Risk It All (Risqué #2)

by Scarlett Finn

  Talking to Lyssa had helped, and she was a professional, but Lyssa didn’t know anything about the reality that Brianna lived in. Crime and scum were what she’d grown up with and unless you’d lived that life, you couldn’t explain it to anyone.

  ‘Did you grow up around here?’ Bri asked. Lyssa was a doctor, so didn’t give out much personal information, maybe Bri could feel that she was giving something back too if she could forge a real friendship that wasn’t in any way tied to her past.

  ‘Not around here,’ Ivy said. ‘But ex-cons, doing anything to get by… yeah, I grew up around that.’

  ‘Do you want to come over for coffee?’ Bri asked and the women shared a smile. Having a friend on her doorstep, a female one who wanted nothing from her, as Ivy had said, could make a difference and until she tried it, she couldn’t be sure. The women began to move toward her apartment but then Bri stopped to face Ivy. ‘Sorry to ask such a personal question but, before we go on I should…’

  ‘No, I won’t share Dax,’ Ivy said with an icy glare that quickly gave way to a smile, Bri’s tension burst out into a laugh. ‘I’m messing with you, what is it?’

  ‘You don’t use drugs or owe anybody money… do you?’

  Ivy shook her head. ‘No, I don’t. But I think you’ve just explained to me what your trouble is, ex-boyfriend?’

  ‘Ex-friend,’ Bri said. ‘I’ll tell you all about it, but I’d love to know how you snagged a guy like Dax first.’

  ‘You got it,’ Ivy said. ‘It wasn’t easy, let me tell you, this story will blow you away.’

  Chapter Ten

  Blaser had been out on a tow. As soon as he pulled the truck into the garage lot, Dax came out of the building and headed straight for him, which told Blaser that something was up. Once Dax had given him the jist and Blaser discovered that the trouble regarded Bri, he was immediately en-route for the apartment block, Dax filled him in on the rest of the story on the way.

  He didn’t knock, it didn’t occur to him, he just went straight into Bri’s apartment to find her seated on the couch with Ivy, Dax’s wife, drinking coffee. Their abrupt entry interrupted the women’s laughter and when they silenced Dax blew out a short whistle.

  ‘Come on, Minx, out of here,’ Dax said. ‘Man’s got to sort out his female.’

  ‘Yes, Master,’ Ivy droned and the women shared a look then laughed again. Ivy put her cup down and exited with Dax, just like she’d been told to.

  ‘Do you know the story of how they got together?’ Bri asked, taking her cup and Ivy’s into the kitchen to wash them. ‘It’s amazing.’

  ‘Fuck their story, what happened to you?’

  ‘Nothing happened to me,’ Bri said. ‘I went over to Lyssa’s—‘

  ‘Lyssa,’ Blaser said, shaking his head and marching over to her. ‘You’re telling me that Rafe approached you and Lyssa? Colt is gonna go nuts.’

  ‘Like you are?’ Bri said, turning to lean on the counter as she dried her hands. ‘I’m alright Blaser, Dax came along and scared him off.’

  ‘What did he want?’

  ‘Dax?’ she asked being deliberately obtuse.

  ‘Not Dax, Rafe. What did Rafe want?’

  ‘His money,’ Bri said. ‘He said he wanted ten grand in a week and that if I didn’t deliver he’d send his men in to testify against Gary and trump up some charges about him shooting you.’

  Some of Blaser’s anger gave way to an awkward reality. ‘Gary did shoot me,’ he said. Bri had been honest with him and so it was only right that he be honest in return.

  ‘What? When?’ Her ease was gone in a flash and concern was all that emanated from him now.

  ‘It doesn’t matter,’ he said, reducing the space between them. ‘I told the cops that it never happened. They can’t charge him if they have no evidence.’

  ‘But they will have evidence if Rafe’s men rat him out. Oh God, Blaser, this is terrible.’

  He didn’t know if she meant it was terrible that he’d been shot, or terrible that Gary might pay for it. ‘Was Lyssa hurt?’ Blaser said, hoping that taking the focus away from his altercation with Gary might alleviate some of the guilt Bri had to be feeling.

