“Hi,” Alexa smiled as she walked up to him. “I’m…”
“I know who you are,” the man interrupted. He seemed more curious than surprised now.
“You didn’t let me finish,” Alexa frowned. “I was going to ask if I could get a shower and a hot meal here. Can I?”
“What? Oh, yeah, sure,” the man nodded. “Didn’t mean to be rude. I just wasn’t expecting one of you to show up here under her own steam.”
“S’okay,” Alexa shrugged. “Say, by the way, I heard a woman screaming last night. Would you know anything about that?”
“Yeah. She’s out back in one of the sheds right now. Not part of your group, though.”
Alexa felt a twinge of disappointment. Neither Martina nor Naomi had been taken, so far as she knew now.
“I thought this area had been cleared out just for this hunt,” she said.
“Yes, it has,” the man nodded again.
“So what’s another woman doing here, then?”
“Special case,” the man shrugged. He didn’t elaborate.
“Well, how about that shower, then?” Alexa asked.
“Sure, Miss,” he replied. “It’s upstairs, to your right. Can’t miss it.”
“How do I get upstairs?”
“Oh. Sorry. Right through that door there.” He pointed to what she would have thought was the back door to the place.
“Soap? Towels?” she persisted.
“All there. Just put the towels in the laundry basket when you’re done.” The man looked at her as if he was trying to imagine what she’d look like in the shower.
“Thanks,” Alexa favored him with a smile. “And can I get something hot to eat while I’m here?”
“Surely. What’s your pleasure?”
“What have you got?”
The man smiled warmly. “What would you say to steak and eggs? I was about to cook some up for myself.”
Alexa salivated. “Would you have any potatoes to go with that?” she asked.
“Sure would, Miss. Might even have a little steak sauce to go with it all.”
“Oh, that would be perfect!”
“Just two last questions, then.”
“What would that be?” Alexa asked.
“How do you want your eggs?”
“Sunny side up?”
“All right. And your steak?”
“Medium rare?” Alexa hoped that she didn’t sound too eager about the food.
“Done,” the man’s smile widened. “Y’all go up and take your shower now, Miss. When you come back down your breakfast should be just about ready.”
“Thanks!” Alexa couldn’t help grinning as she headed for the door. As she started up the narrow staircase on the other side, she heard something start sizzling in a pan. Her stomach began growling. She took the remaining steps two at a time.
The bathroom was right where the man had said it would be. It was also larger and more modern than she’d expected. Now that she was upstairs, though, she couldn’t help poking around a little to see what the rest of the place was like. There was a long hallway that seemed to run the length of the building, with three doors spaced along it. The door at the far end was shut, but the other two were open, so she peeked in through each one. What she saw looked like rooms from some slightly run-down, rustic bed-and-breakfast. The furniture looked old, but still useful, and there were rugs on the bare wooden floors. Both of the beds she saw were big four-posters, solid and sturdy. And in the corner of one of the rooms was a small cage, about the size one might use to transport a large dog in a car. She didn’t think it was there for any dog, though.
The sight of the cage was enough to quell any lingering curiosity she might have. She hurried back to the bathroom and shut the door behind her. She would have locked it, if it had had a lock. As she began to undress, she suddenly wondered if there was some sort of surveillance camera in here. She looked around, but didn’t see anything suspicious. She hesitated for a moment longer before reminding herself that the rest of the place was decidedly low-tech, and the chance of spy cameras was therefore remote. In the end, she decided ‘to Hell with it’. She let her dirty clothes fall where they would on the tiled floor and reached in to turn on the shower. She had hot water almost immediately, and spent the next minute adjusting the temperature. When she stepped under the spray it felt even better than foreplay. She stood under it, head bowed, and slowly turned so that the wonderful, wonderful sensations reached every part of her body that they could. Even the water trickling down her legs felt incredibly good. She would have gladly stayed in the shower until her skin got all pruny and wrinkled, but then her stomach growled again and reminded her that food would be waiting for her downstairs. She took the bar of soap from its holder and began to lather up.
