by L. P. Dover
“It looks like tonight is all mine, sweetheart.” He got into position. “Left middle pocket.” He hit the cue ball and down the eight ball went, hitting home. I was so fucking screwed.
“NO FUCKING WAY,” Jason grumbled. “How the hell did she miss that shot?”
She got cocky, that’s what. Once she sunk her last stripe, she lost focus. It was something that took me a long time to learn when fighting. Just because you knock someone down, doesn’t mean you won. They could always get back up.
Brooklyn trudged through the crowd toward me and Jason, her jaw firm. Hesitantly, she looked up at me and then to her brother. “I can’t believe I lost. I was so sure I had him.”
“Let me handle it,” I said and started to walk off.
She grabbed my arm. “What are you going to do?”
Tapping her on the chin, I smiled. “Getting you out of this clusterfuck. Not to mention, you still owe me dinner.”
She sighed and nodded her head. “You’re right, I do. If you get me out of this, I’ll make up for disappearing this week. We probably need to talk anyway.”
“You mean the part where you kissed me and then disappeared? Yeah, I’d say you owe me an explanation.” Blake watched us with a venomous stare and I loved it. “I think you should kiss me now,” I murmured close, lips touching her ear. “Just imagine how pissed off that’d make your douchebag ex.”
“The only way you’re getting a kiss from me is if you win.”
“Promise?”
“Promise,” she agreed. A hint of a smile brightened her face. One way or another, I was going to make her realize I wasn’t as bad as she thought I was. Well . . . maybe I was.
“I’m gonna hold you to that, buttercup.” Stalking off through the crowd, I picked out a pool stick and chalked it up.
Blake came over to me and turned his body, blocking everyone out so the others couldn’t hear. “What’s your game? You don’t honestly think Brooke would be interested in someone like you, do you?”
“I could say the same to you. But I think it’s best to cut the chitchat and get down to brass tacks. If I win, your bullshit attempt to get Brooke to fuck you tonight will be null and void.”
“Forget it,” he spat. “I’m not giving up my night with her.”
“Then I guess you really are a pussy. Everyone here says you’re the best at the game. It looks like they’re wrong. If you were, you’d take my challenge.” I put the pool stick back on the rack and smirked when all he did was fume and glare at me.
“All right, wise ass, you’re on. But you might want to hear my terms first.” Grabbing the pool stick again, I waited to hear the verdict with a bored expression on my face. I already knew what it was going to be. “If I win,” he began, “I want you to stay away from Brooke. Don’t look at her. Don’t touch her. Don’t talk to her.”
“You want her back that bad? What makes you think she wants anything to do with you after you fucked her over?”
His eyes went wide. “How do you know about that?”
“It’s none of your business how I know. All I can say is you’re a fucking idiot. Now let’s get this game going.”
I started to walk away, but he wasn’t done. “She’ll never want anyone like you. Just look at you.” He pointed to my face. “She pities you.”
Clenching my jaw, I looked up to find Brooklyn staring daggers at Blake. For a moment, I doubted. What if she did pity me? Was that all the other night was? However, when she looked at me, I didn’t see pity in those green eyes of hers. I couldn’t tell what it was, but it definitely wasn’t pity.
Gabe stepped forward with the coin in his hand and nodded toward me. “Heads or tails?”
“Heads,” I replied.
He flipped the coin and smacked it on the top of his hand. “Tails it is.”
With a smug expression on his face, Blake got into position and sunk in one of the stripes. I hadn’t played pool in years, not since my father died. It was one of the things we used to do together without Ryley. I never had a reason to play until now. Blake dominated, sinking almost every ball until he screwed up, leaving two of his stripes on the table along with all my solids.
