Thinking of it now brought a lump to my throat, and the grief that I’d yet to acknowledge swamped me. I didn’t cry tears, but I mourned with every step. I’d lost my entire family. I was alone in the strange world, heading into a future I couldn’t imagine.
It was early afternoon before Aiken allowed us a break. Athena started a fire and warmed last night’s beans, but there was no room for hunger in the blackness of my soul. I took water and moved away from the others. I felt Aiken watching me with his bright eyes, but he didn’t say anything. When we moved on again, I fell in step, but I was numb and silent. I’d escaped the Smith brothers, survived the wilderness on my own for days, faced off with a man to be reckoned with, but now that I was somewhat safe, I wanted to give up. I wanted to lie down and die.
Hours later, it was Honey who came up beside me and handed me a biscuit with a nonchalance that had me accepting before I realized it.
“I used to want to die,” she said softly.
I took a bite of the biscuit. It was old and hard, but my stomach rumbled gratefully as soon as I began to chew. “Do you still want to?” I asked. My voice was scratchy.
“Naw, not anymore.” She turned those chocolate eyes on me. “Surviving is all a person can control.”
There was a twisted logic in what she said, more in what she didn’t. If I gave up now, the Smith brothers would have succeeded in wiping out my family, and succeeded with my blessing.
“I miss my people,” I said.
“Me, too. But giving up won’t get them back.”
How she knew what I was feeling, I didn’t know, but I felt kindred to her and was grateful for her words.
“Captain says he’ll make sure you get to town safe. After that, you decide what happens to you. Give up and you let them Smiths own your soul. Your momma wouldn’t have wanted that.”
No, she wouldn’t have wanted that at all.
She left me then, to finish my biscuit and make up my mind. In the end, there really wasn’t a choice. I picked up my feet and joined the others.
CHAPTER 14
May 1896
Colorado
The boomtown was more a grimy gathering of tents and lean-tos than anything like a township. They camped close to the shores of a river with the refuse of the makeshift settlement scattered all around them. In total, I guessed there were about thirty tents. The wagon’s wheels sunk in thick mud as we rolled in, and it caked our horses’ legs. We hopped onto the wagon in an effort to keep our shoes from being sucked off our feet. Filth had never known such luxury. I had never known such filth.
There were no buildings constructed, but a tent with one side open was clearly functioning as a saloon and another as a place to eat. A Chinese man stared out as we passed, watching us suspiciously. The saloon brimmed with dirty, drunken miners, hooting and laughing as they indulged themselves in liquor. One man stepped out and urinated in the middle of the street. When he saw us, he stood holding himself in one hand, a startled grin on his face as he waved with the other. He slipped in the mud as he hurried to tell the others what he’d seen.
The stench defied my powers of description. It was apparent that man and beast alike used whatever space was available to relieve themselves. The remains of meals past littered the widening path of mud that bisected the row of tents. Bones and skinned carcasses lay in between. A few dogs ran beside us, barking and snarling.
I looked at Honey, but she wouldn’t meet my eyes. Chick stared out with a blank expression. Meaira watched as if through a cocoon of her own making. What must they be thinking? What must they be feeling, knowing what the night had in store? How could they ...
Aiken stopped his horse and spoke to a man who’d flagged him down. I heard the word bath and the man looked as if he’d been slapped. Aiken conversed with him for a few moments more before riding away.
“He told them,” Meaira said, staring at the squalor with a placid expression.
“Told them what?” I asked.
“He makes them bathe first,” she said. “They won’t be liking it, but if they want their pleasures, they’ll be doing it.”
I was overwhelmed with relief, though I wouldn’t be one that had to endure their foulness. I couldn’t bear thinking of sweet Chick, lovely Honey, or dazed Meaira, mauled by any of these disgusting barbarians.
“Is it always like this?” I asked.
Chick shook her head. “No. This bad.”
