by Aaron Crash
“I might have a certain moral flexibility, but I’m not stealing from people like that,” Tessa countered. “This way, well, it’s a con, so there’s a little theft involved but not much. Just think of the soft bed we’ll get to crash in tonight.”
Aria rolled her eyes.
They left the Orange Crush and walked into the Torchlight through a door that cried out miserably, desperate for oil on its hinges. The glass in the door was so grimy, it really wasn’t a window anymore. They smelled the toilet from the door. Or was that the lingering stench of last night’s vomit?
Three burly, bearded bikers sat at the bar drinking beer and chasing it down with shooters of whiskey. Leather covered them from head to toe.
The bartender had wild hair that put the dirty in dirty blonde. She was at least three hundred pounds and braless. Clearly.
Tessa went into character immediately. She giggled and insisted, “Scott, Jasmine can make things levitate. She has the mystical powers of the East.”
They’d agreed on fake names. Steven was Scott. Aria was Jasmine. Tessa was Theresa. All nondescript names.
“No way,” Steven said. “I think you’re full of shit.”
Tessa wiggled up to the bar next to the bikers. “Three Long Island ice teas, please. And burgers, if you have them. And a big ol’ basket of fries.”
The three men stared at her, then at Aria, and then Steven.
The bartender only nodded and grunted.
“You all believe in magic?” Tessa asked the bikers.
At first, all shrugged noncommittally. Then one with a scorpion tattooed on his neck shook his head. “Naw. Ain’t no such thing as magic. What kind of game you playing, bitch?”
Anger flooded through Steven. At one point in his life, he might’ve been intimidated as hell by these guys, but now he just saw them as human. And humans couldn’t do much to hurt him. He was bulletproof, after all. “You watch your mouth, asshole. Her name is Theresa. Show some manners.”
Neck Tattoo jerked himself off the barstool. He was easily over six feet tall and several hundred pounds of fuck off. “Junior, this is our watering hole. You’re just here passing through. Don’t make me make you regret coming in here.”
Steven didn’t back off. Suddenly money didn’t matter. He kept quiet and let the fury in his eyes do all the talking.
Neck Tattoo smirked. “Ah, shit. You come in here looking for a fight, Junior?”
Steven fought the impulse to activate his DarkArmor ability, along with DragonStrength, and rip this motherfucker’s heart out of his chest and shove it down his throat. “No. We came in for a drink and for something to eat. That’s it.”
Neck Tattoo barked out laughter. “Well, shit, bro. You should’ve kept on driving. Maggie here can’t cook for shit and she waters down the booze. So fuck you anyway.”
He turned and sat back down, his bulbous gut settling over the edge of his pants. All sat shoulder to shoulder, hunched over their beers.
Maggie, the bovine bartender, called over her shoulder, “Fuck you, Beef. If the Torchlight is such a shithole, why do you keep coming back?”
“’Cause yer so beautiful,” Beef sneered before taking a long pull from his glass.
Yeah, the guy’s name was Beef. Steven couldn’t help but think of the other two as Chicken and Pork.
Tessa maneuvered them down the bar. Maggie brought their drinks and then disappeared into the kitchen.
“So have you been to India, Scott?” Tessa asked.
“I’ve barely left Colorado,” Steven said, recalling his fake name. “So, no, I’ve not been to fucking India.” He sipped the Long Island ice tea and it burned all the way down. Despite Beef’s claims, it sure didn’t taste like Maggie watered down the booze—unless of course she was watering it down with paint thinner.
Aria tried her drink, made a face, and then sat silently.
Tessa, though, polished off half her glass like it was nothing. She talked loudly, like she’d come into the bar half-lit. “Well, some of the Hindus have magical powers. Like the yogis, right? They can lay on beds of nails and not get hurt. It’s about focusing their inner strength. It’s like Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom shit. Kali maa! Kali maa!”
Yeah, Steven had to agree. Their con was kind of racist.
Aria sighed loudly. Tessa widened her eyes, begging the woman to follow along.
“Lying on a bed of nails is one thing,” Steven said. “Levitating stuff? There’s no way.”
