Risk (Gentry Boys #2) Read online

  The brothers turned and looked at me expectantly.

  I cleared my throat. “I’m not really sure what the question is.”

  “Do I offend you, lovely Truly?”

  “Not yet. I do encourage you to keep trying though.”

  “Shit, don’t you just love her accent? Come give me a hug, sweetheart. My brothers have a peculiar way of making me feel unloved.”

  When Chase came for me with his arms open Creed stepped in front of him.

  “I’ll hug you,” he growled.

  Chase crossed his arms. “The hell with that. You don’t even know how. Where are you guys going anyway?”

  “Breakfast.”

  “Cool. Can I come?”

  “No.”

  “But I’m hungry.”

  Instead of answering, Creed just opened the apartment door and shoved his brother over the threshold.

  “Asshole!” Chase shouted from the other side.

  “Let’s go,” Creed said, ignoring him.

  I figured Creed would just swing by a drive thru to grab something quick and greasy but he had a different idea. He took me to a quaint diner over by campus. I talked a lot more than he did but that seemed to be the standard between us at this point. Once I asked him about this rumor that he was a pretty fantastic singer. He just shrugged and poured more syrup over his pancakes. But several times over the course of the meal I caught his blue eyes staring at me searchingly.

  I was starving and ordered enough food to solve the problem. I’ve never believed a girl ought to hold back her appetite. However, if I’d known that Creed would ignore my pleas to split the cost of the check I would have only ordered some toast and coffee.

  “You got to work today?” he asked me at one point.

  “Yeah,” I said reluctantly, realizing I needed to be back at Cluck This in a few hours. At least it was Sunday so the place closed early.

  Creed dumped some more cream in his coffee and began stirring. “What are you doing after?”

  I smiled, thinking of our conversation at the game last night. “After what?”

  “After work.”

  “Why? Are you asking me to do you?”

  He stopped stirring, catching on. He touched my hand and repeated his line from last night. “Is that an option?”

  “I can be persuaded. If you kiss me the way you did at the game.”

  Creed pushed back from the table. He patted his lap. “Come over here then.”

  I felt quite a few eyes on me as I sat down in his lap. Creed circled one hand low around my back and moved the other behind my neck. He didn’t move in slowly, his mouth colliding with mine. His grip on me intensified as the kiss deepened and when he pulled away I let out a little moan.

  “Good enough?” he whispered.

  “Yes,” I answered softly.

  We left the restaurant soon after that since some of the Sunday morning patrons seemed less than amused by our steamy make out session. Creed smiled when I took his arm as we exited the diner. I thought about how to anyone watching we would have just seemed like a regular couple. I looked up at Creed as his handsome face squinted in the morning sunlight.

  Regular.

  Maybe there was no such thing.

  Or maybe it was closer than I thought.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  CREED

  Truly had left her car in front of Brayden’s apartment before they all went to the game last night. As I parked behind her beat up Escape, she paused with her hand on the door. I ran my hand up her leg.

  “So, I’ll pick you up from work later. What time do they close again? Eight?”

  “Eight,” she confirmed, fussing with her hair. She noticed me staring and smiled. I touched her gently under the chin, tipping her head up slightly.

  I couldn’t pretend that at first I’d gone after her for anything more than a wild night. But every time I was inside that girl I felt a little bit closer to something else, something that had always been a mystery to me. I hadn’t been lying when I told her I was always listening when she talked. Truly’s life hadn’t been a fairy tale. From what she’d said so far, I knew she understood a little bit about the kind of neglect my brothers and I had known. I also suspected she was keeping some secrets for herself and that was fine. I still wanted to hear everything she felt like telling me.

  “You surprised me,” she said softly.

  I took my hand away from her chin. “What do you mean?”

  She pushed her hair behind her ears and frowned at the dashboard. “I didn’t know if I even liked you, Creed. I mean, there were certain things I liked about you, the obvious things. But other than that you seemed liked you’d be tough to reach. Actually, you seemed like you didn’t even really want to be reached.”

