Hustle Me (10 page)

I caught her shaking her head as I grabbed my stick and got down to business with my match.
 

Tippy started sharking his player right away, like he always did. The guy he was playing was getting annoyed, but I didn’t have time to worry about them. The guy I was shooting had stuck me with a safety. He had hidden my object ball in between two of his. The way the rules went was that if I didn’t hit my object ball first, it would give my opponent ball in hand, meaning he could put the ball anywhere he wanted on the table and have the advantage of running out the rack. I wasn’t okay with that. Plus, I was trying really hard to impress the un-impressible Charlie.
 

I studied every angle of the shot before deciding to kick at it, by shooting at a rail behind it and hitting it the opposite way. I leaned down and stroked four times, like I always did before I shot. The cue ball traveled at medium  speed into the opposing
wall to finally come back and hit my object ball. Unfortunately, it freed up both of his balls to enable him to run out the rack. I cussed under my breath when I realized he could win this rack.
 

I backed up against the wall while he started shooting and heard Charlie laughing at me. “Wow, the only thing I’m learning from you is how to lose.”
 

I tightened my lip and sighed. “Whatever! It ain’t over.”
 

“Better make it fast. I’m getting really bored.” She was such a damn spitfire. It made me crazy and, at the same time, peaked my interest more.
 

The guy stuck himself on a tough shot to end the game and he ended up scratching the cue, instead of making his ball. Since he scratched on the final ball, I automatically won that rack. The guy picked up the stick and banged it over his knee in frustration. “FUCK!” I tried not to smile, because I knew how pissed it would have made me to miss that shot.
 

I broke and ran the next two racks and played a couple kicked shots to do it. As the guy was racking the balls on the table, I turned toward Charlie. “Still think I suck?”
 

She cocked an eyebrow. “How much longer do I have to sit here?”
 

It was past one in the morning and I knew she had a little brother to take care of. I was shocked that the kid belonged to Joker, but at any rate, I guess she was kind of like his mother now. “Keep complaining and I’ll make it last longer.”
 

“You’re such a douche!”
 

Tippy had finished his match and he was all over his girl. Jaye was steady watching me. Before I broke what I knew would be my last rack, the three of them approached me. “Hey, yo, we are going to head out. You going to crash at my place?” He turned and looked at Charlie before looking back at me. Jaye must have caught it, because suddenly she was wrapping her arms around me and kissing on my neck. I pushed her away slowly, but kept looking at Tippy. “Just take them home, I’ll walk back to your place when I’m done.”
 

There was no sense in making any smart comments around either girl. I wasn’t going to be in town long and I wasn’t about to make any more trouble for Charlie.
 

He shook my hand. “Cool, man, see you later.”
 

Jaye leaned up and kissed me on the cheek. “Don’t make me wait too long.” She looked over at Charlie. “I can’t wait to have a repeat of what we did last night.”
 

Why were women so vicious and possessive?
 

I grabbed her arms and had to clench my jaw to keep from saying something ignorant. This was why I didn’t do relationships. “Yeah, see you later.”
 

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.
 

Jammer sat down next to me at one of the tables as they questioned me. He said he’d already given his statement outside. When they were all through, one of them turned around before I could close the door. “I suggest your friend stays with you tonight. He seems to do a good job keeping you safe.”
 

“Oh, he’s not…I mean…”
 

“I’m not going anywhere officer. She’ll be safe.” Jammer’s voice caught me off guard, but I waited for the police to pull away before I turned around to face him.
 

“Why would you say that?”
 

He smiled and reached for my face. I backed away and he held up his hands. “I was checking your nose. Did that punk hit you?”
 

“No!” I went to touch my nose and pain shot through it. “Holy hell!”
 

“Yeah, there’s dried up blood. You better get it cleaned up. It could be broken.”
 

I walked over to the sink and used a rag to clean the blood from my nose. It hadn’t bled that much, because nothing was on my shirt. Jammer followed me and leaned against the counter. “You aren’t staying here!”
 

He reached up and wiped a spot I missed off my face. “Here’s how I see things.  For the past two nights, someone has tried to break in this place. Both times, I was here to save your ass. If you really want to spend the night alone, I can go. There’s a horny chick waiting for me at my buddy’s house. As much as I like pussy, I’ve somehow gotten myself involved in whatever this is that’s going on with you.”
 

I put my hands on my hips. “I didn’t ask for your help, Jammer.” I was too proud to thank him. “You should just go. I mean, I’m sure your girl is waiting for you, anyway.”
 

He must not have liked my tone. “Are you really going to be bitchy when I just saved your ass?”
 

“I can handle things myself!” I was in over my head.
 

“Yeah, that’s apparent! Look, I can sleep down here if it makes you feel better, but I am not the kind of guy to leave someone alone when they’ve just been through a traumatic situation.”
 

My mouth dropped. “Who are you right now? Two seconds ago you were saying pussy was waiting for you.” I threw my hands up over my head. “Just leave!”
 

“You are one stubborn little bitch, that’s for sure.” He started walking toward the front door.
 

I walked behind him so I could lock up the door. “You act like being around you is some kind of picnic. How do I know that you aren’t involved in these break-ins?”
 

He turned around to face me and for the first time I saw a sort of vulnerability to his demeanor. “I have nothing to do with them.”
 

I believed him immediately, but he’d already started walking out the door. When it closed behind him, I locked it and slid down to the floor. That’s when the real tears hit me. I tried to put my hands to my face, but my nose was throbbing, so I cried more.
 

At least five minutes went by and I just sat there bawling. A light knock scared the crap out of me, causing me to scream and back away.
 

Jammer was standing on the other side of the door. I wiped my face and opened the door. “What do you…”
 

Again, he put his hand over my mouth. “You can think whatever you want, but I got one block away and felt like a total dick for leaving you alone. I’m staying here with you, at least until you can find someone to help out. I’m a shitty cook, but I know all about liquor and can help you out every night. I’m only staying until you find someone else to work nights, but I will not take no for an answer.”