Shadow Walker Page 12

  “You wouldn’t want to leave with animals like that one out there still doing what they’re doing.”

  “No,” Jennifer said. “I wouldn’t.”

  “And you’ve got to believe me when I tell you I know for a fact what they’re doing.”

  Jennifer nodded weakly. “I believe you.”

  “Then let me try to do something about it.”

  “Sergeant Bray won’t take a stand against them and I won’t put my girls in any more danger than they already are.”

  “I’m not asking you to fight them,” Rachel said.

  “Then what is it you want from me?”

  THIRTY-FOUR

  “Mr. Rice?” Jennifer said as she stepped up to where the man was still leaning against the wall.

  The man turned toward her slowly, as if he was hesitant to take his eyes from the woman he had trapped in a corner. Once he got a look at Jennifer, however, he took his arm back and shifted so he used his body to trap the other woman instead.

  “Hello there,” Rice said.

  Jennifer put on an empty smile and stepped aside so the woman behind her could be seen. “I’d like to introduce someone to you.”

  “I was getting along quite well with this little lady,” he replied.

  “But I think you might want to spend a few moments with this one. Her name is . . .”

  Before the pause could seem too long, Rachel stepped forward and extended her hand. “You can call me Lilly.”

  Rice’s lips curled up into a wide smile to display a crooked set of stained teeth. He nodded slowly as he let his eyes take in every last inch of her.

  Rachel wore a dark red dress that had been borrowed from one of the many closets inside the converted bunkhouse. It didn’t fit her perfectly, but the fact that it was a bit too small only made it that much more effective. The waist pulled in to show the curve of her hips, while the top clung to her breasts like a second skin. When she held out an arm to shake Rice’s hand, the buttons on the front of the dress strained just a bit.

  “My, my,” Rice said. “What a lovely name. What a lovely girl.”

  “Thank you.”

  Jennifer kept her eyes on the other woman who Rice had trapped in the corner. “It’s all right, honey,” she said. “I think Mr. Rice and Lilly would like to get to know each other.”

  The third woman of the group looked confused by Rachel, but took comfort from the fact that Jennifer seemed to be vouching for the new arrival. She moved reluctantly at first, but when she realized that Rice was really going to let her go, the woman was more than happy to get away.

  “Is there anything I can get you?” Jennifer asked.

  Rice didn’t take his eyes off of the smooth contours of Rachel’s cleavage when he replied, “Maybe someplace nice and quiet where me and Lilly here can . . . talk.”

  When Jennifer looked at Rachel, she made certain her meaning was clear as she said, “If you need anything at all, you just holler for me.”

  Rachel smiled. “I think I can handle this one.”

  Reluctantly, Jennifer walked away to leave them alone.

  Repositioning his arm so it now blocked Rachel in, Rice leaned forward and pulled in a long, noisy breath. “You smell real good.”

  “Thank you.”

  “You know who I am?”

  “I was told that you’re real important and that you’re here to get a look at the best this place has to offer.” Reaching out to slide her hand along Rice’s chest, she added, “If she told me how handsome you were, I wouldn’t have taken so long to get here.”

  Rice’s smile remained in place as if it had been painted there. He kept nodding as if his head were attached to a rusty spring. “You like workin’ here?”

  “It’s all right.”

  “You must be new. I would’a remembered a fine thing like yourself from the last time I came callin’.”

  “I just got here from back East. New York, to be exact.” As she said that, Rachel gambled that Rice hadn’t even seen pictures of New York. Judging by the blank look on his face, she’d made a safe bet.

  “You know who I work for?”

  Rachel furrowed her brow and kept playing with Rice’s lapel. “You’re not the boss?”

  “That’d be a man by the name of Coltraine. He runs one of the finest places in the country. Only the best poker games are played there. Only the best food and only the best women. That’d be where you come in.”

  Rachel had to fight to keep nodding and smiling as she heard that. Inside, she was wondering if this was the same line that had been fed to her sister, or if she’d been lured in some other way.

  “How much is the pay?” she asked.

  “Our girls all leave as wealthy ladies. That’s why we want the best. You got many friends or family nearby?”

  “No. Why?”

  “No reason,” Rice said with a wolfish grin. “It just works out better if you’re not holding to anyone else. You might be gone a while and you may even want to stay for good. Is there anyone who might want to come along?”

  “Would that be a problem?”

  “Not at all. You just tell us where to find them and we’ll fetch ’em for you. Of course, sometimes they don’t want to go and we ain’t about to drag them along kicking and screaming.”

  Still thinking back to when her sister had disappeared, Rachel remembered hearing about two strange men who’d been asking where they could find her. She’d been away at the store at the time and those men never returned.

  After all that had happened, Rachel hadn’t thought too much about those strangers.

  Now, the thought of who those men probably were made her sick.

  Rice placed his hand on Rachel’s hip and moved it around to her backside. From there, he pulled her in close and said, “But I can’t just take you because you look good in that dress. I need to know what I’m gettin’.”

  “By all means, then,” she said as she grabbed his wrist and pulled him toward one of the many small rooms, “let me get you alone so I can show you what I’ve got.”

