Take a Risk (Risk #1)

by Scarlett Finn

  ‘He told you about that?’

  ‘Under duress,’ she said. ‘I heard about it elsewhere and Ruger filled in the blanks, but Colt knows that I know. I wouldn’t want him to carry any guilt about anything negative that happened to me, except… look at the way he’s thrown himself into this, he’s giving it everything, and… it might not be enough.’

  ‘If Colt had gotten to do things his way with Emma then she would still be alive. Now that he does things his own way his odds have gone up, which is great news for you.’

  ‘I trust him,’ she said, turning to look Blaser square in the eye. ‘But if something happens…’

  Blaser slid a hand under hers. ‘We’ll look after him, Lys. He’s a pain in the ass, Mr High and Fucking Mighty, but he’s family… just like you are.’

  ‘Colt just called,’ Ruger said, coming over to their position. ‘He wants you to stay at his place tonight, and he’ll come and see you at work tomorrow.’

  She shouldn’t be surprised that while talking about her concern he got in touch, but she was. ‘How does he do it?’

  ‘He’s freaky that way,’ Ruger shrugged and Blaser laughed, then winched.

  ‘No woman can ever claim he doesn’t pay attention to them,’ Blaser said, clenching his teeth to try and hide his discomfort.

  ‘Come on,’ she said, still with a hold of his hand. ‘I’m taking you home. Ruger can close up here.’

  ‘I’m being ditched?’ Ruger called after them as they began to leave.

  ‘Come to Blaser’s when you’re done,’ she called back. ‘I’ll be on his couch tonight.’

  ‘You got it, sis.’

  Ruger said what he did in an attempt to try and get a reaction from her. It was nice to be a part of his ribbing, because it did make her a part of the family. He made fun of his brothers all the time and being included in that brought her closer to the men who were important to her lover.

  During her time at Blaser’s today she’d called the hospital and managed to arrange work space for the following day, which happened to be Friday. She’d missed enough patient time this week so she chose to suspend her adopted rule of not seeing patients on the last day of the working week. She’d called up the patients she’d missed this week, in the order that she’d missed them, and offered appointments in her new office at the hospital.

  Many of her patients had questions and she was as diplomatic as she could be in answering them. Finding out that your therapist had lost a patient through murder was bad enough, but finding out he’d probably been murdered because of his connection to her would be worse. But it did leave her with the unsettling question of whether her patients were safe from her stalker, or if he would go after any more of them.

  The day had gotten off to a flying start and she was thrilled with her new workspace. It wasn’t as comfortable as her home office, but that was to be expected. Although there was nothing fancy in the space it had everything she needed. It had the added bonus of being in a busy building, which meant people mixed together, hopefully making it harder for her stalker to pick out those who had visited her if he was indeed watching.

  A desk and chair were provided for her, with a couch and an armchair for her sessions with patients. Lee Zucker, who was present at the moment, hadn’t spent much time on the couch, but that was understandable given the revelations he’d experienced in his own life over the last forty-eight hours.

  ‘She let me think that I had a problem,’ he declared, pacing up and down in front of the window. ‘She let me think that I was out of line!’

  ‘Calm down, Lee, I know that this is a shock.’

  ‘I thought I was being too demanding, that my libido was somehow shot! I actually thought I might be sick!’

  ‘Now we can’t discount that your situation remains as it always was. It may just be that your wife—‘

  ‘She’s having an affair!’ He stopped pacing then came around to flop onto the couch. ‘She’s having an affair. She’s fucking around with another dude, no wonder she never wanted it from me!’

  ‘I know,’ Lyssa said, wishing she could offer some comfort other than platitudes. ‘What she has done is terrible, and it will take you time to process it. What you have to do is decide where you want to go from here. Is she still seeing her lover?’

  He groaned. ‘Do you have to use that word?’

  ‘I’m sorry. What I want to establish is if you want to move forward and if she wants the same thing. I could offer you a session together, if you think that would help.’

  ‘Do you think that it would?’ he asked. ‘You’re really great but you can’t… you know…’

  ‘Erase the past? No, there are limits to even my powers. Did you tell Harriet why you come here? There was a time she believed that you were here due to stress at work.’