  I opened up the window. The inside of the truck suddenly seemed too small.

  “Yield to no one,” Truly muttered.

  When I’d had my cousin Declan ink those words on my chest I’d been thinking of Benton Gentry. I hated my father. Hated him. I hated the helplessness of my childhood when Cord, Chase and I had been at the mercy of that bastard while the weak woman who’d given birth to us merely stood by. In my darkest moments I hated her too. It was an awful lot of power to give to anyone.

  Truly sighed and opened the truck door.

  “Hey,” I pulled her back. I wasn’t going to go all high school hormonal and start talking about my feelings. But I was going to kiss that girl as hard as I could.

  “Creed,” she breathed as she melted into me, returning the kiss before breaking off and hugging me fiercely. She said something but her voice was muffled by my shoulder.

  “What?”

  Truly lifted her head. “I said Chase was wrong. You know how to give a proper hug after all.”

  I held her against me for a minute, just stroking her hair. “You know something, Truly?”

  “What?”

  I checked my watch. “Eight pm never seemed so fucking far away.”

  She smiled and bit her lip. “I can’t wait to see you again either.”

  I watched her as she walked to her car. I had to move the truck before she could back out so I waved and then drove across the apartment complex.

  At home, Chase was passed out on his bed, snoring loudly. Cord and Say’s room was empty but I thought I heard their voices out on the back patio. I needed more caffeine so I started another pot of coffee in the kitchen.

  The patio blinds were open and the sliding glass door was slightly ajar. I heard Saylor laughing and peered outside. She was on Cord’s lap, wearing a long yellow dress with thin straps as her long brown hair lifted in the light breeze. Cord had his shirt off and his arms wrapped around her waist. He whispered something in her ear and she kissed him. I couldn’t see her face but I could see his. Cordero opened his eyes and looked at her. I’d never known my brother had it in him to be this happy. It wasn’t that he’d gone through life in a haze of misery, but having Saylor’s love had brought him to a place of peace.

  Neither one of them saw me. They were so wrapped up in each other at the moment that I doubted they realized the earth was still spinning. Cord looked deep into Say’s eyes and then gently tugged the strap of her dress over her shoulder. He started to kiss the top of her breast as she leaned her head back with her eyes closed. His lips traveled up her neck and until he found her mouth again. I turned away at that point. It was too private a moment to look in on. Sure, I’d caught them going at it plenty of times and they were always humping away in their bedroom, yelling loud enough to shake the walls, but watching them out there was intruding on something far more personal. I was looking directly at pure love. In a way it hurt as much as if I’d looked straight into the sun.

  Not wanting to disturb Cord and Say, I took my coffee and went to my room. Wrapped condoms were still sprinkled all over the floor like confetti. I chuckled as I started to pick them up. I shoved a bunch in my wallet since I didn’t know where Truly and I would end up later. I got hard just thi
nking about it.

  I was enjoying a number of good thoughts until my phone rang. My heart lurched as I pulled it out. It was nobody. It was a perky recording wanting to know if I cared to purchase a time share in Sedona. But just the ringing of the phone shook me up enough so that I had to sit down.

  Not yet. Not yet.

  I’d been better lately about avoiding any thoughts connected to the blood pact I’d made. I needed to give Gabe one good fight. I figured that might rain enough cash on his greedy head to let me out of our arrangement. I’d never promised him I would fight indefinitely. But the thought of what it would take to get past one of those gladiator battles unleashed a sick feeling in my gut. I’d have to hurt someone. I’d have to hurt him bad. It was almost preferable to get hurt myself.

  The blood in my head was roaring loud as thunder. Then, unbidden, came the voice from the blackness. I closed my eyes and saw the face I hated. It smiled at me as it showed me how it had my brothers painfully imprisoned in its grasp.

  “You pick one, Creedence. You fucked up and maybe you’ll think better next time knowing one of your brothers is gonna pay.”

  “No! Not choosing. NOT fucking choosing!”

