Risk

by Baylin Crow

  I held one up to my chest, and gave him a thumbs-up. He told me to grab my things so we could go. I had my wallet and phone in my pockets so I was already ready.

  “Is Claire coming to get you?” he asked as he grabbed his keys off his desk.

  “No, I’m just going to grab a cab.”

  He muttered under his breath. “No, I’ll take you home. Pack your things when you get there. After work tomorrow, we’ll get you set up in the guesthouse.”

  Sounded like a solid plan, so I agreed and thanked him for the ride. On the way out, I caught a glimpse of Asher who was hitting the weights. The man was a machine. His lean muscled body had to be worn out by now, but he kept going.

  “Has he been here all day?” I asked. I hadn’t paid attention to who had been in and out today while I got the hang of things, but I didn’t remember seeing him.

  “No, he trains twice a day and sometimes stays late. He’ll be doing three times a day closer to the fight.”

  I was impressed, although it sounded completely insane. “You’re going to leave him here after you lock up?” I glanced back at Asher, but his attention was fully focused on what he was doing, and he had earbuds in.

  “Asher has a key. I had to do something. He was keeping me here late every night, and Maggie wasn’t very happy about it.” He shrugged.

  I’d missed my aunt but didn’t realize how much until he brought her up again.

  “All right, let’s get going.” He locked up and led us out to his car.

  “Thanks, I really appreciate it,” I said once I climbed in and closed the door.

  “After tomorrow, it’ll be a lot easier with you being so close to the gym.”

  I couldn’t argue with that. I still wasn’t excited about living right under the watchful eyes of my aunt and uncle, who I doubted trusted me anymore. Well, except for Maggie. She didn’t have the heart to think badly of anyone.

  The ride to Claire’s was silent, other than the soft classical music he preferred and the occasional question about directions. When we pulled up outside the apartment building, he gave it a quick once-over. “Well, she’s made an improvement since she was a kid, huh?”

  I couldn’t help the real smile that spread across my face. “Yeah, she really has.”

  He smiled back. “Get out of here before Maggie skins me alive. See you tomorrow at one. Don’t be late.”

  I opened the door.

  “Oh and Drew, get something other than jeans for work. Gym shorts or something is fine. Black.”

  “I think I have some sweatpants that are black.”

  “That works for now, but you’ll be hot in the gym.”

  “I’ll get some shorts when I get paid. Thanks for the ride,” I said, before shutting the door and jogging up the steps.

  I needed to change into something comfortable and gather my things.

  CHAPTER SIX

  DREW

  Claire listened attentively as I’d told her about my day and my impending move to my uncle’s guesthouse, but I made the mistake of mentioning Asher Ramsey. She squealed like a thirteen-year-old girl and told me to wait. She changed into a short pajama set, then carrying two beers, she sat beside me on the couch and handed me one. Before I took my first sip, she started firing questions at me.

  They were all about him, and my answer for all of them was “I don’t know, Claire. I haven’t even really talked to the guy.” She didn’t seem to hear me though and prattled on about what she’d heard about him and how drop-dead “gorg” he was. At that point, I had to dig deep to remember why my best friend was a girl instead of a guy.

  “I think I’m in love.” Claire sighed. She had her hair up in a messy ponytail with her chin resting on her hand as she demanded more details.

  Talking about him eventually turned into both of us wanting to watch him in action, so I grabbed her laptop and pulled up an old online video from a fight he’d dominated two years ago. Interestingly, his physique had only improved since then, but that made sense with all the working out he did. The amount of dreamy sighing coming from her freaked me out. I scooted farther away from her on the couch.

  “You’re being really annoying right now. You know that, right?” I asked. That earned me a punch in my arm. I winced and grabbed the damaged limb. She packed a punch for such a tiny thing.

  “Shut up! I’d totally hit that.” And the Claire I recognized was back. “I’m so jealous of all those women I’ve seen him with. He always looks so intense. I bet he’s like one of those private, broody guys who only lets loose in the bedroom.” She wriggled her eyebrows at me, a twinkle in her obsessed gaze.

