You Are Mine Little Sister (by Syra Tucker) novel Chapter 136

RALI

"Check," the trucker cap guy said.

My lips made a pout as I glanced at my side of the table where he was already dragging the last of my chips like they were his birthright.

"Y'all took all my money," I mewled, trying to sound tragic and landing somewhere around tipsy-cute. My lashes did a little panic blink on their own.

"Sorry, baby. You've got a really pretty face, but I don't joke around with money," Trucker guy said with a grin.

"Wanna play some more, darling? You seem to be on a heater today," Cat-Eyes leaned in on an elbow, popping a gum in her mouth. She'd already taken two rounds off me and looked hungry for thirds.

I grabbed my bottle, overshot it, grabbed air, then finally found it and took a long swig. Some went in my mouth, some down my chin. I wiped with the back of my hand.

"I'm tapped. Don't have what else to stake." The words slurred out as I hitched higher in my seat, my dress hem inching north with me.

The jukebox kept crooning a song that should've been slower for the way it made the room sway.

"You sure you don't have nothing else?" She popped the gum in her mouth again, eyes flicking to my back, then back to my face.

A giggle bubbled up when I thought of something. "Oh! I just remembered; I came with backup."

More giggles followed as I fished out a particular gold bracelet from my bag. Their eyes bulged in unison.

"Holy shit. This looks crazy expensive!" Another guy blurted, snatching it for a closer look.

"This bitch, you crazy expensive," Said cat eyes, half-envy, half-appraisal.

Trucker-Cap eased it from his buddy and turned it over. He read the engraving, "Zerali" before pinning me with a stare. "This looks personal. You really wanna bet it?"

"Quit with the daddy questions, Reff. You don't get to decide for her," Cat-Eyes snapped, whisking it back and setting it on the felt.

I laughed and took another pull. The bottle kissed my lip. My stomach didn't love it, but my bravado did.

Cat eyes pushed her whole stack to the center. "I'm staking every damn thing, as long as you stake that piece."

Wine sloshed as I lowered the bottle too fast. I belched and swiped my palm across the spill.

"'Course I'm staking it. Let's play, honey."

Forty minutes later, I was wrecked. The bracelet was gone, and so was the other piece of jewelry I'd stuffed in my bag.

I belched as I staggered out of the club, aiming for 'headed home' and nailing 'baby deer on ice.' My calves trembled in the small, pointy heels, and my stupid dress kept commuting north like it had an appointment. I hovered between cursing, belching, and giggling, a human roulette wheel.

I spotted my car waiting by the side of the road and pictured headlines: Twenty-three year old drunk girl dies in a car crash.

"Wrong choice, Zerali. Wrong choice." My voice dragged its feet. I'd definitely crash into the first building I see if I took up that steering.

"Stupid, Rali. Stupid."

I'd only come here to bet. Honestly didn't know how I ended up drunk.

'Uh... You kept ordering and pouring bottles down your throat. That's how,' my subconscious mocked me. Petty thing.

Okay. So, I needed a taxi. Then, I'd just come for my car by morning.

I pressed a palm to my forehead and scanned the street. The block was empty—too empty for a place that had just been shaking the walls.

I kept walking, hunting for a taxi.

"Let me go. Let me go, you son of a—"

A silent shot.

My own quick inhale.

His eyes went wide, and then his weight peeled off me and met the ground.

I looked up, and of course, he was there, standing in all-black, tucking his gun into his waistband with so much calmness like he'd only gotten rid of a thing, not a person.

I had a feeling he was around somehow. Of course, it would take another man's hand on me to make him show himself.

Without a word, he closed the distance, crouched, and started gathering the scattered contents of my bag. I snatched the bag before he even stood.

"Doing what you do best, huh? Killing." I met his gaze with a glare, then spun away and started walking.

What was I trying to do again?

Right—call Ruby.

"I'm taking you home, Rali."

I stopped, tipped my head back, and laughed. When I met his eyes again, I made sure the humor was gone.

"I dare you to touch me, asshole. Just lay a hand on me and see what happens."

I marched off, my heels buckling sideways, flirting hard with gravity. The street blurred, my fingers found my necklace and worried the charm.

Next thing I knew, the ground dropped away and I was being hauled to my feet. I screamed, twisted, scratched. I threw the whole toolbox at him. And in the end, 'nothing happened.'