taking away their hard-earned
gold.”
“Hard
earned?” Thais scoffed.
“Not
every whore chooses to become one. Some can’t bear young. Others refuse to
marry the men their folks choose for them. And others have nowhere else to turn
and need the nuggets,” he said quietly, thinking of DeeDee and so many others
he’d run into, forced into the life. “I’d think you of all people would be
sympathetic.”
“Why
me?” she asked, her hold on the reins tight, her knuckles white.
“Because
you didn’t seem to like being with me much, did you?”
She
opened her mouth and closed it with a snap, looking like a fish out of water. He
thought the comparison apt, especially when a woman cried out and drew their
attention. A half-naked whore hung out the window, shaking as if being pounded
from behind. Several passersby stopped in the street and stared while the woman
moaned and faked her way through an orgasm.
Thais
blushed scarlet.
“Layla
seems to like it well enough,” he remarked. At her wide-eyed stare, he nodded. “Yeah,
I know her.” Not as a client, but as a source of information. Though Thais
didn’t need to know that.
“Fine.”
She scowled. “I’ll hold onto Beast and wait for you beyond the church. But if
he tries to bite me in any way, I’ll be having vore for my next meal.”
Beast
grinned, and Hinto knew that his ride approved of the Amazon. Probably
recognized the wild call of like to like, he thought with a snort.
Thais
wasn’t done. “If you think to lie with her, think again. I’m not here for your
entertainment. I have things to do. As soon as I find Gregor, I can get the
information I need from Kitty. And you and I are done.”
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
gold.”
“Hard
earned?” Thais scoffed.
“Not
every whore chooses to become one. Some can’t bear young. Others refuse to
marry the men their folks choose for them. And others have nowhere else to turn
and need the nuggets,” he said quietly, thinking of DeeDee and so many others
he’d run into, forced into the life. “I’d think you of all people would be
sympathetic.”
“Why
me?” she asked, her hold on the reins tight, her knuckles white.
“Because
you didn’t seem to like being with me much, did you?”
She
opened her mouth and closed it with a snap, looking like a fish out of water. He
thought the comparison apt, especially when a woman cried out and drew their
attention. A half-naked whore hung out the window, shaking as if being pounded
from behind. Several passersby stopped in the street and stared while the woman
moaned and faked her way through an orgasm.
Thais
blushed scarlet.
“Layla
seems to like it well enough,” he remarked. At her wide-eyed stare, he nodded. “Yeah,
I know her.” Not as a client, but as a source of information. Though Thais
didn’t need to know that.
“Fine.”
She scowled. “I’ll hold onto Beast and wait for you beyond the church. But if
he tries to bite me in any way, I’ll be having vore for my next meal.”
Beast
grinned, and Hinto knew that his ride approved of the Amazon. Probably
recognized the wild call of like to like, he thought with a snort.
Thais
wasn’t done. “If you think to lie with her, think again. I’m not here for your
entertainment. I have things to do. As soon as I find Gregor, I can get the
information I need from Kitty. And you and I are done.”
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
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