“How much do you want to bet?” Tessa asked.
The bearded bikers, Beef, Chicken, and Pork, were obviously listening.
“I’m not going to bet you anything,” Steven said. “I don’t have any money.”
Maggie plunked down three plates and a big basket of fries. Steven looked at his big greaseball of a cheeseburger skeptically. Was that some kind of mystery meat? Had Maggie spit in it?
Then his hunger took over. He bit into the slightly squashed bun and enjoyed the juicy meat and gooey cheese. Sautéed onions? Yeah. Spicy pickles? Check that off the list. Fresh lettuce gave it a cool, crisp crunch. A tomato slice gushed flavor into his mouth.
Before he knew it, he’d devoured half the cheeseburger and found Aria and Tessa staring at him.
“Uh, you’re grunting,” Tessa said. Aria just looked disgusted.
Steven swallowed. “Those bikers are idiots. Maggie can make a good burger.” He addressed the bartender directly. “Maggie, that is probably the best cheeseburger I’ve ever eaten.”
A little light flickered on in her eyes. She patted her gut. “You don’t get my figure eating shitty food. Fuck those guys.”
Beef and the boys muttered amongst themselves.
Tessa picked at the fries. Shoestring fries, more grease than potato.
Steven wasn’t shy. He polished off half of the fries until Aria punched him lightly in the shoulder.
“Do you believe in magic, Maggie?” Tessa asked.
The bartender gave her a long, bored look. “You think you’re the first person to come into the Torchlight to run a con? Hardly. You won’t get me. And you won’t get Beef and his buddies neither. Ain’t our first rodeo, sweet cheeks.”
“I’m not running a con,” Tessa insisted. “My girlfriend is visiting from India, and she can do magic. That’s all. I was going to bet my boyfriend here, but he doesn’t have any money. So, oh well.”
“Girlfriend? Boyfriend?” Beef asked, taking some interest. “So you three are together?”
“Yeah, we are,” Tessa shot back. “Scott fucks us so good. Last time we went at it, I walked funny for a week.”
Steven though she was laying it on a bit thick and vulgar. But then again, Tessa knew her audience.
“A lover and a fighter,” Beef growled. “Damn. Didn’t see that when you came in. Let me buy you a drink, Junior.”
“I can buy my own drinks,” Steven said sharply. “And I’m Scott, not Junior.”
Beef chuckled and shook his head. “You got some stones.” He then addressed Tessa. “Okay, I’ll bite. Let’s see this goddamn magic show. How about we give you a hundred dollars to disappear your top?”
Anger knifed through Steven. This guy was pushing him to the edge. “How about you give me a hundred dollars so I don’t kick your ass. Don’t you have any class?”
“Class?” Maggie harrumphed. “This is the Torchlight, Junior. You shoulda checked your class at the door.”
Tessa soldiered on. “Two hundred dollars for the magic act. And I only show the girls to Scott and Jasmine these days. I bet if you went to Vegas, you wouldn’t see the kind of magic Jasmine can do. And you guys have dropped that kind of money at a strip club, I guarantee it.”
Chicken and Pork grumbled laughter.
Beef had to nod. “Well, you three certainly have made this afternoon interesting. Okay. Two hundred bucks. But you better impress us, or I’m going to beat the shit out of your boyfriend, and then you and I will renegotiate that titty deal.”
&n
bsp; “I hope Jasmine’s magic turns out to be total bullshit.” Steven stared Beef down. “Because I’m in the mood for a good fight.”
“We’ll have to turn down the lights,” Tessa said. “And then Jasmine is going to raise that pool table in the corner a foot off the ground.”
“Two feet,” Beef said. “I want my money’s worth.”
Maggie lowered the lights.
Tessa stepped off the barstool, leaving half of her cheeseburger behind. She saw Steven looking at it longingly. She nodded at him that it was okay if he finished it. Steven snatched it up and sucked it down.
Aria moved next to Tessa.
“Okay,” Tessa said. “Jasmine, do your thing.”
Aria sighed again and shook her head. She then raised her hands and rattled off a bunch of Hindi. The words sounded so out of place in the dingy dive bar.