  “You either choose or I’ll whip the living shit outta both of them.”

  We never talked about it, the boys and I. There was so much to be said that it just couldn’t be said at all.

  I heard a crash and saw Chase lumbering out of his bedroom. He headed for the bathroom. I watched him put something in his mouth and then bend down to take a long drink out of the faucet.

  “What’s that, little brother?”

  He jumped, banging his face against the sink. “Shit, you scared me.” Chase wiped his face on a hand towel. “Aspirin. My head hurts.”

  It wasn’t aspirin. I knew it. I stood up. “Let me see.”

  Chase glared at me. “No.”

  I got right in his face. “Give it to me, Chasyn. I’m not fucking around here.”

  “What are you accusing me of, Creed?”

  “I’m not accusing you of shit. I just want you to hand over the garbage you keep swallowing.”

  He was angry. Chase rarely got angry. He took a swipe at me but crashed into the door when I sidestepped him. He banged his shoulder, glared at me fiercely then stalked into the kitchen. I followed him.

  “Chase.”

  “Fuck off. Better yet, get back to your fucking.”

  I grabbed him, intending to yank his pockets clean if I had to tear his pants off to do it. I’d ignored this for too damn long. He’d had real pain after the beating landed him in the hospital, but the prescriptions had long since run out and he was still popping pills somehow.

  “Fuckin’ prick,” Chase swore and he didn’t sound like Chase at all. His voice had dropped into something low and deadly. He got his knee up into my chest and drove me back. I blocked the punch he threw and tried to get him in a hold but he thrashed wildly. We crashed into the pantry door and I felt the wood crack.

  “Guys! What the hell?” Cord’s voice bellowed from the patio and he came charging through the door, Saylor right behind him.

  Chase pushed me off. His face was red and his eyes were hateful.

  “What happened?” Cord asked with some caution. He sensed this wasn’t some everyday scuffle.

  “Ask your brother,” I answered.

  Chase sneered. “Yeah, everyone’s got a problem but you, huh Creed? You can’t fucking face the world so you drink until you can’t stand. Why don’t you acknowledge your own goddamn frailties for a change?”

  I crossed my arms and kept my face wooden. Chase was leaning on the kitchen table, breathing thickly. He might have been trying not to cry.

  Cord looked from one of us to the other. He would never take sides.

  Saylor was a different story. She went to Chase and put a hand on his arm. He hugged her, his head resting on her shoulder like a lost little boy.

  “No,” I shook my head. “Fuck that. He’s got to deal with this shit.”

  Saylor was already guiding Chase back to his room. She scowled at me. “You’re such a jackass, Creed.”

  Cord came to my side while Saylor played mother to Chase. He slapped my shoulder. “Let’s go talk.”

  “No,” I shook my head. “Think I’ll go pound on a bag at the gym for a while.”

  My brother stared at me. “I could come with you.”

  “I’m going alone.”

  I left them all behind and walked to the gym. I stayed there for three full hours. When I got home Cord and Chase were playing video games in the living room.

  “Hey,” Cord called to me. Chase didn’t look up.

  “Saylor go to work?” I asked and Cord nodded. I thought of Truly, remembering that they worked together.

  Cord, ever the peacemaker, gestured to the couch. “Why don’t you come hang out for a while?”

  “I need to hit the shower.”

  Cord looked at Chase. Chase stared straight ahead. I sighed and started to walk away.

  “I didn’t hurt you too bad, did I?” Chase asked from his seat on the couch.

  When he looked up our eyes met. I saw he was really still the same obnoxious little shit he’d always been. I was relieved.

  “I might have a bruise or two,” I told him, stretching.

  “Good,” he said, turning back to the game. “I picked up some burgers. There are extras in the fridge. I didn’t spit in them, I swear.”

  I unwrapped a few burgers and stacked them on top of each other, taking a huge bite. Chase moved over to make room on the couch. I nudged Cord.

  “You picking up Say later or did she take her own car?”

