Chapter 1

I pocketed the eight-ball in one swift motion. "Wow! You're amazing, baby. I didn't know you were this good at pool," Jacob complimented me. His stomach suddenly ached, and he excused himself to the bathroom.

Naturally, I continued practicing. Since starting my new job, I'd barely had time to play and had gotten a little rusty. Suddenly, a group of women approached my pool table. I looked up; they had multicolored hair and numbered badges pinned to their shirts. They all glared at me with contempt.

"I don't need a teaching assistant, thank you," I said.

Before I could finish, the group's leader snatched my cue stick and threw it on the floor. My heart sank as it hit the ground; it was brand new and cost tens of thousands of dollars.

"How dare you try to steal my man? Are you trying to be sneaky?" the woman barked.

Her man? Was she referring to Jacob?

"I think there's been a misunderstanding. Jacob is my—"

I didn't finish my sentence before the women surrounded me and began beating me. I wanted to fight back, but I was outnumbered. A redhead wearing a badge numbered nine yanked my hair and slapped me twice. "What a homewrecker! Don't you know Jacob is Queenie's boyfriend? They're getting married soon!"

Married? Jacob had proposed to me recently. Why was she claiming he was her fiancé?

The women dragged me across the room as the others continued yelling. I looked pleadingly at a nearby pool player. As he started to approach, the women turned on him.

"What do you want?" one snapped. "She's a homewrecker. We're teaching her a lesson! Are you on her side?"

"She's not a victim—she's the perpetrator!" another yelled.

"Women who interfere with other people's boyfriends deserve this! There's nothing wrong with punishing her!"