Read Online Tipsy by Cambria Hebert - Free Book Online Page B

see I’ve worn out
my welcome.”
    I glanced at Slater. “Later,
man.”
    He drank some beer.
    “ You used to roll in Myrtle
Beach?”
    “ Yep.”
    “ You knew Pike?”
    “ Yep.”
    “ You part of Pike’s
crew?”
    “ Nope.”
    Dom’s eyes narrowed. My one-word
responses weren’t really to his liking. I had to admit, I liked
pissing him off. “No?”
    I half shrugged. “I was. Now I’m
not.”
    “ I told ya,” Slater said to
Dom. “Gray moved.”
    Dom narrowed his eyes suspiciously at
me. I felt the muscles in my neck bunch. This is where I had to
pass the test. “You were part of Pike’s crew. He runs more towns
than anyone I know. Why would you walk away from that much
power?”
    “ Power wasn’t mine. It’s
his.”
    “ So you want your own power?
Your own turf?”
    “ Power is too much work,” I
said arrogantly.
    He stared at me, weighing my words. I
let him look, refusing to buckle against his doubt. I knew he
didn’t believe me. Hell, who would? Who wouldn’t want power? Power
was worth almost more than money in a world like this.
    Slater cleared his throat. “Gray had
other things to focus on.”
    Dom turned his gaze away from me toward
Slater, and I finally took a breath. Slater grinned a cocky grin.
“Some men are more apt to be led around by their dumb
handles.”
    Dom threw back his head and laughed. He
glanced at me. “That bitch really worth all that?”
    My gut tightened and anger rose up
inside me at the mention of Julie. I didn’t want her brought into
this. Not at all. I glanced at Slater. I wanted to punch him in the
face. He gave me a look, a split second of warning in his
eye.
    About fifty cuss words floated through
my head. If I didn’t say the reason I moved here was because of
Julie, I was screwed.
    “ What can I say? I like her
eyes.”
    Dom laughed. “Yeah, I just bet it was
her eyes that had you following her up here.”
    I grinned suggestively.
    Dom gestured to the booth so I slid in.
“Man like you must be pretty bored around this Podunk town when
you’re used to so much action.”
    “ I wouldn’t turn down a
little work.”
    “ Lucky for you, I have an
opening.”
    Slater stiffened slightly and reached
for his beer. After he took a sip, he grabbed the blonde who was
sitting beside him and started making out.
    “ An opening?” I asked,
looking away from Slater and not so much as glancing
back.
    “ One of my crew had to take
a leave of absence.”
    “ Why?” Slater was still
kissing the blonde, but I knew damn well he was
listening.
    “ He got a little too
ambitious.”
    I wasn’t sure what that meant, but I
knew not to press the issue even though I really wanted to. Instead
of asking straight out, I said, “So what happens when he comes back
and I took his job?”
    “ He ain’t coming
back.”
    That didn’t sound very good. I forced
myself to smile slowly. “Well, it looks like it’s my lucky
day.”
    “ I’ll be in touch,” he said
and then slid out of the booth and turned to walk away. Then he
glanced back. “One thing,” he said.
    I flicked my gaze up to his.
    “ You ever touch me again,
I’ll kill you.”
    I felt Slater’s adrenaline rush, his
sudden hawk-like attention. I didn’t dare look his way. I thought
it would be a dead giveaway something was up. I stayed lounged in
my seat. His threat didn’t scare me. I realized maybe it should,
but I couldn’t bring myself to care.
    I think my lack of reaction got under
his skin because he added, “And don’t keep that little piece
hidden. She’d look good at my table.”
    My teeth ground together. I
wanted to plow my fist into his face so bad that my insides quaked
with it. Stay cool, I reminded myself. If I showed Julie was any kind of weakness
for me, it could be dangerous for her.
    Luckily, he didn’t seem to want a
response because he finally left. Thank God too, because the more I
looked at him, the more I wanted to beat his ass.
    Most everyone at the table followed
him. I watched