  ‘I haven’t told her exactly what we talk about, but… maybe I could talk to her and ask her to come along.’

  ‘That could be beneficial for you both. It would be interesting to find out why she sought gratification elsewhere. Perhaps there are issues that we could work on together and find a solution that is suitable for both of you.’

  ‘You must have a perfect life,’ he said. ‘Your relationships must be ideal, and without any issues at all.’

  ‘Just perfect,’ she said, trying not to think about the state of her life at the moment. Just then she saw movement in the small glass panel in the door of her office, which she’d decided to get a curtain for in order to protect her patients’ privacy. To her horror, the face filling the space was that of her ex-husband. ‘Oh, my god.’

  She hadn’t meant to speak aloud, but she must have because Lee turned to look over his shoulder at the window. ‘Who is that?’

  ‘My ex-husband, believe it or not,’ she said, with a frozen faux smile.

  ‘Ex?’ he asked, arching a brow.

  ‘Maybe not as perfect as you’d think,’ she said.

  ‘And he gets to just walk in on sessions and kick out your patients?’

  ‘I’m sorry for the intrusion,’ she said. ‘But we are at the end of our time anyway. Let’s schedule your next session.’

  It was just lucky that Lee’s session had been finished when Archie turned up. That didn’t stop her from leaving him in the hallway and taking her time bidding Lee farewell. When Lee opened the door, Archie almost knocked him over when he ran in and closed the door.

  ‘How long does it take to get rid of a patient?’ Archie demanded.

  ‘Good afternoon to you too, dearest,’ Lyssa said, sinking onto her desk chair and booting up her computer. ‘Some people may think it rude to randomly show up without an appointment. Do you need a consult?’

  ‘This isn’t medical, Lyssa, I’m in trouble for goodness sake!’

  ‘Trouble,’ she said, dropping the repartee. ‘What kind of trouble?’

  ‘She’s kicked me out,’ he said, sitting on her couch without invitation.

  Archie was still a handsome guy. His salt and pepper hair, and defined features made him sophisticated and desirable in that older man sort of way. Seeing him in distress didn’t make her feel good, there had been a time when they’d been happy, and just because they wanted different things didn’t mean that she wished him ill.

  ‘What happened?’ she asked. Abandoning her computer, she came around to settle in the armchair again.

  At first, he said nothing and various possibilities ran through her mind, but when his gaze shifted she could tell he was about to say something he was ashamed of, or at least ashamed to admit. ‘Tax evasion.’

  ‘Oh, Archie,’ she said like a parent disappointed in a child and lifted her hands to slap them back on the arms of her chair. ‘How could you be so stupid?’

  ‘It snowballed,’ he said, making excuses. ‘The accountant said that he could get me into this scheme and I’d pay less tax.’

  ‘I don’t want to know the details,’ she said, folding her arms and making no secret of her disapproval. ‘I don’t want t
o be subpoenaed.’

  ‘Don’t say that. Oh, god, Lys, what am I going to do?’

  She was no tax accountant and she wasn’t a lawyer either, so she really couldn’t answer that in reference to the crime, so she went to her comfort zone. ‘This is… the receptionist you were living with who kicked you out?’

  ‘She’s a nursing administrator.’

  Lyssa wasn’t even sure what that was. ‘Ok, and she’s unhappy? So she didn’t know about what was happening?’ He shook his head. ‘It’s understandable that she’s upset.’

  ‘Maybe, but she kicked me out of my own damn house!’

  ‘You would have rather that she left?’

  ‘No. She should stand by me, she should support me.’

  ‘Did you tell her that you felt that way?’

  ‘All she did was shout,’ Archie said. ‘Shout and shout… it’s not my fault that the assets have been frozen.’

  Her disapproval grew. ‘Everything?’

  ‘Yeah,’ he grumbled. ‘So don’t expect any alimony checks for a while.’

  She laughed. ‘That’s not really my primary concern.’

  ‘How can you laugh? That’s very unprofessional!’

  The office door opened and Colt strolled in, only to stop short when he registered that there was someone on the couch. ‘I heard you had an opening,’ Colt said, frowning at her “patient”, which made her think he recognised exactly who was on her couch.