  THIRTY-FIVE

  Even though someone had taken the effort to spruce up the front couple of rooms in the bunkhouse, the bedrooms had been left in their original condition. The room that Rachel chose was just big enough to hold the small bed, a smaller table and a single chair.

  Rice must have known his way around those rooms pretty well because he stripped off his shirt and draped it over the chair without even looking at what he was doing. His boots were kicked off as well and shoved in the space between the bed and table.

  “You’re a sight for sore eyes, darlin’,” he said. “I thought I was gonna have to choose from one of these sorry excuses that’ve been workin’ here for years.”

  Doing her best to keep from slapping him, she slowly unbuttoned the top of her dress. Rachel glanced down between Rice’s legs and saw he was already hard and waiting for her.

  Rice pulled down his pants just enough for him to reach inside and stroke himself. “Sometimes I really love my job,” he said. “Time for you to impress me.”

  Stepping back as if to make sure he could see all of her, Rachel was making more sure that she was out of his arm’s reach. Considering the size of the room, that was close to impossible. Once her shoulders bumped against the wall, she leaned against the wooden slats and arched her back.

  “Ooo, that’s nice,” Rice said as he watched her slowly pull open the rest of the buttons and slip the material off her shoulders.

  Rachel peeled the top of her dress down and let her fingertips slide against her bare breasts. Closing her eyes, she allowed her own touch to linger on her nipples just long enough for them to grow hard and sensitive. Rachel then rubbed them with her thumb before sliding her hand farther down along her stomach.

  When she opened her eyes again, she saw Rice coming toward her with his hand still down the front of his pants. In one swift motion, she raised a leg so that her foot pressed against Rice’s chest. That allowed her
skirt to fall away and reveal the slender curve of her thigh, while also keeping Rice in his place.

  Even though Rice was anxious to get closer, he didn’t try too hard to move her leg. Instead, he grabbed hold of it with his free hand and groped up as far as he could reach. All Rachel had to do was lock her knee in order to keep him from getting any higher up her leg than she wanted. Rice seemed to be more than happy to do what he was told. So happy, in fact, that Rachel got an idea that might make everything a whole lot easier to bear.

  “I want you to sit down,” she said softly.

  “Yes ma’am.”

  Rice did as he was told, like an obedient puppy, and dropped himself down onto the only chair in the room. His eyes were wide and his mouth hung open as if he were seeing something he’d never seen before.

  As Rachel eased herself out of her dress, she let her hands glide along her body to slowly trace a line along her bare skin. The dress was tight enough that she had to pull and tug to get it over her hips. When it was only halfway down, she eased her fingers between her legs and arched her back while letting out a trembling sigh.

  “Oh, God,” she whispered. “You’re making me so wet.”

  Rachel didn’t need to open her eyes to know that Rice’s excitement was building. She could hear his breathing become quicker until he was practically gasping for air. She could also hear the creaks in the chair as he leaned closer to her.

  Turning around sharply, Rachel put her back to him and settled in between his legs. She leaned back even more until her shoulders were grinding against his chest. Pushing up with her legs, she squirmed even more while moving her hand up and down along the front of her body.

  As she felt Rice’s hand work its way around to her front, she took hold of it and placed it on top of her other hand. “Here,” she said. “Feel for yourself.”

  Even though Rice could only feel the back of her hand, he reacted to the way it moved between her legs. Every so often, he brushed against the silky smooth skin of her inner thigh, which was enough to make him let out a moan of his own.

  “You like that?” Rachel asked. “Because I know I do.”

  “Oh, yeah. Now, I wanna—”

  “Don’t stop!” she cut in. Arching her back even more, she clenched her legs tightly around her and Rice’s hands. She could feel him pull in an excited breath, even though he was now actually farther away from what he wanted to touch.

  With her hand keeping him in check, Rachel moaned louder and faster while grinding her tight backside against his groin. In no time at all, she could feel his muscles tensing and his breathing grow as heavy as if he’d run a few miles to get into that room.

  After she’d built up enough, Rachel let out a long, trembling sigh and let her legs open once more. “Oh, my God,” she gasped. “That was so good.”

  “Really?”

  “Yes. Now, it’s your turn.”

  “Jesus, yes,” Rice said in a voice that was tight as a bowstring.

  Rachel got to her feet and bent at the waist as she slowly wriggled the rest of the way out of her dress. She exaggerated every movement, making sure to brush against him with her legs or backside whenever possible. On the few occasions that she felt his rigid penis bump against her, she moved away in less than a second. By the time she turned around to face him, Rachel felt as if she were standing in front of a keg of dynamite with a half-inch fuse.

  Lowering herself to her knees, she leaned forward and rubbed her breasts against his cock. “Ready?”

  “Y-yes!”

  Her nipples were hard, but that was mostly due to the way she’d touched herself. Rachel took hold of his penis in one hand and then leaned forward with her mouth open wide. Before placing one lip on him, she reached out to rake her nails against his chest and slide him between her breasts a few more times.