Aiken moved us to a clearing upwind that had not been contaminated by waste. In the growing darkness, we set up our camp. This time, though, we added a canopy, anchored by four corner poles with one in the middle that held the canvas up like a spire. Long sides flapped in the wind and brushed the ground.
No one had spoken since arriving, and the silence rode heavy on the air. The other women avoided looking at me, but I was acutely conscious of their thoughts. A part of me wanted to shout, to stop what we were doing. I wanted to herd the women back into the wagon and rein the horses into a gallop. But none of them seemed as concerned with what the night held in store as I was. According to Chick, they did this by choice, and though they’d told me Aiken was the devil, it didn’t seem to me that he’d threatened them in any way to get them to participate in the upcoming festivities. I assumed they would be paid for what they did, but what price would be enough?
A table with folding legs came from the wagon to be set up in the center of camp. Meaira and Honey opened chairs around it. Four thin, rough mattresses that I’d not seen before came from a trunk. Athena beat them with her broom and laid them out in the tent.
It was fully dark by the time Aiken declared himself satisfied with our work. We could hear the men in town brawling at the river as they took turns bathing in the muddied water. I didn’t know how clean they would be once they arrived at the camp. I hoped for the others’ sakes, the men used soap. Two who were very eager had been scrubbed and waiting for nearly thirty minutes while we finished setting up. They stood like schoolboys in their Sunday best, hair slicked back, faces clean. Clothes brushed, if not clean or fine.
A light breeze moaned through the night before dancing across our camp to catch at the billowing sides of the tent. Inside, hanging panels had been strung up to divide it into compartments, each with a pallet on the ground. Athena opened a chest and sheets came out to cover the sagging, stained mattresses. Then the girls turned attention to each other, fixing hair and making up. I sat numbly to the side, wondering what I would do once it all began.
Aiken whistled as he shuffled cards at his table and dealt a hand of solitaire. A cigar hung from his lips, the smoke drifting up on the night air to mingle with the other scents. I dreaded the rest of the night, but the waiting was painful in itself.
“Are you ready for us?” one of the scrubbed schoolboys asked.
Aiken flicked a glance over the camp and then nodded. “Yes, sir, we are ready.”
Aiken shook both their hands, ushering them forward. The two were young, younger than I even, and they were eager. Without ado, they asked how much for a tumble. Aiken looked surprised. He proceeded to talk the two young men into circles for a few minutes, denying that the girls would even consider selling their bodies for money. They were young, chaste girls who’d had their share of bad luck, but he, the good Samaritan, was taking them to San Diego where they would enter a life of servitude for the Holy Church. I watched Aiken with a sick fascination as he weaved his tale like a web around them. The men were obviously distressed to think of the beauties becoming servants of the Church, and they did their best to convince Aiken it was a mistake. One even offered to marry Honey and relieve Aiken of his burden.
Chick leaned close to me. “He do this every time,” she said.
“Why?”
“You see.”
After he’d worked them up, he found out what they were willing to pay and then offered to make an exception, allow the boys private time to converse with the girls for a price that was two dollars less than they’d offered.
A penny wouldn’t rattle in either of their heads, but they nodded and tried to look as if they understood what he was saying.
“I will take your money, but only to put it to the good of feeding and clothing these fine, upstanding women. Now who is it you would like to ... speak to alone?”
They both pointed at Honey, then, seeing each other, one switched and pointed to Chick.
“Now I can’t let those two beauties go for such a pittance. Why not Athena? She’s older and won’t miss the flower of her innocence.”
Of course this wouldn’t do. I watched numbly, filled with disbelief as the maestro of manipulation worked his magic. Beside me, Chick smirked.
After much conversation, during which Aiken dazzled them with his use of the English language while keeping them in a befuddled act of negotiation, they seemed to reach an impasse. Aiken drew it out even more until at last the two men “convinced” Aiken to take their money— nearly double what they’d originally offered—and Aiken called Honey and Chick over.
