‘I run this town,’ Mattie said from the kitchen. ‘Rafe was a bastard who stepped out of line, you took care of it, took care of your woman in an admirable way.’
Claiming Bri as his own and declaring to Gus that he was going to protect her would have sent a shockwave through the family. Mattie would have been one of the first to hear about the development. After that, finding out what trouble Bri was in wouldn’t have been much of a stretch for Mattie, given his contacts.
As Mattie said, he’d expected Blaser to come begging for help, except he hadn’t. Somehow by taking care of things in his own way Blaser had piqued Mattie’s respect again, which encouraged Mattie to make another attempt at getting Blaser into the inside of his gang.
Blaser couldn’t figure this out. He didn’t want to be that guy anymore, didn’t want to be scared of the law because he operated outside of it. Yet, he wanted to be free, out in the world with Bri, building a life and starting a family. If he was in jail that wasn’t going to be possible and Mattie was offering him a way to avoid being incarcerated. Except Mattie was also telling him that Bri was about to ride off into the sunset with Gary, leaving him in the dust.
‘The fight night changed everything,’ Blaser muttered.
He could never have gone to the cops about Rafe hassling Bri, it wasn’t in his nature, in fact, it went against it. They had no evidence of any trouble anyway. Dropping Rafe in the shit would also have meant dropping Bri’s friends into it as well. He had tried so hard to protect Bri from the messes that followed her around that he didn’t see himself getting dirty in the process, not until it was too late.
‘You’re an entrepreneur, I should have seen it before,’ Mattie said, sauntering into the living room to stand in the centre of the space. ‘Now with your connection to Dax and all of his associates—‘
‘He won’t do it,’ Blaser said, lifting his head. ‘Dax won’t get involved.’
‘Arrange a sit down for me, I think I can persuade him if you provide the introductions, after that all we need is the club. It’s the perfect place, it provides excellent cover. The cops have raided it and they found out it was clean, they’re not coming back, not for a long time. They’re still living down the humiliation of believing a low-level criminal like Gary. A guy that low down in the pecking order is always looking for ways to break through… I guess now, after Rafe’s murder, he’s going to think he’s made it.’
‘Except he can’t enjoy it because he’s going to run.’
‘Yeah, and while he’s sunning himself the cops will be knocking down your door. How long will Risqué last if you’re serving a life term for murder? Do you think that Bri will wait twenty-five to life?’
‘It wasn’t premeditated, if—‘
‘You don’t know what it was, or what they’ll pin on you. You had motive and opportunity, that’s all the prosecution need. They already have the murder weapon and the body, this is an open and shut case. You’re a felon, how much time will they spend listening to your reasoning?’
Having committed murder, Gary would have an over-inflated sense of his own importance, he probably felt invincible right about now. But if he got away, if he left the country tomorrow, he’d be long gone before Blaser tried to pin the murder on the rightful perpetrator. The cops wanted someone behind bars and he would be the only one left behind to take responsibility.
‘I’ll have to think about it.’
His body was too tired and his mind too fried to make any sense of what was going on. The odd thing was that other than discussing it with Bri, the other name that kept coming to mind was Colt. He had to wait and see what Colt could find out from the cops tomorrow, but if he waited until tomorrow, that would also mean he’d have to go to the station for questioning, just like he’d promised Hoburn he would.
‘You know that this makes sense,’ Mattie said, coming closer. ‘I can make this go away, isn’t that tempting?’
‘Yeah,’ Blaser said, taking his hands onto his lap. ‘It’s damn tempting, but I’m not sure I want to pay the price.’
‘I’m not threatening you with jail time and that’s the only other offer that you have on the table.’
‘I don’t know that, not yet. I have to exhaust my other options before I just decide to give up on everything I’ve built. If I go into business with you then there’s the chance I could lose everything, I could lose the club and the garage, I could lose my girl—‘
‘Think of what you could gain,’ Mattie said, crouching beside him. ‘You’d never have to worry about money. You could spend time with your girl instead of working every hour of the day. This is a great offer and it will solve all of your problems. On my crew you’ll be protected, I’m offering you family within the family. You’ve always been made for the big leagues.’
