work.”

  “I’ll work you.”

  She smiled but backed away. “Later?”

  I sat back down, put my feet up on the table. “I’ll wait.”

  Truly glanced at the clock. “I don’t get off until ten. You planning on sitting there for the next seven hours?”

  “That is my plan. Better bring me another sandwich though. I’m starving.”

  Before she walked away, Truly glanced back at me once with a happy smile. I was glad to have made her happy. I hoped nothing would happen to fuck with that.

  Once again I saw Emilio’s face and I felt a touch of guilt. Would Truly be smiling so much if she knew what I’d seen last night? If she knew what had happened to the last man who lost a fight to my future opponent?

  Cord returned to the table and ordered more food. We talked about dumb shit and watched a baseball game on the television mounted over the bar. After a while Chase rolled in and joined us. He seemed tired but still kept up his usual mocking manner. I’d meant it when I told Truly I was sticking around until she was off for the night. Every time she glanced over and saw me still sitting there she seemed surprised but pleased.

  Whenever I looked at that girl I couldn’t believe my luck. It seemed impossible that no other man had recognized that women just didn’t get any better than Truly Lee. By all rights she should have been snatched up long before I got to her.

  Chase, being the dick he was, kicked me under the table. “That really does it for you, huh?”

  “The beast is being domesticated,” Cord joked and then laughed when I glared at him.

  I took their razzing for a while longer, making believe it pissed me off when it really didn’t. As the three of us sat there cussing and joking it was easy enough to pretend that we were just living in the same carefree way we had since exiting Emblem. I could almost fool myself into thinking things were normal and there wasn’t a dark death cloud hanging over our heads.

  Almost.

  CHAPTER TWENTY ONE

  Truly

  Every night we’d wear each other out and I’d fall asleep in his arms. Then I’d wake up in the same place. Creed liked to hear me talk. Before I drifted off I would give him lively snippets of my childhood, mostly leaving out the rotten parts and especially anything about why I walked away from my mother and sisters one horrible night. Sometimes, when I asked, he would haltingly tell me stories too. His were short and dark, full of hurt and neglect. The only lights in his early life were his brothers.

  Creed’s clumsy words to me in the middle of Cluck This were the only ones he’d outright spoken regarding how he felt about me. It was enough though, for now. When Creed Gentry looked you in the eye and told you that you mattered to him you knew it was entirely true.

  “How come you never travelled more?” I asked him, one week after the night he told me
he didn’t want anyone else but me. He was lying on my chest, his weight constricting my breathing a bit, but I didn’t mind. I loved being underneath him. “I mean, you always want to hear about all the states I’ve been to and it seems like you’ve a mind to see them yourself.”

  Creed propped himself up on one elbow. “I’d like to do that,” he said thoughtfully. “Someday. I’d like to see a lot of things, places where there’s not just brown dust and heat.” He leaned over and brushed his lips across my cheek as his voice dropped to a whisper. “And I’m takin’ you with me, baby.”

  I shivered from the effect of his words. Creed had that kind of power over me. He didn’t make empty promises. On the rare occasions when he revealed what was going on inside his head he could take my breath away.

  “Creedence, will you sing for me?”

  “Later,” he answered firmly, opening my legs.

  No matter how many times I had him inside of me I still gasped from the initial shock of it. He was so big, so powerful, and yet he always held back until he’d made me cry out from sheer ecstasy.

  “Creed,” I whimpered, already getting close as he pumped, first slowly and then with increasing speed. My hands clutched his broad back and my knees hugged his ribs. He kissed me and I greedily sucked his tongue while my body shattered with primal bliss. When he came he thrust so hard and deep I was sure there wasn’t room enough to keep him inside.

  “No,” I complained when he tried to pull out.

  “What?” he panted. “You’re not done?”

  “No.” I wrapped my legs around his waist.

  “Aw baby, it’s gonna be a few minutes until I get some more to give you.”

  I kissed his shoulder. “I don’t care. I just want to be as close to you as possible.”

  He didn’t answer. He just settled on top of me as best he could without crushing me completely. It didn’t take long for him to be ready again. It never did.

  I offered to make him breakfast but he didn’t want any. He was going to the gym. He said he worked out better on an empty stomach.

  As I stood there by the front door, wrapped in his arms, I wanted to ask him about the fight. I knew it weighed on him. I knew it was the reason he spent hours in the gym every day. But every time I’d brought it up over the past week I’d been met with silence. Saylor said she didn’t know anything but she looked so miserable when she said it I didn’t know if I believed her.

  “See you tonight?” I asked instead, holding him, inhaling him.

  He massaged the back of my neck. “You will,” he answered.

  We kissed and then he was gone. I stood there in the living room, feeling the unique sorrow of a woman bidding her lover farewell, even if just for a little while. Dolly slept soundly in a ball on the couch. Stephanie was, as always, behind a closed door.

  I paused outside her room for a moment and thought about the morning she’d burst into the apartment in tears. She hadn’t really been herself since then. She went to class, she came home, she went to her room. I hadn’t heard her yelling at anyone on the phone lately. Somehow that worried me more. If I ever saw a girl who needed to let go of herself a little it was Stephanie Bransky.

  Even after I showered and changed it was still very early in the morning. I decided to go for a walk. When I was a child it had been a simple pleasure of mine. It didn’t matter if we were living on the beach or in the backwoods. Sometimes my sisters walked along with me but most often I walked alone.

