Chapter 13

thirteen

. . .

River

I’d just gottento Knockout Gym to meet the guys. Romeo owned the place, and ever since he’d won his fight, the gym had been packed. He planned to expand on the building, and I’d just helped him file the paperwork with the city to get the permits in place.

Everyone was there, and I dropped down to sit on the chair where I sat every week when we met.

“What’s up? You look pissed off,” Romeo said, tossing me a bag with my sandwich in it.

“Fucking Cassie, man. She’s got to be advertising free consulting or something, because everyone is coming in now, and it’s completely out of control. Wendy fucking Slaughter showed up with no appointment, telling me she wanted to sue her husband for gambling a couple hundred bucks. And then Jimbo blows through the door, screaming at her for getting an attorney. The fucker thought I was a divorce attorney and started throwing things around the office.”

“What the fuck? What did you do?” Hayes asked, leaning forward and dropping his sandwich as he waited for an answer.

“I came over the desk and pinned him to the fucking wall until he calmed his ass down.” I reached for my soda and took a sip. “And then fucking Cassie comes in, flailing her arms around and screaming about calling the police, which had Wendy freaking out, and they got into it. I kid you not. It was a complete shit show.”

“Well, did she call the police?” Kingston asked, and the asshole had a smile on his face like he was enjoying himself.

“No. Wendy knocked the cell phone out of her hand, and now Cassie wants to file an assault charge against her.” I shook my head because you couldn’t make this shit up. “But I calmed them all down. Told Jimbo to pay her the money he owed her. Told Wendy to pull her shit together and go home. And I told Cassie that if she’d stop taking clients without appointments, none of this would have happened.”

“Damn. Look at you, brother. Taking the bull by the horns.” Nash reached for his sandwich and started eating again.

“Does Ruby know her mom came down there? I’m guessing she wouldn’t be a fan of her making a scene like that,” Romeo said. “She’s been hanging out with Demi a bit, and apparently, she doesn’t like to talk about Wendy.”

“Ruby’s a boss babe, and her mom is a train wreck, so I’m guessing that’s the issue. But speaking of the lovely Ruby… I noticed you two on the dance floor the other night.” Kingston smirked.

“Yeah? Why are you saying it like you’re some sort of fucking rocket scientist? We danced. Big deal.”

“But then you two disappeared for a little bit, didn’t you?” My brother made no effort to hide the humor from his voice.

I paused mid-bite and raised a brow. “What are you… a fucking stalker? I went to take a piss.”

Romeo barked out a laugh now. “It’s not a big deal if you like her. Hell, we all like her. Even if we’re a little scared of her.”

“The dude who just won the belt in a nationally televised boxing match is afraid of a girl who’s half his size,” Hayes said with a laugh.

“Hey, she had a good left hook that time she dropped me when we were kids.” Romeo glanced down at his phone when it vibrated before turning his attention back to us. “But I think she’s all bark and no bite. She’s riding with Demi and Cutler this weekend out at Demi’s parents’ ranch.”

I was glad she’d agreed to ride. I’d seen that look in her eyes when Cutler had brought it up, and I could tell she wanted to go, too.

“So, what’s going on there?” Nash asked as he studied me.

“Nothing’s going on there. She’s Lionel’s daughter. She hates me most of the time. And she’s just here until Lionel gets out of the hospital.” I shrugged. It was kind of true, minus the two best fucking minutes of my life. I needed a subject change before they figured that shit out. I wasn’t about to share what happened, because if Ruby found out that I told a soul, she’d probably cut my dick off. “How’s Saylor? Is she back for a while?”

Saylor Woodson was Hayes’s little sister. She’d just graduated from college and had gotten home last night, and he was already worrying about what she was going to do. He’d always been ridiculously protective over her, which I understood. We were all that way with the people we loved.

“Yeah. She’s staying with me for now, and she’s having lunch with Demi this week to talk about some business ideas.” Hayes ran a hand through his hair, which was always a tell that he was worried.

“That’s good she’s staying with you. You haven’t mentioned your mom in a while, and I haven’t seen her around. She doing all right?” Romeo asked.

“She’s back with Barry, so I want nothing to do with her. And I sure as hell don’t want Saylor being pulled into her shit, you know?”

“You know we’re here if you need us. If Saylor needs a place to stay or anything at all, we’ve got you,” Kingston said. The dude was rarely serious, but we all knew the shit Hayes and Saylor had been through, and there was no joking about that.

“I know you do. A part of me hoped she wouldn’t come back here, even though I miss the hell out of her, but I just need her to be fucking smart, you know?”