  ‘Lyssa wasn’t there. I was on my way back here, Rafe was waiting on the corner,’ she said. ‘Can I see it?’

  ‘See what?’ he asked, considering how to respond to this threat encroaching on his territory.

  ‘Where he shot you.’

  ‘You don’t believe me?’ he snapped then instantly regretted his strong reaction because it took her aback, as it well should have because he wasn’t usually the type to bark at her. ‘Babe, I don’t want to see you hurt.’

  ‘I can’t believe he… Why would he…?’

  ‘He heard that we were seeing each other.’

  ‘I heard about what happened at the club. Was the shooting before or after, God…’ she stumbled over the last word. ‘He shot you, Gary, actually… he actually…’

  She sank to the floor with her hands at her throat and his impulse took him down to the floor beside her. His hands were dirty and greasy from the tow job so he couldn’t reach out to her like he wanted to and the restriction made an ache grow in his chest squeezing air from his lungs.

  ‘He wasn’t trying to kill me,’ he said, remaining on his knees and speaking in a soft tone meant to soothe because he couldn’t do it through touch. ‘We were fighting, arguing, and he was shaking the gun around… It was an accident.’

  ‘An accident?’ she shrieked, and her wide wet eyes leapt up to his. ‘That’s worse, he could’ve killed you! Oh, Blase!’

  She crawled to him and dropped her weight around his neck. Her slender arms clung tightly around him and she buried her face against his flesh sending goosebumps skittering over him.

  ‘Lys fixed me, Doll. I’m safe. I’m fine.’

  ‘But you could’ve been killed,’ she said, the cloud of her warm breath wormed its way into his overalls. Squeezing his eyes closed, he tried to move away in case he lost control of his blood flow, which was all routing south despite his attempts to divert it.

  ‘Lys is a good doctor,’ Blaser said, trying to keep the subject on something un-arousing. ‘She patched me up and kept on at me ‘til I was all fixed up.’

  Her small fingers came from his neck to the pops on his overalls. One popped open and he clenched his jaw, the next popped and he closed his fists. The third went and he swayed away, but she still hung off of him with one arm, so he was stuck here, being undressed by the woman he’d been naked with more than any other.

  ‘Doll,’ he murmured, allowing his mouth to settle in her hair. ‘I could tell you he shot me in the groin. Would you still want to see it then?’

  ‘I’ve seen your dick before and you’re not modest,’ she said, but he could feel her heart hammering against his body.

  ‘Look at me,’ he said because he knew that when she was nervous she wouldn’t meet his eye, but he wanted to be sure that she really heard and understood him. The rush of her breath came out twice, then she lifted her head to look at him, her dainty digits maintained their position on his chest.

  ‘It will make me feel better to see it, to see that you’re ok, Love,’ she said.

  ‘It was my shoulder and it’s fine. There’s no hurry for us to get naked with each other, we’ll get there when you’re ready. I’m your guy, ok?’

  ‘I went to Lyssa again because… I want to get past this. I told her that I wanted to be with you… I want to be with you, Blase.’

  ‘You are with me,’ he said, maybe he shouldn’t have asked her to look at him because with their eyes locked he worried that his vulnerable adoration for her was bared.

  Shifting to her knees, she rose higher until her plump lips cushioned themselves on his. He’d never undergone such sensory overload with anyone other than her. Every part of him, every inch, became alive and aware. He wanted to touch her, wanted to get hold of those slim hips and lower her onto the vinyl floor. He wanted to kiss the creamy
, sweet skin on the side of her neck and find out if that sensitive spot behind her ear still made her mew out a blissful breath of gratitude that had always made him want to work harder for her.

  But now that she was seeking help to work through her trauma he wanted her to know that he supported her and that he would be patient. The last thing he wanted her to think was that he was a horndog only out for one thing.

  When her lips widened and her tongue touched his lip, he let her in. Feeling like he was a teenager learning how to do this for the first time, he didn’t want to push her. He held back, ready to let her take the lead. Her fingers slid inside his overalls and spread over his collarbone.