Taking a deep breath, I glanced at Brooklyn over my shoulder and she nodded, giving me all the confidence I needed. I can do this. I sunk in one ball, and then another. Knowing Brooklyn didn’t have to spend the night with that fucker was my motivation. I wanted her with me tonight. The room grew silent as I leaned over to take my last shot, the one before the eight ball. The cue ball went flying down the table and smacked the red one with exact precision. It slammed into the right front pocket and over half the crowd cheered.
Blake glared around the room, shocked that I had some of his people in my corner. The eight ball was right in the middle of the table with multiple pocket options, but none of them were going to be easy. It was a gamble. Fuck. Blake curled his lip and rolled his eyes at something over my shoulder. That was when I felt a hand on my shoulder.
Brooklyn leaned into my ear and whispered, “Go for the left, middle pocket. If you aim for the right side of the hole and tap it gently on the left side of the ball, it’ll go in. Trust me.”
“What if I was going to do that anyway?” I asked smugly.
She lifted her brows. “I highly doubt that. I could see you looking at the end pockets.”
“All right, you got me. Don’t forget, you owe me for this.”
She squeezed my arm. “Only if you sink this shot.”
Looking down at her, she winked and walked away to stand by her brother. “Left, middle pocket,” I called out. Blake snorted and started to laugh. The crowd even followed suit. They didn’t believe I could do it.
After chalking up the tip of my stick, I blew off the excess and watched it fly into the air. It was like everything was moving in slow motion. I focused and took a deep breath. The stick slid through my fingers and once it felt steady, I lightly tapped the cue ball and watched as it slowly traveled down the felt and hit its target. The whole room fell silent, waiting. It was almost there . . .
“It’s in,” Gabe shouted. “Fighter boy wins.”
I breathed a sigh of relief and the crowd cheered. Then, Brooklyn was in my arms with her arms around my neck.
“You did it!”
Blake threw his pool stick across the room and stormed toward the steps. Putting my arms around her waist, I breathed her in and smiled. “You’re welcome. It looks like we pissed off fuckface.”
All too quickly, she pulled out of my arms and watched Blake disappear around the corner. “Good, he deserves it. What was the bet, exactly?”
Before I could reply, Jason cut in, holding out his hand. “Great job, man. What was the bet? I think I can guess.”
“His previous deal with Brooklyn is null and void.” I smirked and she laughed.
Jason patted me on the back. “Just as I thought. Let’s go upstairs and I’ll buy us all a round.”
“I can’t,” I said. “There’s something I need to collect on. Rain check?”
“Whatever, man. But you’re coming back out here next week. More of the guys want to fight you.”
I shook his hand and smirked over at Brooklyn. “I wouldn’t miss it.”
CAMDEN STARTED FOR the stairs, but I hung back with my brother. “Are you on duty tonight?”
He nodded. “Yep, which means I probably need to keep up before lover boy disappears.”
“Do me a favor,” I said. “Stay back just a little bit. I’ve got him right now.”
“B, what are you doing?”
We trudged up the steps and I watched Camden leave the bar, but not before hooking a glance over his shoulder. He knew what he was doing. “I need to talk to him without having a tail. I’ll text you when I’m done.”
“Okay, but be quick.”
“Dammit. It’s best I don’t mix business with . . .” I stopped mid-sentence and bit my lip.
“Mix what?” he asked. “Business with pleasure?”
“True, but it doesn’t change the fact he’s done some pretty shitty things to people.”
“I know,” I murmured.
“And you can look past all of that?”
“I guess it’s easier to see the good in him when that’s all I’ve seen. Maybe if I knew him before, it’d be different. I’m kind of glad I didn’t know him then.”
Jason looked down at his phone and pushed me toward the door. “Yeah, he’s been pretty cool with me. But right now, you need to go.”
Rushing out the door, I saw Camden turn the corner toward his building. I picked up my pace and raced after him. As soon as I thought I was gaining ground, a hand reached out from the shadows and pulled me into the darkness. My body was pushed back into the wall and caged in.
“I think it’s time to collect,” his voice whispered in my ear.
