Game (Gentry Boys, #3)(62)

“Can we go?” I whispered in Chase’s ear.

Creed and Truly caught up to us just then. I tried to smile and be enthusiastic but I really just wanted to jump out of my skin. Meanwhile, Dustin had retreated, maybe figuring it was unwise to provoke a pair of men who looked like Chase and Creed.

Chase yelled something in Creed’s ear and Creed glanced at me and shrugged, looking away. He took Truly’s hand and started to lead her out of the club as we followed. I was relieved to be leaving, though the night felt rather tainted. I just wanted to bury myself under some thick blankets and hug my knees to my chest until I felt less disgusting.

Chase caught me when I stumbled just outside the door. I felt dizzy and out of it, similar to the way I felt once, immediately before I came down with the stomach flu. It was an awful sense that things weren’t right and they were about to get worse.

“You been drinkin’, Steph?” Truly winked as Creed kept one hand around her waist and the other around his guitar.

“No!” I yelled as I held on to Chase.

We’d reached the alley on the far side of Club Devil. It was a shortcut to the parking lot.

Suddenly Creedence stopped walking. He dropped his arm from Truly’s waist and gave me a hard look I could see quite clearly even in the darkness.

“You been doing anything else?” he sneered with sharp sarcasm.

“Huh?” I didn’t know what he was talking about. I wanted to go sit down.

Creed let out a snort of humorless laughter. “With everything you’re into, you probably have access to a lot of shit.”

Chase started to step in front of me to confront his brother but I went around him and stared Creedence Gentry in the eye. He didn’t scare me a bit. “I’m not playing this f*cking game with you. If you want to accuse me of something you go right ahead.”

He glared down at me. “Fine. You don’t fool me, little girl. You’re nothing but bad news.”

“Creed!” Truly shouted in a shocked voice but that didn’t stop him.

He stood right in front of me so I couldn’t avoid him. “So little miss crime queen, what the hell have you got my brother doing? Using? Dealing? Both?”

“You’re one crazy bastard,” I spat and tried to shove past him.

It looked like Creed was going to make a grab for my arm but Chase got in front of him, shoving Creed hard against the wall of the building.

“What the hell’s gotten into you?” Chase yelled.

Creed righted himself, passed off his guitar to Truly and went toe to toe with his brother. “I’m not hittin’ back, Chase, no matter what you do.”

Chase wouldn’t budge. “Creed. You shut your mouth and stay the f*ck away from her.”

“I will when she stays the f*ck away from you.”

Chase was incredulous. “Who do you think you are, my father?”

“No, your father wouldn’t give a shit about why you stopped going to recovery meetings or why you’re rolling in piles of cash with no explanation.”

“Fuck you, Creed.” Chase grabbed my hand and started dragging me down the block.

He stopped when I yanked my arm out of his grip.

“What piles of cash?” I asked quietly. Once or twice it had occurred to me to wonder how he could afford a night at a luxury resort with no expense spared, or how he could manage to take me out several nights a week and never accept a dime for any of it. His security job seemed sporadic and was far from lucrative. Yes, I should have known something was up. But Chase wasn’t dishonest. I trusted him completely. Maybe that had been a mistake.

“What piles of cash?” I repeated as Creed and Truly caught up with us.

Chase gave me a look that chilled me. It wasn’t a look of anger or cruelty. It was a look of guilt. It was the look my father used to give my mother.

“Steph, I should have told you I was betting.”

“Betting?” I was confused, but only for a second. “Goddamn it to hell, you’ve been gambling on sports?”

Chase coughed. He looked at the ground and sighed. Then he slowly raised his head, perhaps realizing there was no getting around this. “Yes.”

“That’s how you knew Alonzo,” I whispered. I looked him straight in the eye. “You lied to me.”

He looked so sad but I couldn’t help him with that right now. “I know it seems that way,” he muttered.

“It seems that way because it is that way, Chase!”

Chase took a step and held my face in his hands. He wanted me to understand and I really wanted to understand. “I never lied to you about anything important.”

I backed away from him. “Well I guess we just have different ideas about what’s important.”

“Steph!”

“Don’t follow me! I’m done talking about this right now. I don’t even want to tell you what’s going through my head.”

Chase started to come after me anyway but Truly stopped him. I heard her begging him to back off, just for now.

“Give her time to cool off,” was the last thing I heard her say before the click of fast-moving heels gained speed at my back.

“Stephanie! Steph, come on, I’m wearing three inch heels!”

I stopped and allowed her to catch up. “I said I was done talking about it for now.”