  I didn’t want to burst her bubble, so I decide to not mention that he hadn’t seemed all that broody during the short conversation we’d had.

  Turning back toward the laptop perched on the coffee table, I winced as Asher put the other guy in a rear naked choke until his opponent’s face turned a disturbing shade of purple and he finally tapped out.

  The crowd started screaming his name. Asher seemed wholly unaffected by the cheering but did send them a quick wave, one hand in the air. He hadn’t come out unscathed either. A cut near his hairline trickled an unending stream of blood and a bruise bloomed over his left cheek, but neither seemed to bother him.

  “He’s a damn good fighter,” I admitted.

  “Someone got a man crush?” she teased, earning herself a crude gesture that included my middle finger. “What? I don’t blame you. In fact, welcome to the club!”

  I threw a pillow at her stupid face before standing and pointing toward her still half-full beer. “I need another one. You good?”

  “Aw, are you jealous? You know I’ll never love anyone the way I love you, right?” She giggled.

  “Right. That’s exactly it,” I said with a straight face.

  “No, in all seriousness”—she hugged the pillow I’d thrown at her, sitting up straighter—“his hotness and badassery aside, it’s kind of cool that you’ll be working with him.”

  “First, badassery is not a word. And, no, I’ll be working for my uncle, and therefore, a lowly servant to the guys. I won’t be working with anyone.”

  “Well, that’s the positive attitude I can always count on you for,” she quipped. Pulling out another beer from the fridge, I glared over my shoulder at her. She rolled her eyes. “Quit pouting, you big baby.”

  I plopped back down beside her on the couch. “I’m not pouting.”

  “Whatever you say. What do you feel like doing tonight?” Claire asked, curling her bare legs under her.

  “Getting laid,” I half-joked. “But it’s been a long day so I’ll probably hit the sheets soon.”

  The appealing thought of a beautiful woman beneath me flitted through my mind, but it wasn’t going to happen tonight. I stifled a yawn.

  “You’re such a perv.” She grabbed the pillow and hit me back with it.

  “Not a perv. Just horny.” Truthfully, it had been over a month—a dry spell for me—and while going out and hooking up sounded good, sleep sounded better.

  “Gross! There is such a thing as too much information.” She made a retching sound. “You need a girlfriend.”

  “You need a boyfriend,” I countered after taking a sip from my beer.

  Her face scrunched in distaste. Our mutual agreement that relationships were a waste of time and always ended badly had proven true too many times. Her last one, two years ago, had ended in a particularly awful way—for everyone involved. Now, she kept things as casual as I did.

  “Touché.” She grinned, but it wasn’t genuine. At some point, she was going to have to stop blaming herself for not being able to see what a douche he was. I hadn’t seen it either. “Okay, well, I’m going grab a shower before I get some shut-eye and dream about your new man crush.”

  I growled, and she launched herself off the couch before I could smack her with another pillow. She laughed as she shut the bathroom door behind her.

  ---

  “I’m g
onna miss you.” Claire gave me a sweet smile and leaned across the console of her car to squeeze me tight.

  I laughed. “No, you won’t.”

  “You’re right, I won’t, because it’s not like we won’t see each other. It’ll be just like it was before you were staying at my place.” She frowned. “Also, you snore loud enough to wake the dead, so I’ll be glad to have the quiet back.”

  “I don’t snore.” I didn’t think.

  She snorted all ladylike. “No, you don’t, and I might actually miss you staying there, hogging the couch.”

  “Me, too.” I hugged her one last time, and with a kiss on her cheek, I grabbed my bag and hopped out of the car. After waving and watching her drive away, I made it inside with ten minutes to spare.

  The gym appeared busier today. There were three other guys training from what I could see. Pete was holding the pads as a skinnier guy threw punches at him, and one was with Felix, the wrestling coach I’d met yesterday, and Brody, another athlete, on the bench press. He’d talked to me a little when I’d offered him a water bottle yesterday.

