Risk (Gentry Boys #2) Read online

  Suddenly Saylor laughed and grabbed his hand. “Let’s go before Truly starts thinking we’re no better than a pair of rabbits.”

  “I already thought that,” I said cheerfully as we headed in the direction of The Hole. There wasn’t any reason to drive. It was a short walk and parking was limited over there.

  Saylor untangled herself from Cord long enough to reach over and squeeze my arm. “So happy you came out with us.”

  “Ah, well,” I stammered, a little embarrassed. I was glad to have Saylor. It was nice to find a friend in the world to share a few things with, especially if you’d kept yourself buried for as long as I had. I scarcely spoke to my sisters and my roommate was kind of an odd bird who I’d failed to connect with so far. Friendship was something I’d been without for a long time. I’d grown used to doing without a lot of things.

  Maybe it was time to put all that restraint aside, just for a little while.

  “It’ll be a good night,” I said with a sudden inexplicable thrill.

  “As every night should be,” agreed Cord, holding Saylor even closer.

  CHAPTER TWO

  CREED

  “You found it yet?” Chase wanted to know.

  I’d been nursing the same beer for the last twenty minutes. If I went at it too hard my head got messed up. I wanted to do something tonight besides get pissed and pass out.

  “Found what?” I asked.

  My brother grinned wide. “The hole.” He was being clever. The Hole was the name of the bar we were sitting in. It was also a place I planned on entering in a different way.

  “Still taking stock,” I answered, mulling over the teetering selection of college girls as they looked over at us. We could take our pick, as always.

  It felt good to be out and I was fairly busting to get a ride. The last few months had been tough. First there was the agony of Chase’s injuries after he’d been jumped behind a gym and beaten to within an inch of his life. Then came the grim knowledge that I was a marked man. Day after day I waited for the hammer to fall. I still knew it would. I’d made a deal with Gabe Hernandez. He’d given me some information when I needed it. In return I agreed to bleed for him in the ring. I was just waiting for him to tell me when. It was a tough thing to live with and I’d spent many nights since then in an alcoholic stupor. When I was in that fog I didn’t want the company of even the most eager female. My brothers worried about me. As I saw Chase trying to measure my interest in any of the passing bodies it seemed like my brother wanted me to get fucked even more than I did.

  “That one?” he pointed, casual as if we were shopping for a new table lamp.

  “Nope.”

  I noticed plenty that I could make do with, but nothing special. There was nothing worth unleashing several months of pent-up-balls-deep-fury inside of.

  I checked my watch. It was early, only half past ten. Cord had wandered away some time ago to pick up Saylor. Sometimes it still felt a little strange that she was around all the time. Life had revolved around the three of us for so long and now there was some chick in the middle of it all. Chase didn’t seem to mind. He and Saylor had settled into an easy friendship. I tried like hell to be polite but I couldn’t shake the idea that she still thought I was an asshole. Maybe that’s just how things were going to stay between us. Of course, I couldn’t help but feel a little soft about the girl who had brought such peace to my brother’s life. Cord was our backbone and we might have been leaning on him too long and too hard. I knew damn well he’d never been this happy before.

  The music kicked up a notch and some girls climbed up on the bar to dance. They danced badly but they had enough assets that it didn’t matter. Watching them was making me hungry.

  Chase nudged me and pointed to a blonde gyrating atop the bar in underwear shorts and a halter. Her braless tits bounced around like half deflated balloons. She kept missing the beat because she was staring over our way. Chase raised his eyebrows to see if I would bite but I just shook my head slightly. I wasn’t going for something common, not tonight.

  My brother was exasperated. “What then?”

  “I’ll know when I see it, junior. But you go ahead and take a stab at that offer if you want.” As I gestured to the dancing blonde she jerked in surprise, losing her footing as her heel caught on the edge of the bar. She wobbled for a few seconds before toppling into the crowd with a shriek. Chase started laughing. The girl popped up, sputtering, her shirt over her face and her tits flopping. Chase laughed harder.

