Risk It All (Risqué #2) (22 page)

‘This a bad time?’ Mattie asked without having to raise his voice too much, the hour of the night meant there was little ambient noise to obstruct his words.

‘What do you want?’ Blaser asked him.

‘A word.’

These days, crossing paths with Mattie was rare. He sometimes heard whispers at the club or from the guys at the garage about what his cousin was up to, but this recent spike of contact had him intrigued.

Glancing back, Bri’s door was closed and there were no lights on, so he assumed she had gone to bed alone. Everything was quiet again, as it should be at close to four in the morning. Other than his own niggling need for sleep he had no reason to say no to Mattie.

‘My place,’ Blaser said, moving to the stairs then descending them.

Digging his keys from his pocket, he unlocked his apartment and let his cousin inside. Mattie went to the kitchen table and sat down, choosing function over comfort, which heightened Blaser’s intrigue.

‘I’m amazed that you’re still living here,’ Mattie said, spreading his hands on the table.

Blaser flicked on lamps and retrieved a couple of beers from the fridge though he wasn’t surprised when Mattie turned up his nose at the offer. Slipping the second beer back into the fridge, he opened his own and propped himself on the kitchen counter then crossed his ankles and took a long slug from the frosty bottle.

‘It’s convenient,’ Blaser said. ‘And you wanted me here to look after the place. It was one of your conditions for selling me the garage.’

‘That was five years ago,’ Mattie said. ‘You’re still happy here?’

‘Like I said, it’s convenient. I’ve got an early day tomorrow, so why don’t you cut to the chase?’

‘I heard about what went down in Risqué.’

‘What went down?’

‘The fight night.’

Lowering his bottle, Blaser slid it onto the counter but kept his eyes trained to his cousin. ‘What about it?’

‘You haven’t lost your touch, you can still sniff out a winner.’

‘It wasn’t my idea,’ Blaser said. ‘I did it for a reason, it was a one off.’

Denying it would be ridiculous. Mattie hadn’t factored into his decision to hold the fight night in Risqué, but it shouldn’t have been a real surprise that he knew. Mattie had his ear to the ground, at least his men did; there was little that went on around here that Mattie didn’t know about, especially as involved his own family and illegality.

‘I didn’t really care when I heard,’ Mattie said. ‘I wasn’t surprised. If Bri’s back in your life, then I guessed your old ways wouldn’t be far behind.’

‘She’s nothing to do with it,’ he snapped, pushing away from the counter. ‘Don’t bring her—‘

‘Does she know?’

‘Yeah. She knows everything, Colt too, so if you’re here to blackmail me—‘

‘Blackmail you?’ Mattie smiled. ‘I think it’s incredible… When I heard you had the Ravager—‘

‘This is about Dax?’ Blaser asked, recognising the name he fought under.

‘We could make a fortune.’

‘We?’

‘You have to get him on board and we can keep using Risqué—‘

‘You have plenty of your own premises.’

‘My facilities aren’t suitable.’

‘Because they’re too upmarket?’ Blaser asked. ‘Or because you’d prefer not to get burned when we all get caught?’

‘Dax is your friend,’ Mattie said. ‘If you could bring him to a meeting—‘

‘He lives right upstairs. Why don’t you knock and ask him yourself?’

‘He doesn’t like to be approached. The way I understand it is he has a scout who makes his connections for him.’

‘Then what use am I?’

‘You already have his ear,’ Mattie said.

‘Dax isn’t interested in making a habit of fighting in my club. I think his wife would have something to say about him getting beat up every night just to satisfy your chums.’

‘You don’t know much about his reputation if you assume he’ll be beaten,’ Mattie said. ‘And his wife can be persuaded.’

Blaser didn’t like the sinister edge to his cousin’s voice. ‘Did you just threaten his wife? If he gets a whiff that you even suggested—‘

‘Hurting his wife would be stupid,’ Mattie said. ‘I’m not interested in being his enemy. Women are easily swayed by promises of diamonds or riches, there’s something she wants, and if we make her happy, Dax will follow.’

‘I don’t think that Ivy is the sort. I can tell Dax that you’re interested, but I wouldn’t hold my breath if I were you.’

‘You’re open to it? If we get Dax on board—‘

‘No,’ Blaser said. ‘I’m not getting involved.’

‘Why not? It will be lucrative for you.’

Shaking his head, Blaser went back to his beer. ‘Not everyone is motivated by money.’

‘So what does motivate you, cousin? That sexy number upstairs?’

‘Why?’ Blaser asked, twisting to peer over his shoulder. ‘You thinking about making another play? She’s not interested in you.’

