Corbin (The Theriot Family)

“It’s possible it might be Dale Guidry.”

Guidry had wanted to be part of our crew, but we didn’t trust him. He was a weasel and a snitch and had been since kindergarten. When we refuse to let him in on any of our deals, he’d started forming his own crew with some of the meanest, coldest men I’d ever met, but when it came to driving and car repair, they were nowhere near as good as us. “You’re saying he’s not dead?”

“That’s the rumor I heard.”

“I thought you weren’t in contact with anyone from before.”

“I… um…”

I should have known better. “You lied.”

“I knew you’d be mad. It’s just Blade. He’s the only one I talk to.”

Blade had been the closest thing to a friend Travis had had in my old crew. He was Travis’s age and full of sass and a lack of respect for his elders. He’d been all for Rob’s plan to start working with drug runners. “And he told you Guidry was back from the dead?”

“Yeah, and that he had it out for you and Rob and everyone else from those days.”

That seemed like an odd rumor for Travis to make up, but even if Guidry wasn’t dead, he’d disappeared with nothing. He would need to have found some money and some balls somewhere in the last five years. It was worth looking into, though.

“Let me know if you hear more. I’ve got some guys I trust keeping an eye out for you. Just keep a weapon close and pay attention to your surroundings.”

“But, Beau, I—”

“I’ve got to go.” I ended the call, put my phone back into my pocket, and focused on Corbin again. He looked genuinely worried.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing I can’t handle, cher.”

He raised his brows. “It sounded pretty serious to me. Like maybe you could use the help of some allies.”

“If it comes to that, I’ll let you know.”

“You mean, you’ll let my brother know because what good would I be?”

I shook my head. “I meant exactly what I said. I intend to handle this myself, but if I run into more trouble than I can deal with, I’ll call you.”

He stared at me, surprise obvious in his deep brown eyes. I couldn’t look away. I tried to keep from reaching for him, but I didn’t have that kind of restraint. I took hold of his upper arms, enjoying the feel of his muscles under my hands. He might be small, but he wasn’t weak.

I tugged on him. He stumbled and fell against me. As I stared down at him, he licked his lips, and my dick hardened.

Eight

Corbin

Was Beau going to kiss me? I’d expected him to demand my body in payment for his discretion, but I hadn’t imagined him looking at me with fire in his eyes. I hadn’t thought kissing would be something he wanted. I thought he’d push me to my knees or bend me over his desk, use me, and send me on my way.

I’d been prepared for that and not unwilling to let him have me, even if it was fast and rough. I enjoyed a quick, demanding fuck, though it was a rare occasion when I was willing to allow a man that kind of power over me. It was dangerous when you were in a family like mine. It gave people the wrong idea.

Even more surprising than the warmth in his eyes as he watched my lips was the way he’d suggested he would trust me to help him after he’d told me I wasn’t worthy of his attention. What the hell? All I’d done was cower in front of him or act like a brat. I couldn’t possibly have impressed him with any of that shit, not that I wanted to impress him. I didn’t give a fuck what Beau thought of me as long as he did what I needed him to.

I wanted to hate him for taunting me, for refusing to do the work for whatever price he would normally charge, for having something he could hold over me—the fact that this was all technically my fault was irrelevant.

Why hadn’t I just taken the car somewhere else? There had to be plenty of shops in town that could repair the damage skillfully. But this was Remy’s Ferrari, not just any car. He only trusted Beau.

And Beau thought I was a piece of shit kid.

Or did he?

If he did, why would he be willing to ask me to work with him? Maybe it was a ploy. Maybe he was really after my family’s connections, and if not, maybe I could use my connections as leverage to get him to relent on his plan. I didn’t know a damn thing about cars, and he was going to try to make me look like an idiot. I was sure he’d get off on telling me what to do. The problem was, I might get off on it too, and if he realized that, then I was really fucked.