Risk It All (Risqué #2)

by Scarlett Finn

  ‘Your boss?’ Gary screamed. ‘You’re my boy! How the fuck could you go Judas on my ass! You fucking mother fucking—‘

  ‘Blaser won’t go to jail,’ she said.

  Talking kept Marshall from shooting, but there was one other way she could get help. The cops would be on their way, but she knew they wouldn’t get here in time. Lifting her foot, she pushed back in a deliberate stumble, except when she brought her foot back onto the rug she slammed it down. Stamping on the floor she prayed that Blaser wasn’t out at one of his various jobs.

  ‘Yeah, he will,’ Marshall said. ‘The cops turned over his place last night and Gary’s gun was there, the gun that killed Rafe, Blaser will go down unless your brother turns himself in.’

  ‘You want him to turn himself in,’ she said. Gary sent out another stream of curses, giving her the cover to stamp again.

  Wriggling in Marshall’s arms she tried to get free, but his arm was around her shoulders, keeping her pinned to his torso and with the gun so embedded in her locks she didn’t want to take the risk of startling him. But while he and Gary argued, she stamped again.

  Closing her eyes she sent out useless psychic messages to Blaser, he obviously wasn’t home. At least that was what she thought until the door burst open. Marshall spun toward it, but it was Ruger who came in with his own gun drawn. She didn’t even know that he was in town, or that he had a gun. But there he was filling her doorframe, silhouetted by the gleam of dazzling daylight emanating from behind him, his height made him seem almost superhuman.

  ‘Let her go,’ Ruger demanded. Both hands were on the pistol he aimed at Marshall, but her position kept Marshall protected.

  ‘I’m helping you,’ Marshall called out. ‘I’m making sure your brother doesn’t go to jail. We get Gary to turn himself in and—‘

  ‘You let Bri go and I don’t give a fuck what you boys do to each other,’ Ruger said. ‘Let her walk.’

  ‘I can’t,’ Marshall spat out. ‘I have to get Gary back where he belongs. Getting him out was a mistake, he’s fucked up royally and we can’t let Blaser take the fall.’

  ‘He won’t,’ Colt said, coming up behind Ruger. Inching his little brother forward, he edged around him but stayed out of the line of fire. ‘We’ll get him a lawyer, a good one, and we all know the truth, we all know that he didn’t do anything wrong. You better put that gun down before Blaser gets up the stairs or he will be going to jail for murder, yours.’

  ‘Bri!’ This voice was Blaser’s, he muscled through his brothers without thought for where the guns were or that he could be walking into danger. ‘You put the fucking gun down, Marshall or I’ll rip your fucking lungs out.’

  ‘It’s Gary, we need to get him to confess to the cops,’ Marshall said. ‘We need to, or you’ll be charged!’

  ‘Protecting me,’ Blaser snarled. ‘Sweet, but unnecessary. I doubt your motives are altruistic.’

  She hadn’t seen Blaser this angry, this was raw, primal rage. His clenched jaw and tapered eyes were focused on one thing, the man holding her hostage.

  ‘Blase,’ she sobbed out. ‘Blase, I’m sorry, I love you.’

  His vision shifted around the room in a swift, calculated fashion that assessed the situation. Diverting himself from Marshall he took two long strides and landed a punch on Gary that sent him to the floor. While Gary was dazed, Blaser rolled him onto his front. Colt appeared beside him and while Blaser knelt on Gary’s back to keep him restrained, Colt tied a length of disconnected electrical wire around his wrists then wound it down around his ankles. Gary was swearing again, but Colt and Blaser shared a look then Blaser got up, leaving Colt to hold Gary down.

  Ruger hadn’t let his gun waver from Marshall throughout. ‘There, you got what you wanted,’ Ruger said. ‘You put the gun away and let her go.’

  Marshall hesitated and as much as she wanted to be free, she couldn’t blame him for being reluctant in the face of this rage he was surrounded by. The three Warners weren’t a force anyone would want to mess with.

  ‘I… I was trying to help you out,’ Marshall said.

  ‘Help me?’ Blaser asked and came to them.