My heart thundered out of control. “Fuck, Cam, you scared the shit out of me. My heart hurts now.”
He placed his hand over my heart, brushing my left breast with his fingers. My whole body tingled. “Yes, I can tell.”
Once my breaths slowed, I got a good look at him even though he was shaded by night. I lifted my hands and placed them on his cheeks. “I guess you want payment, huh?”
He licked his lips and moved closer. I could feel his cock hardening and he groaned when I rubbed up against him. “It’d be nice,” he growled low.
Standing up on my toes, I tilted my head to the side and pulled his face closer. When my lips touched his, I lingered there for just a few seconds before it became too much to bear. His hands grasped my waist and his fingers dug into my skin. He opened me further with his tongue and I let him take everything he wanted from me. His scent engulfed me and I couldn’t get enough. I wanted more of him.
Breathing hard, I gently pulled away and placed my forehead to his. “Was that good enough for payment?”
His deep chuckle made me shiver. “You have no fucking clue. I need to save your ass more often.” His grip on my waist loosened, but he still held me to him.
“What do we do now?”
Smiling, he brushed a strand of my hair off my face. “It’s your decision, buttercup. I’m not going to pressure you into anything.”
There was that name again . . . buttercup. I’d never had anyone give me a nickname other than Brooke or B. I kind of liked it. As much as I wanted to finish what we started, I knew we couldn’t jump straight to the sex. It was what I did with Blake. “I tell you what. Why don’t we call it a night and tomorrow I’ll take you out to that dinner I owe you. And then afterward,” I said, rubbing a finger down his chest, “we can finish what we started.”
“Are you sure you don’t want to finish it tonight and tomorrow?” he asked.
Laughing, I pushed against his chest. “Very tempting, but I have my own reasons.”
He grasped my chin and tilted it back, his blue eyes serious as they bored into mine. “It’s not because of your scars is it? I saw them and I still think you’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.”
“Thank you. But no, that’s not it. I just want to make sure we do things right.”
“I understand. Under normal circumstances I wouldn’t, but there’s something about you that makes me want to be different. Before I would’ve fucked you right here in the alley.”
“What if I wanted you to take me right here?” I wanted to have sex with him, but not in the street. I’d lose my job in a heartbeat.
He shook his head. “You’re not that kind of girl, Brooklyn.”
“Is that the kind of woman you want?”
Averting his gaze, he smiled but it didn’t reach his eyes. “That’s all I ever got. I never knew what it was like to be around someone like you.”
I placed my hand on his cheek and turned his attention to me. “Well, now you do. And tomorrow we’ll go on a real date. My parents are long gone so they won’t crash it this time around.” My phone buzzed in my pocket and I knew it had to be my brother. “If you give me your phone, I’ll type in my number.”
He reached into his back pocket and pulled out his phone. I entered in my information and handed it back to him. “Call me anytime. I’ll text you when I’m on my way to pick you up tomorrow.”
“Why aren’t you at your condo?”
I knew that question would come up eventually. “I decided to stay at my house for a while. It’s just a small one outside of the city limits. Sometimes I like to get away from all of this here,” I said, gesturing to the bustling city streets.
“Will I be able to see it?”
The thought made me nervous. I wasn’t rich and my house was probably a quarter the size of his in California. “It’s nothing special. I don’t know why you’d want to see it.”
“Because it’s yours, Brooklyn. Are you ashamed of it?”
I shrugged. “Maybe a little. I’m not exactly rich or glamorous. I grew up middle class.”
“There’s nothing wrong with that. I have money, and it’s not all it’s cracked up to be. I’m not going to think any less of you because of it.”
“You sure about that?”
He nodded. “I promise.”
My phone buzzed again. “All right, it’s getting late so I should probably get home.” We walked out of the alley and stopped on the street. I didn’t see my brother around, but he was probably close by.
“Do you want me to walk you to your car? Where did you park?”
“Oh, no, I’m just around the corner, the opposite way. I’ll be fine.”