As she spoke, Tessa whispered, “Magica Defensio.” The air in front of Aria flashed pink. It then disappeared. Tessa fisted her hands and then made simple gestures, so subtle that the men wouldn’t notice. They were staring at Jasmine anyway.
She was so amazingly gorgeous that she easily captured their attention. All the while, Tessa slid her shield under the pool table. One side jostled, then the other.
“Gonna have to do better than that,” Beef muttered. “Don’t know how you’re doing it, but I want to see more than a little shaking.”
Aria chattered away in Hindi, ignoring the bikers completely.
An unearthly pink light lit up the bottom of the pool table, and slowly, slowly, it rose into the air. First a foot. Then another. Then another. Tessa lifted the pool table all the way to the ceiling.
Beef shot off the barstool and sped over. He walked under the table, touching the legs, the sides, all the while shaking his head in disbelief.
“You might want to move out from under it, genius,” Steve warned the big biker. “She can’t hold it up like that forever.”
Beef stepped to the side. Tessa lowered the pool table until it was once again on the floor. The pink light winked off. Was the spell over?
“Maggie? Are you dicking with us?” Beef asked.
“Like hell,” the bartender grumped, eyeing the pool table and Aria in turn. “That’s some real magic shit right there.”
Beef stormed over. “How in the fuck did you do that? I want to know. You have wires there? You must have wires.” He went to shove Aria.
Instead, his hands hit a pink force field. Tessa had moved her spell.
Steven let the anger sweep him off the barstool. Yeah, Tessa had protected Aria, but that big biker hadn’t known that, and he could’ve hurt Aria. He figured they were done with lunch, so he grabbed what was left of Aria’s burger and munched on it as he marched up to the biker, who turned and swung at Steven.
But not before the Dragonsoul accessed his SerpentGrace ability. He sidestepped the attack with ease and knocked the incoming blow away with a flick of his wrist, unbalancing the ill-tempered biker shithead. And then he supercharged his fist with DragonStrength. With one hand holding the dripping cheeseburger, Steven used his other to punch Beef in his diaphragm. He knocked the air out of the big bearded man, doubling him over, leaving him wheezing like an asthmatic after running a marathon. Steven’s chest filled with heat as Animus swirled into him from the brief bout of combat.
Beef clutched his oversized belly and dropped to his knees. Steven loomed over him, clearly victorious. Instead of driving his hand through the biker’s skull and into his brain, Steven tweaked his nose. “Yeah, you’re going to be talking about this day for a long time. I think you got your two hundred dollars’ worth.” He then ate the last of the cheeseburger.
“And our lunch,” Tessa added. Her face was sweaty from the effort of controlling the magic. “Are you guys okay with paying for our lunch?”
Chicken and Pork stood to fish out their wallets. Both were laughing a little. Ha, they sounded a little nervous.
Beef dropped onto his hands and knees, still trying to breathe, while his friends counted out their money.
“I got their lunch,” Maggie said. “I hope you all have learned not to mess with strangers. I knew they were trouble the second they walked in.”
“Trouble,” Tessa agreed. “That’s us. And I’m feeling charitable, so here’s my magic.” She scooped her hands under her shirt and pulled it up, along with her bra, to show them her very fine, full breasts.
“Them’re some nice titties,” Pork murmured. “Scott, you are one lucky motherfucker.”
Beef managed to raise his eyes to get a little view. Then he went back to wheezing.
Tessa dropped her shirt. “Thanks, guys. I know, tonight, you’ll be thinking of me. Come on, Scott, Jasmine. Let’s go.”
She collected the money and they waltzed right out the door.
Once outside, Tessa leaned up against Steven. “We have to find a motel and fast. All that made me horny as fuck.”
Steven could only nod. While decking Beef had given him a little dose of Animus, he wanted to top off the tank with Tessa and Aria.
Chapter Eleven
TESSA WAS WICKEDLY frustrated. She’d wanted sex, right away, after their little encounter in the Torchlight. That wasn’t meant to be. Aria had wanted to get more miles in before they stopped, and so they had breezed through Fort Morgan, Brush, and Sterling and crossed the border into Nebraska. They stopped in Ogallala for the night.