  “I’m picking her up. Chase keeps wheedling the use of her wheels.”

  “She loves me,” Chase grinned.

  I swallowed my food. “I’ll come with you.”

  “Huh? Why?”

  Chase laughed. “Why do you think, Cordero? Big C got a taste of something he likes.”

  Cord’s eyebrows shot up. He stared at me. “No shit?”

  I was starting to feel grumpy. The boys would make a thing out of this.

  Chase piped up again. “I told you they were headed out to breakfast this morning like a pair of senior citizens.”

  “You’ve got a big mouth,” I growled.

  Chase yawned. “Sometimes it’s an asset.”

  We sat around joking a while longer but a sense of unease had settled over me. It had nothing to do with my looming fight. Cord didn’t seem to feel it. He appeared relaxed, reassured that whatever arguments arose among us wouldn’t matter, not really. But Chase and I exchanged a few wary looks.

  I knew he had a problem. I just didn’t know what the hell to do about it.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  Truly

  I officially hated fried chicken. Seeing it, serving it, and wearing the perpetual smell of a deep fryer had officially turned me off the shit. Saylor must have felt the same way because she was looking a little green.

  “You all right?” I asked when I caught up with her in the kitchen.

  She smiled weakly. “Yeah. Just had a bad morning. Boys were fighting. It gave me a headache.”

  “The Gentry boys?”

  She laughed. “There are no other boys, Truly.”

  I chuckled. “Don’t I know it.”

  Her face got serious all of a sudden. She took note of the makeup on my face and the breezy skirt I’d paired with a sleeveless white blouse. “You seeing him again tonight?”

  “Supposedly. Was the fight his fault or something?”

  Saylor seemed reluctant to tell me anything about Creed. I couldn’t blame her. I scarcely knew where I stood with him. I couldn’t expect Saylor to make heads or tails out of it.

  “They’ll sort it out,” she smiled. “They always do.” She started loading drinks onto a tray. I remembered that I’d promised myself I would find a way to talk to her about something.

  “Hey, Saylor?”

  “Ye
ah?”

  “Is Chase all right?”

  Her hand froze in midair. “What do you mean?”

  I sighed. When I saw Chase at the game making some kind of furtive deal, I told myself it was none of my business. That was likely true. But my conscience had tugged at me all morning. I still felt as if I didn’t know how to bring it up to Creed. So instead I told Saylor what I’d seen.

  She looked upset. She chewed on her lip and her shoulders slumped. “I didn’t want to believe it,” she sighed. “Remember when Chase was jumped a few months back? I knew he kept taking pain pills long after he should have stopped. I brought it up to Cord once but he said it was nothing so I let it go. I didn’t think about how Chase might be getting more pills and whether he was really still taking them. I didn’t want to think about it.” Saylor cocked her head and gazed at me sadly. “It’s amazing Truly, the things you can block out if you make up your mind to do just that.”

  In my head I heard my own scream of agony. I heard a tiny cry.

  I know, Saylor. I really do know.

  Julie floated by and gave us the evil eye. “How long are you guys going to stand there and gossip while I take care of the whole goddamn dining room myself?”

  “Oh, shut up you platinum twig,” Saylor grumbled and then pushed her aside.

  “That’s good advice, sugar,” I told Julie cheerfully while she fumed in silence.

  Cord and Creed Gentry strolled in ten minutes before closing time. They sat down and ordered some sodas, presumably so Ed wouldn’t trouble them about taking up space. Julie didn’t bother with Cord but she did try to get Creed’s interest. I watched from a distance, smiling to myself when he continued his conversation with Cord as if she wasn’t even there.

  Saylor walked straight over and planted a kiss on Cord. I tried to stay focused on the remaining few customers. I glanced over at Creed several times but he was always talking to his brother.

  When the last check had been settled I paused in the hallway outside the restrooms. There were a few rustic pictures decorating the wall along with a small mirror. I shook my hair out after removing the black plastic clip that had kept it secured all day. I peered at my reflection critically.