“She’s smart, brother. She’ll be fine. We’ll all be watching out for her,” Nash said, and Romeo, Kingston, and I nodded.

“Ride or die. Brothers till the end. Loyalty always. Forever my friend,” I said. It was our motto. The words we’d lived by since we were kids.

“Always.” Kingston balled up the paper from his sandwich and shot the basket into the trash can across the room, sinking it easily. “And I’m glad Saylor is home. I missed her.”

“Yeah? Well, she’s all grown up now, so keep your filthy paws off her.” Hayes raised a brow, and we all laughed.

Sisters were off-limits. It was an unspoken rule. It had never been a problem because only Romeo and Hayes each had one sister. Romeo’s sister, Tia, was far too young for anyone in the group, as she’d just left for college this year. And Saylor was Romeo’s age, so not much younger than the rest of us, but she’d always been shy, and we’d all looked at her like a little sister. Not to mention the fact that she’d come to live at our house when some shit had gone down with her family. I was gone at Fresh Start, but she and Kingston had grown close during that time. I was grateful they’d had one another to lean on when they were both going through tough times.

“Hey now, don’t go looking at me. I’m not the settling-down type.” Kingston waggled his brows.

“Exactly my point. She dated that fucker in college that I couldn’t stand, and that’s the one good thing about her moving back here. So, keep your eyes on her for me, but don’t keep your eyes on her, if you know what I mean.” Hayes raised a brow and focused most of his attention on Kingston.

My younger brother was the biggest player in the group. He loved women, and they loved him, but he had the attention span of a toddler on a sugar high, so he certainly wasn’t kidding when he said he wasn’t the settling-down type.

And he and Saylor shared a bond that he’d never risk fucking up by crossing the line.

“Dude. You know me better than that.” Kingston placed a hand on his chest. “I’d never go there.”

Hayes nodded. “I know that. I’m just fucking with you. What else is going on?”

“You still going to hire Demi’s brother when he comes back to town?” Nash asked, directing his question to Romeo.

“Yeah. Slade’s checking in every day and putting in the work. I’m willing to give him a chance, but it’s up to him if he can stay clean.”

Demi’s brother, Slade, had once been our enemy, letting Romeo and me take the fall for something that he’d done. Something that changed the course of our lives. But life had a way of coming around full circle, and the Crawfords were no longer the enemy. There wasn’t a lot of love between Romeo and Demi’s father, but the rest of her family embraced him like he was one of their own.

Hell, they’d embraced all of us.

“Well, for Demi’s sake, I hope he does. She loves him, and I know it would make her happy to see him turn his life around,” I said, and everyone gaped at me.

“Damn. Never thought I’d see the day River went soft,” Romeo said.

“Nothing soft here, brother.” I laughed. “I can’t really hate the dude now that you’re with Demi.”

“Just admit that there’s a tender heart buried under all that grumpiness,” Kingston said as he pushed to his feet. “All right, Nash and I have to get back to work. I suggest you fuckers do the same.”

“I need to go make sure Cassie isn’t still sitting in the corner, crying,” I groaned as I walked toward the door.

“She was crying in the corner when you left?” Nash asked as he shook his head.

“Dude. She was the reason all that shit went down in the first place. She lets them all in, and then she’s crying because Jimbo the dickhead was making a scene. I’m not a fucking therapist. I don’t have time for this shit.”

“Remember that her mom is the reason Grammie has the garden view,” Kingston reminded me, as if I hadn’t already reminded myself a dozen times today. That was the reason the girl still had a job.

“Thanks, Genius. I’m more than aware. I still think you should hire her at RoD Construction. I’ve done my time.” I crossed my arms over my chest. Kingston and Nash owned Ride or Die Construction, which was what we’d named our group of friends when we were just kids.

“Absolutely not,” Nash interrupted and flung his thumb at Kingston. “This guy keeps hiring people, and we have more employees than we need. It’s ridiculous.”

“I’m sorry that Mrs. Pinkerton asked for a job. Gladys is a good friend of Grammie’s, and personally, I think she’s doing a fantastic job,” Kingston said defensively.

“She’s eighty-fucking-five years old, and you hired her to be a foreman.” Nash shook his head in disbelief, and I tried not to laugh.

“She’s got a good eye,” Kingston argued.

“She’s practically fucking blind, asshole. I took her to the job site at the Smiths’ house, and she was facing the wrong direction when she told me how everything looked”—he paused to use two fingers on each hand to make air quotes—“Peachy.”

“Ahhh… Gladys is my girl. Heart of gold. And she makes the best peach cobbler.” Kingston clapped him on the shoulder.

Nash turned to look at me, pointing a finger in my direction. “You’re keeping Cassie. No more strays for your brother.”

