Synnergy, Chaos Time Book 3 (4 page)

“Long Nose said you two were pretty, she sure wasn’t
wrong. Come inside, ladies, we’ve got fresh meat.” She wiggled
thick blond brows, and gestured with her arm at the others. She
flounced inside their room in a wake of laughter.

Her smile was large and beautiful. The Marilyn Monroe
mole at the corner of her lips made her an alluring sight in ivory
silk and bows.

What felt like a gaggle of women, laughing, twirling
and chattering loudly swept inside, crowding the tiny room with
their effervescence.

Some were old and others young. The older ladies
dressed more provocatively than the others, wearing nothing but
their corsets and cream-colored pants that ballooned out at the
waist. Their boobs pushed up so high by the tight lacing of the
corset that it was a wonder there was no nipples peeking out. Two
were quite plump, and that was being nice. They both had frizzy
black hair, pretty blue eyes and a long beaked nose. The likes of
which she’d expected to see on Long Nose Milly. It was obvious they
were identical twins.

The blonde leader grabbed Sable by the arms and
leaned in, kissing both cheeks exuberantly. Her scent of wild plums
tickled her nose. It was a very unique scent, kind of nice
actually. She wondered where she’d gotten that perfume from and
then she forgot all about that in the sudden dizzying excitement of
the crowd.

“Welcome to the parlor, ladies!” Her eyes twinkled
with warmth. She pointed towards the other girls and began making
introductions.

“Dorcas.” One of the older ladies waved hello.

“Sarah and Liza.” The twins curtseyed in unison.

“Martha.”

“Hello,” said the red head in the far back.

“The short one is Ruth.” She batted long lashes.

The blonde held out a plump hand. “And I’m,
Alice.”

Sable stood in the very back of the brothel studying
the layout. It was now dusk and men were trickling in like a slow
leak in a dam. Eventually that dam was bound to burst, and it was
that eventuality that had her skittish. Every clink and clank of
cups, stomp of boots, squeal and holler of guys and girls liquored
up, had her jumpy.

She’d made a pass through, trying to flirt and simper
like she’d seen the girls do, but after the fifth time of being
grabbed she’d decided to hide and regather her thoughts. She needed
information, she had no idea how to come about it and maybe if she
was lucky she wouldn’t have to do anything but listen in to the
conversations around her. Problem was, they all thought she was a
whore and pretty much only had one thought in mind when they saw
her walk their way. Hunter’s grand idea was turning into a bit of a
nightmare.

She sighed, chewing on her thumbnail as she tried to
figure out her next course of action.

Candles were lit in every conceivable nook and
cranny, the flickering lights threw strange shadows on the walls.
It was all very surreal and though they’d been here a day already,
sometimes it was hard to accept they really were in nineteenth
century California.

Somebody was playing a piano, keys sounding tinny and
discordant, like the thing hadn’t been tuned in some time. But no
one seemed to mind. The ladies were having a great time. They were
hugging the guy’s necks, walking from table to table, bending at
the waist pretending it was only to peek at cards and tickle
feather boas under their necks, but the truth was they were selling
themselves and doing a great job of it. Already she’d seen a few
walking upstairs trailing a guy behind them.

Arianna was sitting at the bar, chugging one drink
after another. Her cheeks were a deep pink and her skin flush, but
she was laughing and touching men with a look of wicked intent.
Sable couldn’t understand what had overcome the healer, but she was
not the same person. From the moment Synnergy’d stepped toe inside
this place she’d begun to change, she was cracking out of the icy
shell. Sable wasn’t sure whether that was good or bad.

Synnergy slammed her cup down, alerting the bartender
that she needed another refill.

The bartender was a sandy haired man with olive skin.
Where was One Eye Jack tonight? She should probably alert the guys
about him. Just in case.

Sable may have stayed put all night, content to watch
the crowd, were it not for the laser beam gaze Milly kept throwing
at her. She sighed.

“Why are you here, darlin’? Can’t catch no fish
without no bait.” Alice crept up beside her, and she jumped like a
kid caught stealing candy from the store.

Alice’s laugh was a sultry, throaty sound. A fat
silver blonde curl nestled against the vee of her breasts. An
obvious enticement to look at an impressive pair of boobs, Sable
looked at her own small buds and sighed.