  There was a canal within a quarter of a mile and I headed over there. The canal was relatively full due to the recent summer monsoons. I glimpsed several exotic river birds by the banks. Heaven only knew how far they had flown to get here and where they had come from. They must have been on their way somewhere else when they saw water from the air and decided to take a closer look. They wouldn’t know that it didn’t really belong in this parched place.

  I encountered sporadic joggers who nodded at me before moving on. As I stretched in the warm sun there were parts of my body that ached a little but it was a good feeling. There was no shame at all. It made such a difference, being in the arms of a man who cared for you.

  Creed had asked about my mother once, curious about why we were estranged. I waved my hand and mumbled something about a lifetime of different opinions before I purposely switched topics. When Creed looked at me I still felt a little bit wholesome, in spirit if not in body. I couldn’t bear to have him think otherwise.

  The vague morning chill was wearing off and I was starting to get hungry. I walked briskly back to the apartment, thinking maybe I could entice Stephanie out of her room with an omelet. As I shoved the key into the door I managed to jam it, breaking part of the end off. I cursed and jiggled the thing around but it was no use. The landlord’s office wouldn’t be open for hours. As I was about to bang on the door and try to rouse Stephanie from her bedroom, I remembered learning once how to get into a sliding glass door like the one leading to the patio. If I could manage to shuffle it off the track it could be easily breached.

  I climbed over the patio wall and started pulling on the sliding door while frowning over how it had seemed so easy when watching someone else do it. Suddenly I felt the glass panel give way a little and it came loose in my hands. It was heavier than I’d figured. Carefully, I lifted it the rest of the way and moved it off to the side, praying to god that it didn’t shatter because I didn’t want to guess how much it would cost to replace. Pleased that I’d managed to get it done, I moved the vertical blinds aside and stepped into the apartment.

  That was when Stephanie nearly brained me with a baseball bat.

  I screamed. She screamed. She dropped the bat.

  “What in the flaming hell are you doing?” I yelled.

  She let out a shaky breath and sat down hard on the floor. “I thought you were someone else,” she mumbled.

  “No shit.”

  Stephanie pulled her bare knees up to her chest and rested her chin on them. “Sorry.”

  I dropped down on the floor next to her. “Jesus, Stephanie. What’s going on with you? Is someone trying to hurt you?”

  She gave me a thin smile. “They can try all they fucking want.”

  “What does that mean, sugar?”

  Stephanie’s eyes narrowed. “It means everything’s okay, Truly.”

  “Like fuck it is.”

  She looked at the ceiling. “You’re starting to sound like me.”

  “Then I’d be telling everyone in sight to mind their own asshole business before I slammed the door in their faces.”

  Her lip quivered a little. “I don’t mean to.”

  “Come on,” I pulled her off the floor. “Let’s talk.”

  She rose reluctantly but just as I was starting to guide her to the kitchen there was a soft knock on the door. Stephanie’s head jerked up. “Wouldn’t be your ogre, would it?”

  “No,” I said, frowning.

  Stephanie picked up her bat and crept over to the peephole. She peered into the small pinpoint of light and then exhaled. “It’s just that chick you work with.”

  “Saylor?”

  “I guess.”

  I went to the door. The lock was stuck from the broken key but after kicking the door and then yanking forcefully on the lock it came free. It wasn’t quite eight am. I wondered why the hell Saylor didn’t just call.

  She had been crying. I saw that immediately. “Say.” I pulled her inside.

  Saylor looked at me with anguished green eyes. “Truly? Will you come with me somewhere?”

  “Of course, honey. You want to tell me what’s wrong?”

  Saylor looked at the floor and sighed miserably.

  “Is it Cord?”

  She shook her head.

  I felt the rise of fear in my gut. I scarcely dared to ask the next question.

  “Creed then?”

  “Yeah,” she nodded tiredly. “It’s Creed this time.”

  “What’s wrong with Creed?” I whispered.
r />   Saylor looked at me beseechingly. “Just come with me, Truly. Please. I shouldn’t drag you into this but I just can’t deal with going alone.”

  Stephanie was still standing a few feet away, holding the bat. “You should go. I’m holing up here for a few days until shit blows over.”

  Saylor looked at her, then at me. “What shit?”

  I gave Stephanie a stern look. “I don’t know. That’s another unanswered question today. You’re not off the hook, missy.”

  Steph rolled her eyes. “Whatever.”

  I nudged Saylor. “So where are we going anyway?”

  She sighed. “Better bring your purse. We’ll be gone a few hours.”

  I didn’t know how Saylor managed to drive a car around in this oven without air conditioning. As soon as the doors to her battered Civic closed I couldn’t breathe.

  “Screw this,” I grumbled, flinging open the door. “We’re taking my car.”

  Saylor gave me the first hint of a smile. “Actually, I was kind of hoping you’d say that. I’ll pay for gas.”

  “And where might all that gas get us to?”

  She waited until we were inside my car before answering. She sighed and carefully buckled her seatbelt. “Emblem.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY TWO

  CREED

  I thought I was alone when I got the call. My phone buzzed in my pocket and as soon as I looked at it I knew what it was. The ticking time bomb had gone off.

  “Gabe,” I said.

  “Hey, Creed. You ran out last week before we had a chance to chat. I was hoping to introduce you to a few people.” The weasel’s voice had an excited edge to it. I wanted to reach through the phone and throttle him until his eyes fell out of his head.

  “I was busy.”

  Gabe chuckled. “You ready for your turn?”

  Turn at what? Dying?