  “Oh shit,” he gasped. “That view actually looks familiar!”

  It was kind of hilarious to watch that girl wrestle with her handkerchief of a shirt while everyone in all corners of The Hole got a good long look at her saucer-sized nipples.

  “I don’t know, man,” I sighed. “It’s all starting to run together, you know?”

  Chase got serious suddenly. “Yeah, I do know.” I could barely hear him above the music so I leaned closer. His blue eyes were just like mine, and just like Cord’s. “You think there will come a time when either of us get into something like what our brother found?”

  I’d thought about that before. The overpowering connection between Saylor and Cord was right in front of my face every day so I had plenty of time to think about it whether I wanted to or not. From the outside it seemed like a good thing. But try as I might, I couldn’t imagine looking at the same face every day or rolling over and sticking my dick in the same place every night. Chase would likely get that kind of a deal first. He might be even more of a dog than I was but he related to women in a way I couldn’t.

  “Don’t know,” I answered truthfully.

  Chase nodded, then twisted in his chair suddenly, grimacing. He spat a few curses and then reached into his pocket. I watched him as he popped a pill, chasing it with a swallow of my beer.

  “Pain?” I asked, feeling the old surge of rage. The night I’d gone hunting for the bastards who fucked him up I didn’t know what I meant to do. Kill them maybe. Cord had stepped between me and a bad fate, taking a hit himself and dragging me back to sanity.

  “Nah,” Chase scoffed, stretching and catching the eye of a cute brunette. He pulled back from the table a few inches and patted his lap to mark the invitation but just at that moment she was joined by some hulk who looked like he just walked off an offensive line. Chase shrugged and snapped his fingers at a waitress.

  “Two more of these, doll face,” he called, holding up a beer. He nudged me. “What do you think, Big C? We could change sets, try some place else.”

  I shrugged. “We may as well hang around a while. Got to wait for Cord anyway.” As I restlessly watched the crowd I wondered what the fuck my problem was. I’d never been all that picky about girls. If it looked nice and seemed clean then it was good enough for me to have for a little while.

  Cord came through the door just then, Saylor glued to his side. He squinted, scanning the crowd. I waved and his face broke into a grin. He leaned over and whispered something to Say but she shook her head and kissed him before pulling away. Cord started to wade through the crowd but my attention had already gone elsewhere.

  Saylor was talking excitedly to something that nearly poked a damn hole in my pants. The girl was stacked like crazy and all tightly packaged into this blue flared dress that managed to be both classy and slutty at the same time. She pushed her long black hair out of her face and leaned in to reply to Saylor. As I got a good look at her I realized who she was.

  I felt Cord’s hand on my shoulder as he sank into a neighboring chair.

  “One of those for me?” he asked, gesturing to the pair of untouched beers the waitress had just dropped off.

  “Sure,” I pushed one in his direction. “I’m done for the night.”

  Chase kicked me. “Bullshit. You haven’t actually done anything yet.”

  I was getting annoyed. “Chasyn, why don’t you go handle your own equipment and quit hassling mine?”

  That wiseass brother of mine just grin
ned. “Just looking out for your health. Want to make sure you’re getting enough exercise.”

  “Hmmm,” I grumbled, my eyes still glued to a blue dress and all the things waiting underneath it.

  Chase realized where I was looking and he let out a low whistle. “We know her, don’t we?”

  “Yeah,” I said slowly. Her name was Truly and she was Saylor’s friend. She worked at Cluck This and I’d taken notice of her a few times before but she hadn’t returned the favor. I didn’t mind; she seemed a mouthy type itching to give a guy a hard time in a way I didn’t want to deal with. But just then, staring at her all bound up in that dress, her lips bright red and her body shifting around, it seemed like she’d come out tonight asking for it.

  She hadn’t seen us yet, or if she did she was pretending not to. Saylor went to the bar and returned with what looked like a pair of sodas. Truly grinned and took a small sip, her dark eyes skimming the crowd as Say yammered in her ear.