“What do you mean?” she asked, hearing the unspoken
insinuation. She tilted her chin up like she’d seen her mother do
before and tried to pretend like she belonged. But her fingers
couldn’t seem to stop fluttering around the stiff taffeta of her
gown. Compared to the other girls, she was way overdressed. Which
actually seemed to be more of a turn on for the guys than a
deterrent, as one after another badgered her about what she had on
underneath. “This is not my first time, if that’s what you’re
implying.”

It totally was.

The doors to the parlor had never stopped swinging
open from the moment the first man arrived about thirty minutes
ago. This time she recognized the next one to enter. It was Gideon.
Her stomach did a queasy somersault.

“Oh, honey, if you could only see your face. I don’t
think you could get anymore stuck to that wall than you are now,”
Alice chuckled. “But not to worry,” she touched her arm and rubbed
it gently, “we all started somewhere.” Her tone wasn’t malicious.
She grabbed Sable’s cold hand and gave it a squeeze. “Follow me,
smile, bat your lashes. Flirt a little and get comfortable. Don’t
allow one to drag you upstairs unless you want him to. That’s the
point. Here,” she touched her buttercup yellow gown, “we’re the
ones in charge.” She winked and Sable returned her grin, falling
prey to Alice’s natural charm. “’Sides, it’ll keep Long Nose off
your back, and that’s always a good thing.”

Sable allowed herself to be led back out. “Why do
they call her Long Nose? She doesn’t really have one.”

“Honey, this is the West. We, none of us, go by our
real names. It’s an unfortunate moniker that’s made her plenty
rich. She’s well known round these parts and being fair. But
stern,” she said in obvious warning.

“Duly noted.”

Alice smiled, and pointed to a round table with five
guy’s playing cards. They had severe faces, all of them. They
weren’t coated in layers of dust, and though their clothes looked
worn and threadbare, they’d at least tried to clean up.

A balding one laid his cards down and hooted. The
other men groaned. Sable knew nothing about poker, but judging by
his shark like grin and the dejected faces of the others around
him, he’d probably won.

“How ‘bout them?” Alice asked. “Not so deep in their
cups that they’re piss poor drunk.” She shuddered as if thinking of
a memory. “But heavy full of gold. Look at all the nuggets on that
table. There’s money there.”

Sable swallowed hard, but nodded. “Okay.”

Before she knew it, they were at the table. She
plastered on her best smile and tried to appear calm on the
outside, even though inside she waged a battle with fear and
adrenaline. Fear was totally winning.

“Heya, Boys,” Alice breathed and Sable shivered.

Man did she have the sex kitten vibe down. She’d have
given Marilyn a run for her money.

Sable fed off Alice’s energy, calming down because
the other woman was so calm. Alice sat on the bald man’s lap and
started to toy with his spectacles, then she leaned in and blew
softly into his ear.

He giggled, obviously liking it.

With a deep breath, Sable plopped herself down onto
the lap of the youngest one there. He couldn’t have been more than
eighteen, there were no whiskers on his cheeks and his eyes were a
clear blue, reminiscent of Slayde’s. But that was where the
similarities ended; he was nowhere near as big or overwhelming, not
at all sexy. He was more like the adorkable best friend.

Which made him safe.

His eyes widened at her brazen behavior and she
trilled with laughter at his reaction, further helping to settle
her nerves. Next time she laughed, it was real.

Pretty Woman was one of her all-time favorite movies.
Channeling her best Julia Roberts meets Southern Belle, she said,
“what’s your name, shuga?”

Maybe when this was all over, she’d take some acting
classes. She was actually starting to have fun.

He slipped an arm around her waist with an impish
grin, revealing two large dimples in his cheeks. She bit her bottom
lip, now that she thought of this as acting she threw herself into
the part. She traced the line of his neck, pleased to note the
goose bumps that rose at her touch.

He gave her a gap toothed grin. “Adam,” he said in a
deep voice that shivered down her spine. She smiled. From the
corner of her eye she saw Alice rubbing her man’s bicep and oohing
over it, so she did the same.

