HazardsDare (19 page)

“I’d love to come back, except I can’t take an extended
vacation so soon after returning to work. I could manage a long weekend in
Virginia or you’re welcome to visit New England.”

“Maybe your Bostonian friends can teach me their accent when
I’m visiting.”

“The Maddox brothers grew up in South Boston. Their accent
is thick and dialect distinct. Not sure that’s something that can be taught.
Then again, I worked hard to lose my Kentuckian accent, as did Alexander.”

“When you orgasm and call out my name or shout, you’re all
sexy-sweet and the accent is thick. I love it. Come to my playoff game, win or
lose, we can celebrate or commiserate with some down-and-dirty fucking.”

“I’d have to check with Ryan to see if he’d be okay with
it.”

“I can’t argue with that. Sure don’t want to upset Alex’s
husband. Then I’d really be on your brother’s bad list.”

“Don’t worry so much. I can handle my brother.”

“Again, it’s a guy thing. Brothers take care of their little
sisters.”

“I’m thirty-three years old. He doesn’t have to worry about
me anymore.”

“Doesn’t matter how old you are, baby. Alex will always want
to protect you. Chloe was very studious in high school and didn’t date much.
She’d had her eye on attending Berkeley and boys were secondary. I kept an eye
on her anyway.”

“I bet you were an excellent big brother.”

“We were two years apart in age, both in the same high
school. Guys knew if they disrespected my sister, they’d end up in the ER. Once
she grew up and married Robert, I liked him enough to walk her down the aisle
at the wedding.”

“Your father didn’t attend?”

“My father and Chloe don’t talk all that much.”

“Why? A girl needs her daddy sometimes. Despite his faults,
my dad never missed any of my riding competitions or the important things like
graduations or prom and homecoming dates.”

“My father didn’t believe her when she’d called him to tell
him she’d been raped and asked him to come home.”

“How could he not believe his daughter?”

“The man she accused was the school guidance counselor and a
friend of my father’s. He refused to come home and support her.”

“That’s terrible! I can’t imagine how she must have felt.”

“She was terrified and blamed herself because she’d stayed
after school to work on a project. The counselor was considered pretty cool by
the students and she didn’t think twice about joining him in his office to
discuss course options for eleventh grade.”

“Poor Chloe, the bastard should be castrated.”

“She told me she’d said no a dozen times, but the fucker
threatened to ruin her GPA and any chance at future scholarships if she put up
a fight or told anyone.”

“He should have been turned into a eunuch. How did you find
out?”

“Came home after an away game our football team had lost and
was pissed that there was no water. Went to confront Chloe about using up the
well water and found her huddled in the bathtub, crying.”

“My god, what did you do?”

“Picked her up, dried her off, then drove her to the
hospital. From there, I called the police to report it and later beat the crap
out of the sick fuck when lack of evidence came out in his favor.”

“Chloe showered,” Avery said, sadly realizing Chloe’s
mistake. She couldn’t blame her. She’d have done the same thing.

“In her initial complaint, she’d claimed she was a virgin.
The physical exam revealed that there was some minor vaginal swelling, but no
bleeding associated with a recently torn hymen. All the physician could say
with conviction was that she’d had intercourse.”

“There are a lot of reasons a woman’s hymen is torn before
she has sex. Mine was from using tampons incorrectly when I wanted to go
swimming. It was a big, painful mistake that ended up making me sick too.”

“Sorry, baby,” he said in sympathy.

“Thank you, Hazard. Guess you really didn’t need that
information.”

“No worries. When it’s your time of the month, I’ll give you
a massage if the cramps are bad. Whatever you need, I’m your man.”

“I’ll hold you to that. Let’s get back to your sister.”

“Chloe told me on the way to the hospital that she’d never
had sex before. I believed her. Even if she’d had sex a hundred times before,
it doesn’t excuse rape.”

“Well said, Hazard. She needed her big brother to beat the
fuck out of that counselor. If something like that ever happened to Charlotte,
you can bet I’d move heaven and earth to see the motherfucker pay.”

“I like when you get feisty.”

