CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER ONE
Ruger Warner was sitting at the bar of his brother’s strip club, Risqué, waiting for his brothers’ attention. The twins, who looked and acted nothing alike, each had their strengths, and right then he needed both.
Blaser finished filling a drink order and came over. When he saw that his twin, Colt, was a few feet away whispering to his fiancée, surrounded by Risqué girls, Blaser whistled for his attention.
“So is the meeting setup?” Blaser asked.
Leaving the gaggle of women to their business, Colt moved down a couple of stools to sit next to him. “Are you sure you want to do this?”
“It’s a trip to Jersey,” Ruger said. “I’ll make it back intact.”
“It’s not your safety we’re worried about,” Colt said, sharing a look with his twin.
“I know I laid it on pretty thick,” Blaser said. “When I found out that you were mixed up with the people who took Bri, I wasn’t exactly thinking straight.”
“You and me both,” Ruger said. “Bri is the love of your life, Blase. She was abducted, held captive, r***d—”
His brother flinched.
“Bri can say it aloud,” Colt said to Blaser. “Maybe you should try it too.”
“That’s thanks to Doctor Lyssa Cutler,” Blaser said. “Your wonderful fiancée… Is she keeping her name by the way?”
Colt indicated he wanted another beer and Blaser delivered. A distraction or Dutch courage?
Colt slurped the liquid. “We haven’t talked it out and it’s not her name, it’s her ex’s. If I have my way, she’ll be a Warner.”
“Your kids will be Warners,” Ruger said, “so it makes sense.”
“We’re not talking about my relationship with Lys tonight,” Colt said. “Or Blaser’s with Bri. We’ve spent too much time getting distracted recently. Did you find who you were looking for, Ruge?”
“Had to get in touch with some old contacts. I’ve been trying to track down the man we owe Bri’s life to. The man who saved her. A guy named Drew Jansen.”
“The meet in Jersey?” Blaser asked. “It’s actually him?”
“Yeah, my contacts have set it up. I’m leaving tomorrow to meet him.”
“And when you do?” Colt asked. “What do you plan to say?”
“I plan to say thank you,” Ruger said. “And then figure out a way to repay the debt. He gave us back Bri. He can pretty much ask me to do anything.”
Colt and Blaser looked at each other, their concern palpable. They were right to be worried and he’d be the same if the situation was reversed. He wouldn’t want either of them walking into a possibly dangerous scenario without backup.
But he didn’t like owing anyone anything. At the very least, Jansen deserved a handshake. Rushe and Flick, his contacts, had been tight-lipped about Jansen’s motivation. The info from Flick had been sparse.
This meeting was important. Nothing his brothers could say would keep him from going to that hotel room and looking Jansen in the eye.
