‘Babygirl!’ the holler from the other room made Ivy tut.
‘I’m entertaining, tough guy. Jerk off if you’re horny, I’m busy.’
‘Don’t sass me!’
‘Spank me later,’ Ivy called back then leaned across the table. ‘You know Blaser better than all of them. Do you think that he loves you?’
‘I know that he loves me,’ Bri said. Noise from the end of the hall startled her, then a door slammed and the shower went on.
‘It’s just Dax getting ready,’ Ivy said.
‘Blaser told me that he loved me last night.’
‘Do you want to be with him?’ Ivy asked and Bri nodded. ‘Then go get him, girl, and stop letting sense overrule what could be your future. Blaser’s not a bad guy, he’s hot and he’s a sweetheart. You just have to put your foot down and tell him that you don’t want to be with a guy who could get carted off to jail any minute. You’re already dealing with your brother being in prison.’
‘And my father too.’
‘You want a guy you can rely on, and maybe Blaser hasn’t always made the best choices, but he’s always come through for you.’
‘I have to tell him about Ruger. I can’t lie to him. I haven’t sat down with him and given him details of what happened. But since talking to Lyssa… she says that talking about it helps, and she’s right. A few weeks ago I would never have told you what happened. I thought I had to keep it to myself. But if I’m going to be with Blaser then I have to tell him everything.’
‘I would agree with that,’ Ivy said. ‘If the Ruger thing comes out later then he’ll know you lied.’
‘Maybe I should do it with Lyssa,’ Bri said. ‘She said that we could have a joint session, if I do it with her then she’ll know how to control it, won’t she?’
‘Maybe,’ Ivy shrugged. ‘Talk to her and find out what she thinks. If she already knows the details and the players involved, she can probably give you advice. But if you tell Blaser with a witness then she can help control his response. And she is family who already knows, so there’s no fear of her feeling forced to keep the secret.’
‘Someone will tell Colt,’ Bri said.
‘Maybe someone should. I don’t know him well, but he can’t go shouting his mouth off about folks being pure white when his own family is dirty. He’s making a fool of himself for one thing. You guys will all know this big secret and he’ll be the only one in the dark…’
When she said it like that, it made sense to give permission to Lyssa to talk to Colt, as family instead of as a doctor. A knock on the front door drew their attention and Ivy was up and on her way to the door in an instant.
The shower went off as Ivy peeked through the peephole, then she pushed away from the door. ‘Dax!’ Ivy hollered, then opened the front door to reveal Blaser. ‘Who are you looking for?’
‘Who am I…?’ Blaser trailed off when Ivy opened the door further and Bri got up from her seat to offer a feeble wave.
‘I didn’t realise you were here,’ Blaser said to her. ‘How are you doing?’
‘I’m… I think I’m ok.’
‘Good. Great. Glad to hear it…’
If the awkwardness wasn’t already apparent, Ivy’s laugh put it there. ‘Dax is just getting out of the shower,’ Ivy said when a door in the hall opened and another closed. ‘Maybe he’s getting dressed now… We were just having some breakfast, you know, girl talk.’
Blaser’s focus flashed to Bri and she had to drop hers because now he knew that she’d confessed to Ivy what they’d been up to last night. A few seconds later the bedroom door opened and then Dax was striding toward their tense group.
‘I got your message,’ Dax said to Blaser. Dax slapped a hand to Ivy’s ass with so much force that it made Bri jump. He kept hold of her butt, giving her a squeeze then he stooped to jolt Ivy’s head aside with his own, giving himself the access that he wanted. Licking up the side of her neck, he bit into her earlobe and then whispered something.
‘Go to hell,’ Ivy said with a smile that didn’t match her words and she shoved Dax onto his path toward the exit.
‘Let’s go,’ he said to Blaser and the men departed together.
‘What was that about?’ Bri asked when Ivy closed the door.
‘I can honestly say that I have no idea,’ Ivy said. ‘But they’ll come back to us eventually.’
