Take a Risk (Risk #1)

by Scarlett Finn

  Voices upstairs became raised, carrying down the stairs, and giving her the excuse to leave the cleaning up until later.

  In the living room, Keith was seated but Suzette and Pete were facing off.

  ‘Get your things,’ Pete demanded of Suzette.

  ‘I’m not running away, leaving my best friend alone.’

  ‘You’re not staying here,’ Pete said. ‘I had no idea that the danger was so imminent.’

  ‘If it is we should take Lyssa back to our place, now.’

  ‘No way,’ Pete said. ‘I don’t want her bringing danger on us.’

  ‘He’s right,’ Lyssa said, drawing the attention of everyone onto her. ‘You should go home, all of you.’

  ‘What if he’s still hanging around out there watching, waiting for us to leave?’ Suzette asked.

  ‘You can come back to mine,’ Keith said. ‘Or I can spend the night.’

  The chirp of her cell phone saved her from having to respond to that either selfless or sordid offer. Pete and Suzette were arguing again by the time Lyssa got to her purse in the kitchen.

  With preceding events she wasn’t thinking straight and so the fact that it was almost midnight didn’t factor in her thoughts until after she answered.

  ‘Hello?’

  ‘You’ll have to cover that window, Cherrypop.’

  Just hearing his voice loosened her body, and she inhaled a long, cleansing breath. ‘Colt,’ she whispered.

  ‘Staying there isn’t smart, honey.’

  ‘I’ve already had an offer to stay elsewhere.’

  ‘Suzette?’

  ‘No, Pete won’t have me endangering her and he’s right. This is my mess to deal with and no one else’s.’

  ‘Except mine,’ he said. ‘You’re paying me to deal with it.’

  ‘I guess,’ she said, drooping into a dinner chair.

  ‘So Keith wants into your underwear?’

  ‘How do you know he’s the one who made the offer?’

  ‘There’s no one else there,’ he said. ‘And twice in one week for dinner says he’s interested in more than conversation.’

  ‘Suzette says he likes me, he knows I’m not interested.’

  ‘None of my business,’ he said and she was sure she could hear a tone of distaste. ‘Just be careful about hooking up with unknown men while this bullshit is going on.’

  ‘No one else gets the offer you did, babe. I’ll wait until you’re ready.’

  ‘You’re a client, Lys.’

  ‘You said that already. But my curiosity about you has only grown since we kissed. I want you.’

  ‘Do you think that now is the time to talk about this?’

  ‘Ok, you be sensible and responsible,’ she exhaled, fingering the strap of her purse. ‘I’m glad you called. I feel safer just knowing that you know.’

  ‘Do you want me to tell Blase that you’ll be taking tomorrow night off?’

  ‘Tell him? He’s my boss. If I need the night off I’ll ask Blase if it’s convenient for him. But I don’t want the night off, I’ll feel better out of the house… and I want to see you.’

  ‘What makes you think that I’ll show face at the club?’

  Her smile flared of its own volition. ‘You’ll want to check that I’m ok.’

  ‘I’m doing that now. And you sound fine.’

  ‘Because by calling you’ve proved that you care about me.’

  ‘I care about staying in the loop,’ he said.

  ‘You can probably get a copy of the report,’ she said, still sure that she was right. ‘Have you been outside for a while?’

  ‘I was at the front of the property and didn’t witness the act,’ he said with the strain of frustration. ‘I’d just done a perimeter check, I must have just missed him.’

  ‘We all missed him…’ Taking on a serious tone, she confessed the truth of her fear that until now she’d hidden behind false indifference. ‘He’s escalating.’

  ‘He is. He couldn’t find you the other night and now he probably thinks that you’re dating Keith.’

  ‘So by dating and changing my routine he’s gotten mad?’

  ‘Maybe.’

  ‘I don’t want him to hurt Keith, it would be unfair when the man’s never laid a hand on me.’

  ‘Unlike me.’

  She relaxed into another smile. ‘You can take care of yourself, babe. Unless those sexy muscles are all for show.’

  ‘If he came after me it would make our job easier.’

  ‘I don’t want him coming after anyone.’ The voices in the living room rose again, distracting her.