He introduced the girls and, in a fatherly manner, handed them off in kind to the young men.
Honey didn’t look at any of us as she led hers into the tent. Chick smiled shyly at her partner, who turned a dark shade of red. I heard him say it was his first time as she took his hand. She told him not to worry, she knew what to do.
Honey’s boy was nervous, and she had to work at his confidence. Her voice soothed and drifted out of the flapping walls of the tent. Chick’s partner was eager and quick. She’d returned to her seat before Honey’s had even begun. I wondered if Chick’s young man would feel cheated, but the look on his face spoke of rapture. I thought I might be sick. But others had already arrived and they crowded around, eager to be chosen. Athena and I sat off to the side, each silent until even she was called upon to perform inside the tent.
Our campfire became a beacon, and the men gravitated toward it. Not all came for the women. Some came for the cards that Aiken dealt, others were too drunk to be more than just curious. Some tried to beg and borrow enough to visit with one of the girls. Some tried to win the fee gambling.
While they waited for their turns, Aiken entertained them at the card table and proceeded to cheat at faro. From where I sat, I could see the extra cards he’d hidden beneath the table. He was quick and skilled, and I might not have recognized his game had I been on the other side of the deck. He let them win most of the time, and as the perfect host, he ordered Athena to bring his whiskey when she emerged from the tent. He charged heavily for the honor of sharing his bottle, but no one seemed to mind. Sounds of grunting and the musky scent of carnality carried on the hot breeze, which lifted the edges of the tent like skirts and afforded quick peeks into the goings-on inside. I could smell their arousal and sense the excitement buzzing through the men.
I’d been in the shadows, tucked as far away as I could get from everyone else, but when Athena began to serve drinks, someone noticed me.
“I’ll take her,” a man with short black hair and clean-shaven cheeks said, pointing at me like I was a horse in a corral.
Aiken cocked his head to look at me, and I held my breath for a moment. “Sorry, sir. She’s not one of the girls,” he said.
“She looks like one to me.”
“She is a beauty. Can’t say that I’ve ever seen so fair a face. But she is from a finer breed than my others.”
“That’s what you said about them, too,” another man interjected. “You’s just saying it so as you can charge more.”
Aiken’s smile made my skin crawl.
“Were that the truth, sir, I would have you call me out. But I’m willing to wager this young lady is of yet untouched. What price can a man put on such virtue?”
I jumped to my feet. “I’m not for sale.”
“No, dear, for your price would be far more than what any man here could pay.”
“Who are you to say what we can or cain’t pay?” the first man asked. “I got a bag full of gold in my pocket and a mine that’s spittin’ out the nuggets.”
“He do,” a voice agreed. “I seen it with my own eyes.”
“I am not for sale,” I repeated.
Aiken said, “You heard the little lady. She will not give herself over to the likes of you.”
His words were inflammatory, and he knew it. Offended, the man said, “I’m as good as any man. Better than most. I’m good enough for her.”
“The lady says she’s not for sale,” another said.
“She thinks she’s too good. I’ll show her ain’t no woman too good for me. I’ll make her come around.”
I saw the warring mixture of excitement and disgust on the face of the man who’d spoken on my behalf, and I understood what was happening. I’d become a challenge.
“I think she’d like me better,” a new voice said, and a big, burly man stepped through the crowd.
“She ain’t gonna get the chance to know. She gonna want only me after she had me once.”
“I am not having anyone,” I said clearly. “I’m lost, and the Captain has promised me safe escort to a town.”
“She’s a spitfire all right,” Aiken said. “It’d take more than one man to tame her. It’s a shame she’s not willing to let a single one try.”
I watched with horror as the idea of it went from one to another. Honey, Chick, and Meaira were in the tents, and the gusting breeze brought more than quick glances at their activities. It scented the air. I was young, but I knew nothing was as dangerous as a mob of men. My daddy had told me stories that had made my blood run cold.