  Rice was leaning back in his chair and staring down at her through eyes that were halfway shut. He grabbed her hair and pumped his hips so he could ease back and forth along her chest.

  Once she’d had enough of that, Rachel held him back by using one hand pressed against his chest and stroked him with her other hand while bobbing her head up and down.

  When she’d started, she thought she might have to put him in her mouth for a little while. Although the thought of that didn’t sit right with her, it was much better than the alternative. As it turned out, all she needed to do was keep moving her hand for a little while longer as she bobbed and swayed her head.

  Rice was already so worked up that he didn’t even notice he hadn’t once felt her mouth touch him. He didn’t even notice when she moved aside just as he was about to finish.

  “That was . . . that was . . .” Rice stammered breathlessly as he cleaned himself off.

  The longer it took for him to find his words, the more Rachel worried about what he was going to say.

  Finally, he got up, pulled up his pants and shouted, “Hot damn! You’re the one I’m takin’ with me! I just may even keep you for myself!”

  Rachel smiled up at him, but had to struggle to keep from laughing.

  THIRTY-SIX

  Clint woke up with a splitting headache.

  When he reached back to feel the spot that hurt the most, he realized where that headache had come from. His hand touched against a spot that was slick with blood and another jolt of pain lanced through his head. After sucking in a sharp breath, he examined the wound as best he could.

  From what he could feel, there was a small gash, plenty of blood and one hell of a bump on his head. It wasn’t anything too serious, though, but that didn’t make him feel any better. Although it took a few tries for him to get his legs steady beneath him, Clint managed to get up and take a look around.

  The livery was just as it had been the last time he’d seen it, except for one difference. The big Indian was lying in a slightly different position and was now in a large pool of blood. Clint walked over to the Indian and only had to look at him for a few seconds to figure out what had happened.

  “Jesus Christ, Rachel,” he said under his breath. “What have you done?”

  The longer Clint stood there, the more things rushed back into his head. For starters, he remembered exactly where he was and who was in charge of the fort. Sergeant Bray wasn’t much for ambition, but even he would see the opportunity to nail the murder of the Indian on the man who was found next to the body. Considering how well they got along, Clint didn’t really want to be in that spot.

  When he saw the body of the other Indian who had been killed in their first fight, Clint was even quicker to get the hell out of there.

  Eclipse was standing next to Rachel’s horse in the spot where they’d been left earlier. Clint patted the Darley Arabian on the nose as he headed straight for the cathouse. He didn’t bother with any formalities as he pushed open the door, stepped inside and started looking around.

  The women’s faces lit up as they saw him. Several of them walked toward Clint, while others merely positioned themselves so he could get a look at what they had to offer. The first one to make it to him was a petite redhead with pert little breasts.

  “Hello there,” she said.

  Still looking at the rest of the women and then leaning over to try and glance down the hall, Clint asked, “Where’s the man Coltraine left behind?”

  The redhead scowled a bit and said, “He’s gone.”

  “How long ago?”

  “Do you just want to talk?”

  “Yes, I—”

  “Then talk to Jennie,” the redhead said as she stepped aside and pointed toward the woman with the dark, curly hair standing nearby.

  Clint walked to her and asked, “Where’s the man Coltraine left behind?”

  “He left. And he already took one of my girls with him, so don’t try to take another.”

  “No, you don’t understand.” Clint lowered his voice and stepped even closer to her. Even though he couldn’t see anyone who looked like they might be one of Coltraine’s men, Clint wasn�
��t about to get careless. “I’m a friend of Rachel’s. Was she here?”

  Jennifer turned and walked quickly into the next room. Clint followed her and stood so he could see both Jennifer and the hallway.

  “She was here a while ago,” Jennifer said.

  “How long ago?”

  “Less than an hour.”

  “What did she do?” Clint asked.

  “She asked about the same man you did. I told her to leave him be, but she said she was out to put him and the rest of them down for good. I don’t know how she could manage such a thing, but—”

  “Where is she now? I need to find her before she does anything stupid.”

  Jennifer shrugged and replied, “She wanted to meet with Mr. Rice as if she were one of my own girls. I told her that might not be a good idea, but she insisted. Since she wanted to go so badly, I lent her a red dress and introduced her to him.”

  “And where is she now?” Clint asked, trying not to sound too impatient.

  “She’s gone. Both of them are.”

  “What? I thought you just introduced them.”

  “That was almost an hour ago,” she explained. “She talked with him for a while, then he took her to a room. They were in there for a little bit and then he came out with her. After that, they both left.”

  “You said they only left about a half hour ago.”

  Shaking her head a bit, Jennifer said, “However she convinced him, she did it quickly. From what I’ve heard from other girls that have been with Mr. Rice, that’s not much of a surprise.” Suddenly, Jennifer pulled in a quick breath and reached out for Clint’s head. “Are you hurt?”

  “I’ll be all right. Apparently, I got a bit more rest than I thought.” Taking a watch from his pocket, Clint took one look at the time and cursed under his breath. “Damn! Do you know where they might have gone?”

  “It looked like Mr. Rice was leading the way and he never really says where he goes. You might want to ask Sergeant Bray, though.”