  ‘What’s that? The shouting?’ Colt asked through the phone.

  ‘Pete and Suzette are fighting. I better go and diffuse the situation. Tell me I’ll see you tomorrow.’

  ‘You’ll see me,’ he grumbled like he’d been busted. ‘Cover that window with plastic or cardboard and call a glazier first thing.’

  ‘I will.’

  ‘Do you want me to do it?’

  ‘Come in and cover my window?’

  ‘Arrange to have your window replaced,’ he said. ‘I’m not sure that the guy won’t be back tonight.’

  ‘Thanks, I’ll definitely sleep better knowing that you think that, especially since you’re the expert in this field.’

  ‘I’m round the back, I’ll watch the back window all night,’ he said. ‘No one will sneak inside, I promise you, Cherrypop.’

  ‘If you’re up all night watching my window then you won’t have a chance to sleep. Why would you do that?’

  ‘Because otherwise you won’t settle and you don’t need the stress.’

  She wondered if he knew how much of himself he had revealed to her during this conversation. It seemed that he’d had a fright too. Or maybe it was his professional pride that was wounded, but Lyssa knew it went beyond that, she just hoped that it reached to the personal.

  ‘That’s very kind of you to be so considerate.’

  ‘Ruger’s sitting outside the front, far enough away that he won’t get noticed, but you’re safe, Lys.’

  Such an act of kindness spread warmth from her core to all of her extremities. ‘Send your brother home. You can come and protect me from the inside.’

  ‘You’re a client,’ he said in an almost sing-song voice.

  ‘Is that all that’s stopping you?’ she asked. ‘If I was to put my hand in your jeans now, what would I find?’

  ‘You’d find yourself in trouble, doc, because you shouldn’t mess with patients.’

  ‘You’re not a patient,’ she laughed. ‘That was a smokescreen appointment… but if you want me to stop pursuing you, I get it. I’ll give you a reprieve… at least until tomorrow night.’

  ‘You’re a saint,’ he said and she heard his blessed smile. ‘Cover the window and get rid of your guests. Ruge and I will watch your ass.’

  ‘I know how you enjoy doing that, babe.’

  ‘Oh, I do, but watching is allowed.’

  ‘So is touching,’ she purred. ‘If I didn’t think that he was watching I might be tempted to give you a show… Think about that while you’re watching my bedroom. Goodnight.’

  Hanging up, she was pleased with her tease and she took some time to immerse herself in her hormonal response to the man who stirred her feminine desires, then she got up and went to do exactly what Colt had told her to do.

  Blaser didn’t give any indication in his actions that he knew about what had happened with the window when she arrived for her shift. Lyssa carried on as normal and got on with her job.

  Colt hadn’t shown face, but more than halfway through her shift Ruger came in and she was eager to speak to him, to find out what Colt had told him. If this was the first time that Ruger had seen Blaser it was possible that her new boss was about to learn her secret. If he did, then her job here would be over.

  Moseying closer, she tried not to make her urgent impetus too obvious, but got herself near to Ruger who was drinking beer at the bar.r />
  ‘I should thank you,’ Lyssa said.

  Ruger didn’t bother to lift his head. ‘Cool. Gratuitous gratitude is gratefully received.’

  ‘For last night. I should say thank you. I don’t know what you were taken from last night, but I’d guess that a guy like you doesn’t spend too many nights alone.’

  Twisting slowly he peered at her. ‘How’s that?’

  ‘You’re fit, attractive and suave, I can tell you have the gift of the gab. Ladies must find you difficult to resist.’

  ‘Are you hitting on me, doc? ‘Cause my brother will be here before closing and if he thinks I’m cosying up to his girl he’ll kick my ass.’

  ‘I’m not Colt’s girl, he’s made that clear to me,’ she said, looping an arm through his, so that they leaned on the bar together. ‘You’re a sweetheart, but it’s not sex I want from you.’

  ‘So what do you want?’ he asked, swilling his beer.

  ‘Information. You called me, doc, and you were at my place last night. Did Colt tell you everything?’

  ‘No idea what you’re talking about,’ he said.

