Female Prey & the Elusive Prey (35 page)

“I’d like some coffee, please!” she said loudly, just as the men noticed her presence and fell silent. The two women were facing away from her. They laughed once more in wild unison before realizing how terribly silent things had suddenly become. They began to look around to see what had gone wrong, and their eyes fell on Kimberley.

“Hi,” Kimberley smiled at them. They seemed to be just a bit younger than she was, one with dark hair in a short pixie cut, the other with long brown tresses that almost reached her shoulders. They were also taller than Kimberley was, both of them wearing very short and tight cutoff jeans that showed off their long legs and snug t-shirts that showed off even more. Kimberley held out her hand. The dark-haired woman took it out of reflex. “I’m Elf-Girl. Who are you two, and what brings you to this town?”

“Ah…uh…I’m Jessie,” the dark-haired girl replied. “This is Anne. We’re…on vacation. WHAT did you say your name was?”

Kimberley laughed. “Just call me Elf-Girl,” she replied. “I’m here on vacation too.” The bartender placed a steaming mug of coffee on the bar next to her elbow. Kimberley picked it up and took a sip from it. Jessie had ice-blue eyes, while Anne’s were big and brown. Both pairs of eyes showed puzzlement.

“What…kind of vacation?” Anne asked after a pause.

“Well, what kind of vacation are you here on?” Kimberley countered. “Why were you riding in that stagecoach out there?” She gestured with the coffee mug before taking another sip. Ahhh! It tasted good, even black like this. She usually preferred it with a little cream and sugar, but asking for them now would break the mood.

“We’re…ah…staying at the lodge back in Gordburg,” Anne replied. “We’re just taking a little day trip, visiting…ah…” Her face reddened.

Kimberley nodded. “Just seeing the sights?”

“Well…yes.”

“Uh-huh. And what sights might those be?” Kimberley’s smile took on an edge. “Let me guess…naked women in cages?”

Anne and Jessie both reddened, and Kimberley knew her guess was right.

“Well, what are you here for?” Jessie challenged.

“Me?” Kimberley sipped her coffee again before replying. “Me, I’m out here to see if any of the hunters can catch me.” She gestured at the men. “So far, none of ‘em have. But let’s talk about you two.” She grinned at the women. “Why’d you have to come all the way out here for some cheap thrills? There’s plenty of them back in Gordburg, aren’t there?”

“What do you mean, ‘cheap thrills’?” Anne’s eyes narrowed.

“Hey,” Kimberley drank a bit more coffee and went on. “You come out here dressed like that, no bras, showing off to get attention. You go to look at the captured women, knowing that every guy here is thinking about how you’d look naked in one of those cages, and knowing that none of ‘em can touch you.” She paused. “Well, maybe ‘cheap thrills’ isn’t the right phrase after all…” She let her voice trail off and returned to her coffee.

“Oh? And what
would
be the right phrase?” Anne just couldn’t let it be, it seemed.

Kimberley noted that the original small crowd of men had drawn back a bit and that more men had entered the saloon. All of them were watching the proceedings with keen interest. Some of them were probably hoping for a catfight. They would probably be disappointed. Anne just didn’t look like the type. “Well,” she turned to face Anne again and shrugged. “Since you asked, I have to tell you that the term ‘cocktease’ comes to mind.”

“You Bitch!” Anne flared, but she made no move towards Kimberley. Jessie looked quickly around the room at all the male faces and seemed to want to slink away from this confrontation.

Kimberley laughed. “Whether I’m a bitch or not, I’m putting my ass on the line out here, while all you and your friend are doing with your asses is wagging them under every guy’s nose before scampering safely back to town. I’ll bet the two of you even giggle about it afterwards.”

Now Jessie looked as if she wished she could become invisible. Anne’s face was red with fury, and her mouth was working as if she wanted to say something but couldn’t. Maybe she couldn’t find the words, or she’d found them but they were sticking in her throat.

“Do you two even like men?” Kimberley asked with mock seriousness. The male part of her audience laughed loudly. Anne, apoplectic now, looked up and around to glare at them all. Jessie plucked at her arm. “Come on, Anne, let’s go,” she pleaded, almost in a whisper. Anne shook her off angrily.

“Could I get a refill, please?” Kimberley waved her coffee mug at the bartender, who grinned broadly at her. “Surely, Miss,” he nodded. “No charge.”

