The Hunter's Prey Read Online Free Page B

while he talked to Ethan.  
    I tried to distract him. I paraded in silks straight from Paris and writhed under his hands and tongue until my voice was hoarse. I sucked him off more than once, surrounded by ledger books.
    But nothing worked. Johnny’s bookkeeper even got concerned that Johnny didn’t trust him. Johnny reassured him about that and the bookkeeper relaxed a bit. But the books stayed in Johnny’s office, close to him at all times. I kept wondering why Johnny was fussing about things that had never mattered to him before…
    Do you ever find yourself doing that, sugar? Suddenly just polishing a part of the bar that no one can see? That no one can get to? Just to have something to do. Maybe it was only nerves on Johnny’s part. But he’d never been nervous before…
    Johnny’s chief lieutenant, Hickok, didn’t like Ethan at all. He muttered on and on about how no one knew Ethan and how Ethan could be doing all sorts of nasty things during daytime, especially since Ethan only showed up after dark. He kept trying to pick fights with Ethan. But Ethan would just look at him in that cold way and move on. I figured the problem was that Hickok was simply drunk and jealous of the time Johnny spent with Ethan.  
    One night, Hickok had even more whiskey than usual. I heard him come upstairs, hitting his hands against the wall. (You ever seen a man do that when he’s too drunk to stand upright without help? Walks down the hall, thumping the walls every step just to make sure he knows which way is up.) A big heavy guy like Hickok - well, it almost sounded like a hammer.  
    I was in my room, trying on a new dress in hopes of getting some attention out of Ethan. I came out right away to stop Hickok before he bothered Johnny. But I found the oddest sight in the hallway.
    There was Hickok in Ethan’s arms. It looked like Ethan was kissing him on the neck and I stopped dead. I burned with envy, feverish to have Ethan’s arms around me. I felt my whole body clench with lust.  
    Then the men shifted slightly and I could see more. Hickok had his eyes shut, with a horrified look on his face. He wasn’t fighting though. I hesitated, not sure what to do.  
    Ethan’s eyes opened and he stared at me. I could see a little blood on his lip. I knew then and there that I had interrupted something that was none of my business.  
    I blinked and popped back into my room, mumbling something about being sorry to disturb them. The last thing I saw was Ethan watching me with his mouth still fastened to Hickok’s neck. It almost looked like he was sucking on Hickok but surely that couldn’t be.  
    Do you go to the cinema often, sugar? I always have. Now I’ve seen a lot of things in the movies, from vampires to King Kong. But those were made-up stories about monsters, not real-life. This was real. A man’s teeth on another man’s body. It still shakes me up to think of it…  
    Yes, thank you. A drink tastes real good after remembering that sight.  
    What happened to Hickok? Did he sober up? Would you, a bartender, want a good customer to stop drinking?  
    I wish he had though.
    I heard the next morning that they’d found Hickok dead in an alley off Guadeloupe. He’d been filled with bullets and there wasn’t much left of him. Funny thing though, the newspaper photos didn’t show any blood around the body. But maybe the newspaper prettied up the photo some to make it acceptable for family viewing.  
    Johnny got angry, said the other gang was responsible for Hickok’s death. Ethan never said anything about seeing Hickok that night and I wondered if I’d really seen anything. I went to church though, for the first time in years, and said a prayer for Hickok…
    Thank you, sugar. I needed another drink. I’ve been drinking champagne cocktails since I was sixteen. You make a very good one. It takes me right back…
    The fellows were more nervous after Hickok’s death. The men walked around each other like bantam roosters