  Blaser snatched Marshall’s gun hand and twisted his wrist back to make the gun fall away. Marshall hadn’t put up any fight or made any more threats, so he had to know that the game was over. But she didn’t care, she fell into Blaser and as she sobbed, he stroked her hair and turned her away from Marshall.

  Someone threw a punch and a body fell to the ground, she peeked to see Ruger at their side and Marshall on the floor. ‘He thinks he can help you by threatening a Warner?’ Ruger said to Blaser. ‘Wish we had some time to teach him a lesson.’

  Sirens wailed into the parking lot, but Hoburn was already up and in the doorway with what she assumed was his own surveillance crew behind him. His gun was out, but it was obsolete. The men they wanted were incapacitated. Colt still sat on Gary and Ruger got ahold of Marshall to haul him up to his feet.

  ‘Plenty of trash for you to pick up today,’ Ruger said, handing Marshall over to Hoburn’s men who pinned him to the wall and patted him down before cuffing him.

  ‘How did you get here so fast?’ Blaser asked him. ‘How could you possibly have known that—‘

  ‘We’re just that good,’ Hoburn said. ‘We know where the party is.’

  ‘Bri!’

  She twisted out of Blaser’s arms to see her brother being cuffed by police who freed him from the makeshift restraints to cart him out. He kept calling for her, but her mouth was sealed. She couldn’t reassure him because his confession was on tape and had been heard by Hoburn and his men. She was grateful that Hoburn didn’t advertise her compliance now. Gary would find out that she had betrayed him, there was no way to conceal it. But she would at least like the chance to tell him herself, in private.

  Her apartment was swarming with cops and it would take time for everyone to give their statements; though it was all on tape so there was no way to spin what had gone on here. She just wished that she knew herself what Marshall’s motivation was and who his boss was.

  All of the tenants were out of their apartments as the cops pulled out of the parking lot. Anyone who had heard anything gave a statement. Risqué should have been open by now, but Blaser hadn’t brought that up. The three brothers and Dax were together at the bottom of the stairs talking while everyone else shared their experiences with each other. Bri was a bit away from that group unable to focus on another intense discussion at this time.

  ‘Are you ok?’ Ivy asked, coming over to Bri, who could only sigh.

  ‘Yeah,’ Bri said. ‘I mean I’ll have to talk to Gary, and he might never forgive me for…’

  ‘You let the cops into your place?’

  ‘He wanted me to leave with him,’ Bri said. ‘He thought we could have a new life in Mexico, but Blaser would have been blamed for Rafe’s murder. I could never have lived with myself if I knew the truth and an innocent man was convicted.’

  ‘Especially since that man is your lover,’ Ivy said.

  ‘Yeah,’ Bri exhaled.

  The last of the police disappeared from the property and people began to drift back inside. Now that the drama was over it was time to get to work, which anyone who was present would be late for by now.

  A long shining limo came into the parking lot and stopped, causing anyone who was still here to freeze also. Such a glamorous car wasn’t the norm for around here, and they all waited to see who would exit. All except the group of four men still huddled behind her and Ivy, they were still ensconced in their discussion.

  The driver got out to come to the back of the car and open the door, but it still took several seconds for anyone to emerge. The man must like to make an entrance, he got out and stood tall, wearing wraparound shades and a tailored suit, he was just as out of place as the car.

  Whispers started again, as the man scanned the gang of people who were staring back. If no one recognised him, then Bri wondered why he was here. Ivy
’s frozen form shifted and her arm swept around to fumble for Dax. When her palm came into contact with his abs, she patted him, without taking her eyes away from the man next to the limo for a second.

  ‘Who is that?’ Bri asked, turning in time to see Ivy twisting to look at her husband. He was staring at the same man who had caught Ivy’s eye. All signs of emotion left his expression and were gripped by solemn resignation. That tell vanished too, his eyes cooled and his form became solid.

  Ivy’s hand brushed his, but Dax didn’t acknowledge it. He moved through the two women with the suited man in his sights.

  ‘Who is that?’ Bri asked again.