Steven got his mom on the phone. She was at a safe place—with friends of hers that lived near the airport. She planned on staying there until the trouble blew over. Steven asked if it was okay if he told the Magnox Security team where she was, and after some argument, Florence Whipp agreed. Having an extra pair of eyes looking out for her couldn’t hurt.
Tessa checked in with her family, and it was still all quiet on the western front. She didn’t mention the security team that was guarding them. Saying that would only freak out her mother and her sister even more.
With their families safe, Aria drove the Bronco to the Marriott Fairfield Inn in Ogallala, but Steven argued against her choice. “Listen, Aria, yeah, we made a couple hundred dollars from those knuckleheads at the bar, but we shouldn’t blow so much money on one night. We should stay at a budget place to make our cash last. We just don’t know how long it will take Bud to grow our money—assuming he can.”
Speaking of which, they hadn’t heard from their new consigliere, and he wasn’t answering texts. Tessa thought that was a little strange, but she wasn’t going to stress about it. And she had to agree with Steven. Without a steady income, it was best to make any money you had last.
Aria frowned. “But I like comfort. These motor hotels don’t sound like they are very comfortable.”
“Better than the back of the Orange Crush,” Tessa offered with a grin. Her lust screamed that she was being stupid. If they just booked a room at the expensive hotel, well, the sex would come sooner. However, she had just enough control of her libido to follow Steven’s lead.
“Fine,” Aria conceded, folding her arms across her chest, a slight scowl painted across her face.
They found a crappy little motel on the outskirts of town called the Traveler’s Roost. The place needed a paint job and some serious redecorating. It was a ramshackle U-shape of rooms that badly needed to be condemned. And, the manager didn’t have many teeth, and the ones he had were a bright yellow. But ... it was also only $39.95 for the night, which was a total steal.
After putting on a little charm, Tessa got them into the room at the far end—and she managed to pay in cash without having to offer up a credit card or an ID. Not too shabby.
A few grubby kids watched them go in, not a parent in sight.
Once inside, Aria sighed heavily. There were two double beds with thin mattresses topped with clearly stained bedspreads. A little bathroom was stuck off the corner. Tessa knew, from experience, that it would be a mold farm, a place where fungus went to die. And rot.
“First rule of a cr
appy motel room,” Steven said glancing around, “is not to look under the bed. And don’t take off your shoes until you’re actually in bed because feeling the grime in the carpet can be gross. Remember, we’re only here for one night.”
“Also, don’t touch the bedspreads,” Tessa added. “I’m just glad we don’t have a black light because this place would glow like a supernova.”
Aria looked like she wanted to ask Tessa to cast another spell, to levitate her off the carpet and then right up out of the room. Was that a bloodstain near the door? Steven was right. Best not to look at anything or think very hard about how underpaid the cleaning staff was. On the plus side, the place did have the sharp chemical stench of cleaner, which was better than the alternative.
Actually, that smell and the dilapidated room got Tessa going again. She’d dated a married couple for a while, nice people from Denver’s polyamory community. None of them had very much money, and the couple spent what they did have on babysitters for the night. Tessa had gone with the couple to cheap motels for their playtime.
The memories and the day’s events sent Tessa’s libido into the atmosphere. She was out-of-her-head horny. She drew back the bedspread to find sheets that looked clean—though, again, best not to study them.
She then lay on her back. It was pretty clear what she wanted. She wiggled out of her jeans, not bothering with her shoes or shirt. Bottomless, she asked, “Who’s first?”
Steven drew Aria over to her. Aria gathered her dress up around her waist while Steven helped her out of her underwear. The thick tension of expectant lust filled the motel room.
Aria moved over to straddle the barista’s face. Tessa’s eyes were glued to the cleft between Aria’s slim thighs. For a second, Tessa felt like her desires would kill her. She couldn’t believe how lucky she felt, to be with this gorgeous woman and this incredible man. She thought of how easily Steven had put the biker down. That was why she’d flashed the men. She’d felt safe. And she’d felt a little bad for taking their money. Might as well give them a little extra for their trouble.