  “I don’t know, man.” Cord was shaking his head as he read my mind. “Saylor won’t like it.”

  I nearly snapped at that boy to put some ointment on his goddamn pussy whip but I bit my tongue. Cordero Gentry was in love. Who the hell was I to crap all over that? I changed the subject.

  “How’s work going?”

  Chase swiveled around to listen and Cord relaxed.

  “Surprisingly awesome,” he smiled.

  Cord was done with street fighting and I was glad. Our cousin Deck had gotten him a job at a local tattoo joint. Cord had always been a gifted artist. I could remember being all of three years old and watching him scratch a picture of a diamondback rattler into the sand with a mesquite branch. It might have been the only talent any of us got from our mother.

  Cord nodded to me. “You work out today?”

  I used the patio equipment for lifting but I had to go out if I wanted a bag to pound on. I was bulking up more every day but I didn’t know if it would be enough.

  “For a little while,” I answered smoothly and Cord drew closer, his eyes growing worried as if he suddenly remembered why it was a big deal for me to work out. It was a big deal because any day I could get a call that might mean a fight for my life.

  “I’ll go with you tomorrow,” he said.

  I appreciated the offer. Cord was a damn good fighter and a sparring workout with him was always useful. But I couldn’t keep sucking his time away from his job and his girl. I might not even be called on for a fight for months.

  Or the phone might ring in ten minutes.

  “Nah, that’s all right,” I told him.

  This was my shit to deal with. I knew the boys figured we could find a way out together, but I was the one who had raised my hand. And I would be the one to walk into the ring to take the consequences when the time came.

  When I happened to look up I saw Truly staring straight at me. It wasn’t a casual glance. It was full of potential. I stared back with deliberate intensity. She held my gaze for a few seconds and then whipped her head in the opposite direction, shaking herself slightly as if she couldn’t deal with the fact that she’d just been eye-fucked.

  I forgot about fighting and blood vengeance. I forgot about all the garbage infecting my head for the past two months. I was thinking about the string of rubbers in my wallet and how badly I wanted to use every single goddamn one before sunrise.

  Despite the thickness of the crowd people began dancing in pairs when a slower song started up. Saylor sauntered over and Cord was out of his chair and all over her in a heartbeat.

  I saw Truly had left her glass on the bar and was fidgeting among the couples. She looked a little uncertain and I was afraid she was going to take off. I stood up sharply and Chase glanced at me with curiosity.

  I slapped him on the shoulder. “See you later, little brother.”

  Chase smiled. “Found what you were looking for, huh?”

  “Hell yes.”

  Saylor was in Cord’s arms. Her head rested on his chest and her eyes were closed as they swayed together. Cord looked at me, then at Truly, and then back at me. He raised his eyebrows but said nothing.

  Truly had paused when I stood up. She bit her lip and watched me approach. Even though I could clearly read the meaning behind her dress and the look in her eyes, she also seemed a little nervous, like maybe this wasn’t something she did regularly. I held her eye the whole time.

  Jesus, I was so into this shit I could barely walk. Those lush tits were fairly screaming for attention and I was hard to the point of busting a zipper. Truly just stood there and waited for me to get to her. She looked down at herself briefly and then right back at me, smiling a little timidly.

  Oh yeah, this was happening tonight.

  This was absolutely fucking happening.

  CHAPTER THREE

  Truly

  I’d seen enough of Creed Gentry to know he might be the worst thing I could do. Yet one lustful glance from him scrambled every piece of sanity I owned.

  The bar was crowded. Most of these people weren’t really country types. They were just throwing themselves into the gimmick. A big group up front was screeching the lyrics to ‘Friends in Low Places’.