  Her lips departed his and her forehead landed on his shoulder. ‘I’m sorry about all of this,’ she said.

  ‘All of what?’

  ‘I know how you kiss, Love, and that wasn’t it.’

  ‘You think I don’t want this?’ he asked. A wave of desperation tried to force him to grab onto her and possess her forever.

  Leaning back, she dropped to her haunches then sat on the floor, staring straight at his groin and the conspicuous lump straining his overalls. ‘I think I’ve brought a criminal onto your property and started a war between your crew and his.’

  ‘I don’t have a crew anymore.’

  ‘Dax says different,’ she said but carried on. ‘On top of that, my brother put a bullet in you and tried to ruin your business. Why, oh, why would you want anything to do with me? Your family is right, Blase. I’m bad news.’

  ‘None of this is your fault,’ he said, putting a hand to her face. ‘None of it. What matters is that we are together. We found each other again.’

  They’d found each other again a year and a half ago. The wait to have her back in his arms had been torturous and at times he’d almost given up hope. But now that he had her, he wasn’t ever going to let her go again. Breaking up with her in prison had been madness. He thought he was doing what was best for her. But he shouldn’t have left it so long to speak to her again. All of the moves to bring them back together had been hers. Now it was his turn to hold them together.

  He’d gotten grease on her face, but seeing the physical markings of his vocational exploits on her skin only fired him further into a frenzy of want. The build-up of panic and passion collided and he made himself stop touching her.

  ‘I have to get to the club soon to open up, will you let me buy a takeout lunch and we can eat in my office? It’s not romantic, but—‘

  ‘Sounds great,’ she said. ‘I’m flattered that you would think to ask.’

  ‘Better get used to dinner on the fly, we’ve got a lot of businesses to run.’

  ‘It will get easier now that there are two of us to share the responsibility. We were always a good team.’

  ‘Yeah,’ he said. ‘We were… I better get back to it.’

  Leaving her there, alone on the floor, was difficult, but he had no choice. If he kept touching her and examining that beautiful face, he might be tempted to push boundaries.

  He kissed her quickly and got to his feet, taking her up with him. Then with a brief goodbye he left the apartment and closed the door, but it wasn’t the garage he headed for, it was the apartment two doors down.

  Knocking, he waited for Dax to answer. ‘I owe you one,’ Blaser said when Dax opened the door.

  ‘Good,’ Dax said. ‘I like it when guys owe me.’

  ‘That why you did it?’

  ‘Ivy says I’m desensitised to that kinda shit and I love to prove my female wrong.’

  Blaser couldn’t work out how to take this guy. If he meant what he said then Blaser had to assume that Dax had seen some scary shit. But reading between the lines, Blaser took it to mean that the comment was more about his wife and her perceptions.

  ‘If I wanted to scare this piece of shit off our turf… would you be interested?’

  ‘There’s a lot of muscle around here, Blase, you don’t need me.’

  ‘You got a problem? You squeamish or just scared?’

  ‘You’re not going to rile me into a fight,’ Dax said and one corner of his mouth slunk up. ‘And if you ask me it’s not a fight you want either.’

  ‘Why do you say that?’

  ‘Last time you got in a fight you got shot,’ Dax said. ‘Either you pay this guy what he wants or you end him, no fight, the end; you get me?’

  Pay him off or kill him, Blaser didn’t like those options. ‘I’m no murderer.’

  ‘You’re no fighter either. I know you’re pissed that he came after your woman, but if his colleagues saw Bri’s brother shoot you then somehow they’re all connected. You think her brother would be happy to hear what this guy is doing to his sister?’

  ‘Gary’s got no influence,’ Blaser said. ‘Even if I had a way to get word to him then Gary couldn’t do anything about it.’

  ‘Then you’re back to my original suggestion, pay him or end him.’

  ‘I can’t pull that kind of cash together that fast,’ Blaser said. He could sell one of the businesses, but the transaction wouldn’t close in time. His savings were on the sparse side, everything he earned was poured back into the businesses to keep them going.

  ‘If it’s money that you want,’ Dax said, lowering his volume and pulling the door closer to his back. ‘I know how you can raise it fast.’

