Authors: Marie Harte
He
lost his humor at her setdown. “Honey, you and I are done when I damn well say
so, and not a moment before. Ride your ass on over to the church and pray you
have a lick more sense by the time I return. And God sakes, if you see Gregor’s
likeness or hear where he’s staying, don’t go looking for him without me.”
She
looked at him as if he were no better than the manure beneath her mare’s feet.
On a sniff, she turned away, riding down the street on her spirited mare, Beast
in trail, like she owned the damned town.
“Trouble
to pursue her,” he reminded himself, swore, and turned to enter the bar.
Once
inside, he noticed several couples engaged in foreplay and outright sex.
Rooms
must be full booked.
Which meant someone had struck it rich, because bar
owner Lou didn’t let just anyone fuck his girls without gold in hand.
The
stale smell of slowburn and gut-rot mixed with body odor and mold. The oak
beams in Lou’s Bar holding up the place needed repair in the worst way. The
wooden floor had been boarded up in so many places that Hinto couldn’t walk an
even path across the floor without tripping over something, be it a body or a
board. Drunks and whores and their customers filled the booming space, making
it hard to hear anything.
Hinto
estimated at least twenty men downstairs, not counting the ones fucking the
girls against the walls. All said and done, there might have been twice that
number in the bar. And then the grinding noise of a woman singing pierced his
ears. A fight broke out in one corner, quickly contained by two large,
disreputable thugs that looked somehow familiar.
Just
another day in the life of a bounty hunter.
He
sighed and stepped up to the bar. He nodded to Lou and ordered a slowburn. Studying
the silver plated mirror over table of liquor, Hinto noted several fellows that
met Gregor’s description.
Lou
shoved the drink across the counter at him and waited. When Hinto put down more
nuggets than needed, Lou leaned close to hear. “Who you after this time?” he
had to raise his voice to be heard.
Hinto
moved closer. “Fella named Gregor.”
The
men on either side of him quickly picked up their drinks and moved away.
Lou
sighed. “Thought you had more sense than that, Hinto.”
He
took a swallow of the slowburn and let the fiery liquid slide down his throat. “Why’s
that?”
“Because
his brother owns the damned town. Gregor’s always got protection, and he’s
damned vicious. You go after Gregor, you’re not just taking him down. You’re
taking down Butch McKenzie and the Nolan brothers, too.”
Hinto
coughed and slammed the rest of his drink down. “Are you fucking with me?”
“I
wish.” Lou looked glum. “I’ve been trying to get rid of Butch for months. Bastard
bleeds me dry, especially after a run like this.” He waved around him and
glared at the thugs in the corner. “Those two are Nolans. They reamed one of my
girls so bad yesterday she still can’t sit down. Butch lets them do whatever
they want out as his ranch. Stole three of my whores the day he rode into town.
Hear tell they’re still fucking anything that moves at his ranch.”
“So
why don’t you get them back?” Hinto asked. Lou was no pushover. And this was
the first Hinto had heard of Butch McKenzie. The Nolan brothers, unfortunately,
he’d run into before, but not the pair in the corner. The last time he’d run
into them, he’d taken a set to jail, where they met the hangman. How many
brothers were there in that damned family?
Lou
leaned closer to lower his voice and still be heard. “No one screws with Butch
because he’s got currency out his ass. Connections with the UTO, they say, and
lots of hired guns. Trust me, he makes Gregor look like a beginner. And if
you’re after Gregor, I’ll bet it has somethin’ to do with a dead woman. Man
carves ‘em up and uses ‘em hard. Likes it rough.”
“So
I hear.” Hinto swallowed the rest of his drink, surprised when Lou shoved the
rest of his nuggets back across the bar at him. “Lou?”
“You
get rid of Butch and Gregor and you’ll never have to pay in here, starting
right now.” Lou glanced over Hinto’s shoulder. “Hurly, I thought I told you not
to come in here for a spell. Jenny ain’t real fond of your sorry ass, done gave
her the scratch.”
