Risk (Gentry Boys #2)(57)

“Gabe,” I said.

“Hey, Creed. You ran out last week before we had a chance to chat. I was hoping to introduce you to a few people.” The weasel’s voice had an excited edge to it. I wanted to reach through the phone and throttle him until his eyes fell out of his head.

“I was busy.”

Gabe chuckled. “You ready for your turn?”

Turn at what? Dying?

I kept my voice controlled. “I’m ready.”

“My friend, you ought to know this match is getting a lot of interest.” He laughed. “This is widely considered a treat, you see. It’s not too often we can locate two big white boys up to the task of thrashing the sheer hell out of each other.”

“Is that a fact?” I felt sick.

“It is,” he answered cheerfully. “You know, you could take away thirty grand from this.”

“Does Jester always kill his opponents?”

Gabe let out a hiss. “Of course not. Hell, that was just unfortunate. An accident. Shit happens.”

“Shit happens?” I snarled. “A man loses his life and all you can say is ‘shit happens’?”

Gabe’s easy tone gained an edge. “Careful, Creedence. This is not a discussion you want to have.”

Go f*ck yourself you slimy little pimp.

“Let’s cut the shit. Where and when, Gabe?”

He laughed and gave me another downtown address. The time was nine pm, three days from now. I repeated the details to make sure I had it straight.

His final words were cold. “You be there, Creed. I know you’re pretty f*cking far from a coward but I’m just letting you know that if we have to come looking for you for any reason, it’ll hurt. And keep in mind, you won’t be the one hurting.”

I switched the phone off. Then I threw it against the wall. It bounced and hit Saylor in the arm.

“How long have you been there?” I snarled.

“Long enough,” she whispered, her face ashen.

She was rubbing her arm where the phone had ricocheted. I pointed. “Did I hurt you?”

“No. Who lost his life, Creed?”

I looked her straight in the eye. I couldn’t risk her running off at the mouth to god knows who. “You listen to me, Saylor. Don’t you go f*cking repeating that.”

She shrank back a little at my tone. Then her eyes narrowed defiantly. “To who? I assume Cord’s in on the secret since you guys know everything about each other. You don’t want me to tell Truly? Is that it?” She gave a disgusted laugh. “You still think there’s nothing on earth like the Gentry boys, an island alone. No one else invited.” Her voice rose and she opened her arms. “Why the hell are you doing this? Just walk away! Cord can’t always pull you back from the abyss. It’s not fair to him. And what about Truly? Have you been straight with her? Dammit, do you even know how?”

She needed to shut up. I didn’t know what the law was doing about Emilio’s death but I would stake my soul on the fact that they didn’t know the truth. If Saylor McCann started blabbing to Truly or to Brayden or to anyone else who crossed her path then bad shit could follow. I had to make her understand that.

Saylor took an unsteady step backwards when I came at her. A look of fear flashed in her eyes and it made me want to scream. What the hell did she think she needed to be scared of me for? She was my brother’s girl and for that alone I would stand in front of a moving truck for her. Still, I needed to make her afraid of something. She was against the wall and I put a hand on either side of her head.

“You listen, sweetheart. You are not to breathe a f*cking word about whatever it is you think you might have heard. There are bad people involved here. People who can do terrible things when they feel they might be exposed.”

There were tears in her eyes but she jerked her chin up, glaring at me. “What things, Creed?”

“They could f*cking well kick that kid right out of your belly for starters.”

She gasped and her hands flew to her stomach. Then her head bent forward and she let out a frightened sob. I backed off, hating myself. I left her there like that, slouched against the wall and crying. As I ran blindly out of the apartment I felt like I might cry too.

I didn’t go to the gym. I wandered. Somehow I found myself on the Arizona State campus. I sat on a bench near a fountain and watched people walk by. They all had a purpose; they were all on their way somewhere. When I grew hungry I walked into a large building and bought a hamburger from the food court. Except for a few girls who brazenly smiled at me no one seemed to notice my presence. They didn’t realize that I didn’t belong there.

When I reached into my pocket to grab my phone I remembered that it was still in the apartment. I remembered throwing it at the wall and the way it hit Saylor on the arm. In my head I kept hearing my own words to her. They horrified me. I should have found a way to get my point across without scaring the living shit out of her. Then I realized she had likely already told Cord what I’d said and I felt worse.

It wasn’t until the big clock on the wall read half past five that I remembered Truly was off today and I was supposed to call her when I got back from the gym. Since I didn’t have my phone anymore I just walked to her apartment.

“Have you been straight with her?”

No, I hadn’t. Not really. If I was any kind of a man I would tell her the risks I was up against and let her make up her own mind about whether she wanted to keep lying down with me every night. She’d asked me once in a heartbreaking voice not to mess her up. I had no right to let her fall so hard.