“Are you sure?”
I laughed and kissed him quickly. “I’m sure. Now go. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”
He smacked my bottom and winked before walking backward down the street. “You’re a stubborn ass, you know that?”
“It’s part of my charm,” I shouted as the distance grew. Once he turned around and started down the sidewalk, I pulled out my phone and read the messages from my brother.
Jason: I really didn’t need to see what I just saw.
Jason: I’m just around the corner . . . waiting.
Rolling my eyes, I called him instead of texting. “It’s about damn time,” he grumbled.
“He’s on the move, jack ass. And tomorrow, who’s on Camden watch?”
“That would be Erickson. Why? What’s up?”
“Because that’s not going to work. I’m going on a date with Camden and the last thing I need is Erickson giving Blake a play by play.”
“So what are you going to do?”
I sighed. “It looks like I’ll have to be on duty.” It was the only way I could be around Camden without having someone watching us. I didn’t want everyone knowing about us yet.
“Mason’s going to ask questions. I hope you’re ready for that.”
“I can handle Mason. Now get to work.” He chuckled and I hung up on him. I wasn’t about to call Mason tonight. That was going to wait for the morning.
The parking deck was just around the corner and I hated parking in them, but sometimes there was no choice when parking downtown. Surprisingly, everything was quiet. Usually, you’d hear the laughter of others echoing off the walls, but tonight there was nothing. It was eerily quiet. It was times like that when I really wished I had my gun in hand. Unfortunately, it was in the car. I had about twenty more paces to go when the hair on the back of my neck stood on end. I wasn’t alone.
Quickly, I shot a glance behind me and didn’t see anything. Picking up my pace, I rushed to my car and pressed the unlock button. Before I reached the door, the feel of a vice-like grip around my chest and cold metal against my head made me freeze.
“Not a smart move being out here all alone, sweet thing,” he chided. His voice was gravelly and harsh.
“What do you want?” I snapped, trying to catch my breath.
H
e gripped my breast and squeezed it so hard my eyes watered. “Your tight little pussy for one thing. Where’s your purse?”
“In my car.” Along with my gun. He pushed me over to my car and kept the gun to my head.
Still holding me tight, he leaned into my car with me as I reached for my purse. If I was going to do anything I had to act fast. In these cases, there was a high likelihood he would either kidnap and rape me, or kidnap, rape, and then kill me. I’d seen it too many times in my few years on the job.
With my purse in hand, I was only inches away from my gun. Slowly, I moved out of my car and when I was almost out of the door, I snapped my head back and clocked my assailant in the nose. I felt the crunch on impact. Not to mention the back of his head slammed against the door frame of my car. His grip loosened and it was enough for me to fight back. He stumbled out of the car and took off, but I raced after him. Luckily, Blake and Wyatt turned the corner at just the right moment.
“Guys, get him!” I shouted.
They immediately went into cop mode and tackled the scumbag to the ground. Blake had the guy down while Wyatt pulled out his cuffs.
“Do you mind?” I asked.
Wyatt shook his head and handed them to me. “Be my guest. What happened?”
Blake had the guy’s arms pulled back so I snapped the cuffs in place. “They’re too tight, you stupid bitch,” he shouted.
Blake growled, “Shut the fuck up.”
I leaned down low and whispered in his ear. “Meet my tight pussy, shithead.”
Wyatt called in backup while Blake jerked the guy to his feet. It was then I got a good look at him. He looked to be in his early twenties with rotten teeth, dirty skin, and scraggly brown hair; most likely a meth head trying to get money for more drugs. Two minutes later, a patrol car sidled up and Officer Vinny McGee got out. He was stocky with pitch black hair, tanned skin, and bright blue eyes. Even though he was short, he could outrun just about anyone.
“What do we have here?” he asked.
Blake snarled and tossed the assailant into the back of the patrol car. “A worthless piece of shit who attacked B.”