Several
men around them laughed.
“I
know, Lou. But you ain’t gonna believe this.”
His
excitement spurred the piano player to cease and the singer to shut her mouth. All
eyes turned to Hurly, and Hinto’s senses flared, a sure sign of trouble.
Hell.
He’d warned her to keep quiet. Surely she had more sense than to make
trouble in this town.
“Well,
spit it out, Hurly.”
“Some
dude out there just knifed Freddy Nolan, right before he punched Cedric in the
nose. Blood everywhere. ‘Cept it weren’t no man. It’s a woman, and boy, she’s a
looker.”
Hinto
swore under his breath and followed the crowd that swept out of the bar, hard
on the Nolan brothers’ heels.
Shit.
No good can come from this.
Was
he ever so right.
Chapter Six
Thais
knew allowing Hinto a few kisses had been a mistake. Not only because of the
odd feelings he’d stirred, but because of the new way he thought he could talk
to her. Bad enough he eyeballed her like a bag of sweets, shooting
self-satisfied smirks in her direction all damned morning long. But to order
her about like a child?
“Ride your ass on over to church and pray you have a
lick more sense by the time I return,”
he’d said.
Oh,
she planned on giving
him
a lick of sense. A foot up his ass might fix
his attitude. Sneering at the thought of taking him down a peg, she caught the
attention of two women rounding the church. The pair wore dresses in pastel
lavender and pink. The shapely garments covered their shoulders and chests and
cinched just under their breasts, showing off womanly curves. Long enough to
sweep the ground, the finery looked ridiculously out of place in the grungy
town.
At
least the whores dressed for success. Short skirts for easy access and tight
blouses to emphasize their wares. What exactly did these town ladies hope to
gain by wearing such frilly things? Was that expensive lace dragging along the
ground at the hemline of the younger woman’s dress? Hell, with every step she
not only dirtied the material, but hampered her movements as well.
No
wonder so many men considered women inferior here. Most of them lacked the wits
to dress themselves appropriately.
The
ladies gasped when Beast snorted, and gasped again when they realized Thais’s
gender.
“Ladies,”
she murmured.
“My
goodness, a woman,” the younger one said, all agog. Her bonnet hid most of the
golden curls of her hair, allowing one to escape the crush over her ear. She
grasped her flowered bag closer to her chest, as if to guard against thievery. From
Thais?
A
small crowd of men in mining gear, as well as a few women wearing dresses like
these two, gathered on the small walk by the general store, their attention
fixed on Thais and the ladies. A crusty old man in ragged overalls held a
bottle in one hand and rocked back on his heels, grinning from ear to ear as he
watched the growing spectacle.
Thais didn’t think she could blame Beast for their undue attention. And Hinto
thought staying by the church would keep her away from trouble. Not in Morrow,
apparently.
The
older woman by the blonde’s side lifted her chin in the air, an air of
superiority in her tone as she cinched her bonnet tighter. “My dear, why
ever
are you wearing pants?” She made a clucking sound with her tongue. “You poor,
poor thing. You need to find yourself a good man. Get a fine dress and spruce
up your looks. Perhaps the good women of The Morrow Nature Church can help
you?”
When
Thais said nothing, the woman pursed her lips, making her look even older than
the three decades she appeared. “Oh, but perhaps you’re one of
them
?” She
raised her voice and nodded in the direction of the bar some distance down the
street, where several whores and their clients lingered on the porch outside.
“I can’t imagine a proper young lady wearing such manly dress. Those tight
pants and that dreadful vest. Oh.” The obnoxious women gave a fake shudder. The
crowd several feet behind them tittered. “And no proper lady would hold one of
those monsters. Demon spawn.” She looked down her nose at Beast.
The
vore huffed out a breath, and Thais swore the animal laughed at her.
“Lady,
if you wouldn’t mind. I’m kind of busy here.”
“Well?
Honestly, dear, you do look like the type to appreciate
those kinds
of entertainments.