She wouldn’t have believed that she could miss something so simple and basic so badly. She stood back under the spray and let it sluice all the soapsuds off of her, then took the small bottle of shampoo from its holder. She worked it into her hair, and then stood with her back to the showerhead to rinse it all out. It didn’t take long. She’d originally gone with her short haircut to give her a distinct ‘look’ for a modeling gig. It had been for an ad for some expensive and complicated training equipment. She’d liked how it looked, and how easy it was to maintain, so she’d kept it. It also turned out to be very practical for running around out in the woods. She remembered how Lynette had been kept down by one of the men who’d captured her simply standing on her long, tawny locks, and snickered. Martina always kept her hair long. She put it in a loose braid when playing volleyball or participating in any other sports. It was easy to picture her pinned to the ground by a heavy, booted foot on that braid. Naomi was another matter entirely. She always wore her dark, curly hair short.
Alexa ran a palm along her legs. They felt just as smooth as they had right after she’d applied the depilatory cream they’d provided her back in Gordburg. It had come in an unlabeled bottle, but whatever it was, it was very effective stuff. She’d have to see if she could buy some to take home with her later.
The towels weren’t as fluffy as the ones back in Gordburg had been, and none of them matched, but she was feeling so invigorated now that it really didn’t matter. She dried herself thoroughly, including her hair, and put on the fresh clothes that she’d brought. Now she felt even better, and the prospect of a nice, hearty breakfast was just the cherry on top of it all. She bundled up her dirty clothes, put all the towels she’d used in the basket near the door and went back downstairs.
“Good timing, Miss,” the man smiled at her when she came back in through the door. “Coffee’s ready now, and breakfast in just a minute. Hope you don’t mind a little onion in your fried potatoes.” He held out a mug full of steaming coffee to her. Alexa accepted it eagerly.
“Onions go great with fried potatoes,” she replied. She took a tentative sip of the coffee. It was very hot, and very strong, and very good. She’d have accepted swill that had been on the burner for hours, so this was a pleasant surprise.
“Need a table?” the man asked.
“No, the counter’s fine,” Alexa answered. She’d already spotted some stools, so she picked one and drew it up to the counter. “Are you Jackson?”
The man laughed. “No, ma’am,” he said. “Jackson retired a couple years ago. I’m Jones. Albert Jones.”
“Pleased to meet you, Mr. Jones,” Alexa said after another sip of coffee. She held out her free hand and he shook it. She wanted to ask him why they hadn’t changed the name of the place, but there were so many other questions she wanted to ask that she put that one on the far back burner.
“I saw some rooms upstairs,” she said. “It reminded me of a bed-and-breakfast.”
“Well, that’s kinda what this place is, Miss,” Albert replied as he began loading up two plates with food. Alexa momentarily lost her train of thought as she watched. It looked delicious, it smelled delicious, and she wanted hers right now. She managed to keep herself from snatching her plate out of his hands, and even managed to wait those agonizing few seconds while he laid out paper napkins, knives, forks and spoons for the two of them.
“We get some couples who come out this way,” he continued as Alexa tucked into her breakfast. “Lots of times they camp out, but every so often they get the urge to stay indoors and sleep in a bed. So, here we are.”
The steak was perfect. Alexa spoke around the hot, tasty morsel of it in her mouth. “Do you get many visitors like that?”
“You’d be surprised,” he chuckled. “Ain’t getting any ‘til your little contest is over, though.”
“Have you seen any of the other women?”
“No,” Albert shook his head. “Heard one of ‘em got taken not too long ago.”
“Yep,” Alexa couldn’t resist a grin. “I saw her at…what’s it called? Smith’s?”
“Yah. Just west of here. So it’s down to three of you, I guess.”
Alexa stabbed with her fork, getting a bit of steak, a bit of egg, and some crispy brown potato on the implement all at once. She shoved it into her mouth and began chewing.
“You’re a very good cook, Mr. Jones,” she said after she’d swallowed.
“Thank you, Miss,” he nodded with a smile. “Spent thirty years in the Navy as a cook. Took me a little while to learn how to cook for just one or two people after that.”
Alexa laughed. She found Mr. Jones very likeable. She kept on eating, savoring every bite.
“Have you heard anything about the other two women?” she asked between mouthfuls.
“No, ma’am,” he answered. “Had some hunters pass through here yesterday, though. Said they were after a tall blonde, asked me if I knew anything. Told them I didn’t.”
