Game (Gentry Boys, #3)(56)

I slapped him on the back. “You’ve still got it, brother.”

“Ha! Not doing a thing with it, Chasyn. You know that.”

“I know. Saylor ain’t got nothing to worry about.”

“Damn straight.”

We reached the tiny room that served as his work area. He hunkered down on the stool and I took the customer chair while Cord watched me. “Why the hell is your mouth blue?” he asked.

I cracked my jaw open to show him the wad of chewed gum. Then I spit it all into a nearby trashcan.

“Thinking about more ink,” I told him.

“Oh yeah?” He raised his eyebrows. “What kind of ink?”

I sighed in dreamy fashion. “I want you to write Stephanie’s name in calligraphy script on my right leg, stretching from my ankle to my scrotum.”

Cord threw a pen at me. “Gross.”

“You think she’d like it?”

“I don’t think anyone would like it, least of all me.”

“Ah, well. Maybe I’ll just get some tribal shit on my shoulder.”

“That’s better.” Cord cleared his throat. “How are things these days, between you and Stephanie?”

“Great. Four alarm fabulous.”

Cord looked away. “The walls are thin, junior. I heard her yelling at you last night.”

“Oh, that. She wasn’t really yelling at me. It’s just that sometimes the sheer size of my dick still frightens her.”

My brother sighed. “Yeah, I heard her crying too. Saylor was wondering if she ought to knock on your door but I told her not to.”

“Better that way. She couldn’t have helped.” I had to ask Cord something difficult. “How do you stand it?” I blurted.

“What is ‘it’?” he asked curiously.

“How do you deal with knowing that somewhere out there the man who hurt Saylor is still walking around?”

Cord’s face turned pale. He looked down at his hands and swallowed hard. I wished to god I’d never asked that question. The answer was right in front of me in the form of my brother’s agonized face. Saylor’s ex-boyfriend had brutalized her in the worst way before she finally escaped him. Cord had confronted him once. He might have murdered him if Saylor hadn’t put a stop to it. But still, today the guy was presumably living and breathing somewhere in California. And nothing Cord said could erase what had been done to the girl he loved more than anything in the world.

Cord took a few deep breaths. His fists were clenched. He looked me in the eye. “Sometimes I can’t deal with it, Chase. I would never tell this to Saylor because it would frighten her, but I can’t promise not to kill that son of a bitch if I ever see him again.” He watched me searchingly as I absorbed his words. The he spoke softly. “Is this about why Steph was crying last night? I’ve seen enough of her to know she’s not gonna cry unless it’s a big deal.”

It hurt, the memory of her pain. “That’s the thing, Cord. I don’t know if it’s a big deal because she won’t tell me. Even Truly isn’t in the loop. And there’s no dragging something out of Stephanie. Damn, she’s like Creedence that way.”

“Speaking of our brother,” Cord said slowly, “he’s pretty down, Chase. No argument between any of us has ever gone on this long.”

“I’m not arguing with him. I saw him this morning. I even said hello.”

“You haven’t been to any of his shows in weeks.”

Cord had me there. It wasn’t because I didn’t want to see Creed perform. I loved seeing him up there on stage. My brother was amazing. He was talented and he was good-hearted. He was protective and loyal to his bones. But I was having trouble dealing with the way he evidently saw me. “Creedence thinks I’m nothing but a twitchy addict incapable of adulthood.”

Cord chuckled softly. “No he doesn’t. He spoke out of turn is all. He was wrong for what he said and he knows it but he cares about you.”

I grunted. “Yeah, I like him too.”

“Well, then do me a favor? Don’t let too much time go by before fixing this.”

“I won’t. I promise.” I stood up, realizing I needed to let him get back to work. “Think I’ll go head over to campus and catch up with Stephanie.”

He smiled at me. “You know, I never thought there’d be anything as satisfying as watching Creed get blindsided, but damn Chase, seeing you unable to even look at another girl is its own level of amazement.”

“Well,” I bowed, “I’m pleased to have entertained you.”





CHAPTER NINETEEN


Stephanie



He breezed into the room just as class was starting. He grinned, seeing that I’d saved him a seat, and he hopped down the steps to get to me.

“Hi,” I breathed, enjoying the usual flush of pleasure that came just from seeing him. Chase responded with a kiss. He winked and placed his hand possessively on my leg. The bad moment we’d had the other night was forgotten. Chase didn’t push me to talk about it anymore and I pretended it hadn’t happened.

“Some demons are better left muzzled in their cages. Give them a voice and you give them too much.”

“Sorry I’m late. I’ve been busy,” he whispered in my ear.