We laughed, and I gave a fist bump to each of them before I made my way back to the office.

I’d needed the break. I was still pissed, but I’d simmered down.

When I pushed the door open at the office, it was quiet, and I was thankful there were no surprises waiting for me. Cassie was sitting behind her desk, and she looked up and winced.

Never a good sign.

“What now?” I hissed.

“Don’t get mad, boss. But Ruby Rose is in your office. I told her I was not allowing anyone to step foot in here without an appointment,” she said proudly, chin up, shoulders back.

“Yet, you let her in?”

“She said she just needed sixty seconds. One minute. She said you’d understand. She was very specific.” She shrugged.

Now, it was my turn to laugh.

Fuck me.

I would have been pissed if she’d turned Ruby away.

I held up my hand when she started talking again, and I made my way to my office. I pushed the door open, and there she was, sitting behind my desk, looking like a badass. Long, tan legs crossed at the ankles where her black military boots were propped on my desk. She was wearing a white sundress of sorts, showing off all that golden skin.

My mouth watered at the sight of her, and my day suddenly turned around.

“Hey there, Queenie. I hear you need sixty seconds of my time,” I said, waggling my brows playfully at her.

“You’re so predictable. Of course, you fell for that.” She pushed upright, her legs falling beneath the desk, and I immediately missed them. Although she leaned forward, elbows on my desk, giving me a perfect view of her modest cleavage. “Did you seriously offer to represent my mother?”

She was pissed.

This woman was so hot and cold I couldn’t keep it straight.

Now she hated me again?

“Excuse me? Are you seriously barging into my office to reprimand me for something you know nothing about?”

She pushed to her feet and stormed toward me, her finger poking me in the chest hard. “What I know is that my mother has no money. She said that you’ve agreed to help her fight Jimbo, who, by the way, did nothing legally wrong, in case you don’t know the law. He took money out of a joint account. Just like she does all the time. She’s batshit crazy, and if you represent her, you will lose, and then I’ll get slammed with a bullshit bill. Not happening.”

I snatched her finger and wrapped my hand around it. “So what is it you’re worried about? Me losing the case, or you getting stuck with a bill?”

She narrowed her gaze and tried to pull her finger away, but I held it still. “Both. It’s ridiculous for you to take her on as a client.”

I leaned forward, my chest brushing against hers. “We finally agree on something.”

“So why did you agree to be her lawyer?”

“I didn’t. I kicked her and her lunatic husband out of the office. There is no case. But I would have told you that if you hadn’t come in here with both guns blazing.”

“Oh.”

“Oh? That’s all you have to say? You poked me in the chest, and once again, you tell me that I don’t know how to do my job.”

Her tongue peeked out and moved along her bottom lip, and my dick jerked to life.

This woman got under my skin like no other.

“No. I said that if you’d taken her on as a client that it wouldn’t be very lawyerly,” she said, the corners of her lips turning up.

And goddamn, when Ruby Rose smiled, it was like catching the last glimpse of the sun before it set.

It was rare.

And sweet.

I leaned down and wrapped my lips around her finger, and she gasped before I released it. “Either way, I think an apology is in order.”

“Is that your legal opinion?” she teased.

“It is.”

“Fine. Sorry. I should have asked first before I accused you.”

“Or maybe you just wanted an excuse to come here after what happened the other night? I told you that you wouldn’t be able to stay away,” I whispered as I nipped at her ear.

“Don’t flatter yourself.” She pushed me back and gave me this devilish smile. “I haven’t thought about it once.”

“Is that why your nipples look like they could cut glass at the moment?” I asked. My fingers grazed over the fabric of her dress, where two hard peaks were clearly excited to see me.

She sucked in a breath before her hand moved between us, and she gripped my dick in her hand. “I think you’re the one who’s struggling. I’m doing just fine.”

I chuckled, and my hand moved over hers, guiding her up and down my shaft, right over the denim of my jeans.

“You aren’t ready for seconds?”

My desk phone rang, and she startled, pulling her hand back and shaking her head the slightest bit.

I leaned back and picked up the phone, unable to hide my irritation. “What is it, Cassie? I’m with a client.”

“Sorry, boss. But your first scheduled client has arrived, and I thought you’d want to know.”

I didn’t. Sure, I’d instructed her to always let me know when an appointment arrived, but she’d never followed any rules before.

Why the fuck start now?

“I’m leaving anyway.” Ruby smirked. “Take care, boss.”

She sauntered out the door, and I groaned.

This day had been a disaster.

Very on par to now be suffering from a bad case of blue balls.

And the only person who could help had just walked out the door.