We call them lewd, don’t we, Daisy?” She turned to her companion, her brow
raised.
The
woman struck too close to a truth Thais had been trying to deny. Tired and
annoyed with this nonsense and wishing Kitty had just given her the information
she needed instead of sticking her with Hinto, Thais answered back in a soft
voice.
“You
asking if I’m a whore? Well aren’t you a bitch.” Ignoring the shock of those
standing within earshot, she continued. “I don’t think my state of dress
matters one way or the other. I have all the parts I need to claim I’m a woman.”
Thais took the hat from her head and draped it over the horn of her saddle, trying
to make a point. “I don’t need
a man
to make me complete,” she sneered,
reminding herself to avoid Hinto’s touch in the future.
Damn him and his
kisses.
The
women hummed their disapproval, and not finding the prey they seemingly sought,
walked away from her.
“Good
riddance,” Thais muttered. Before she could be completely rid of them, two men
intercepted them before they could finish crossing the street.
The
crowd near the mercantile scattered except for the old man nipping at his
bottle and laughing like a loon.
“Well,
well, little Miss Daisy Danton.” The larger of the pair laughed. He wore
wrangler garb—dusty jeans, a dark shirt and a sweat soaked hat. He looked as if
he hadn’t shaved in days, and bloodshot eyes regarded Daisy with more than a
hint of lust. He grabbed the younger woman’s bag and snatched the bonnet from
her head. “Hey, sugar, why don’t we head over to the bar, you know, for a
little fun.” He grabbed his crotch and squeezed.
“I
never!” Daisy burst into tears and folded into her friend’s open arms.
“Freddy
Nolan, you give her back her purse
right now.
”
“Fuck
off, Tilda,” the smaller man said. “Your men ain’t here right now are they? Too
busy screwing around in the mines to do you much good.”
Thais
had to hand it to Tilda. She had the manners of a raging boar, but she had
spirit.
Like
so many scenes of depravity Thais had witnessed since leaving the Amazon, she
watched as the Territory people sought to attack one another. No sense of
community, no defending those too inexperienced to fight back. The women shot
verbal darts while the men took physical advantage whenever they could. Thais
hadn’t seen much in the Territory people to recommend them. Unfortunately,
these four adhered to type.
Freddy
grabbed Daisy and groped and pinched her hard enough to leave bruises. Tilda
tried to interfere, but the other man held her back while taking advantage of
her as well.
Thais
thought about leaving them to their fate when the smaller man bunched Tilda’s dress
at her waist, exposing her frilly undergarments and laced up boots. He ran a
long-fingered hand up her leg, and Tilda cried out in terror. To Thais’
disgust, no one stepped forward to help.
“Oh
hell,” she muttered, knowing she couldn’t leave. Her “lady friends” deserved a
put down, yes, but not this. In a louder voice, she said, “Leave them alone.”
Freddy
and the other man froze then turned as one to stare at her.
“Cedric,
is that there a woman on top of that horse? Sounded like one, I think. But you can’t
tell in that getup.”
Cedric
smiled, his teeth pretty and white. He had strong cheekbones, clear skin, a
lean build, and surprising cleanliness.
She
sighed and dismounted. Clearly she needed to teach these men some manners. No
one else in this cowardly town would do it. Beast shoved his head between her
shoulder blades, as if pushing her toward the brewing battle. Not that she
needed his encouragement. After the day she’d been having, she deserved a
little fun.
“I
heard a woman, Freddy. Indeed I did.” Cedric shoved Tilda away from him. “Get
gone, missy. And the next time I see you, how ’bout showin’ a little love?” He
laughed as she hurried away with Daisy. “Now who the hell are you?”
Freddy
and Cedric approached. They didn’t try to disguise their intent or pretend they
didn’t mean to hurt her.
The
minute Freddy stepped within reach, Thais hit him hard below his sternum,
knocking the wind from his chest. Cedric tried to grab her, but she easily
evaded him.