“Hey.” Anne poked Kimberley once in the shoulder with a finger. “Who the hell do you think you are?”

Kimberley looked at the finger and then at Anne’s face. She did not move. “I told you,” she replied mildly. “I’m Elf-Girl.” She kept her gaze fixed on Anne’s eyes until Anne withdrew her finger and backed up half a step.

Anne still looked angry. “I’m not a cocktease,” she said, apparently forgetting about Jessie.

“Of course not.” Kimberley nodded in agreement. “You just act like one.” She felt safe taking yet one more jab. She didn’t think Anne was going to take the first swing, no matter what.

“I’m not!” Anne insisted.

“Okay.” Kimberley shrugged. “Prove it.”

“What?” Anne went from anger to shock in an instant. Behind her, Jessie rolled her eyes.

“Prove it,” Kimberley repeated. “Or leave me alone. I’d kinda like to get breakfast some time today.”

“Prove it how?” Anne frowned.

“I don’t know,” Kimberley shrugged. “Pick a couple of guys here and fuck them.”

Anne looked around again, nervously this time. “You’ve got to be kidding!”

“Your choice,” Kimberley shrugged again. “You can always just go back to Gordburg.” She turned back to the bartender, as if dismissing the other woman. “Can I still get breakfast here?”

Anne slammed a fist down on the bar. “Fuck you and fuck your breakfast!” she yelled. She turned to her companion. “Come on, Jessie. We’re leaving.” As she stormed out of the saloon, the men parting to give her a clear lane, the bartender called out after her: “The coach doesn’t leave for another three hours, Miss!”

Anne stopped short just outside when she heard that. Jessie almost blundered into her. She shook her head angrily and stalked away. Jessie cast a last unreadable glance back at Kimberley before hurrying after Anne. The saloon began to empty as some of the men decided to follow.

“That wasn’t very nice.” Kimberley almost whirled at the sound of the familiar voice, but she caught herself and turned around slowly.

“Why, Greg!” she smiled, leaning back against the bar. “That snooty bitch had it coming.” When had he come in? And how had he gotten here so quickly?

“Indeed she did,” Greg agreed. “But that’s not what I meant.”

“Oh? What did you mean?”

“I mean it wasn’t very nice of you to leave like that without saying goodbye.”

She laughed. “So you’re still stalking me?”

“Yes…and it’s not as easy as I thought it might be. Can I buy you that breakfast you asked about?”

Kimberley regarded him silently for a moment. “All right,” she nodded. “But you have to tell me how you got here so soon and don’t be expecting anything just because you bought me a meal.”

Greg laughed. “I see you don’t kiss on the second date either.”

She was much hungrier than she’d thought. Seated at a corner table, she ate ravenously as Greg watched. “Well?” she prodded. This saloon offered a very tasty western omelet.

“Well what?”

“How soon you men forget.” She stabbed another forkful. “How did you get here so soon?”

“Oh, that.” He shrugged. “Well, once the maid found your room empty and all of your stuff gone it wasn’t too hard to figure out you’d skipped. The hard part was figuring which way you’d go. Looks like I’m the only one who guessed right. It didn’t take too long to walk here. Actually, I’ve been waiting for you.”

“The only one?”

Greg chuckled. “Little Elf-Girl, there are about half a dozen other hunters out beating the bushes for you as we speak. You caused quite a stir back there.” He took a sip of coffee. “But that’s what you wanted, wasn’t it?”

“Maybe…oh, hell. You know it was.” Kimberley had to chuckle herself.

“So…what’s your next move?”

“What makes you think I’d tell you…or tell you the truth if I told you anything?”

“It was a rhetorical question. I’ve already figured out that I’m not likely to catch you by trying to track you down, so I’ll have to outthink you and get ahead of you.”

“How do you plan to do that?”

“I’m not going to tell you that.”

“That was my own rhetorical question,” Kimberley retorted.

Greg laughed, then turned serious. “I ought to warn you about something.”

“Oh? What?”

“Your friend Ralphie is one of the guys hunting you. I think that he thinks he owes you something.”

“So what?” Kimberley shrugged.

“Ralphie’s got a bad rep. He’s not too bad as part of a group where his buddies can keep an eye on him, but he’s out on his own after you, Elf-Girl. If I were you, I’d watch my ass.”

