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The cue ball clipped the 9 which spun towards the corner pocket. Sadie found herself holding her breath as the ball bounced against the edge of the pocket, only to roll back towards the center of the table. The look of triumph on Danny's face quickly faded as the 9 came to a halt almost perfectly in line with the cue ball, allowing Garrett to rapidly and carefully set up his shot and drop the 9 to take his fourth game.

Danny's subsequent break, however, was perhaps the best of the evening for either player as two balls fell in separate pockets while leaving him with a variety of shots. He sank the next four balls before missing, giving Garrett a chance to catch up. Garrett sank the 5 and the 8 without issue, but his shot on the 9 left it frozen against a side rail within spitting distance of a corner pocket.

"Check this shit out," Danny taunted as he chalked up his cue for his final shot. "I sink this, I win five thousand bucks. Too bad I'll be getting it from Amy instead of you handing it directly over."

There was no reaction from Garrett. Danny's teeth dug into his lower lip as he watched his current opponent and former victim stare at the table rather than him. "Jesus Christ," Danny exclaimed vehemently, "Evelyn's showing more emotion. What's the matter, shutting down because your precious little emotional gas tank is empty? That's the difference between you and me. When the chips are down, I step up. You? You step aside."

Garrett still didn't speak. Danny's eyes narrowed before he bent over the table. Sadie could feel the tension wrapped around her heart like packing tape as Danny lined up the game-winning shot. "Any last words, West?"

Silence was his answer. Danny took a deep breath through his nose, one that caused his entire body to tense up like a raging bull, before letting his frustration out in two loud words that resonated across the entire bar. "SAY SOMETHING!"

Garrett's eyes were on the 9 ball. If he had any kind of reaction to Danny's brief, focused outburst he didn't show it. Maybe his fingers gripped his pool cue a little tighter, but even then Sadie wouldn't have bet money on it. It was as if Danny simply didn't matter to Garrett at that moment. And it only served to piss off Danny even more. "You've been a damn mute all night," he spat. "You're about to lose five grand and get embarrassed in front of everyone who gives a fuck about you! Show a little fucking class and act like this matters!"

Garrett slowly lifted his eyes to look at Danny. "How's your shoulder?" he asked quietly.

"Good enough to beat you." Danny quickly double-checked his shot before once again looking at Garrett. With the same grin of victory on his face, Danny drove his stick forward, sending the cue ball down the table towards the 9 ball. "And that," he said, ignoring the twinge in his shoulder, "is what winning looks like."

A deflated murmur escaped Sadie as the ball dropped into the corner pocket, giving Danny the fifth game and making him the winner of the race-to-five. "I'd tell you thanks for the race, West," Danny smirked, "but it's been more of an inconvenience..."

"Want to go again?"

It was the first time all night Garrett had spoken directly to Danny. Danny's eyes narrowed as Garrett swept his pool cue over the table. "It's only fair you give me a chance to win my money back, right?" he suggested with a confidence that surprised Sadie. "You and me, race-to-five, no intermission, ten grand apiece."

Danny scoffed, "You got ten grand?"

Garrett turned to one of the rugged men at the front door. "Can I get my phone for one second, please? I need the banking app." The man looked to the tall blonde in the black hoodie, who nodded her approval. After getting his smartphone, Garrett unlocked it while walking towards Kim Ellis, who was sitting alone at the bar. He held up his phone so only she could see it. "You're a neutral party," Garrett stated. "Here's my savings account. Am I good?"

Kim whistled as she stared at the screen. "Uh, you totally are. I knew Florida doesn't have an income tax, but wow. Yeah," she told Danny, "he's good."

"Fine. I'll take more of your money. You lost the last race, so you break." Garrett nodded at Danny's statement. Both men waited while Serena racked the balls into a tight diamond. Once she stepped away, Garrett bent over and rested the tip of his pool cue against his wrist splint. He slowly and carefully lined up his shot before driving the stick forward. He immediately stepped back, grimacing as he shook his right hand. The diamond scattered, sending balls across the table. None of them dropped into a pocket, but the cue ball came to rest in a position that denied Danny a shot.

Danny tried to bank the cue ball off a side rail, but he missed his intended target, hitting the far rail before the cue ball rolled to a stop without hitting a third rail, giving Garrett ball in hand. Danny cursed under his breath as Garrett took the cue ball and set up an easy shot on the 1 ball that rolled into the corner pocket. Danny put up a fight, but in the end, Garrett took the first game in the race.

As well as the second and third.

"That's my guy," Vienna noted as Serena racked for the next game. "He's in the zone, right Michelle?"

"He's fucking dialed in," agreed Michelle. "Even with that wrist splint."

Michelle's words may have angered the gods, as Danny managed to take the next game in the race when Garrett's right hand slipped during a shot, illegally pocketing a ball and allowing Danny to run the table. But Garrett won the next game. Danny took the one after, only for Garrett to dominate what turned out to be the final game in the race, giving him the win five games to two.