  ‘I did,’ Lyssa said. ‘But it was unceremoniously filled.’

  ‘The standard of your professionalism has slipped significantly,’ Archie said.

  ‘Are you one to judge me?’ she asked. Colt moved to exit, but she stood up. ‘No, don’t go. Close the door.’ Colt did as he was told.

  ‘We were talking,’ Archie said to her.

  ‘Colt Warner, this is Archie Cutler.’

  ‘I know,’ Colt said, coming to her side.

  ‘I know that you know,’ she smiled.

  ‘Do you introduce all of your patients to random people?’ Archie asked.

  Being identified as a random person must have riled Colt because he sat in her armchair and then yanked her down into his lap. ‘Colt isn’t a random person.’

  ‘Apparently not,’ Archie said. ‘You’re fraternising with patients?’

  ‘Colt is my partner, he’s my boyfriend.’

  ‘Really?’ Archie said, examining her lover. ‘Your type has changed considerably.’

  ‘My previous type didn’t work out in my favour,’ she said. ‘I reassessed my needs.’

  ‘Still, I didn’t presume you to be the type to prioritise beauty over brains.’

  ‘Luckily, Colt has both,’ she said, arranging herself around Colt to leave no illusion as to their intimacy.

  ‘He’s sort of… brawny for you, is he not?’ Archie said, as though Colt wasn’t present in the room.

  ‘Are you afraid he’ll beat you up?’ Lyssa asked. ‘He’s actually very gentle.’

  ‘Providing you don’t step out of line,’ Colt said.

  ‘And what would be out of line?’ Archie asked.

  ‘Appearing at my girlfriend’s place of employment without an appointment.’

  ‘Keeps a tight leash on you, does he?’ Archie asked.

  ‘Archie’s having a problem,’ Lyssa said to Colt. ‘He came here to seek advice.’

  ‘Don’t tell him my private affairs,’ Archie stated. ‘We have confidentiality.’

  She shook her head. ‘We don’t. You’re not a patient, I can’t treat you and you don’t get spousal confidentiality anymore either.’

  ‘I came here because I trust you,’ Archie said.

  ‘You need something from me. I haven’t heard from you in two years and I doubt that you came to me for advice on your relationship issue with the receptionist.’

  ‘He’s seeing a receptionist?’ Colt asked. ‘Beauty over brains?’

  ‘Youth and bust size over intelligent conversation,’ Lyssa explained. ‘Archie doesn’t need a woman showing him up so he likes them to be lacking in smarts.’

  ‘That why you got rid of him?’ Colt asked her, then focused back on Archie. ‘It’s hot as hell when she disagrees with me. I guess you’ve just got to know how to put her in her place.’

  ‘You do not put me in my place.’

  ‘Want me to prove it?’ Colt murmured.

  ‘When Archie’s gone,’ she stage whispered. ‘I wouldn’t want you to embarrass him.’

  ‘Do you have no compassion?’ Archie asked. ‘This is not a time to be glib. I am in serious need.’

  ‘In a precarious position that you put yourself in,’ she said. ‘I have no compassion for those who do wrong and then expect to be pitied. You have, or at least had, more money than you knew what to do with, there is no excuse for your actions.’

  ‘You never used to be this judgemental,’ Archie grumped.

  ‘Colt has friends in law enforcement, maybe if you explained your predicament to him he could see what he could find out about the state of the investigation.’

  ‘I think not!’

  ‘Are you sure? His contacts go pretty high up,’ she said, without a clue as to how far his contacts actually did extend.

  ‘I have a team of attorney’s on my case, they are working to disprove these ridiculous claims as we speak.’

  ‘What are we talking about?’ Colt muttered to her. ‘Domestic abuse? Tax fraud? Kiddie fiddling?’

  ‘I beg your pardon!’ Archie spat.

  ‘Tax evasion,’ she replied.

  ‘Lyssa!’ Archie chastised, but the office door opened again and this time it was Suzette who came in wearing her hospital uniform. She came up short when she witnessed the identity of the occupants in the room.