Bri had meant Dax and Ivy’s display but figured that had to be normal behaviour for them since Ivy was over the exchange already. ‘I guess,’ Bri murmured, going back to the table with Ivy.
‘Finish your breakfast,’ Ivy said. ‘After that, call your doctor. I say you should get going on that plan of yours and when Blaser gets back you tell him to meet you when it’s time.’
‘I’m supposed to be seeing Lyssa this afternoon,’ Bri said, she’d seen Lyssa every other day over the last week, far more than she’d expected to, Lyssa obviously subscribed to the Warner philosophy of putting family first. It was humbling to realise that Colt’s fiancée thought of her as family.
Ivy topped off their coffee. ‘Tell her you’ll be bringing company and in the meantime, you can tell me all about your night with Blaser.’
Ivy’s playful smile made Bri laugh and she was pleased that she’d managed to make this friend who was nothing like Lyssa, who was helping her wrestle with her demons. Lyssa had to be as impartial and objective as she could be during their sessions, Ivy didn’t. Lyssa wasn’t from the same background as her either and Ivy was. Spending time getting to know more about this woman would be fun, she’d never had a girlfriend that she could truly rely on before.
Even the friends she had made in Jersey weren’t very close to her. Bri had always been ashamed to admit her past and where she came from, so she kept the details of her upbringing vague. Ivy had seen it all, more than Bri had, and she was with Dax, who had a jaded past. Bri could say anything she wanted to in Ivy’s presence and would never succeed in shocking the woman, and that was liberating.
She just hoped that Ivy and Dax planned to stick around for a while, Bri wouldn’t question their plans yet, but she did want to know. For now, her concentration had to be on this afternoon, on telling Lyssa about last night and on persuading Blaser to join her at the session.
This afternoon the truth would come out, either it would bring them all closer together, or it would tear them all apart.
Chapter Fifteen
‘I really thought that these days were behind me,’ Dax said when he left the truck and strode onto the sidewalk.
‘Tell me about it,’ Blaser said.
The men walked side-by-side to the corner apartment building that they’d visited already this week. Twice in one week was more than he liked, but Blaser hoped never to clap eyes on Rafe again after this exchange was over.
Dax went in first, walking along the extended entry corridor, which had no internal lighting, leaving them to rely on the daylight that drifted through the shadows from outside. Pond dwellers like Rafe should be stuck in dank places like this, and the sad fact was that even the money Blaser was about to hand over wouldn’t change much for the crook.
They went up the stairs and along another corridor until they found Rafe’s door. Shoulder to shoulder, Blaser made brief eye contact with Dax, then with a nod of agreement, Blaser knocked on the door. He could try to burst in and be dramatic, but taking men like Rafe by surprise was likely to get someone shot.
‘Amateurs,’ Dax muttered when a chain slid aside and the door opened.
‘We’re here to see Rafe,’ Blaser said. Without giving the short man on the threshold a chance to ask a question, he swept his arm around to move the guy out of the way then he and Dax went in.
They knew the layout of the place from their previous visit and so Blaser went straight into the living room. Rafe was on the same couch that he’d been on before and the greasy dealer didn’t flinch when Blaser tossed the paper-wrapped money into his lap.
‘It’s all there,’ Blaser said. ‘Thi
s is done.’
Rafe picked up the packet and ripped open the top to finger the bills. ‘Came up with that quick.’
‘Disappointed?’ Blaser asked. Rafe’s man wasn’t here today, he hadn’t seen the two men that were present now before. But he didn’t doubt that the blonde with the eyebrow scar had reported back about the fight night.
‘That I don’t get to take your little chick for a roll in the hay? Sure, but I guess now that’s still up for debate.’
‘No debate,’ Blaser said. ‘You leave her alone, you stay away from everything and everyone that is mine, get it?’
‘Or what you gonna do about it? You’re a washed up has-been, no one is afraid of you anymore.’
‘This isn’t about fear, it’s about smarts,’ Blaser said. ‘You want to piss me off? My brother still has plenty of contacts on the force who could make things difficult for a wannabe such as yourself. You ran away like a scared priss when my buddy here stepped in. You’re nothing without your men around.’