“This is nothing. Physical, sexual, emotional abuse of any
kind pisses me off.” There were a lot of reasons for that. Primarily, her own
brother had been a victim. “What happened to the guidance counselor?”

“Her case wasn’t prosecuted, but other girls came forward
with accusations. They all had a similar story in that he’d take them to his
office and give them a soda. After drinking it, they’d forget anything that
happened during the counseling session.”

“He drugged them,” Avery said.

“The ruse didn’t work on my sister because she didn’t like
diet drinks and faked drinking it.”

“I hope he finally got more than a beat-down.”

“He’s in jail and a registered sex offender. He’ll never get
the chance to rape again.”

“Thank God justice was served. You let Chloe know if she
ever needs a friend, she can call on me anytime. Your father apologized, I
hope.”

“He sent flowers. After he moved out of Nevada, he became
more interested in his second wife’s family. At least they’ve stayed together.”

“Do you have stepsiblings?”

“My stepmother was widowed with two daughters when my father
met her. She’s been good for him and their marriage works. I like her and the
girls.”

“Do they know about the playoffs?”

“Sure, I got dozens of emails and texts.”

“Tell me about your brothers.”

“Let’s get inside first,” he suggested, leading her into the
gorgeously appointed theater.

The lobby was crowded already, but Avery took a minute to
look around.

The carpeting was red and plush. The walls were all made of
red oak with brass trim. House lighting was bright enough for the patrons to
see safely, but didn’t strain the eyes.

Hazard pointed to a grand spiral staircase that wound up to
the balcony area and they headed that way. He flashed the badges to an
attendant, who recognized Hazard and quickly moved to show them to Gabriel’s
personal seating.

The attendant swept a lush red curtain aside, gesturing to
the gorgeous box and six well-appointed chairs, each with red velvet trim and
plush cushions.

“Here we are, Mr. Osbourne and Ms. Grant. Mr. Krystiyan’s
seating provides the best view in the house. He informed me there would only be
the two of you for the late show. Enjoy.”

Hazard thanked the attendant and closed the curtain.

“This is beautiful,” Avery said, looking around in awe.

The box was beautifully appointed. Rich dark-red
wall-to-wall carpeting spread from the curtain to the thigh-high balcony wall.
Small brass sconces lined the oak walls and special opera glasses were stowed
along the front wall. Devices for the hearing impaired were hung along the side
wall.

Walking up to the front, Avery looked down at the patrons
being shown to their seats. Truth or Dare Theater wasn’t the biggest she’d ever
seen, but it was certainly charming and reminded her of a small version of
older Broadway theaters.

The balcony had six deluxe boxes like Gabriel’s and they
were already filled. Catwalks were strung about above them and not far to the
right was a tech booth. Vaguely making out shadowy figures up on the catwalks
and standing by spotlights, she tried to look around for some clue as to the
magic tricks they’d witness tonight.

As far as she could tell, they could be seeing the tech and
lighting for a high school musical. But she was confident that Gabriel
Krystiyan would put on an entertaining show. The stage itself was dark, a thick
red curtain keeping anyone from seeing the preparations going on behind it.

“Have a seat,” Hazard offered, guiding her into the middle
chair and sitting down beside her. He took her hand between his palms to warm
her, blowing warm air upon her knuckles. “I’m sorry we stayed outside so long.”

“I didn’t mind. Tell me about your brothers. We have a few
minutes before the show starts.”

“Eric and Jacob, they’re the youngest. Crazy enough, they
were born in the same year. How that happened is a mystery only God can
explain, considering how little my father was home and how often my mom was out
on the town.”

“Wow.” Saddened by the way Hazard talked about his parents,
she wished there was something she could do to mend the fences.

“There was a time when he didn’t believe they were his
biological sons. He made sure before he agreed to alimony payments after the
divorce.”

“That had to be difficult for them.”

“Yes, it was. Fortunately, they were as close as twins and
that helped. Eric’s married. His wife’s name is Angie and they have three great
kids, all girls, the oldest is heading into the tenth grade next fall, the
middle is in eighth grade and the youngest is in sixth. Jacob’s a math and
science wizard and is a professor at UNLV.”