  ‘How?’ Blaser asked, ready to try anything.

  ‘The basement of the club,’ Dax mumbled, keeping his eyes trained to Blaser. ‘How many can you get in there?’

  ‘The capacity?’

  ‘Yeah,’ Dax said.

  ‘Why do you need to know that?’

  ‘Because I’ve got a bit of a hobby that’s pretty lucrative. You provide me with a venue and I can fill it to the rafters – invitation only. If you want to make yourself a quick buck, then I’m the only guy that you want in the ring.’

  ‘In the ring?’ Blaser said. Dax wanted a venue and from his fitness level Blaser would say he was a sportsman of some sort. But Dax wasn’t talking about obtaining licences and inviting the masses, which meant that what he was talking about was illegal. ‘Does Ivy know about this?’

  ‘Yeah,’ Dax said. ‘I’ll handle the wife if I have to. Are you interested?’

  ‘I don’t know,’ Blaser said. ‘How risky are we talking?’

  ‘If your guys know how to keep a secret then it’s not risky at all. It’s just one night, a one-time event, and you’ll have enough to save your girl and to maybe pay off a few of your own debts too.’

  The notion was tempting. It would give him the chance to show Bri that he could take care of business for her. Except that was the same thought he’d had throughout his youth right before he screwed up.

  Underground fighting. Blaser had heard of the circuit and seen a few rounds in his younger days, but he had always thought it was brutal. Two guys in the ring, no weapons, and don’t hit a guy while he’s down, those were the only rules. He had no idea that there was so much money in it. Dax had laid it out for him, there on his doorstep and Blaser had turned him down flat because Blaser had promised Colt and Ruger that there would be no illegal activities at the club, but he’d made that promise before Bri needed him.

  ‘It’s the only way I can make enough money to pay Rafe,’ Bri said. ‘You must be able to see that.’

  Except he couldn’t see that because he wasn’t following what she was saying, he was too busy thinking about Dax and his offer. They were in his office at the club, eating the picnic that Bri had put together for them at short notice.

  ‘Sorry, Doll, I was somewhere else,’ he said, not ready to admit that he’d been considering a brief return to his old ways.

  ‘Dancing,’ she said. ‘If you let me dance in here I can make more money. I mean, I doubt I’ll make ten grand in a week, but it’s worth a shot… There’s no other way I can get close to giving him what he wants and I have nothing worth selling.’

  ‘I could sell the truck,’ he said, there were plenty o
n the scrap yard that he could fix up enough to get running if he could ever find the time to do it.

  ‘Is it worth ten thousand?’ she asked with a tinge of hope, but his wince made her sigh. ‘Then there’s no point in you getting rid of your only mode of transportation.’

  She could be so vibrant when she laughed, he thought, watching her scrape her plastic fork through her wilted salad. Except right now she had nothing to laugh about. This whole situation made him feel pathetic, he wanted to take care of her, but he’d never earned big bucks.

  He earned more now than he ever had and that still wasn’t enough to be able to hand her what she needed. Back when they were teenagers he had promised her that she would never need to go back to that and he’d always take care of her; that wasn’t a promise he planned to break now.

  ‘But I’ll be safe dancing in Risqué,’ she said. ‘You have great security and you can keep an eye on me, no one will step out of line. I haven’t heard of there being any problems with patrons around here, everyone seems decent.’

  Every man was decent until the surge or arousal met that of anger and he could never tell her which customer was the type to let those urges take hold of him.

  She carried on. ‘You’ve been taking me home every night, so no one will approach me after my shift either. I’ll be completely safe… I know that you might think I’m not capable, what with what happened to me, but dancing is different to sex. I’ll go out there on stage, do my thing, and go home. Just another day at the office, that’s all it will be.’

  The fact that she was even mentioning all of these negatives betrayed to him that she had over-analysed the idea of getting naked in front of a group of strange men. Her trauma made her edgy and taking off her clothes would only make her feel more vulnerable. It didn’t matter how much she tried to convince him otherwise, Blaser knew her better than that.