‘You think?’ Rafe snarled.
Examining the room and the others in it Blaser scoffed. ‘We could take all three of you now if blood has to be spilled over this. You don’t touch Bri again. You’ve got your money. And if you think about escalating this, about trying to get to her behind my back… maybe a few of my prison buds and I will come back and teach you what it is to start a real war. You go after a woman on her own, why? Because you’re too fucking scared to stand up to a guy who could kick your ass?’
Rafe thrust his hands to the arms of the chair to propel himself up. ‘She owed me—‘
‘What? She owes you squat,’ Blaser said, sneering at the shameful picture this prick made.
Sitting in his shitty apartment with a couple of guys hanging onto him because he had the means to supply drugs for them. There was no real loyalty here and certainly nothing to fear. Leaning in close, he sort of wanted Rafe to hit him, to start a brawl just so he had an excuse to punch the slimy little fucker.
‘You have your money. If that’s not good enough for you, come knock on my door, and we’ll find out how many guys come out of retirement just to teach you a lesson about respecting women.’
Rafe’s teeth clacked as he worked his jaw, he glanced back to Dax, who was somewhere in the background then his attention came back to Blaser. ‘Fine, we’ll call this even for now. But you step out of line again and—‘
‘And nothing,’ Blaser said, with a light shove he made Rafe stumble back into his chair. ‘Go back to your cartoons.’
Ignoring the onlookers, he turned and gave Dax the nod to leave the apartment. They got all the way outside again and into the truck before either spoke.
‘You think he’ll leave Bri alone?’ Dax asked.
‘If he knows what’s good for him,’ Blaser said. ‘We’ll keep an eye on her, between the apartments and the club, there’s always someone around who will look out for her. At the first sign of trouble, I swear to god, I’ll knock his fucking teeth out.’
‘Would have been interesting to know you back in the day,’ Dax said.
‘Why’s that?’
‘You showed a lot of restraint in there. If some guy had approached Ivy like that…’
‘I wanted to beat the shit out of him, but I’ve done time already. If I go inside again, I lose everything. I just got Bri back, I can’t ask her to go through that again.’
‘Time to settle down, is it?’
‘You’re married,’ Blaser said, figuring that Dax must have made a similar decision about his future and going straight.
‘Married, yes,’ Dax said. ‘Settled…’
His phone rang and he pressed the receive button to play the call through the built-in Bluetooth of the car. ‘Yeah?’
‘Are you busy later?’ Bri’s voice seeped from the car speakers and he had to suppress a shiver.
‘Booty call?’ Dax asked. Blaser frowned at his new friend, but the clear expression on Dax’s face knew what he was doing. ‘Just letting her know I’m here, in case things get kinky.’
Bri’s awkward laugh concerned him. After declaring that he had just got her back, he didn’t want to find out that he hadn’t had her at all. ‘Will you come to Lyssa’s with me?’
Therapy. She wanted him to join her at her therapy session. Pouring out his heart to his girl in front of his future sister-in-law wasn’t on his bucket list. But it would be hypocritical of him to encourage her to go and then refuse to take his own advice.
‘Sure. Text me the time and I’ll get cover at the club.’
‘Thanks,’ she said and ended the call.
‘Family get together?’ Dax asked.
‘Something like that.’
Blaser wouldn’t divulge Bri’s secrets though he was sure that her “girl talk” session with Ivy would have offered some details, he didn’t know how many of them Ivy would pass on to Dax. Being included in her therapy had to be a positive sign and as he drove back to the apartment block that’s what he kept telling himself, but if Bri had something to say to him then she should be able to say it in private.
He’d have to steel himself because he’d never heard all of the specifics of her ordeal and he had a feeling that this afternoon was going to be filled with details, most of which he’d probably end up wishing he’d never heard.
