Page 128 of Hybrid Heroics

I leaned against the table where they left their drinks, tapping my chin.

“You boys up for a little fun?”

Take the bait, Briggs.

“I’m not a boy,” he rumbled. “We’ve talked about this.”

“You’ll have to remind me. I don’t recall that conversation.”

I made eye contact with each of them, smirk still held firmly in place, and waited for them to make a decision. They all bobbed their heads as Novak prodded at my mental security.

Vaughn grinned at me, lying through his teeth. “Do you know how to play? Like really play? Not just throwing the darts at the board like some prissy girl on the wrong side of town who’s trying to fit in. That’s what you and Jack were just talking about, isn’t it?”

The rest of my guys glared at my fae, thinking he was being a dick. I quirked a brow at him as I sipped my drink.

“Her mind is locked down tighter than before,” Novak muttered. “All I hear are math equations and circus music.”

“This feels like a trap,” Palmer replied, scratching at his jaw.

“York?” Stone inquired, keeping me in his sights. “Does she play? I know Vaughn’s beaten her before, but—”

“We never played darts,” York lied, cutting his eyes at me. “Only pool and poker.”

I smiled brightly, catching Vaughn’s smug expression as his gaze flickered quickly to York. They were in this together.

“Ah, come on,” I haggled. “What’s the worst that can happen?”

“We lose,” Novak remarked, shaking his head at me. “And have us all put googly eyes on our dicks and take a picture of them in a huddle to use as the screensaver on your phone.”

I snorted with laughter.

“Don’t give her any ideas,” Briggs deadpanned. “I’m not doing that.”

After a round of drinks, we started playing. I kept my cool, monitoring my scores to make sure I wasn’t being too precise. With four losses under my belt, I accidentally won the fifth game. By number ten, they had figured out I was hustling them.

“Stop. Stop,” Palmer demanded. “She planned this.”

I shrugged. “Can’t say I didn’t. What I can say is… I didn’t plan this happening today.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Novak asked, still digging around in my mind.

Vaughn chuckled. “We talked about it before she met you guys.”

“Mmm,” I hummed in agreement. “I’ll have you know, the last guys I hustled here left this bar buck naked with no money in their pockets. So, you’ve got that going for you.”

“There was no bet,” Stone pointed out.

“I love you, Barbie,” Briggs began, shaking his head. “But I am not paying you a dime for that beating. I will repay the ass whipping, though. ”

“She doesn’t need a dime,” Novak snarked at him. “She’s a whole fucking stack of them.”

York raised his brows, blinking slowly. “Did you just make a mental health joke at her expense?”

“Yeah,” my vampire remarked. “Did you like it?”

“It was pretty funny,” Palmer commented, biting his lips to hide his smile.

“No bet,” I admitted to Stone, pointing at my fae. “But Vaughn owes me. He knows why.”