Page 74 of Peaceful Chaos

Amber raises one dainty shoulder. "Like the dead."

This elicits a laugh from Tessa. "I never knew sweet Teddy was so alpha."

Jen pauses racking the balls and looks over her shoulder at Tessa. "You've missed a lot."

Tessa's eyes drop to the ground. "I am sorrier than you can ever imagine. I know I can't make up for what I did."

I put my hand on her shoulder. She betrayed me, but most of all she betrayed them. I can't offer her forgiveness on their behalf, but I can give her mine. "You sacrificed yourself for me. Yeah, you did some shitty things, but in the end you risked your life to save mine. I might not forget the other things you have done, but I won't forget that either." I’ve told her all of this before, but if she’s stubborn like me she’ll need to hear it more than once.

Tessa gives me a slight smile. "That's more than I deserve."

Jenna looks at all of us. "So, we're really staying here?"

Even Jen's eternal patience is wearing thin, judging by the way she's trying to strangle her pool cue. "If we're boring you, feel free to go. Tonight is about welcoming back Tessa. I thought we were also trying to make new friends, but you certainly don't have to stay."

Jenna quickly assesses the situation and raises her hands in surrender. "I can get down with a man free night out. I'm just going to run to the ladies' room really quick."

Once she's down the hallway, I speak to Sin listening through the covert ear piece. "Do you think she's calling Damien?"

"Him or his goons. We've got the bathrooms wired too," he replies.

We can't hear all the audio they have access to, but a couple minutes later, he confirms my suspicion. "She made a call and gave someone your location."

I catch Carlo's attention and tip my head, the sign he's about to get some unwelcome patrons.

It's hard to feign enjoyment while we're waiting for my father or his soldiers to appear. I know we’re as safe as we can be. Besides our guys monitoring us, Javier has units posted in several locations in case they are needed.

Ten long minutes pass before the bell above the door signals two new arrivals. They try and look casual, but their gaze sweeps the bar too often for them to be seeking a simple beer after work. They order a pitcher and migrate to the table near us. They wait a few minutes, then make their approach.

"Can we buy you ladies a drink?" one of them asks. He's older than us, probably early thirties, and not particularly attractive.

"No thanks," I reply before Jenna can accept.

His friend approaches, holding a pool cue. "How 'bout a game then? We promise to go easy on you."

So his plan is to bait us into accepting their company by challenging our pool prowess?

"Nah," Tessa replies with the ease of a woman used to shooting down men. "We're having a girls' night, but you guys enjoy your evening."

"C'mon, sugar. One game?" the second man begs.

Too many women agree to this shit because we're trained to be nice, to not hurt anyone's feelings. Fuck that. I'm not putting up with unwanted attention to spare these men their fragile egos.

The first man hovers near the table, and if I weren't on guard I might have missed him slip something in the pitcher of beer Tessa and Jen are sharing. Tessa catches it too, and an evil smirk lights up her face.

"Where are my manners?" She grabs one of the plastic cups stacked on the table, pours a large portion of beer into it, and offers it to Jenna. "I should have offered when we brought this to the table."

Jenna stares at the cup like it's going to bite her, but if she doesn't take it, then the odds that the rest of us are going to drink it evaporate. Ever the devious bitch, she accepts the glass, then holds it out towards us. "Let's make a toast to new friends."

She pours me a glass and pushes it my way. "One drink won't hurt."

I take the cup, and we clink our plastic cups together. The five of us raise the glasses to our lips. Amber takes a step, appears to trip over the leg of the table, and manages to bump into everyone. If I didn't know she has the grace of a ballerina, I might have believed it.

Tessa manages to bump into Jenna, forcing a swallow of beer into her mouth while the rest of us spill ours everywhere. Her eyes widen with fear, and she knows she's not going to be able to escape the effects of whatever drug they dropped in the pitcher. I don't know what it was, but my guess is in order to be sure it worked it was a large dose to cover the entire pitcher. One drink might be enough to knock someone out.

The two men try and play white knight. "Aw that's unfortunate. How about we buy you another round."

Carlo is ready for them though. "Guys, I don't tolerate men harassing women in my bar. You need to leave."

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