Page 9 of Dirty Pool

Charles nodded, believing her innocent smile. Men, even those like her father with darkness in his eyes that hid all kinds of secrets, were still the same in the end. All it took was a smile, and they were done for.

“Grand, lass.”

No, she wouldn’t drink.

Much.

She wouldn’t drink much.

Couldn’t she have just a little fun sometimes?

• • •

“Aidan, could you at least wait until I’m not talking to you to stare at a girl’s arse?” Aine asked, her annoyance clear over the bass of the music in the crowded club. “You’re such a cunt.”

“Can you blame me? Did you see the arse on—”

Aine put her hand up in her brother’s face, effectively quieting him without saying anything at all, and turned to Gabbie with a shake of her head. “Men.”

Gabbie grinned around the rim of her one drink she was allowing herself to have. It didn’t have a high sugar content, and she should be fine. But that also meant it tasted like absolute shite. Win some, lose some.

“Want to dance?” Aine asked.

“Sure,” Gabbie returned. “At least then, Aidan can find someone to take home without you ruining every single one he looks at.”

Aine glowered.

Aidan laughed, and pointed in Gabbie’s direction. “And that’s why you’re my favorite cousin.”

“I’m your only cousin.”

“Yeah, well …”

Gabbie didn’t get the chance to respond because Aine was already dragging her cousin out to the dance floor. They weaved in and out of the sway of sweaty, drunk bodies. She had to give her uncle’s man credit for this new club—it was pretty grand. The music kept them moving, the employees, from the bouncers to the servers, kept everything running smoothly. The whole atmosphere of the club just screamed fun.

A party, really.

She needed that break.

Her black, slinky club dress fell a few inches above her thighs, and glimmered under the flashing lights attached to the ceiling. The swell of people on the dance floor seemed to grow as the song switched to something that had everyone jumping to the beat with hands in the air. Gabbie, having fun and really letting loose for the first time in God knew how long, spun a circle and by the time she stopped to take a breath … well, lost her cousin in the crowd.

Shite.

On another night, she might not have been too worried about losing Aine. Her cousin liked to pick up a guy and take him home sometimes, and Gabbie was more than capable of taking care of herself for the evening.

Except, she was trying to follow her father’s rules. Even if she was twenty, and not a child anymore. It was always easier when she simply fed into her father’s bollocks, and didn’t try to fight him every damn step of the way. One of those rules was for her to stay close to a familiar face tonight since this club was mob-owned by one of her uncle’s men, and that meant business could be happening in the shadows.

She’d not asked what kind of business because she knew better than to do that. It wasn’t like her father would have answered her, anyway. Better to not bother in the first place, and save herself the lecture.

Pushing up to her tiptoes in the high heels she’d put on earlier, Gabbie scanned the crowd. All she could see, however, were swaying bodies and sweaty heads. It probably didn’t help that she was directly in the middle of the club and there was literally so much going on in every corner that everything drew in her attention.

Feck.

She decided to head for the bar—the same place she had left with her cousin. No doubt, if Aine wasn’t there, then Aidan would be somewhere in the fray probably still trying to pick up someone to take home with him.

Gabbie didn’t find either of her cousins at the bar. Oh, it was packed full of people waiting for drinks, and shouting for the bartenders to hurry up, but there were no Caseys in sight. She smiled at the female bartender when she brought over a glass of water for Gabbie—likely recognizing her face—she pushed it across the bar with a wink.

“Taking a break?”