Mattie was good at the sales pitch, Blaser had to give him that. Mattie didn’t blink, his confidence was unwavering. ‘It sounds like a great offer—‘
‘What’s going on?’
Both he and Mattie turned around to see Bri standing just inside his apartment, the door handle still in her grasp.
‘Thank fuck you’re back,’ Blaser said. Leaving the couch, he rounded Mattie to get to her. ‘Where have you been?’
‘What is going on here?’ she asked with a frown etched into her features. ‘What are you two talking about at this time of night?’
Though it was actually closer to morning than it was to the night now. ‘Mattie heard about the search. He came to offer his help,’ Blaser said.
‘I won’t disturb you guys anymore,’ Mattie said, moving to the door where he locked eyes with Blaser. ‘Think about my offer.’
Blaser wasn’t going to say any more about it now. Mattie nodded at Bri then slipped out, but Bri didn’t close the door so Blaser took it from her hand and did it for her.
‘Thank god you’re here,’ he said and took her face, but she spoke before he could kiss her.
‘What’s his offer?’
‘Can we talk about it in the morning? I’m beat,’ Blaser said.
‘No, I want to know what you were talking about. What is Mattie offering you?’
‘What does it matter?’ he asked. ‘Mattie came over to talk, he said what he had to and then he left, nothing has changed.’
‘Maybe it has,’ she said. ‘I want to know what you’re getting involved in.’
‘I’m not involved in anything.’ The scowl hadn’t left her face and so releasing a breath he confessed all, determined to remain honest. ‘He wants to use Risqué again, on a regular basis, to hold more fight nights.’
‘He what?’ she said, grabbing his wrists to pull his hands from her face. ‘And you agreed with that?’
‘I didn’t agree to anything. He put it to me before and now that the cops are going to pin murder on me, Mattie thought he’d try it again.’
‘The cops?’
‘Mattie said that Gary did it,’ he said, hooking his fingers through hers. ‘I’m sorry, babe, but Marshall has been feeding Mattie information. He says they’re going on the run tomorrow.’
‘They’re not,’ she said.
‘That’s not what Mattie says, and once Gary is gone, the cops will pin Rafe’s murder on me. They have witnesses and the murder weapon, I have a criminal record so I’m not the most credible person to begin with. They’re never going to listen—‘
‘Blaser,’ she said, taking his other hand so both of them were joined, she brought her body to his. ‘I need you to promise me that you will never do anything illegal again. I need to know, one hundred percent, that all of that is behind you. I don’t care how you try to rationalise it, I want you to know that I have a zero tolerance policy. If I find out that you’ve so much as used your cell phone while driving, I’ll leave you.’
She seemed so sure, her expression was so clear and her wide eyes were determined. How she managed it while he was so messed up, he couldn’t decipher. ‘Why would you want to—‘
‘Blase, please, promise m
e that you won’t join Mattie.’
‘If it’s going to keep me out of jail then I have to consider it. He has the money to get great lawyers and enough pull with the cops that—‘
‘No!’ Thrusting his hands away out of hers, she marched past him toward the hallway then whipped around. The determination tinged with anger and that intensity of emotion made her lift her finger to point as she chastised him. ‘I had to make a choice and it’s a choice I should’ve made fifteen years ago, but tonight, I made that choice. For the first time ever I am taking control. I’m taking control of my life and of yours… and of Gary’s too.’
‘What are you—‘
‘You and Gary just messed everything up when you tried to be in control, so I’m taking over the reins now. The first part of that is done and there’s nothing I can do to retract it now. I will not let you mess up my life and our future. I want us to be together, I want to get married and I want to bear your children, but I have to take care of me and mine as well.’
‘Oh, yeah? Mattie told me that you were running off with your brother. Is that what this is about? You’re giving up on us to run away with Gary?’
