Hustle Me (Bank Shot Romance #1)(18)
Author: Jennifer Foor

Charlie walked them out and as I bent down to start the next rack, I heard female voices talking and then the door shutting. When she didn’t return, I knew she thought it was her way to get away from me. I don’t know if I was just overly annoyed, but I ran out on the guy and didn’t even remember making the shots. He was pissed, but shook my hand to be a good sport about it. “You ever going to be back in town for a rematch?” He asked.

I shrugged my shoulders. “I don’t know, man. Maybe.”

“Look me up, dude. We’ll make it happen. You’re a good shot, a damn good shot.”

I looked back to make sure Charlie wasn’t around. “I learned how to play from Joker himself.”

“Figures! It’s a shame he’s gone. That poor girl is going to lose this place in no time. She isn’t really a people person, if you know what I mean.” His other buddy started laughing with him.

We hung out for about thirty more minutes before the guys said they had to go. Sometimes, it was better to shoot the shit than to walk away and make enemies. I’d made a quick grand and the two dudes seemed to be pretty cool.

I walked with them toward the door and noticed that Charlie was nowhere to be found. “Hey, I’m just going to tell her we’re leaving so she can lock up. You guys have a good night.” I locked the door once they left and headed toward the kitchen. When I got ready to walk back out, I noticed that the door was cracked open, leading to the back alley. I don’t know why, but I got this feeling in the pit of my stomach and I just knew something wasn’t right. My feet started running before my brain could register what I was doing.

I no sooner got out of the door when I saw some guy pushing Charlie up against the building. I plowed into him, sending him falling to the ground. Charlie was crying, but my main concern was kicking the shit out of this thug. I grabbed him by his shirt and punched him in his jaw. He fell down on his side and rolled over to spit blood from his mouth. When he tried to get up, I kicked him. “Stay down!” I looked over at a very distressed Charlie. “Get inside and call the damn cops.”

She ran inside the building and I stayed to make sure the loser didn’t get up. When I knew she was out of sight, I grabbed his collar again. “What were you doing?”

He held his hands over his face. “He left the door open for me. I wasn’t going to hurt her. I was just supposed to scare her.”

Anger filled me and, for whatever reason, I slammed his head into the concrete. “Who sent you?”

“I don’t know. I swear.” He was scared of what I was going to do next and he needed to be.

“You tell whoever sent you here that they have to go through me to get to her. You got it?” Spit was coming out of my mouth, I was so enraged. I shoved him down and stood up straight. “You tell them John Thomas is back in town.”

Sirens were already getting closer and I figured that Charlie was not going to come back out. I could only hope she didn’t hear me say my real name. I knew she was looking for John Thomas, but I didn’t want to be involved, any more than I already was.

Chapter 11

Charlie

After sitting there for what seemed like forever, watching Jammer’s match, I got up and started cleaning, so that I could head up to bed once everyone was finished. The baby monitor, which I used for peace of mind, hadn’t made a peep since I put my brother to bed. I grabbed all the trash bags out of the cans behind the bar and in the kitchen and went to take them out to the dumpster. Except, when I got outside that creep that was in the bar earlier was waiting for me. He pushed me from behind and I went flying into the brick building. The bags dropped and trash filled the alley. He pressed his body against my back. “If you scream, I will hurt you, bitch. You understand?”

I shook my head, letting him know I understood, but the tears were running down my cheeks. I was sure he was going to rape me. I stayed quiet, knowing that victims who survive their attackers, don’t try to fight them. Then again, some survivors fought back to survive. It was too much to think about in the moment.

Don’t beg for your life. Don’t let him know you’re weak.

“Where’s your purse?”

I was so afraid to speak. My purse was upstairs, where my little brother was safely sleeping. I’d die before I let someone hurt an innocent child, especially one that was my blood. Before I could think of anything to say, Jammer started kicking the shit out of the guy, after he had pulled him off of me. I was in shock at first, wondering where he came from and how he knew where to find me.

“Get inside and call the damn cops,” Jammer yelled as he held down the guy.

I ran inside as fast as I could, crying the whole way. While I dialed the police with shaking hands, I ducked down under the bar, where I was hidden from view. I was trembling when the operator came on the line and asked what my emergency was. I could barely get the words out and even though she stayed on the line until they arrived, I have no idea what we even talked about. It was like I was in a warping tunnel and nothing was really happening.

The next thing I knew, lights were reflecting in the windows and I heard the police radios from outside the kitchen door. I heard footsteps, but backed myself under the bar further. A set of white Nike’s stopped in front of me and a hand was reaching out for mine. “Charlie, the police have him in the car. You can come out now. I promise you’re safe.”

As much as I had hated him, I owed him so much. I placed my hand into his and let him pull me to my feet. When I got to a standing position, I just fell right into his chest and started crying. He was a stranger; someone that I’d met just days ago, but at that moment, he made me feel safe. I was shocked that a jerk like him would let me mess up his shirt with my snotty crying, but he did. In fact, he put his arms around my back and held me close. “The police need to come in and talk to you, but I wasn’t sure where you ran off to, so I wanted to make sure you were alright first.”

I pulled away and looked into his brown eyes. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to…”

He put his hand over my mouth. “Even the toughest woman in the world can have a moment. It’s all good. I know you hate me.”

My heart was still beating rapidly, but knowing he was standing there with me, gave me the courage to breathe. This guy, that I really wanted to hate, was the only thing keeping me from losing it. I couldn’t answer him, because the officers came walking in.