‘I got that message loud and clear,’ Mattie said, defeated but not dismayed. ‘How long is she going to stay interested in you if you’re working every hour god sends? Think about it before you turn me down flat.’ Rising from the table, he stayed in place, tipping his chin toward Blaser. ‘She’s not going to want to live here forever, she’ll want a house, a decent car, a life… She’s not going to be interested in running around after you while you work, unless what you’re looking for is a glorified slave you can fuck. She’ll put up with that for a while I’d guess, but eventually she’ll want your attention. Women are all the same, they tell you it’s ok, and they play the game, but eventually she’ll want you to hand over your balls unless you can hand over the dough and show her who’s boss. You want to provide for her, right? To look after her?’

‘Sure,’ Blaser shrugged. His fingers were growing numb around the glistening bottle that was sliding through his digits. Increasing his hold he balanced his grip so as not to break the glass, but he’d suddenly lost his taste for the liquid.

‘This is the best way, think of the money you could earn literally overnight. You wouldn’t need to work all night every night. We could do this once or twice a month and that would earn you enough to support Bri, to look after her in the way that she deserves.’

‘Dax won’t be interested.’

‘I think he will,’ Mattie said, coming around the table. ‘Even if he’s not, he’s not the only fighter around. You’ve got a name now, everyone knows Risqué. This can happen… It’s late. I know you’re up early every single morning, so I should let you sleep. It’s a shame you’ve got such a sexy girl right above your head, but you’re just too busy to spend the night with her… How long will she put up with that for? How many mornings will she have to wake up alone because you have to get to work?’

Mattie patted his shoulder and the act was enough to shake Blaser from his daze. ‘She understands.’

‘But should she have to?’ Mattie asked and with another pat he began to head for the exit. ‘Think about it and I’ll be in touch.’ He opened the door. ‘It would be great to get the family working together again, don’t you think?’

Mattie left, closing the door behind him, and Blaser went to the sink to pour out the rest of his beer. Watching the fizzing liquid foam and slide away down the drain Blaser couldn’t work out if a door had just opened for him, or if he was about to get one slammed in his face.

‘You’ve been a million miles away tonight, boss,’ Crystal said, strutting up to his side in Risqué the following night.

His meeting with Mattie had played in his mind for most of the day, there was something about the offer that niggled at him. ‘Come here,’ he said.

Snatching Crystal’s hand he took her from behind the bar, across the room and up into his office. Closing the door, he released her hand and strode over to the desk.

‘What’s going on?’ she asked.

‘Mattie came to see me last night.’

‘Ah, the great achiever,’ she said, striding over to the pool table that was usually concealed behind a curtain that cut his office in half. Tonight it was open because he’d played a few frames with himself that afternoon while he tried to straighten out his thoughts. ‘What did he want?’

‘He made me an offer.’

‘What kind of offer?’ she asked, hooking her hands on the table and thrusting herself up to sit on it, crossing her long, smooth legs then leaning back, keeping her focus on him.

‘He wants to use this place.’

‘Use this place for what?’ she frowned. ‘You’re not thinking about… are we talking about something off the books?’

‘Way off the books,’ he said, moving toward her.

‘And you’re thinking about it,’ she stated. Crystal had been a staple in his life since he left prison and she had never broken his confidence, not that he knew about anyway.

‘I shouldn’t be. I know I shouldn’t but… I could pay off this place, pay off Colt and Ruger. I could upgrade the garage, get all that new equipment that the guys have been raving about.’

‘Those are good points.’

‘I could use the money, Cryst, you know? I could really pamper Bri, I could take her out to fancy places and away for vacations, not like I can now. I’m working all the time, how long will she put up with that?’

‘I don’t know her very well,’ Crystal said. ‘We went to high school together, but I haven’t seen her for years. Does she need all of those things?’ Crystal had moved here from Texas with her family when she was a teenager.

‘What woman doesn’t?’ he asked, stopping a few feet from her and folding his arms. ‘I mean if some guy came and offered to take you away from all the bullshit of life and pamper you on some beach somewhere, wouldn’t you jump at the chance?’

‘It would depend on the guy,’ she said, pointing her toe she nudged his knee. ‘Lots of money in little time means illegal and with your history…’

‘I could go away again,’ he said. ‘I know.’ Groaning, he scrubbed his hands over his face and turned his back on her. ‘I shouldn’t be thinking about this at all.’

‘Have you spoken to Bri about it?’

‘No, we didn’t spend the night together and I’ve been at the garage all day.’

‘She’s working tonight.’