‘You would really begrudge me that?’ she asked. ‘Think about your own brothers and what you would do for them.’
‘Neither of them has killed anyone!’
‘Don’t be too sure about that,’ she mumbled.
His instinct was to argue his brothers’ innocence, but he couldn’t do that. Ruger was supposed to be on his way here and a part of Blaser still wanted to think that this was some big misunderstanding. Except what Bri had gone through was no delusion, she’d felt every second of the torture while being held captive by the monsters who wanted to sell her. Just thinking about that truth diverted his attention from this fiasco onto Bri’s past and if she needed to get away from here, away from what she’d been through then he should accept that… except he couldn’t give her up.
‘Gary didn’t have to do what he did.’
‘And Ruger did?’ she asked. ‘I know that what happened to me wasn’t his fault, but let’s not pretend that we live in a black and white world. Gary thought he was doing something right, he was trying to protect me.’
‘And coming over here, waving the gun at me, what was that? I’m going to go down for this, Bri. I’m going back to that goddamn place and all because… because…’
‘Because what? Because my brother left his gun here?’
‘No, because I’m keeping my mouth shut to protect him, again! I shouldn’t have ceased up when the cops found that gun here, I should’ve told them exactly who it belonged to and how it ended up here. I should’ve told them about Gary shooting me the first time! I should’ve made Colt take me to the emergency room instead of making him risk his relationship by asking Lyssa to patch me up! But I didn’t do that! I kept my mouth shut to protect Gary and not because he’s some great hero or friend, but because I love you!’
‘You don’t sound happy about that.’
‘I’m happy that I love you. I’m happy that I have you back, but… I’m not happy that I’m going to lose you again. When we broke up, when I asked you to come to visiting, I saw how you tried not to cry, I was so tired of making you cry, I really hated myself. I promised I would never do it again.’
She began to walk toward him. ‘Then promise me now, that you will never break the law again.’
‘If I go to prison—‘
‘You’re not going to prison,’ she said. ‘You have to trust me. Don’t make a deal with Mattie, don’t risk everything because you think it’s the only way to insulate me.’
‘If going to prison is what it takes to—‘
‘You’re not going to prison,’ she insisted, her body wilted and she stopped. ‘Please, Love, promise me.’
‘You can’t be sure that—‘
‘I can.’
‘No, you can’t,’ he said. ‘How could you possibly—‘
‘Because I made a deal with Hoburn,’ she said and immediately sealed her lips. The flare of her nostrils and the wobble of her chin betrayed to him the conflict of guilt she held now. Just like before, with Mattie, he almost couldn’t process what she’d said.
‘You made a deal with the cops? When?’
Creeping toward him, she slumped against him and he happily held her in his arms. ‘I went to see Gary and you’re right, he did do it. He told me that he wanted me to go away with him and I agreed. Then I left and went to the police station. I told Hoburn what I knew about it all and about the gun, then I told him about Gary’s escape plan.’
‘They’ll arrest him.’
‘Yes.’
‘He’ll go to jail.’
‘Yes,’ she whispered, pressing her face to his chest. ‘He’s using drugs. If he runs, he’ll never be able to come back.’
‘You could’ve gone with him.’
‘I don’t want that life, you know that,’ she said, tipping her head back. ‘I want you. I want us to be together without any drama. I want the normal, boring life you promised me, and I want it with you. I can’t watch you doing more time and losing everything because of something my brother did. Gary has to face up to his actions.’
‘He’ll be pissed when he finds out you set him up.’
‘He’ll be in prison,’ she said. ‘I hope that he takes the time to get clean in there, but… at least he’ll be safe and won’t be on the run. It will take a long time, but I hope he’ll accept that I was trying to help him.’
Holding her, he was awed by what she had done. Choosing him over Gary was something she’d always claimed that she wouldn’t be able to do, but now, push had come to shove and she’d done it; she’d chosen him. Tightening his embrace, he closed his eyes. She had told the truth, Gary may never forgive her, but she did what was right, thus saving Blaser in the process.