  ‘That,’ Ivy said, watching her husband traverse the parking lot. ‘Is his brother.’

  ‘Doll?’

  Dax’s brother left Bri’s thoughts when Blaser called on her, he touched her shoulder and guided her around. ‘Where are we going?’ she asked him.

  ‘Inside.’

  By the time they got inside Colt and Ruger were already there, Blaser closed the door behind them. ‘Thank you,’ she said to all of the men. ‘For upstairs and… everything.’

  ‘You talked to Hoburn last night,’ Colt said. Given his connections to the station it was no surprise that he knew the truth.

  ‘Yes,’ she said. ‘I told Blase that I made a deal with them. After I left the club, I went to Gary’s place and he told me what happened with Rafe. I knew that the gun Gary had left here was the murder weapon and I wasn’t going to let Blaser go down for a murder he didn’t commit. So I went to Hoburn and told him everything I knew. Gary thought I was going to go on the run with him, he was coming here to pick me up. Except Hoburn came to my place this morning and his men set up recording equipment to capture Gary’s confession. Everything that happened was caught on tape. Gary doesn’t know, I’ll have to… I’ll have to go in and talk to him.’

  Blaser took her to the couch and sat down with her, Colt retrieved beer for them all, but the front door opened before he could distribute it. Mattie came in with complete entitlement, which she supposed he had because he did own the building.

  ‘That is not how I expected that to go down,’ Mattie said. His network was really astounding, how he could know what had happened here already was quite impressive.

  ‘How do you know anything about it?’ Ruger asked.

  ‘Who do you think that Marshall was working for?’ Mattie asked, swinging the door closed.

  ‘You’re telling me that you authorised him to threaten Bri?’ Blaser snarled.

  Blaser moved to rise, but she put a hand on his thigh to stall him. ‘I appreciate you protecting Blaser,’ Bri said. ‘How long has Marshall been working for you?’

  ‘I paid him to keep an eye on you,’ Mattie said. ‘He bribed Rafe’s man to keep me in the loop too. How else would I know how much cash you were handing over to Rafe?’

  ‘Is that why they were together at the fight night?’ Blaser asked and Mattie nodded.

  ‘I’m sorry that things happened the way that they did,’ Mattie said to her. ‘But I told Marshall to get Gary to confess, to hand himself in. I wasn’t going to let him leave the country or have Blaser go to jail for Rafe’s murder.’

  ‘Why show up here now?’ Colt asked. ‘What do you want?’

  ‘Blaser and I have business to discuss,’ he said, pinning him with a stare. ‘Should we take a walk?’

  ‘No,’ Blaser said, Bri let him get to his feet now. ‘I’m not keeping secrets from Bri or my brothers, you can take your offer and shove it. My club is legit and it’s going to stay that way. I want to come home to Bri every night and I never want her to worry about living without me again. The best way to support her and look after her is to be here for her.’

  ‘Are you sure?’ Mattie asked. ‘I’ve proven to you that I can take care of any misunderstandings that arise.’

  Getting Gary in jail and saving Blaser’s ass wasn’t Marshall’s idea, it was Mattie’s way of trying to tempt Blaser into working for him.

  Mattie Warner couldn’t understand the strength of loyalty that Blaser showed for her. She understood that Mattie was in the highest echelons of organised crime now. Being away for all of these years, she hadn’t comprehended just how the pieces had shifted on the board. Mattie ran the town, nothing happened in criminal circles that Mattie didn’t know about or have some influence over. But he couldn’t influence this, he couldn’t break the bond between those in love or between brothers.

  ‘Thank you for the offer,’ she said, leaving the couch and tucking herself in at Blaser’s side. ‘But I think we’ll be staying straight, all of us.’

  Mattie observed all members of the group, even those she couldn’t see, and as unamused as he appeared, he eventually sighed and turned to leave.

  Only after the door clicked shut did the rest of them relax. ‘It always goes to shit when I leave you guys watching the shop,’ Ruger said.

  Now that Mattie and Gary were dealt with, Blaser whipped around to glare at his brother. ‘I haven’t heard you apologise to Bri yet.’

