Page 3 of Sully
“Lucky shot,” the guy said.
“Doesn’t look like luck to me,” Darby countered.“Looked like skill.”
Two simple sentences, and suddenly the game wasn’t friendly anymore.Stakes had been raised without money changing hands.The pool player preened under her attention, taking more risks with his next shot.When he missed, Darby had already shifted her smile to his opponent.
Mike appeared at my side, setting down another whiskey I hadn’t ordered.
“On the house,” he said, his voice gravelly from years of shouting over music.His eyes followed my gaze to Darby.“That one’s trouble.”
I picked up the fresh glass.“What kind of trouble?”I have no idea why I asked.Because I most definitely knew the answer on my own.
“The kind that follows you home and burns your life down while you thank her for the warmth.”He wiped his hands on a rag tucked into his belt.“Seen her type before.Never stays anywhere long.Just long enough to leave wreckage behind.”He snorted.“Usually in a trail of broken hearts.And that’s including the fuckin’ hardcases in this place.”
“I should find that hard to believe.”I couldn’t seem to take my gaze from her.I had the feeling Mike was having the same problem.
“But you don’t.”
“Not in the least.”
There was something mesmerizing about watching someone so deliberately create chaos, like watching a demolition expert place charges in exactly the right spots to bring down a building.The thing was, no one got angry.Not at her.In fact, no matter what she did or said, the guys all seemed to eat out of her hand.Until she disappeared.
Darby continued her circuit of the bar.By now, I could spot her pattern.She would approach a group, insert herself briefly into their dynamic, find the fault lines in their relationships, apply pressure, and then ghost away before the fractures became breaks.Behind her, conversations grew louder, gestures more animated.A beer bottle smashed against the floor.A chair scraped back too quickly.
She was gone before the first punch was thrown.As the two men who’d been friends all night suddenly found reason to start shoving each other, she flashed a cocky smile and turned away from the group.The bartender sighed heavily and moved out from behind the counter, heading toward the brewing fight.
I should have been repelled.Any sane person would recognize the danger she represented, this woman who created discord for sport or profit or reasons I couldn’t begin to guess.Instead, there was something in her that called to something deep inside me I didn’t know existed.I knew she was baiting a trap.Convinced myself I was the prey she was after when I wasn’t even sure I was on her radar.
The bartender’s warning echoed in my head.She was definitely trouble, and she wore a crooked smile that promised the kind of excitement that had been absent from my life for too long.Even the paid encounters after I got out of prison hadn’t given me this much of a thrill.And I hadn’t even spoken to her yet.Hadn’t caught her attention at all.
A fight broke out in earnest near the pool tables, the sound of bodies hitting walls punctuating the heavy metal music.The bartender and a bouncer I hadn’t noticed before moved to contain it, providing Darby with the perfect distraction.She slipped through the crowd toward the darkened hallway that led to the restrooms and back exit, her work apparently completed for the night.
But she paused before disappearing.Across the bar, through the smoky chaos she’d orchestrated, Darby locked eyes with me.No surprise registered on her face at my continued attention.Instead, a flicker of amusement crossed her features.She raised an eyebrow in challenge, as if to ask what I planned to do with my observations.
The unspoken question hung between us, cutting through the smoke and noise and distance.Stay safely at the bar, or follow the trouble where it led?Considering the mass of violent chaos erupting, the fact I felt safer in that bar than following Darby told me all I needed to know about the choice I was getting ready to make.The whiskey in my glass reflected the red neon above, looking for all the world like blood.
I drained it in one burning swallow and set the empty glass down with a decisive click against the worn wood.I pulled out a couple of twenties and set them on the bar to pay my tab.I pushed off from the bar, moving with purpose toward the woman who had just orchestrated a barroom brawl with effortless ease.
I was so fucked.And looking fucking forward to it.
Chapter Two
Darby
I felt him before I heard him, with that prickle along the back of my neck that had saved my skin more times than I could count growing up.The alley behindThrottlestank of piss and stale beer, the dumpster adding its own special funk to the mix.I didn’t turn around immediately.Let him make the first move.The red neon sign buzzed and flickered overhead, painting everything in a hellish glow that suited my mood just fine.I’d stirred up enough chaos inside to keep everyone busy while I slipped away.I was sure word would get back to Tonio, but I honestly didn’t care.He’d kick me to the curb before much longer.Why the fuck he’d tried to take me in and domesticate me was beyond me.
Apparently, not everyone had been distracted by the fireworks.I heard him approach.Had to be the guy at the bar with the bartender.The second I made eye contact with him I knew he’d follow me.Men were predictable like that, but this guy was different.There was something in his eyes that intrigued me for some reason.I’d only met his gaze for a couple seconds but knew he’d seek me out.Didn’t expect him to follow me into the alley, but maybe he was a glutton for punishment.
“You’re not as subtle as you think you are,” I said, finally turning to face him.
“Wasn’t trying to be subtle.”His voice was deep but mellow, almost soothing under the right conditions.Or hot as fuck.“Just curious about the woman who engineered a bar fight for fun.”
I smiled, not bothering to deny it.“What makes you think it was for fun?”
“Because you didn’t take anything.No wallets went missing.No one specific got targeted.”He shrugged, a small movement.“And you smiled the whole time.”
“Maybe I just like to watch the world burn.”
“Maybe.”He studied me like I was an enigma he wanted to unravel.“Or maybe you’re bored.”