The black-haired man shook his head and walked away, but the other men moved in closer. I thought quickly. I picked one out of the crowd who looked to be unsure. “I could be your sister,” I said to him. “Or yours,” to another.
My words hit some of them like cold water, but before I could feel relief, the burly man pushed through and said, “You couldn’t be mine. She’s got a face like an ass.”
Laughter burst out all around him and then enthusiastic talking. I tried to force my point again, but no one was listening to me now. The burly man moved in and took my hand. “I’ll be as gentle as you let me be, darlin’,” he said to the delight of those behind him. Another man leaned in and told him to loosen me up good.
I didn’t wait for what came next. I began to fight. I hit and scratched and kicked and pulled and screamed. Honey rushed from the tent at the sound of my voice and turned on Aiken.
“You can’t do this,” she said, eyes wide.
“I told them no. I told them twice she was a lady.”
I twisted and bucked in the burly man’s arms. It looked like I might get help from the crowd, but those who moved forward were held back by those who wished to be next. I couldn’t believe what was happening. Had these men lived like animals for so long, they’d ceased to be part of humanity as I knew it?
The man who had me in his grasp nearly made it to the tent with me screaming and struggling for all I was worth. He didn’t wear a gun, but my hand brushed a knife at his waist. I tried to reach it, I tried to pull it free, but he trapped my arms, smiling grimly as he hauled me closer. Honey was there, working at his grip to pry me free, begging the man to take her instead, telling them all they could have her if they’d just let me be. But no one listened. My struggles had become a point of fascination. I could see it. None of them were able to look away. I screamed, though I knew it would do no good. It was all happening too fast. It seemed hours since he’d grabbed my hand, but only a few seconds had passed. If I could just slow him down ... It was then that a horse charged into camp.
From the corner of my eye, I saw the rider, a man nearly as big as his mount. Though his face was in shadow and his clothes covered in dirt, I recognized Sawyer McCready immediately, and I cried out his
name. A part of me acknowledged that I was praying for rescue from a man who was possibly as disreputable as Aiken, but I only knew that I was glad to see him. He pulled his gun and fired into the air.
The sound echoed loudly, and a sudden, stunned silence fell over the small crowd.
“Captain,” Aiken exclaimed, pushing out of the throng to stand beside Sawyer’s horse. “I am powerful glad to see you.”
Sawyer ignored him and spoke to the man who held me captive. “Let her go,” he said.
The burly man stared Sawyer down. Having fought to capture me, he wasn’t going to set me free on command. “She’s mine,” he said.
“I’m not yours,” I said.
“Let her go,” Sawyer repeated. His tone was low, his words hard.
The man hesitated and Sawyer leveled his gun. For a moment, no one moved, and then slowly, his hands loosened. I jerked free of him, and Honey gathered me up, pulling me out of reach before he could change his mind. But I was too angry to just crawl away. I turned on him, slapped his face, not once but twice, staring at him like the trash he was. I saw something flash in his eyes. Something that spoke of a man who might once have lived inside him, a man who would have been shamed by what he’d done. Then it was gone and he struck me back. The blow knocked me sideways, and I staggered. Only Honey kept me from falling. White spots mixed with red danced behind my eyes. Sawyer’s gun was cocked before they cleared.
“Fool,” Honey muttered as she dragged me away. I didn’t know if she meant me or the burly man.
Aiken moved in closer to Sawyer and spoke in low tones. Sawyer listened, watching the crowd with his gun still in hand. After a moment, he nodded. Aiken faced the men, his crooked smile flashing.
“Drinks on me, boys. Let’s get back to having a good time.”
And just like that, it was over. I couldn’t believe it. The men moved away, and Honey sat me down on the crates. I was shaking, and I was terrified.
Bad Boys of the Night: Eight Sizzling Paranormal Romances: Paranormal Romance Boxed Set Page 179