  I didn’t see Asher anywhere. Maybe he’d come in early this morning, or maybe, despite what my uncle had said, he did take a day off every now and then. I didn’t even know why I was looking for him or why I was vaguely disappointed to not find him working out.

  My day was pretty much a repeat of the day before except when Pete handed me his car keys and some money and told me to buy tennis shoes so I didn’t mess up his floors and a pair of shorts so I didn’t pass out from heat exhaustion in my heavy black sweatpants. I accepted the cash as long as he agreed to deduct it from my first check. He seemed surprised but didn’t argue.

  After I’d come back from my surprise shopping trip, I’d noticed Asher had shown up while I was gone. He glanced my way for just a second before refocusing on the punching bag lying on the ground. He landed several elbows and hammerfists while straddling the poor thing.

  I met a few of the other guys training with Pete, but I’d never heard of them before. They ignored me for the most part, except for Brody, who once again started up a conversation. He seemed like a decent guy, and it was nice to have someone to talk to at work when he took a break.

  With the day almost over, we were getting ready to head to my new temporary home.

  “Maggie is looking forward to seeing you again,” Pete said as I waited for him to grab his things from his office.

  “I’ll be happy to see her, too,” I said, meaning it.

  “Well, I hope you’re hungry. She says she doesn’t get to entertain enough and went all out. If I know her, and I do, it’ll be more than we’d be able to put away over several days, so just indulge her if you would.” He smiled, fondly.

  I chuckled. “Too much food? You’ll never hear me complain about that.” I didn’t mean anything by that comment, but it was clear with the side glance he gave me he’d taken it the wrong way.

  “Has it been that bad?” he asked almost angrily.

  “No,” I clipped out. I wasn’t going to talk about that. And it wasn’t that bad anyway. I ate better than I had as a kid, so I couldn’t complain. Unfortunately, I was a lot bigger now, so I had to eat more. There were definitely benefits to living at my uncle’s if food was a part of the deal.

  “Okay,” he said simply, letting it go, for which I was grateful.

  I walked out of his office first, not paying attention to where I was going, and ran smack into a hard wall. No, not a hard wall, but easily two hundred pounds of solid, lean muscle. Startled, I jerked back, nearly tripping over my own foot. Smooth.

  Asher stood at least four inches over my five-ten frame, staring down at me with an intensity that caught me off guard. His gray eyes seemed darker than what I’d initially thought, and for a second, I had a hard time looking away.

  “Excuse me.” His gravelly voice set the hairs on my arms on end, making me feel uncomfortable, because I liked the sound of it rippling through me. I jerked my gaze away and mumbled a sorry about that. “Hey, Pete, I just wanted to let you know I’ll be late in the morning. I have a meeting with Jerry.”

  “Everything okay?” Pete asked.

  “Yeah, just business as usual.” He sounded a little pissed, and I couldn’t help glancing back up, only then realizing I hadn’t moved out of his way so he was still standing in front of me. Shit. I scooted aside.

  “All right. Well, just call me when you’re headed in so I can let the others know.”

  “Will do. Later.” He brought that steel-colored gaze down to mine again, and the side of his mouth kicked up before he turned to go, brushing my arm as he walked by. I had to fight the urge to stare at his retreating form. What the fuck was that?

  I managed to ignore the unsettling feeling, conscious of Pete behind me. It didn’t escape me that once again Asher was staying past closing.

  ---

  My uncle’s house was just outside of the city limits in a more suburban neighborhood. It had taken less than five minutes from the gym, which meant it was in walking distance for me. He was right about one thing. This would be much easier.

  He pulled up in front of a red brick, single story home with a large wraparound porch. I could see the guesthouse in matching brick set not too far behind it, and the yard had been nicely tended to just like I remembered it from the few times I’d been here.

  We hadn’t even gotten out of the car when the front door swung open and a woman stood on the porch with a radiant smile. Maggie reminded me of a married woman from the sixties with her short brown hair curled and pinned. She completed the homemaker look by wearing a yellow apron with white daisies over her blue dress that hugged her curvy frame. You’d have to be crazy not to like her on sight.