“You seem to be watching it already, but thanks for the warning.” She finished off the last of the omelet. ‘And now what do I do?’ she wondered. She had to shake Greg somehow, but that was going to be a whole lot harder in daylight than it had been at night. Anyway, last night’s little trick wasn’t likely to work twice in a row. Things would have been so much simpler if Greg had just guessed wrong.

She looked into Greg’s eyes, trying to get some time to think. He met her gaze with an annoyingly self-satisfied grin as if he knew he had her in check. Well, he was right, but she didn’t find it as amusing as he did.

Jessie burst into the saloon. She stopped just inside, looking around until she spotted Kimberley. “You,” she pointed. “Anne wants to show you something. Now.”

Chapter Ten

“What?” Kimberley frowned. “What the hell does she want? She can just come here and show me, if she’s so intent on it.”

“She can’t show you here,” Jessie replied. She seemed very agitated. “You have to…you have to come to the barn.”

“What? What barn?” Kimberley thought she must have missed something.

“The one at the edge of town.” Greg spoke up. “The one with the caged, naked women. You know.”

“Oh.” Kimberley looked from Greg to Jessie and back again. “But why?”

“I guess you’d have to go there to find out.” Greg shrugged. “I think I’ll be going there myself. It might be interesting.” He stood up, waiting.

“All right,” Kimberley sighed. “I guess I’ll go too.” She didn’t really have anything else to do at the moment, except for trying to figure out a way to ditch Greg. In spite of what he’d just said, she suspected he wouldn’t go to the barn unless she went. Well, why not go? She pushed her chair back and stood, picking up her pack. It wasn’t too heavy to carry one-handed for a while, and she wasn’t going to go anywhere without it. Maybe whatever Anne wanted to show her down at the barn could provide a diversion to let her slip away somehow.

Jessie led the way. She never looked back to see if Kimberley was following her. Kimberley had the distinct impression that Jessie was very angry at her for some reason. It couldn’t be about her remarks in the saloon earlier, could it? Anne had been angry then, but Jessie had just looked embarrassed. What was going on? Greg walked close beside her. He never quite touched her, which just made her all the more aware of his presence. She had a fleeting thought of dropping behind just a little to get a quick look at his butt as he walked and resisted the impulse. It probably wouldn’t work anyway. If she tried that, he’d just slow down himself. He was going to keep his eye on her no matter what.

The barn was built on a smaller scale than the one back in Gordburg, but it was still a large building. Big double doors, opened wide now, fronted on what passed for the main street here, and there was a small crowd gathered there already…all men, except for one tall woman in a long-sleeved, ankle-length black dress. She seemed to be in charge.

“I brought her,” Jessie announced to the woman as they approached. Having said that, Jessie stepped aside. She gave Kimberley a last, withering look. “I hope you’re happy!” she snarled furiously and then stalked off back towards the saloon. Kimberley wondered what was going on.

“You’re Elf-Girl?” the woman asked.

“Yes.” Kimberley nodded. “That’s me.”

“All right, then we can get started.”

“Hold it!” Kimberley protested. “We can get started on what? I’m not going in there.”

“Oh, don’t worry.” The woman laid a long-fingered hand on Kimberley’s arm. “You are quite safe, but your presence is required.”

“Required for what?” Kimberley backed up a half step.

“I suggest that you come inside and see,” the woman replied.

“And who the hell are you?” Kimberley shot back.

The woman reached up and unbuttoned the high collar of her dress, opening it just far enough for Kimberley to see that she wore a black leather collar very much like the one worn by Joanna back in Gordburg. “I’m a proctor here,” she said. “I guarantee your safety. No one here will touch you without your permission.”

Okay, what exactly was a proctor? Some kind of referee or something? A supervisor? Kimberley regarded the woman for a moment. She was an older woman, about the same age as Joanna in Gordburg. Her bearing was also reminiscent of Joanna. Maybe this woman was some kind of representative of the local…government? Power structure? Town marshal? It seemed very strange to put a woman in a position of power in a place like this, but as she thought about it, it made a peculiar sort of sense. Out here, a woman was more likely to be believed and trusted by another woman, and a woman in charge…whatever kind of charge it was…would be a constant reminder to men here that there were, indeed, some limits. It still struck Kimberley as very odd that she wore a collar as a symbol of her authority instead of, say, a badge. But at this point, she was willing to accept it as yet one more bit of strangeness in this very strange and interesting place. For all that, she did feel like Elf-Girl in Wonderland at times.