  After having a word with Saylor, Cord headed to a table in the back where Creed and Chase waited. I blinked hard when I saw the three of them together. They fiercely resembled one another yet it was easy to tell them apart. It was really a wonder, what varieties there were among siblings. Sometimes there was no mistaking the blood connection. Other times there was no likeness at all. It had always been tough for people to believe my three sisters and I were even related because none of us looked anything like the other. There was a reason for that though. Our mother had been wild and indiscriminate about the men she laid down with.

  “A drink?” Say was asking, or rather yelling. “My treat!”

  I shook my head. “I’m just getting a soda.”

  “Hold on, I’ll get it for you.”

  As Saylor elbowed her way over to the bar the ‘Low Places’ crowd ended their song with a lot of whistling and clapping. I was starting to feel rather conspicuous in my dress. A few of the snobbish girls dripping with designer accessories were sneering and even more of the guys were checking out my rack with leering interest.

  Saylor returned with a couple of sodas and pushed one into my hand. The noise surrounding us had died down a little and it was now possible to talk without screaming.

  “You having fun yet?” she asked me.

  “Any minute now, I’m sure.”

  She cast a sly glance around the bar. “Don’t look now but the boys are watching.”

  “Boys will do that.”

  Say laughed. “Of course they’re staring at you tonight. Remember when I said you were looking hot? That was a completely unbiased no bullshit view from a heterosexual female. I can imagine what you’re doing to some of the oversexed crotches staring you down.”

  I didn’t really have a nice answer for that so I just took a drink. The casual game wasn’t my thing, not anymore. I’d gotten hurt badly enough when it was supposed to mean something. Yet as I watched all the hormones reeling around it occurred to me that maybe I’d missed a step somewhere. Maybe one night of passionate risk should be on the menu after all.

  Saylor was distracted, staring over at Cord. I knew she’d rather be with him and was hanging around up here just for my sake. Cord seemed to be engaged in a tense exchange with his brothers. He said something to Creed and Creed shook his head, looking away.

  Seated there at that table in the corner, Creedence Gentry had the sprawling manner of an arrogant king. I still couldn’t stop myself from wondering what it would be like to feel the muscles of his broad shoulders under my hands. From there I started thinking about the thick strength of his body. I wondered how wide I would need to stretch in order to straddle him.

  Creed’s blue eyes fastened on me with such sudden force I was sure he must have heard those nasty thoughts as clearly as if I’d yelled them acr
oss the room. I didn’t back down, not right away. I met him stare for stare. Creed didn’t blink. The heat coming from his gaze was too much. If I didn’t break free now it would be impossible. I spun in the other direction so quickly that Saylor stared at me.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing. A girl just gets worn out from carrying plates of chicken for ten hours.”

  One song ended and another one began. I recognized it even before I heard the soulful tone of Alan Jackson’s voice singing ‘Between the Devil and Me’. A peculiar spasm shook my heart. I remembered how he’d always been a favorite in whatever temporary home my mother had scrounged up for us girls.

  “Truly,” said Saylor absently as she gazed at Cord. “I’ll be right back. Don’t think about leaving. I forbid it.” She gave me a quick smile and a brief squeeze of the shoulder before heading over to claim her man.

  He saw her coming and rose immediately. He took her in his arms as naturally as if they were made to hold her.

  There’s nothing lonelier than standing by yourself in a sea of couples. A few more of them began swaying as they clung to one another. Saylor was in ecstasy, the side of her face pressed against Cord’s chest as his hands circled low around her waist. She would forgive me for ducking out early. I’d been entertaining too many foolish ideas tonight. It was time to leave before any of them happened.

  Creed Gentry stood up suddenly. When his eyes locked on me this time I simply couldn’t move. I couldn’t do a goddamn thing but stand there all weak-kneed and biting my lip like a teenager. It seemed to take an ungodly eternity for him to reach me.

  “Hey,” he said, coolly nodding.

  It was all I could do to keep my mouth from watering. Creed was tanned and muscled with dark blonde hair and blue eyes able to bore straight through me. He was one of the finest looking men I’d ever seen up close. He was also a big son of a bitch. I didn’t fully realize how big until he was standing two feet away from me.