  ‘I feel like I should take a picture,’ Suzette said, her attention darting back and forth between the men. ‘The past meets the present. Seeing them side by side like this is… unnerving.’

  ‘How do you think she feels?’ Colt asked. ‘What do you want?’

  Lyssa was surprised that Colt asked this question when she hadn’t had a chance to say anything herself. ‘Are you ok?’ Lyssa asked her best friend.

  ‘I heard that you were on the complex and I wanted to… I thought that we could talk.’

  ‘She’s a bit busy at the moment,’ Colt said.

  ‘What is wrong with you?’ Lyssa whispered at him.

  ‘There’s a queue of people who want your attention right now, Miss. Lys,’ he said.

  ‘Do you have something that you need to tell me?’ she asked.

  He’d been away from her for more than twenty-four hours and she was eager to find out where he’d been and what was going on. Her belief had been that if there were any important, or urgent, updates then he’d have been in touch with them in real time. Now she considered that her assumption could be false.

  ‘No,’ he said, still focusing on Archie who was staring at Suzette. Lyssa knew immediately that Colt had just lied to her. Knowing him as she did, she knew that he would have a good reason for the deception.

  ‘How have you been Suzette?’ Archie asked. ‘I heard that you are betrothed.’

  ‘Where did you hear that?’ Suzette asked. ‘Have you signed up to the hospital gossip circuit? I thought you left that when you went uptown to your fancy building.’

  ‘I still hear things,’ Archie said. ‘He’s a security technician or something.’

  ‘No, he’s an IT manager,’ she said. ‘Not that it’s any of your business.’

  ‘And I thought my invitation to the wedding just got lost in the mail.’

  ‘Unlikely,’ Suzette said.

  Suzette’s dislike of Archie had started early on in Lyssa’s relationship with him. Colt didn’t get along with her particularly well either and Lyssa wondered if she should take that as a bad sign. If Suzette’s judgement of a man’s character was accurate then perhaps that didn’t bode well for her relationship with Colt.

  ‘I’m sorry,
’ Lyssa said. ‘Archie is upsetting everyone today. I’ve already had a client upset with me that my ex interrupted a session. I think it’s a case of misplaced anger if I’m honest.’

  ‘I think it’s just his personality,’ Suzette said. ‘He has the kind of face that people just take a dislike to.’

  ‘What time do you finish your shift tonight?’ Lyssa asked Suzette.

  ‘Eight.’

  ‘Can you come over here around six?’ Lyssa asked. She would offer to go to Suzette, except Pete’s office was on the same floor and so she didn’t want to be caught in Suzette’s company when that could cause her friend problems. Suzette nodded and glared at the men, then exited.

  ‘What’s going on with her?’ Archie asked Lyssa, but she had no intention of answering the question.

  ‘I can’t help you, Archie,’ she said, extricating herself from Colt’s lap. ‘I’m sorry about your troubles, I don’t care about alimony, but thank you for coming to tell me.’

  ‘I didn’t come here to tell you that,’ he said, leaping from the couch. ‘I need a place to stay.’

  ‘You came here because you need a bed? What’s wrong with a hotel?’

  ‘The bank accounts have been frozen,’ he said, pained to admit such a humiliating truth in front of Colt, who didn’t help matters by sniggering.

  ‘You can stay at my place,’ Lyssa said.

  ‘What?’ the men said in unison.

  ‘As it happens, it’s empty at the moment,’ she said, reaching down for Colt’s hand, causing him to rise to his feet. ‘I’m spending my nights with Colt anyway.’

  ‘You’re living with him?’

  She shrugged. ‘Unofficially.’

  ‘Or officially,’ Colt said, pressing a kiss to the side of her neck.

  Leaving his side, she went to her purse and retrieved a set of spare keys from the pit, then handed them over to Archie. ‘Clean up after yourself, you’re responsible for all maintenance, and when I say out, you leave, no questions. I will be moving my practice back there as soon as I can.’

  ‘Why did you move it away?’ Archie asked.

  ‘That’s none of your business,’ she said. ‘Now if you’ll excuse us.’ He lowered to kiss her cheek, which she knew was just to spite Colt. After that he did leave quietly, then she spun around. ‘Now what’s your deal?’