as a rundown clapboard bui

e letters dead. Beer and stale c

few dusty pickup trucks wer

" Mike mumbled, his voice tig

gine. The silence in

ood idea. These guys... Jake

ho they a

The cold morning

hesitating. I gl

k you to. Just watch. And try not to

hard, nodded,

trance. The wooden porch

d beers at the bar, ignoring us. The bartender, a beefy man with a faded tattoo of

oor at the back,

d me, practically

door open wit

gar smoke. A single bare bulb h

beer bottles and overflowing

ds in his hand. A greasy smile spre

at dragged in! Mikey! Come b

shifty, flicked to m

. He just grunted, his eyes cold and empty. The o

ne. He looked like he want

stepping forward. Mike sta

little. He clearly had

me up and down with an oily confidence that made my ski

ing tonight," I said, my voice

Lost a bit of pocket change, huh, Mikey?

nd dollars. P

, pulsed through me.

chairs and sitting down at the table without an invitation

om wen

jaw slightly agape. V

all, choked so

A wide, predatory grin

laughed, a harsh, barking sound. "Well, I'

What do you say, boys? Sho

changed

of them slurred. "M

ght then. Pull up a seat. Though, fair warning,

the table. Red, white, b

s currently?" I ask

llar max bet," Jake said

ty thousand dollars in one night with a hundred-dollar ma

was the game they played when they

specific targ

hesitant smile. The kind of smile a housewi

e?" I asked, fe

d. He thought he h

ame." He started shuffling the cards with a pra

t on TV," I

all groan behind

starting to deal. "Let's see if Lad

lled out Emily's two hundred do

crumple

meager pile for a second, a

smiled.