Bri had just finished recounting the particulars of her experience last year up until her liberation. Blaser hadn’t even questioned her when she asked if he would join her in the therapy session. Granted, he’d been a bit fidgety on the drive over here, but being nervous showed her that he cared about their relationship and about her.
Lyssa was professional in accepting them both into the office and facilitated the discussion. Bri glanced over at the doctor, then they both went back to watching Blaser’s back, as he stood facing the window at the front of Lyssa’s office.
‘Say something, Love,’ Bri said. Squeezing the tip of her pinkie, she released and squeezed, each time with increasing pressure.
Blaser didn’t respond, so Lyssa spoke up. ‘What do you feel, Blase? It’s natural to be angry or—‘
‘Angry?’ he said, spinning around to face the women. ‘Anger is bullshit, that’s not even the start… I…’ His attention came to settle on Bri and the tightness of his expression loosened. ‘You went through all of that, alone, and… I’m sorry, Doll.’
He could have trashed the place, he could have gone storming out of Lyssa’s office with murder on his mind. But he didn’t and his restraint helped her to relax.
‘It wasn’t your fault,’ she said.
‘I am angry,’ he said. ‘I’m pissed as fucking hell and if you want me to go out there and—‘
‘He’s dead,’ Bri said. ‘All of them are dead.’
‘I know and I know that anger won’t help you. All I want to do is support you, you tell me what you need and it’s yours, I’ll do it.’
Relief suffused her blood because the first part of the tale was over with and he was still here, still with her.
‘This is really good,’ Lyssa said. ‘You’re both doing really well and Blaser, your patience is admirable, you’re absolutely right that anger doesn’t change the situation. We need to focus on taking positive actions only. Brianna has done that herself, she has educated herself and recognises the root of her anxieties, and she has worked to overcome those anxieties and control her fears.’
‘It started with talking to myself,’ Bri said. ‘In my head, I would… I would tell myself when I was being irrational and try to calm myself down by talking myself through what possible outcomes there were. I couldn’t be scared all the time, it would have paralysed me.’
‘From what she has said she already uses many techniques we teach in therapy about stopping damaging thought processes, mental rehearsal and such. She has even forced herself to engage in behaviours that she finds stressful or worrying, such as spending time outside, being out in the dark, and even going on dates and getting close to men.’
‘There were cops and counsellors at the police station,’ Bri said. ‘I had to talk to various people about what happened. I wasn’t much use to their case, I knew that. By then everyone was dead, so there wasn’t much of a case I guess.’
None of this information moved Blaser enough to return to the couch. He stayed where he was, too far away from her, just listening. Bri wished that he would come to her, contact would make her feel better. But until she had told him the full story, she wasn’t going to ask anything of him.
‘It’s all a form of stress inoculation,’ Lyssa said.
‘Lyssa has helped me to see that telling the story makes it easier to endure, it’s like it desensitises me to hear it over and over again, it helps me to detach. I’ve told Lyssa a few times, and I told Ivy too. I… speaking the words and getting it out there, making myself face it, I don’t feel ashamed of it anymore. I see that it’s not something to be embarrassed about, I was a victim, and I won’t let him continue to wield power. I am the only person who can give him that power over me and I won’t do it anymore. I won’t.’
‘I’m proud of you, Doll,’ he said.
‘She is doing very well, making great progress,’ Lyssa said. ‘But I should highlight that these things do take time, there’s no reason to assume that her comfort level with intimacy will change. She may be ready tomorrow, it could be next month or next year. You will still have to be patient with—‘
‘You didn’t tell her?’ Blaser asked.
Bri was already examining the pinkie that she’d been playing with and breathed out before she looked at Lyssa. ‘We had sex last night.’
Lyssa looked at each of them and Blaser slid his hands into his pockets. ‘That’s terrific,’ Lyssa said. ‘Really fantastic news.’
‘I mean I… we had a few issues and I… it was only once and I had to be on top, and… well, we… I thought it wasn’t going to happen. I just seemed to clamp down the minute I tried to put his dick—‘
‘Bri,’ Blaser said, rolling his eyes away from Lyssa.
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