Demon's Pass Read Online Free Page A

and Suzie walked away, Belle reached across the table and put her hand on Clay’s wrist. “What your friend said about me being particular is true,” she said. “I will only go to bed with people I like.”
    â€œI see,” Clay said.
    â€œAnd I like you.”
    â€œThat’s good to know.”
    â€œI do indeed.”
    â€œBelle, you been in Independence long?”
    â€œI was born here.”
    â€œDo you know anything about the orphanage in town?”
    Belle got a strange look on her face. “Why are you asking about the orphanage? What have you heard about me?”
    â€œNo. It’s just that recent events have left me in charge of an orphan, and I was thinking about making arrangements to leave him there. I thought that if you had been here for a while, you might be able to tell me something about it.”
    â€œWhy don’t you just shoot him? He’d be better off.”
    â€œWhat?” Clay replied, surprised by the bitterness of Belle’s response.
    Belle took a drink. “They call it The Hill, and I know a lot about it.”
    â€œTell me what you know.”
    â€œYou ever wonder how girls like me wind up whorin’?”
    Belle’s comment seemed like an abrupt change of subject and Clay paused for a second before he answered. “Well, I don’t reckon I’ve ever given whoring that much thought,” he finally said. “I figure a woman does whatever she wants to do. I’m not one to judge.”
    â€œI started whorin’ when I was sixteen. That is, I started gettin’ paid for it when I was sixteen. Mr. Slayton actually broke me in to the life when I was fourteen, but he didn’t pay me for it, unless you count food and a bed.”
    â€œWho is Slayton?”
    â€œJebediah Slayton is the man that runs The Hill. ’Course now, with boys, it’s different. He just rents them out like slaves. They work from before sunup till after sundown. He collects their wages, and they get something to eat and a place to sleep. The funny thing is, I’ve never been able to figure out who got the worse of it . . . the boys or the girls.”
    â€œHow can he get away with something like that?” Clay asked.
    â€œWho’s going to complain? The only ones there are the orphans, and that means they’ve got no one to complain for them.”
    â€œYou paint a pretty gruesome picture.”
    â€œI reckon I do. But it’s somethin’ I think you should know about if you’re thinkin’ about put-tin’ someone there.”
    â€œI won’t be putting him there,” Clay said resolutely.
    â€œYou won’t?”
    â€œNot after what you’ve told me.”
    The girl smiled. “Then I’ve done my Christian duty for the day. So, what are you going to do with the boy?”
    â€œWell, I don’t know,” Clay admitted. He stared at Belle for a moment. “I don’t suppose you would be interested in taking him in for a while? He wouldn’t be any trouble. He’s a fine-looking, strapping boy, nearly sixteen years old.”
    Belle laughed. “And you want to leave him with someone like me? Don’t you know that boys that age start getting pretty curious about women? And if this boy’s as good-lookin’ as you say . . . I might just satisfy that curiosity for him.”
    Clay cleared his throat. “Yeah, maybe you have a point,” he said.
    â€œSo, are we going to sit down here for the rest of the day and talk? Or, would you like to come upstairs with me?”
    Clay had come into the saloon to have a few drinks and to talk business with Marcus. He had no intention of consorting with a soiled dove. But he was surprised at just how quickly Belle had been able to stimulate his sexual appetite. And he was equally surprised when he heard himself accept her offer.
    â€œMy room is at the head of the stairs, the third door down on the right. You go on