There wasn’t much there, but still she pretended it
was the biggest bicep she’d ever seen. “Why I bet you’re a...”
thinking quick, trying to recall what types of jobs were done by
men of this period, she blurted, “rancher with arms like these,
aren’t cha?”

He laughed. “Nah, came up here with my paw to try a
turn at panning.” A black lank of hair slipped into his eye and he
huffed at it, but it slipped back down. Being bold, she reached up
and tucked it back.

A smoky gleam entered his eyes. The laughter died on
his tongue and his breathing grew heavy. Her pulse quickened
sensing the mood shift. She went still. She might have hopped right
off if it hadn’t been for the bald one’s interruption.

“Hear about ol’ Caleb’s gold last night?”

Adam groaned, and Sable breathed a happy little sigh
when his attention drew off her.

“That rascal, ought to be strung up. Thieven’s
thieven. What I want to know is when the law plans to do something
‘bout the Bandit?” the man to Adam’s left wearing red sleeve
garters said, throwing three cards down with an angry snort.

“Who’s the bandit?” Sable’s pulse hammered in her
ears.

Baldy was rubbing his hand along Alice’s thigh as he
answered her. “Some masked feller, comes out only at night to steal
our rightful claims. Looks like one of them Egyptian mummies I hear
stories told about.”

“Ah, you don’t know nothing ‘bout no Egyptian Mummy,”
another guy of ordinary build and description chuckled, “you ain’t
never been out of the country.”

“Ephraim, so help me,” baldy stiffened, suddenly
releasing Alice and gripping the gun at his holster.

“Frank,” Ephraim said back. Mouth nothing but a slit,
if Sable had to call it, she’d say Ephraim was definitely the more
dangerous of the two. He waited with the look of a snake about him.
Still, but no less lethal for it. His fingers flexed, hovering over
the wooden grip of his gun.

Adam and the other two tensed up, in fact, several
heads turned in their direction. Nervous excitement skittered
through the room with the pulsing waves of danger pooling electric
around their table.

She couldn’t do more than pant and jerk her gaze
between one and the other.

“Now boys,” Alice soothed, tsking a finger at them,
wearing a confident smile. Not one whit afraid or fearful. “Play
nice, or you’ll not get to play with me.” She cuffed Frank on the
chin. It was like someone flicked a switch. The energy deflated.
His eyes twinkled when they looked back at her.

After only a second, the chattering of voices picked
up again. Crisis averted. Everyone shrugged it off, going on about
their lives like nothing weird had just happened. Everyone was
calm. And she now knew why they called it the Wild West. This
really was nothing to them. As ordinary as eating.

Adam toyed with the buttons on her gown. Taking a
deep breath to regather herself, she affected nonchalance, but it
took a few moments for her stomach to settle down.

Frank grinned, his hand back on Alice’s. “Wouldn’t
want that now. Would we?”

“No,” she agreed, rubbing noses with him.

Sable cleared her throat. “So um, the bandit? Anyone
know who he is?” she asked, trying to get them to refocus, and get
Adam away from thinking with his little boy parts.

Ephraim shrugged. “I think it’s that old coot we saw
blatherin’ to hisself not ten days ago.”

“Naw,” one of other two who hadn’t spoken up yet
said, “I tell you, it’s One Eye Jack. He looks like one of them
murdering bastards.”

Really
? Sable felt like her head was on a
swivel as she attempted to follow each thread of conversation.

“No, Benjamin,” Adam shook his head, “he ain’t got
but one eye.”

She wasn’t sure why having only one eye would exclude
him from a list of possible suspects. Shoddy reasoning at best.

“I tell you,” Adam continued, “it’s one of them
Apache’s, what with the way the Bandit moves through them hills
like he’s a ghost. And his skill with the riffle. Ain’t never heard
anything like that before.”

“You damn fool,” the last man, this one a grizzled
type, shook his head. “We’ve never had Apache here. This is Ohlone
territory and they’ve not been here for a good fifteen years
now.”

Her Adam was obviously not the brightest crayon in
the box. She patted his arm sympathetically.

Adam rolled his eyes, laying a possessive hand in the
small of her back, which Sable tried very hard to ignore.

“Caleb,” Adam said, “that don’t make no nevermind to
me. I tell you it’s an Injun.”

Caleb shook his head and picked up his drink, taking
a slow sip.