  “Andrew!” She wrapped her arms around me in a tight hug. “I’ve missed you so much.”

  “He goes by Drew, Mags.” Pete shot me a wink. I’d been going by Drew for most of my life but hardly ever corrected anyone, but seeing as I’d be here for a while, I appreciated my uncle clearing it up for me.

  “Hi, Aunt Maggie. Thanks for letting me stay here.” I returned the hug with an unfamiliar amount of comfort. I’d missed her a lot.

  “Oh, hush. You are more than welcome here. I’m so happy to see you,” she whispered while wiping and trying to conceal a stray tear. She appeared so genuinely happy my heart broke a little more for the distance I’d put between myself and the only family I had left.

  My aunt and uncle hadn’t been able to have any children, and I think I broke her heart when I lost touch. I didn’t think I’d ever get over the guilt of that. She finally pulled away from me.

  “I hope you like lasagna.” She pulled the door open, revealing a heavenly aroma, and headed into the kitchen where the delicious smell intensified.

  The whole area was an open floor plan so I could see into the kitchen, living room and dining area from the front door. The space was cozy in a mixture of mismatched colors that didn’t go together at all but made perfect sense here.

  “Food’s just about done. Pete, honey, why don’t you and Drew go ahead and take a seat. I’ll bring it right out.” She gestured toward the oval wood dining set with four chairs. I took a chair and set my bag full of my belongings on the floor next to me.

  He ignored her and went into the kitchen, snagged the hot baking dish from her before carrying it to the table where he placed it in the center on a hot pad. She gave him a reprimanding look, but I could tell she was trying to hide a smile. They were still in love. I guessed it was only for the lucky ones.

  After we’d begun to dig in, my aunt spoke. “How do you like work so far, Drew?”

  My uncle’s attention shifted from his plate to take in my reaction.

  “No complaints.” I meant it, and she seemed pleased with my response, judging by the widening smile on her face.

  The rest of the meal was full of Maggie chatting away about everything under the sun, including her book club and things I didn’t know much about. If
I didn’t know her, I’d think she was trying to fill the silence. But I did and she was just being Mags.

  After dinner, she ushered my uncle and me from the table. “Why don’t you go show Drew the guesthouse while I clean up?” she suggested. He gave her a quick peck on the lips before leading me out of the back door and down a stone path.

  The guesthouse was small, but when he opened it up, I was surprised to find just about everything I’d need in it. There was a full-size bed, a small loveseat in front of small flat screen, a short chest of drawers, a kitchen area, and its own bathroom. The setup was pretty sweet.

  The kitchen area didn’t have much, but it did have a toaster oven, a microwave, and a mini fridge. The tiny house had the same eclectic swirl of color as the main house, leaving no doubt Maggie had been behind the decorating.

  “This is really nice,” I acknowledged as I glanced around.

  “You can stay as long as you need to.” He left the rest unsaid, but I understood it anyway. As long as you don’t break my rules.

  “Thank you,” I responded, not knowing what else to say.

  “All right then, if you’re settled, I’ll see you when you get to work tomorrow. Maggie stocked the fridge with some food for you.” I made a mental note to thank Maggie for it the next day.

  He had to be at the gym earlier than I did, so I’d be walking. I reminded myself to set my phone alarm, giving me enough time to make the trip.

  After he’d gone and I was alone, I took another look around. Even though I didn’t plan on staying long, this was the first space I’d ever had to myself, and I took a moment to let that soak in.

  I tossed my bag onto the bed and dug out a pair of sweats to change into after a quick shower. Comfortable and feeling more than a little tired, I sat down on the love seat and settled in to watch some TV.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  ASHER

  My muscles ached as I pushed myself harder. Every day the toughest fight of my career grew closer, and I was determined to be in the best shape of my life. When I’d get close to overdoing it, Pete would intervene and tell me to take a break. It went against every grain of my being to step away, but he was right.