  ‘You’re going to play dumb?’

  ‘Most women want me for my beauty, not my brains.’

  Something in his tone was dull and distracted. All of her psyche-senses were tingling. ‘Do you have a problem, littlest Warner?’ she asked, meaning to sound non-threatening.

  ‘No problem,’ Ruger said. ‘My life is easy sailing.’

  ‘I don’t believe that anyone has no problems. Tonight you’re preoccupied.’

  ‘If a girl’s family hate a guy, but the girl keeps pursuing the guy, is it worth it?’

  ‘This is kind of my area,’ she said, pulling up a stool. ‘How does the guy feel about her?’

  ‘I don’t know,’ Ruger said. ‘It’s sort of about sex for him, it started that way, but I think maybe he cares more than he lets on.’

  Trying not to smile, she watched him pick at the label on his bottle. ‘And how does she feel?’

  ‘God only knows,’ Ruger said. ‘I don’t trust her.’

  ‘Then you come to the eternal question of whether you can have love without trust. How much does the family hate you and how does that hate manifest itself?’

  ‘We’re not talking about me,’ he objected and she saw his first smile of the night. ‘Everybody loves me, how could anyone not?’

  ‘Ok, who are we talking about?’

  ‘That’s confidential,’ he said and Blaser came over.

  ‘Tables, Cherry, you need to pay attention,’ Blaser said. ‘What are you two chatting about that’s so important?’

  ‘Your love life,’ Ruger said.

  ‘Yeah, right,’ Blaser said, clearly not believing his little brother, because he laughed. ‘Tables.’

  She headed to a table in need of service and glanced back to see the brothers carry on the conversation. Ruger was being honest, though Blaser didn’t believe that he was. She wouldn’t correct him, she knew when to be discreet. And she could get more of the story from Colt when she got the chance.

  Chapter Eight

  It wasn’t much more than an hour later when Colt came in and although they made brief eye contact he didn’t come to her. He turned to nod at Ruger and the two of them disappeared backstage, obviously to Colt’s office.

  She was intrigued by the speedy move, Colt hadn’t missed a step. But she had a job to do and so she headed for the table of three men who had just entered. After going through her usual spiel she began to take their drinks order, but Blaser came in at her side and interrupted.

  ‘What do you want, Gary?’ Blaser asked, angling his body in front of hers.

  ‘Came in for a drink and to see the show, what’s the problem?’

  ‘Only reason you and Marshall hang out together is to cause trouble. You forget that I used to run with your crew. And you brought Zeke to up your odds.’

  ‘Heard Ruge was back in town,’ the blonde guy in the centre with the number two haircut said.

  Lyssa identified the menace in Gary’s voice and the other two didn’t look too friendly either. If they wanted to cause trouble then Blaser had security to throw them out, but if they were talking about Ruger then this was personal. These men could lie in wait for Blaser and she didn’t want him to get hurt, though she didn’t want Colt or Ruger to get hurt either.

  ‘Yeah,’ Blaser said.

  ‘He owes me a debt.’

  ‘No, he doesn’t,’ Blaser said. ‘Your demands are bullshit.’

  ‘He gave me his word you wouldn’t lay your filthy hands on my sister again… think he broke that promise.’

  Backing away, Lyssa tried to meld into the shadows. None of the seated men were interested in her and Blaser was intent on Gary who stared right back.

  When she was far enough away not to draw attention to herself, she spun and made a beeline for the backstage door. Running up the stairs, she then hurried along to Colt’s office. She didn’t bother knocking, just opened the door and the brothers, on opposite sides of the desk, looked at her.

  ‘Cherrypop, give—‘

  ‘There’s a guy called Gary in with his friends and I’m worried he and Blase are about to tear strips from each other.’

  The brothers didn’t hesitate; they were on their feet and stalking in her direction. Ruger almost bowled her over, but Colt paused.

  ‘Wait up here,’ he said and actually ducked to kiss her before disappearing in the wake of his brother.

  As much as she wanted to know how things progressed, and that the trio would be ok, she trusted Colt’s professional judgement just as she asked her patients to do with her. Closing over the door, she took a seat on the couch and waited.

