Risk (Gentry Boys #2)(42)

Creed seemed irritated. “So we’ve got to sit here for a half hour and wait for the fountain to show up?”

“Indeed. Now park the car and quit your pissing and moaning.”

It was hot out but we found a bench with a fair amount of shade. A gigantic concrete disk sat in the middle of a small man made lake.

“How many more minutes?” I asked.

Chase checked his phone. “Twenty seven.” He seemed fretful. As the minutes ticked past he grew quiet. He kept shifting positions and looking over his shoulder. Then he ran a hand through his dark blonde hair and I saw he was sweating profusely. “I need some water.”

Creed looked at him oddly. “There’s got to be a store nearby. Come on, we can get there and back before your fountain magic begins.”

Chase was already standing. “I’m just gonna run to that gas station on the corner.”

“Chase.”

“I’ll be right back!”

Creed and I stared after him as he jogged away.

“Shit,” Creed swore softly.

He was obviously upset. Throughout the colorful years of my life I’d learned quite a few things that I’d rather not know about. One of those things was the distinct ravenous look of someone who needed a fix. Just before he ran off, Chase had that look.

Without saying a word I took Creed’s arm. I kissed the top of his shoulder and rested my head against him. For a while we just stayed like that, listening to one another breathe.

“Truly,” he whispered, touching my face. It seemed he was getting ready to say more but a flicker of movement made us both turn our heads towards the lake.

The fountain started small and then gradually built up to its full three hundred foot height. As the geyser reached for the sky I felt a shadow cross behind us. I leaned my head back and Chase grinned down.

“Miss me?”

He jumped over the back of the bench and landed at my side. The three of us sat there in silence and watched the fountain reach its peak before beginning to recede.

Creed jerked when his phone rang. He withdrew it from his pocket and I saw a look on his face that I had not yet seen. It was pure dread. He looked straight at Chase, nodded slightly, and then jumped up from the bench. He walked away quickly as he brought the phone to his ear.

“What was that?” I muttered.

Chase was looking at the dying fountain. His mouth was set in a grim line. I didn’t think he was going to answer me.

“He had to take that call,” he finally mumbled, almost as if he was talking to himself.

“Everything okay?” I asked Creed when he returned a few moments later. I could tell from the look on his face that everything was definitely not okay. I wondered if it had something to do with another girl. It would explain why he’d felt like he couldn’t talk in front of me.

Creed squinted out at the lake. “It’s over,” he said, nodding to the sputtering fountain. “We should go.”

We stopped for lunch at a local burger joint but the mood seemed strained. Chase and Creed kept shooting tense looks at one another. I got the feeling they would have a lot to say if I wasn’t there.

Chase jumped out of my car even before Creed had stopped it completely. He came around and tapped on my window. I rolled it down and leaned out.

“Thanks for inviting me, Truly.” He tried valiantly to grin but the smile didn’t reach his eyes. He shot another glance at Creed and then walked slowly to their apartment door.

Creed turned off the ignition. “I’ve got some shit to take care of right now.”

“Yeah, I kind of figured that out.”

He threw me a hard look. “It’s not another girl or any such bullshit. So don’t go thinking that.”

“All right, Creed. I won’t.”

He leaned over and kissed me quickly on the lips. The he gently lifted my chin. “Good night, Truly Lee.”

“It’s the middle of the afternoon.”

He flashed a quick smile. “Always got to have the last word, don’t you?”

I proved him wrong. I didn’t say anything else as he exited my car and walked slowly to his door, his hands jammed in his pockets.

I did touch my fingers to my lips and blow him a kiss but his back was turned. He didn’t see me.





CHAPTER SIXTEEN


CREED



Chase was standing in the front hallway, waiting.

“What is it?” he demanded.

“I’m gonna go watch a fight tonight.”

He relaxed a little. “Watch? So it’s not your fight?”

“Nope. This ain’t my fight.” I started to move past him.

“Wait.” Chase tensed. “Whose fight is it then? And what the hell is Hernandez about by wanting you to see it?”

I sighed. There was no point in dancing around this. “One of the guys, the one who is expected to win, is some kind of rising star. He’s the dipshit I’ll likely end up meeting in the ring soon.”

“Fuck,” Chase swore. The he pulled back and punched the wall.

I looked at the hole he had made. “Did that hurt?”

Chase flexed his hand and grimaced. “No.”

“You should ice it.” I couldn’t deal with him right now. This rare tantrum of his wasn’t going to be helped by anything I said. I also couldn’t handle whatever he’d gone to do or swallow out there in the park.