Play It Safe by Kristen Ashley Read Free Book Online

fuckin’ Pope. You get me?”
    “I get you, Uncle Lenny,” the sidekick whispered.
    “Jesus, fuck, it’s like nothing grew between your fuckin’ ears,” the cop muttered, moved away and turned to face the assemblage, his eyes honing in on me. “You makin’ a complaint?”
    “They leave me and Gray alone, no,” I answered instantly and he nodded just as quickly before his eyes cut to the guy in the wife beater. “You makin’ a complaint, Manny?”
    “They leave my customers alone and I don’t got fights in my parkin’ lot for, say, the rest of all eternity, no.”
    I thought Manny was kind of funny.
    I thought this but I sure as heck didn’t laugh.
    The cop’s eyes sliced through Cocky Guy and his sidekicks. “This girl, Gray or Manny got any problems with you boys?”
    “No sir,” his nephew said immediately.
    “No,” sidekick two answered at the same time.
    The third shook his head. He was the one who’d been fighting for consciousness. He was up now and swaying a bit so I wasn’t sure he had words in him.
    Cocky Guy was glaring at Gray.
    “Bud?” the cop called and Cocky Guy tore his eyes from Gray and looked at the cop. When he did, the cop went on in a quiet voice filled with warning. “Don’t mess with me, son. You know you don’t mess with me. You’re smart, you’ll go home, clean up the cuts Gray’s opened up on you and think on those. My count, this is the third time Gray’s drawn your blood. Learn and don’t let there be a fourth.”
    It seemed to me that Gray and Cocky Guy had a long history.
    “She hustled me out of five hundred dollars,” Cocky Guy spat to the cop.
    “Len, I was there and that’s not fuckin’ true,” Gray said low, clearly pissed and the cop looked to him.
    Then he looked to me. Then his eyes moved up and down me.
    I could read people, I had to. Survival.
    Cops could read people too. I knew he sized me up the second he looked at me.
    Not good.
    Gray spoke again.
    “She’s the shit at a table. He and his boys watched her wipe it clean, he knew she had talent. The whole bar did. He offered the bet, she declined. He pushed the bet. She took it. He lost. What he says is bullshit. Ask Janie.”
    The cop held my eyes and I held his. His dropped to my hand which Gray still held firm in his. Then he looked to Gray only briefly. Then he turned back to Cocky Guy.
    “Do you not think I see what this is?” the cop asked Cocky Guy softly and I didn’t get that but I did see in the parking lot lights Cocky Guy’s face go pale even as it went hard. “Go home, Buddy,” he finished on a near to whisper.
    His sidekicks immediately shuffled to exit the scene. With no other choice, Cocky Guy aimed a laser sharp scowl at Gray and me then cleared his throat and hocked a loogie in our direction.
    “Got shitloads of money, not an ounce of class,” Gray muttered, his eyes locked on Cocky Guy as he followed his boys.
    Manny, the cop, Gray and I watched him go.
    Then Manny turned to the cop. “Thanks for bein’ quick, Len.”
    “My job, Man,” he muttered and Manny looked at me.
    “You okay, miss?”
    I nodded then said softly, “Thanks.”
    He nodded back then looked to Gray.
    “Would say good to see you, son, but be better seein’ you without blood on your face.”
    “Right,” Gray replied and he sounded amused.
    “Catch ya at The Rambler for a drink sometime,” Manny went on.
    “You got it, Man,” Gray muttered.
    Then Manny turned and walked toward the office.
    The cop looked at Gray and me and when he did, his eyes again dropped to our hands, mine still held in Gray’s.
    Then he looked to Gray and grinned. “Bud would probably stop bein’ such a jackass if you didn’t scoop up all the pretty ones.”
    I liked that and I didn’t. I liked it because it was a compliment. I didn’t because that meant Gray had a lot of girlfriends and even though this was by no means a surprise and it made no never mind to me, I didn’t like knowing it.
    “Wrong way