Total pages in book: 94
Estimated words: 88936 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 445(@200wpm)___ 356(@250wpm)___ 296(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 88936 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 445(@200wpm)___ 356(@250wpm)___ 296(@300wpm)
Bending down, I picked up his gun, then tossed it to Storm. “Now, you want to tell me which pocket, or do you want me feeling you up?”
The man clenched his teeth as he inhaled through his nose. It was a grimace that was somewhere between pain and anger. Both were battling for first place, it seemed.
“Front right.”
I reached inside as he tensed up even more and pulled out his wallet. Opening it, I saw his license. Calvin Cebourn Edwards.
“Damn, your parents hated you, Calvin Cebourn,” I mused, then counted out eight hundred-dollar bills instead of seven since he had a wad of cash. Might as well tip the girl proper for an excellent performance.
I dropped the wallet to the ground in front of him, right on top of a pool of his blood. “You understand if I don’t stick my hand back in your jeans,” I said, then headed toward the door of the pool hall.
The lit-up sign above the door read RAILHOUSE, but the E was blinking on and off. Someone needed to fix that.
Shoving the door open, I entered the building and scanned the place until I saw the blonde talking to the bartender. She laughed at something he’d said, and I wished I were close enough to hear it. I was almost to her when those unique eyes locked on me. She studied me, unsure if I was headed for her or not.
The bartender said something to her, and she blinked, then glanced at him before turning her attention back to me. The tip of her pink tongue came out to do a quick lick of her lips. I wouldn’t mind tasting them myself. It was a shame I had business to handle tonight.
I laid the money down on the bar in front of her. “This is yours,” I told her.
She frowned, looking at it. “What?”
I nodded my head toward the pool table she’d used earlier. “The men you so beautifully hustled—they left without paying you.”
She still didn’t touch the money, and her arms crossed over her chest as she stared at me, looking offended. It was cute as fuck.
“I didn’t hustle anyone. And I’m not taking your money.”
I wanted to laugh, but I didn’t because I wanted her to like me more. “It’s not my money. Like I said, it’s from the dicks you played and beat.”
Her gaze dropped to the money, and she took a deep breath before looking at me. “How did you get it if it’s theirs? Do you know them?”
I shrugged. “Not exactly. But I swear I took the bills directly from the smaller one’s wallet. I even added a tip for such an entertaining performance.”
Her body tensed, as if my pointing out it was a performance insulted her. This one was feisty. She looked like a fucking angel, but she was swindling men for cash. I respected it. Hell, who wouldn’t? It was hot.
“Why are you the one bringing it to me?” she asked, still not picking it up.
“Because it’s yours and the other men are”—I paused—“indisposed at the moment.”
Her eyes widened and cut toward the bartender, who was watching me as he poured someone a beer. She was young. Not illegal young, but possibly too young for me. Which meant she was sure as hell too young for him. He was several years older than me.
“Do I want to know what you mean by that?” she asked, uncrossing her arms and finally picking up the money.
I smirked. “Probably not.”
She counted it, then lifted her eyes to mine. “That’s two hundred too much.” She held out two bills to me.
I shook my head. “No, Ace,” I said. “That’s the tip.”
Then, I turned and headed for the door. I’d already been gone too long. No need to draw out something with a girl I couldn’t have—at least tonight.
King’s eyes were on me the moment I stepped back outside. The other men had gone, and all that was left of them was their blood on the pavement.
“Storm went to handle the security camera footage,” King said, then cut his eyes back toward the bar. “You give the girl her money?” he asked.
I nodded, not sure what to make of his tense expression.
He took a deep breath. “Well, I guess that settles who is gonna be the one to get close to her.”
My gut tightened. I didn’t like what I’d just heard him say. “What do you mean?”
“She’s why we’re here. Nathan’s men showing up and alerting him was just a bonus. We had been going to see him next. Saved us a trip.” King patted my shoulder, then squeezed. “Sorry. I could tell you were into her, but if it makes you feel better about this, she’s already taken. Dating Dancastle’s son. And I doubt hustling folks at pool is all she does. She is who Stellan wants us to use to find out what Dancastle has his hands in. We already know he’s using Nathan, but we need to know how big and deep it gets. The blonde is our easiest way in.”