‘I should go upstairs to bed,’ she said. ‘It’s been a long night for both of us and you’ll be up early in the morning, so—‘
‘Stay the night with me,’ he said. She eased out of his arms and he didn’t take that as a promising indication of her response.
‘I handed my only brother to the cops tonight,’ she said. ‘You had them tearing your apartment to pieces trying to find evidence that you murdered a man.’
Seizing her hand, he pressed it to his chest. ‘I spent all night thinking that this could be the last night that we had together, don’t ask me to give it up.’
‘I truly believe that making Gary face what he’s done is the right thing. I think that getting him away from his friends and the easy to find street drugs will be what’s best for him. He spent years making decisions based on what he thought was best for me, now I’m returning the favour… But a selfish part of me was at work too, I want a future with you and I knew you were innocent, I wasn’t going to watch you…’
‘You did the right thing, I support you,’ he said. ‘I’m grateful.’
Leaning down he joined their mouths, but she withdrew. ‘Was I selfish?’
‘Rafe was a crook and a sleaze, but he didn’t deserve to die. Gary got out of jail, got high and went on a rampage, how would you live with yourself if he did that again? You did the right thing.’
Her shoulders slackened and her lips raised in a tired, appreciative smile. ‘Thank you.’
When she came back into his arms, he held her for a moment then began to move toward the bedroom, but she pulled away again. ‘Are you staying?’
‘No,’ she said. ‘I’m tired and…’
With a finger, he pressured her chin upward. ‘You never have to give me a reason. From now on I take your orders and make no decisions for myself.’
Exhaling a laugh, she kissed him. ‘Just run things by me before you do anything drastic,’ she said. ‘We’ll make decisions together.’
‘Ok,’ he said. ‘I can live with that. Now let me walk you upstairs to your apartment. We both need some rest.’
‘We could go out for dinner, tomorrow night. After that
we could come back here,’ she said, hope and exhaustion warred in her gaze. ‘Unless you have to be at Risqué?’
‘The club can wait a day,’ he said, sliding an arm around her and directing her to the door. ‘Let’s get you tucked up in bed.’
Chapter Twenty-Three
Bri had barely slept, tossing and turning, she dreaded the new day coming. Talking to Hoburn had seemed like the right thing to do at the time. But during the night while staring at the ceiling she thought through a dozen different scenarios. One thing that kept her going was the knowledge that Blaser wouldn’t pay for Gary’s crime.
Her apartment was spotless and she’d been ready for almost an hour when there was a knock on her door. Hurrying over, she opened the door and beckoned in Hoburn and the two men with him. Taking the time to scan the parking lot, she then closed the door.
Leaning back on the door, she watched Hoburn’s cohorts move around her apartment checking surfaces and vents.
‘Did you have to come as a trio?’ she asked. ‘I don’t need three cops coming to my door in daylight.’
‘I’d have been coming to talk to you today either way,’ Hoburn said, sitting on the couch while pointing at the armchair opposite, but she had no interest in sitting down to have a cosy chat with him. ‘Relax, Miss Wilcox, you’ve done the right thing and I am not going to jeopardise what we’ve started. I am on your side.’
‘Don’t,’ she said, moving to the seat he’d pointed at. ‘Please don’t start that police talk, that “we’re all in this together” bullshit. You have to set up your equipment? Fine, do it, then get the hell out of here… I told you that I wasn’t comfortable with this. I don’t like plotting against him. He’s my brother!’
‘I believe what you’ve told me,’ Hoburn said. ‘So does the judge that gave us the arrest warrant this morning, but we need that confession to guarantee a prosecution.’
‘I came to you because I believe my brother has started down a dark path and I don’t want him to hurt anyone else. And I don’t want Blaser to be punished for something he didn’t do either.’
Risk It All (Risqué #2) Page 25