“He’s not married?”

“Not yet, dates a lot.”

“What about Eric’s marriage? I’ve the feeling something’s
wrong.”

“On the surface, it’s picture perfect. Angie is
sweet-natured, beautiful and an excellent mom. She’s on the PTA, takes the
girls to soccer and church. They have a big house in suburbia, an SUV in the
garage and a luxury sedan next to it.”

“I’m sensing a great big change to that picture.”

“Eric’s seeing another woman.”

“Oh no,” Avery murmured.

“Seems like Eric’s following Mom and Dad’s lead,” Hazard
said, not hiding his disappointment. “I told him he’s an asshole for doing that
to Angie. She’s the mother of his children. She doesn’t deserve to be treated
that way.”

“No one deserves to be cheated on.”

“Can’t agree more, hopefully he’ll come to his senses. I can
only tell him what I think. He has to make the decision to stay or not. To drag
Angie and the girls down with lies is selfish.”

“It’s not going to be long before his wife finds out. She
may already know. When that happens, he’s going to need his older brother’s
unconditional love.”

“You’re not mad at Eric?”

“I’m sad for him and his wife. Infidelity hurts more than the
marriage. It crushes the kids. They know, just as you knew, as I did. Thinking
on it, support your nieces and sister-in-law too.”

“I will,” he promised right as the lighting in the theater
begin to dim in warning that the show was about to start.

“There’s something you should know before Gabriel’s show
begins. As long as we’re together, I’ll remain faithful,” she promised, hoping
it wasn’t too soon to do so.

Hazard looked down at her, sharing a smile that made her
hopeful for a very real future with him. They were still so new, but what she
saw in his eyes was faith.

“I’ll be true to you too, baby. We do this thing right,
we’ll be together for a helluva long time.” He brought her in even closer and
touched his lips to hers.

Avery couldn’t be happier, gladly turning toward him so that
their kiss was unrestrained and comfortable. He eased back and grinned, the
heat in his eyes hinting of the evening they’d have after the show and dancing.

Turning her eyes to the stage, it felt as though the balcony
was light-years away.

Older theaters tended to have that larger-than-life
appearance, even if the house only seated up to two hundred people. This was an
excellent venue for a small community theater and Avery hoped to come back over
the summer and catch a show.

It was really nice of Gabriel to come home on occasion and
entertain the residents and visitors to Dare. She’d given her rose to Jaxon to
hold for her until later. Avery wasn’t about to forget Gabriel’s welcome to
Dare gift.

Hazard kept her hand in his and eased back in his chair. The
chairs were so plush and comfortable, they could be settling in to watch a
four-hour opera and not have to worry about stretching all that much.

They made small talk until two spotlights crisscrossed about
the theater, adding to the buzz of excitement within the theater. Finally, the
spotlights centered on the curtain. Intrigued by the beginning, she clutched
Hazard’s hand.

Piped-in rock anthem music shook the house and the curtain
lifted like a veil, revealing a circle of light aimed down at Gabriel
Krystiyan, dressed all in black.

Right away, he engaged the audience with a tale of devils
versus angels, darkness and light, proceeding to perform stunning illusions by
making things materialize or disappear at will. Not a scarf, rabbit or fake
flowers, but vices; a deck of cards, a thick roll of cash, jewels, a bottle of
Jack, all overcome with a wave of his hand and turned into confetti.

But he warned that such vices were not so easily overcome
and that sometimes, sometimes what appears to be light is dark and what is dark
is actually good. Just as his warning was made a beautiful female assistant
came out wearing a black formfitting corset and skirt, flowing cape and kickass
boots, carrying with her a table and a small glass box.

Continuing his theme, he waved his hand and a black cat
appeared on the assistant’s shoulders. The cat meowed on cue, the echo caught
on a microphone hooked to the woman’s corset. Purring commenced when Gabriel
stroked the kitty’s scruff, and then he carefully placed the cat in the glass
box.

The assistant showed everyone that the black cat had
breathing holes and could be seen from all angles. Gabriel made some flashy
movements, again drawing attention as the assistant draped the box with a white
cloth.