Page 33 of Filthy Little Lies

The small crowd from the bar has moved over to watch, making a half-circle behind Ben.

I look up at Cassie. “You sure you don’t want a turn?”

“Naw, but I’m hungry so let’s hurry this up.” She laughs, folding her arms over her chest when Stan turns a sharp glare on her.

I bank the nine ball off the far-right rail into the back left corner pocket. Then I sink the thirteen-ball into the left side pocket, leaving only the eight ball.

“What is happening right now?” Ben shoves his hand through his hair, his eyes wide.

I point my cue at the back right pocket, calling my last shot.

“She won’t make that.” Someone from the bar crowd mutters.

I send the cue ball three rails around the table before it kisses the eight ball with just enough force to send it rolling. It slows, teeters on the tip, then disappears into the back right corner pocket.

The doubter at the bar whistles. “Holy shit.”

Then someone else barks out a laugh. “They hustled you!”

I pick up the four hundred dollars on the table, count out half for Cassie, then pocket the rest. Not a huge pot, but we’ve been out of practice for a while.

“What the fuck?” Ben’s eyes harden and he takes a threatening step toward me. “You’ve been letting us buy you drinks and shaking your ass at us so you could hustle some cash from us?”

“We didn’t ask you to buy us drinks.” I point out. And if he’d been paying any attention at all, he would have noticed most of them have gone untouched. I’ve been nursing the same bottle for the last two games.

“Enough fun, give us the money back,” he demands.

I laugh. “You don’t ask for the money back after you’ve bet on a game.”

He grabs my arm, digging in his fingertips.

“Get your fucking hand off of her.”

CHAPTER 10

Gabriel

“Oh, shit.” Savvy’s friend breathes out from the other side of the pool table.

The dickhead daring to touch Savvy cranes his head enough to see me from over his shoulder. And when he does, he releases her like she’s turned radioactive.

“You should move away now.” I flick my wrist.

He stumbles back a step, catching his foot on hers and stumbling into the pool table.

Savvy sighs. “What are you doing here?”

I huff. What am I doing here? She’s hustling pool but wants to know what I’m doing here.

“You were supposed to be home an hour ago,” I say, moving toward the dark-haired asshole who still hasn’t run away. Maybe he doesn’t think he’s in danger since he stopped touching her.

But it doesn’t change the fact that he touched her at all.

“Do you like grabbing women?” I snatch him up by the collar of his shirt, dragging him back to his feet. He’s a good height, but I still have at least four inches on him. He tries to scramble off, but I grab him by his throat, holding him steady.

“She hustled us.” He tattles like he’s back in preschool and Savvy just stole his favorite crayon.

“Put him down.” Savvy grabs my arm, but one glance from me and she retreats a small step. “You’re acting like a caveman!”