‘Yeah, but I’ve sort of been keeping my distance.’

That afternoon Bri had been over to Lyssa’s again, he knew because when he called Colt to check if he’d heard from Ruger, Bri had been there. The help that Lyssa was giving her was getting her back to her old self, she was confident again, smiling more, and engaging patrons in conversation.

‘If she’s worth her salt then she’ll have noticed that. A woman doesn’t like to be ignored, Blase, I don’t care how much money you have, or how many vacations you take, you have to be able to pay her attention.’

‘Exactly,’ he said, swiping her ankle to move her leg aside. ‘How many mornings will she have to wake up alone, huh? And I’m in here almost every night, how long will she put up with that?’

‘She’ll be alone a lot more if you’re in prison,’ Crystal said. She sat up and reached for his shirt, taking hold of it, she pulled him close to her. ‘Look, you’ve worked really hard for everything that you’ve got. It’s not always fun and yes sometimes you’re a tired old grumpus…’

‘Thanks,’ he grumbled.

‘But you’ve done so much and you have to be proud. If she’s the type of girl that wants diamonds and your undivided attention then she’s not the girl for you. I’m sorry to say it, but if you can’t talk to her about this then one of two things is going on, either you’re worried she’ll say yes that you should do it and you actually don’t want to, or…’

‘Or?’

‘You’re worried she’ll say no, that she doesn’t want you to do it.’

‘And if she says no?’

‘Do you think that you’ll lose her if you don’t provide her with your time and money?’

‘Bri won’t care about the money,’ he said. ‘She was never material oriented.’

‘So it’s the time that you’re worried about?’ Crystal asked. ‘She’s dependent on you and needs you there with her all the time?’

‘Not all the time,’ he said. ‘But how many dates have you seen me go on these last few years? Maybe I don’t have the time to dedicate myself to a full-time relationship.’

‘Hmm,’ Crystal said, pressing her hands to him. ‘Are we talking about Mattie’s offer, or are we talking about you being scared to commit?’

‘I want to be with her, I love her.’

‘And you have no trouble with commitment, you own two businesses for chrissakes… Talk to her, it’s all you can do. If she tells you to do it, then I say dump her, ‘cause the rest of us wouldn’t know what to do with ourselves if you didn’t keep this place together.’

Crystal did have a way of cutting through the crap and he was more grateful for her than he’d ever told her. She’d managed to get him laughing again and his mind was much clearer. The office door opened and he turned to see Dax coming in.

‘What’s the—‘

‘Give us a minute, darlin’,’ Dax said to Crystal, who shrugged and sashayed toward Dax, each of her slow, measured steps got her that little bit closer to the exit but without any hurry. She trailed a finger the width of Dax’s chest as she walked out and Blaser could only laugh at her gall. It had been years since she’d been the slutty party girl, but it was an act she remembered well.

He headed toward the desk. ‘What’s up?’ Blaser asked when Dax closed the door.

‘You want to get home, now.’

‘What? Why? The club is open for hours yet.’

‘Ivy just called,’ Dax said, marching to the desk Blaser had just sat down at. ‘There are cops all over the place.’

‘Cops?’ Blaser asked, springing to his feet. ‘What do they want?’

‘They have a warrant.’

‘A warrant for what?’ Blaser wasn’t sure he actually wanted the answer. The aloof fighter wasn’t giving much away, but cops swarming around the apartment block would be enough to give all of the residents the creeps.

‘They’re in your place, that’s all I know.’

‘You think they know about the other night?’

‘If they did then they’d be here,’ Dax said. ‘And no one has knocked on my door yet.’

‘So what else—‘

‘I don’t know what shit you’re mixed up in, but you better get back there and get it straightened out, and if there’s anything that you need to tell your girl…’

‘She knows,’ Blaser said. ‘She knows about the other night, she was pissed, but she got over it.’

‘That’s something,’ Dax said. ‘Maybe I should’ve asked you about any other enterprises you had going on before I got involved. Everyone seems to think that you were whiter than white these days, are they wrong?’

‘I don’t know what the cops are looking for,’ Blaser said, heading for the hat stand by the door where his jacket hung. ‘But they’re not going to find anything at my place or on any of my premises if they want to look further.’

‘Ok.’

‘Are you coming?’ Blaser asked, swooping his jacket around onto his shoulders.

‘Not a chance,’ Dax said. ‘I was taught to run away from cops, never toward them.’

‘Ivy’s over there. If trouble is looking for you—‘

‘Ivy really is whiter than white,’ he said then a smile quirked his lips. ‘As far as the law is concerned anyway.’

