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“No,” Liam said, trying not to stare at the growing group of bikers closing in on Magnus’s back. They looked like wild animals cornering prey. If his opinion of Magnus was low before, then this moment had to be rock bottom. Every good hustler knows how to read the room. Magnus should’ve known not to test these men. One of the men grabbed a rickety bar stool and flung it aside. On its own, it wasn’t a huge gesture, but the statement it made was alarming. These men were ready to fight.
“Right,” Magnus said, eyes darting around nervously. He forced an easy smile that was almost convincing. Liam had to hand it to the man; he was a good actor. Magnus turned to the angry men surrounding them.
“I’ve got it handled,” he told them. “No worries.”
“You play, you pay,” said Red Beard in a voice like a rusty crowbar. “We made a bet, and I won.”
“Yes, you did.” Magnus shifted his weight, his shoes scraping on the sticky floor. The bartender backed away as if he expected things to get ugly. “And I’m good for it, as I told you. My friend here can vouch for me.”
They all looked at Liam, and he could feel the violent energy pulsing around them. The dimly lit bar just added to the dark sense of foreboding in Liam’s gut. This was bad. Liam dipped his head. It wasn’t quite a nod, but it was the best he could do, because he didn’t want to back Magnus up on anything. The man was a swindler and a cad. Instead, Liam closed his hand around his beer glass and took a long drink to buy some time. It was a bad move. Not because the beer tasted terrible—which it did—but because it gave Magnus time, too. When Liam put the glass down, Magnus had moved to the mouth of the hallway.
“Bathroom,” he said, jerking a thumb over his shoulder. “Be right back.”
He left Liam surrounded by the pack of dogs. Long minutes passed. They growled among themselves, growing angrier when Magnus didn’t appear. Soon, their attention turned to Liam. He tried to look as unassuming as possible by focusing on Cora’s phone. He’d just watched a documentary where these genius little rodent creatures played dead when threatened by predators. If only it was that simple. He checked the time. Cora had been gone long enough. Liam was just standing to get her when a skinny biker in a denim vest came rushing from the hall.
“That scumbag took off through the back door,” he snarled, heading out the front to catch him.
Red Beard glared at Liam. “Your friend’s a lying, cheating coward.”
At this moment Liam couldn’t agree with the man more. “Yes. I’m sor—”
“But I don’t care,” Red Beard said, moving in on Liam. The hyenas fell into formation behind him. “You want to know why?”
No, he didn’t. He had a feeling whatever the bearded man was going to say, it would be bad news.
“Because the two hundred he owed? I’ll just shake it out of you. Seeing as you’re such good friends.”
Liam scanned the room, considering all the angles. Hustling or talking his way out of this mess didn’t seem to be an option. He supposed he could fight his way out, if he had to, but many against one was never good odds. Also, he had Cora to protect. Damn Magnus Blackwell for this.
The biker in the denim vest came in through the front door. “He’s gone. Took off in his car.”
Liam swore. No,thiswas rock bottom. Now Magnus Blackwell was officially scum of the earth. He’d gone and abandoned both him and Cora to deal with this fallout.
Cora appeared from the hall looking tired but composed. Liam could tell from the firm set of her jaw that her talk with Eli hadn’t been pleasant.
“What’s going on here?” she asked, coming up behind Liam.
“Magnus shoved a stick in the hornet’s nest,” Liam said in a low voice. “He bet the red-bearded man on a game of pool, lost and couldn’t pay up.”
Cora frowned. “Magnus?”
“Aye, it’s as I’ve been telling you. He’s a lowlife swindler. Suffers from a double dose of original sin, that one.” Liam kept one eye on the angry bikers. “And now he’s escaped out the back door, abandoning us to these jackals. I don’t suppose you’ve got two hundred dollars on you?”
Cora shook her head slowly. “Magnus...left us.” It was clear she was having a hard time processing it.
Eli Shelton came up beside them, clicking his tongue in mock dismay. “Tsk.Tsk.Looks like your friend owes us money.”
Cora shot him a look of disgust. “It’s not our fault.”
“And he’s not our friend,” Liam added.
“You came in together,” Red Beard said. “And you vouched for him, so you’re going to need to pay up before we let you go.”
“We don’t have the money on us, and you can’t squeeze blood from a turnip,” Liam said, annoyed. “So we’ll be taking our leave now, and if we see that lying, cheating coward again, we’ll be sure to let him know you’d like a word.” He placed his hand on Cora’s lower back to escort her toward the door.
He sensed the swing coming before it made contact. Liam quickly pushed Cora to safety, spun around and ducked to avoid Red Beard’s punch.
Red Beard let out a grunt of anger, hauled off and swung again, and this time Liam dodged the punch, threw himself sideways and delivered a sharp kick into the man’s back.