  ‘Hey,’ Bri said, moving in front of Blaser. ‘Ruger wasn’t to blame, how many times do I have to say it.’ Bringing her attention around to Ruger, she bolstered herself to look him in the eye. ‘I suppose that Blaser told you everything.’

  ‘Bri, I am so sorry,’ he said, traversing to her, he lifted her hand from her side. ‘I had no idea that… I should’ve realised that Victor wouldn’t let it go… I didn’t know about what happened to you until Colt told me and—‘

  ‘I know, it’s ok. You did the right thing walking away from that gang and I’m proud of you for doing that. I’ve seen today that sometimes it is hard to do the right thing, but it doesn’t make it any less necessary. The only thing you could’ve done to help me was go back to help the traffickers complete their work, how many other women would’ve been tortured if you’d done that? And none of them were trustworthy, once they had me, I don’t believe that they would ever have let me go.’

  ‘Can you ever forgive me?’

  ‘I have,’ she said, managing a smile. ‘We’re going to be family, right?’

  Blaser slid an arm around her and Colt came over to join their group. ‘That doesn’t mean it’s over,’ Colt said. ‘Ruger’s going to get in touch with the cop who saved you, we’re going to find a way to repay what he did for you.’

  ‘Jansen,’ she breathed, remembering the night that he had saved her and the other women from their fate.

  ‘If there’s any of them still alive, I’ll find out,’ Ruger said.

  ‘I don’t want more bloodshed because of me, and I don’t want you getting yourself into more trouble,’ she said, pinching his arm.

  ‘You want me to… to give it up?’ Ruger asked.

  ‘Sounds like a good idea to me,’ Colt said.

  ‘We should at least thank Jansen,’ Blaser said. ‘I’d like to meet the guy who saved my future.’

  ‘You did that yourself,’ she said, turning her body into his when he encircled her in his arms. ‘You don’t have to take risks to keep me happy, the status quo is sexy, speaking of which, shouldn’t you be at work?’

  ‘Work can wait,’ he said, bringing his mouth down to hers.

  The sweet taste of his tongue on hers had never been so potent as it was now, all she wanted to do was be swept into the moment of them safe and together. But when she heard a door close, she broke the kiss, expecting to see more people in the room, instead they were alone.

  ‘Where did they go?’ Bri asked.

  ‘Away,’ Blaser said, linking their fingers he led her through to the bedroom and began to undress her. ‘All of the drama is over, it’s just us now. I want to show you how thankful I am for that and for what you did today with Gary. I know it couldn’t have been easy to make the decision.’

  ‘It was much easier than I thought,’ she said, pulling his tee-shirt off over his head. ‘Being where he is now is the best thing for Gary. Out in the world he would’ve hurt mor
e people, which would only have made things worse for him… And seeing him with drugs…’

  ‘I’m sorry,’ he said, rubbing her bare arms. ‘I’m sorry that he broke the promise you made to each other.’

  ‘You’ll never do that, will you?’ she asked. ‘You promised me that you were going to be good from now on, will you stay clean?’

  ‘In every sense but one,’ he said, shoving his jeans down to the floor.

  Grabbing her hips, he lifted her up and threw her onto the bed. She was still laughing when he landed above her, but the deep kiss filled her with arousal that definitely wasn’t funny. ‘Help me forget,’ she said. ‘When I’m with you all I want to think about is the future.’

  ‘And it’s a future that I don’t plan to risk,’ he said, slipping a hand to the back of her head, he cradled her skull and brought their mouths together again.

  Thank you for sharing this adventure!

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  Turn over for an excerpt from

  Fighting Back

  Coming soon on Amazon…

  Chapter One

  For weeks Dax and Ivy hadn’t seen hide nor hair of the Stark family or anyone from Dax’s former life. That had changed this morning. Dax had been talking to Blaser, his new friend and boss, in the parking lot of their apartment complex when Ivy’s hand landed on his abs. He wouldn’t have minded her catching a quick grope, but that wasn’t what caused her to make the connection, she wasn’t even looking at him.