‘Yeah, I don’t think there’s any doubt what she is behind your bedroom door.’

‘You calling my wife a slut?’

‘No! I meant ‘cause of what happened with Suzette, who got the full live-action audio.’

Now Dax really did smile. ‘That really pissed Ivy off.’

‘Yeah, the whole block knows.’

Dax opened the door for him and they started toward the stairs. ‘Go find out what the pigs want, having them sniffing around isn’t what we need now.’

Blaser didn’t need to be told that. For five years, he’d stayed out of trouble and he’d had no contact with the police, they certainly hadn’t come looking for him. The raid a few weeks ago was inconvenient, but it didn’t bother him because he knew that there was nothing to find.

Now that the police were at his home, he was concerned. With the fight night and his run-ins with Gary and Rafe, this wasn’t the time to blip on police radar. He would have to go home, get rid of them, and then keep his head down until all of this had passed.

Police cars angled toward his apartment in the parking lot had their flashing lights still on, there was nothing discreet about what they were doing. Various uniformed officers stood in a haphazard perimeter to stop snooping eyes and nosey neighbours from getting too close.

Ivy was standing on the top balcony when he pulled up to the block and Suzette stood beside her. It seemed that his misfortune had been enough to bring the women together, at least for tonight. If Suzette was witness to what was going on then he had no doubt that she’d have called Lyssa, which probably meant that Colt was on his way.

Colt still had friends down at the station so it could be useful to have him here. He could usually get more information than those actually involved in the crime. Not that Blaser had been involved in anything criminal, not here at the apartment block anyway.

Killing the engine, he wasted no time in getting out and crossing to see what was going on. A uniformed officer stopped him before he could reach the walkway to his apartment.

‘That’s my apartment,’ Blaser said. ‘I have a right to know what the hell is going on.’

‘It’s ok.’

Blaser recognised the voice of Detective Hoburn, a homicide detective who knew Colt from his days on the force. Hoburn came out of a car parked a few feet from behind the officer, the door had been open, but Blaser hadn’t been looking for any occupants.

Hoburn came to him and nodded him over to the side. They moved together to the front of the building but didn’t get near Blaser’s apartment so he couldn’t see what they were up to.

‘You’re in some trouble, Warner,’ Hoburn said. ‘Where were you day before yesterday?’

Although he didn’t know the exact time, he knew it was the early hours of the morning. Yesterday he’d spent the day at the garage then gone straight to the club, all the while fretting about Mattie’s offer. The previous day was Bri’s therapy session and all the revelations that came with that.

‘I was at Lyssa’s, then I saw Colt at the club,’ Blaser said. ‘I brought my girlfriend back here and we were here until we went to work at Risqué.’ All of that was true, he’d just omitted what happened with Gary while he and Bri were here.

‘Who is your girlfriend?’

‘Brianna Wilcox,’ Blaser said. ‘What is this about?’

‘And they’ll all corroborate your story?’

‘It’s not a story, it’s the truth,’ Blaser said, trying to look beyond the cop. ‘You can’t just show up here unannounced and start emptying my apartment.’

‘We can,’ Hoburn said. ‘We have a warrant.’

‘How did you get a warrant for—‘

‘We got an anonymous tip.’

‘Oh, you’ve had them before,’ Blaser said. ‘On the back of that, you managed to convince a judge—‘

‘Didn’t have to rely on that,’ Hoburn said. ‘We followed up and found two witnesses who saw you threaten the deceased on the day that he died.’

‘The deceased?’

‘Guy you know as Rafe.’

‘Rafe is dead?’ Blaser asked.

‘Yeah.’

‘And he died…’ Blaser didn’t have to ask. Rafe died on the same day that he and Dax had gone to visit him, and he’d bet any money that the two weasels sitting in Rafe’s living room were the ones who gave statements to say that he had threatened Rafe.

Another car came into the parking lot, and the distraction gave Blaser time to think. ‘Would you come down to the station and answer a few questions?’ Hoburn asked.

‘Uh, sure,’ Blaser said. Someone got out of the new car and he was actually relieved to see Colt coming across the asphalt. ‘Let me talk to my brother.’

‘Ok,’ Hoburn said and turned to make his way into Blaser’s apartment. Typical that strangers could rifle through his things but he wasn’t even allowed to set foot in his own home.

‘What’s going on?’ Colt asked when he reached him.

Some of his own confusion lifted when he read Colt’s cop face, this was all business, and here was where he got answers. Blaser took Colt’s arm to pull him away from the bodies moving around, in and out of his apartment with purpose.