  Her worry was alleviated some by the imprint of Colt’s lips on hers. The act had been so brief it had been unconscious and that was comforting. The familiarity of the deed took the bubble of desire to something deeper and the curl of intensity widened until she could feel it in her every atom.

  Colt had shown concern for her and had prioritised her safety tonight when it wasn’t his standard procedure to do so and she wondered what made her different to him. Making note to question him on that she wanted to spend time with him, quality time, so they could truly bond.

  Sex wasn’t a dirty word to her; but just because she could discuss it freely didn’t mean she gave it away freely. On the contrary, she understood just how important sex was and the bond that could be forged through it. Colt was a good man and she wanted to explore every facet of him behind his strong exterior.

  The office door burst open and the three brothers piled in, Colt and Ruger were shoving Blaser forward.

  ‘Give us a minute,’ Ruger said to her.

  Something must have transpired but none of the brothers appeared to be injured, so she got up and slunk out, making brief, reassuring eye contact with Colt on the way.

  Music pumped through from the main floor and Crystal swept up the stairs to the stage as Lyssa came down the stairs from the offices. Seeing Crystal reassured her that everything was ok front of house. Crystal had the skills to make all of the patrons forget any drama they may have witnessed.

  Lyssa made a stop in the locker room to use the restroom and check out her makeup, not that it would need to be amended, but she appreciated the chance to wash her hands and look at herself in the mirror, the unexpected developments were always the most intense.

  A yelp from the locker room drew her attention. Crying came next, then the growl of a male voice.

  ‘Shut up! Get in there!’

  ‘Get your hands off me!’ a female barked, she sounded like Destiny, the youngest of the dancers.

  ‘Beg all you want, baby. You get no reprieve,’ that was a second male voice.

  ‘Someone will come in here,’ Destiny said, with fire in her voice, but the shudder in her voice meant the words didn’t come across as very confident.

  ‘Hope they do, we’ll sure find use for more babes like you,’ one of the m
ales laughed.

  Lyssa grabbed the restroom door handle and stride out. Two men had Destiny against the lockers, one had a hand on her breast and the other was holding her throat. The men turned at the time of her intrusion and she recognised Marshall and Zeke.

  ‘What’s going on?’ Lyssa asked.

  ‘Oh, another one!’ Marshall with his greasy black hair.

  ‘You guys shouldn’t be back here,’ Lyssa said, thinking about how she could cross to the exit door on the opposite wall.

  ‘And who’s going to chase us out, baby?’ Zeke asked, leaving Marshall with Destiny and slinking toward her.

  ‘Just do what they want, Cherry,’ Destiny said. ‘They rushed me out back.’ Where the girls went to smoke in the alley.

  ‘Cherry,’ Marshall said. ‘She’s Colt’s girl, the one who got Lenny and his crew flung out of here last week.’

  This must be a small community, or all the low lives around here had a phone tree.

  ‘You’re not welcome here,’ Lyssa said. ‘Didn’t the Warners make that obvious to you?’

  Zeke snatched her throat and pinned her to the restroom door that had clicked shut behind her.

  ‘Hey!’

  And the panic never got the chance to take hold. Colt came up behind Zeke and wrenched him away throwing him toward a waiting Ruger.

  ‘You boys weren’t listening the first time,’ Ruger tutted. ‘You’ll get the extra special escorted exit this time.’

  Blaser had security with him, they bundled the cursing men out and Destiny followed on cursing right back. Lyssa was going to go too, but Colt turned and pinned her with his gaze.

  ‘What happened?’ he asked her.

  ‘Nothing, no one got hurt,’ Lyssa said, taking his hand.

  ‘We threw them out. The bastards must have got in the back. They’d never have got through the first—‘

  ‘Don’t worry about it. Why were you in here?’

  ‘I came looking for you,’ he said. ‘I had to tell you that I pulled some strings with Chavez and the cops are going to open a file. They’re going to do a full investigation. You’re on their radar now.’

  ‘Really?’ she said. It was possible the police would take things more seriously after the broken window debacle, but knowing that Colt had been fighting her corner was encouraging.