“And if someone comes by asking, say, about me?” Alexa prompted.
“I’d have to tell ‘em I saw you, and that you had a nice, healthy appetite,” he chuckled.
“And maybe which way I went?”
“Now, to do that I’d have to go outside and watch you leave,” Albert said. “And I got too much to do inside. Top of everything else, in a little while I got to go see about that woman you heard screamin’ last night, make sure she’s still okay.”
Alexa stopped dead in the act of sopping up some egg yolk with a chunk of potato.
“Uh…yeah,” she began uncertainly. “About that…”
“You’re wonderin’ who she is and what she’s doin’ out here.”
“Well, yes,” Alexa admitted. “I thought there wouldn’t be any women out here but us.”
“Oh, she’s not part of the hunt,” Albert said. “She’s actually one of the proctors, takin’ some time off for herself.”
“What?” Alexa remembered Lydia telling her something along those lines, but she hadn’t thought it would come to something like this.
“Think about it,” Albert said. “You got how many men out here beatin’ the bushes for some lovely young women who’re doin’ their best not to get caught. End of the day, those men might be feelin’ more than a little horny if they ain’t caught anybody.”
“Uh…okay,” Alexa nodded. “I can understand that.”
“Thought you might,” Albert chuckled. “You went just a little bit pale there for a minute.”
“Go on,” Alexa told him. “What about this proctor?”
“Well, proctors get to see a lot of stuff. It’s part of their job, so they kinda have to. Takes a special woman to be a proctor, but she’s still a woman, and she’s still got her own appetites. That’s why they get to take off the black dress from time to time. Well, the one out back figured that she might get what she was lookin’ for by comin’ out here and offerin’ herself up to those frustrated hunters.”
“Oh.” Alexa gulped. “It was her I heard screaming?”
“Yep. Then they gagged her. She wanted to put up a fight, and she did, but there was three of ‘em.”
“How…” Alexa gulped again. “How is she?”
“She was fine last I saw her,” Albert shrugged. “Little stiff and sore, maybe, but she wasn’t complainin’.”
“And she’s still here?”
“Yeah. Those hunters are figurin’ if they don’t catch anything today they can just come back here and work off a little steam.”
“
What
?” Alexa yelped. “They’re coming back, and you didn’t tell me?” She got up from her stool, heart pounding.
“Relax, Miss,” Albert said reassuringly. “I already told ya they’re after a tall blonde. Seemed real determined to bag her, too. And they won’t be back ‘til sometime around nightfall. More coffee?”
Alexa gingerly eased herself back onto the stool. “Yes, please,” she nodded. She just had to ask the next question, “Are there any more hunters you haven’t told me about?”
“Miss,” Albert looked at her. He had light blue eyes and his smile was disarming. “I don’t have to tell you anything you don’t ask about. You understand that?”
“Okay.”
“It’s the same at the other posts, so remember that,” he continued. “But since you asked there was a pair of hunters that came through here two days ago, and from what they said they were lookin’ for you.”
“Are they coming back?” Alexa began to slide off of the stool again.
“Don’t think so,” Albert shook his head. “They were gonna look for you off to the west. Said another hunter had told them he’d seen you off that way.”
Alexa thought about that. On the one hand, someone was looking for her specifically after all. On the other hand, they were looking for
her
, specifically. And she was pretty sure who had told them where she’d been.
“Were there any other hunters?” she asked carefully.
“No, ma’am,” Albert shook his head. “None at all.”
She slowly let her breath out. There was still a bit of that delicious breakfast left, and more coffee to drink, so she took care of both items. Albert offered her a third cup, but she politely turned it down.
“I really should be going,” she said. “I’m beginning to think that coming here was a lot riskier than I’d thought.”
“You’re running a risk anywhere you go, Miss,” Albert said. “But you’re safe here for the time being.”
“Yes, I was told that,” Alexa nodded.
“I’m thinkin’ you’d like to go out back and check on the female,” he said.
“‘Female’?” Alexa looked at him.
“That’s what we call ‘em when they’re naked and collared,” Albert grinned. “Don’t matter who or what they were before.”
“Even when the ‘female’ is one of your proctors?”