Page 2 of Crush (Deadly Hearts 1)

“Boys,” I purr, sugarcoating my anger. “You know the rules...out by five.”

“Ruby-roo!” a large, ugly man shouts at me. “Stakes are too high, babe. No one leaves until I’ve won all my money back.”

I scowl at him. “Jake,” I snap, walking over quickly to the poker table, where four other players are slumped over, desperate to get out of here. No one has made a move though, because Jake is one of Manchester’s biggest gangsters and will kill anyone who even looks at him wrong. He doesn’t scare me though. Not even close. “Pack it up now. Rules are rules for a reason, fuckface.”

“Ouch,” he chortles, his big fat face jiggling. “How about you come over here and fuck my face with that sweet pussy of yours.”

“You wish,” I snort, suppressing my shudder of disgust. I’d rather fuck a frog. Standing in between him and the quiet fellow parked next to him, his pudgy eyes land on my chest and I resist the urge to cross my arms over my fairly ample breasts. “Now pack it up.”

“No one leaves until I’ve won my money back,” Jake says in a tone that he is probably used to people obeying. Not me, though. Fuck that. I’m about to start sweeping the table clear, when his fat hand slips under my dress and lands on my thigh. He gets as far as trailing it upwards a few millimeters before I stop him. I hike up the other side of my dress and pull out the switch blade I always carry strapped in a thigh-holster. I bring my hand with the blade up to his neck and flick the switch. The steel snaps out against his throat and the room goes quiet.

“Remove your hand before I do it for you,” I say quietly, calmly.

“Whoa,” he says, taking his hand back and holding it up with the other one. “Calm your tits, sweetheart. It’s just a bit of fun.”

“Pack your shit up and get out of my casino,” I say in the same steady tone as before.

He now knows I mean business and relents, finally. “No need to get all hormonal,” he grouses, which enrages me to the point where if Beth hadn’t been hovering on the other side of the table, I’d have stabbed him in the heart for being a chauvinistic pig. With a white-knuckled grip on the handle of the knife, I lower it slowly and flick the blade back in. I cast my steely green-eyed gaze at the four other members of this underground poker game and say, “If any of you stay past five again, you are banned, got it?”

“Yes, ma’am,” they all mutter under their breaths, relieved to be set free from Jake’s menace.

“You’re such a bitch,” Jake mutters, hauling his enormous frame out of the creaking chair.

“If you find my company so unpleasant, don’t bother coming back,” I retort, slipping the knife back into the holster. “Get outside and dissipate like fucking ghosts.”

I fold my arms and watch them head towards the back door which leads out into the dingy alley at the back of the nightclub.

“It’s clear,” David says, coming down the stairs, studying his iPad which has the security camera feed on it. “Go on now.” He shoos them away like annoying geese and gives me a big smile. “Have I told you lately how fabulous you are?” he says.

“Can never hear it enough,” I say, finally relaxing as the last of the lingerers fucks off and slams the door behind them.

Beth lets out an unsteady breath and tries to brush past me. I grab her upper arm. “Did he hurt you?” I ask. She is shaken, badly. Her pretty face is pale and her usually tight blonde ponytail is loosened slightly.

She shakes her head. “Nah, he’s a twat, but he doesn’t touch.”

I find that very hard to believe. If he copped a feel of my leg, I’m pretty sure he tried something worse with my croupier. But until she admits it, there is nothing I can do. I soften my expression as much as I can. “You know you can tell me,” I murmur.

She yanks her arm out of my grip. “Nothing to tell,” she says shortly, and turns her back. The shine of tears I caught a glance of tells me everything I need to know.

That fucker. I clench my hand into a fist. I’m just looking for an excuse to take him down. He has been sniffing around my business for years.

“Parents,” David says, interrupting my murderous thoughts.

“Get me that short list as soon as possible. Tony is done here,” I order David.

He nods and turns and heads back up the stairs. With a last look back at Beth, I grit my teeth and follow him. She won’t speak up because she is afraid, but it’s Jake who should be afraid. They don’t call me the Black Widow for nothing. I have absolutely no problem getting my hands dirty.

I stalk back up the stairs and plaster a smile on my face. Disappearing into my office, I sit at my desk and lift the lid of my laptop. Straight away it beeps for an incoming video call, and I answer it with a bright, “Hey, Mom.”

My mom and three dads are all squished into the couch at home, waving frantically at me, as they sing Happy Birthday, making me laugh. I wish I could tell them who I really am, but they will never understand my need for power and the thrill that my dangerous life gives me. The edge of not knowing what lies around each corner makes my clit twitch.

It’s my secret to keep, so they are safe from the darkness that lurks around every corner in my world. If only they knew the biggest darkness was me.

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