“Hey, now!” blustered a gray-haired fellow who wore the dust of a weeklong ride on his face. “I take exception to that!”
“All except for Jordan,” Lottie corrected. “He’s got the tongue of an angel.”
“And the hands of a devil,” Jordan said, which elicited a round of bawdy laughter from all the other men gathered around the table. Despite all the encouragement, however, Jordan kept his hands over his money and his backside attached to his chair. His eyes, on the other hand, were glued to the pale, supple curves of Lottie’s breasts.
Caleb joined in and laughed with all the rest, but also made a point of taking another look around the table. It was then that he spotted a few men who weren’t laughing. In fact, those men grew more stern as more attention was being drawn to Lottie’s table.
When one of those men with the sour expressions took a seat around the table, Lottie lost a bit of the warmth in her smile. It came back once she noticed that another seat had just been filled.
“Maybe I will try my luck,” Caleb said as he scooted his chair up close to the table.
Lottie nodded to acknowledge all the players as she shuffled up the cards and spread them on the table. Every one of her movements flowed like steam drifting along the edge of a bathtub. When she placed the cards into the dealing box, Lottie pulled the edge of the first card out, but kept enough of it inside the box to keep the one beneath it from being seen.
“Enough with the soda,” Jordan grunted, referring to that first card by its slang name. “I’m ready for the hard liquor!” To punctuate his words, he slapped down a silver dollar beneath a penny onto the ten displayed on the table.
“All that talk and you’re only coppering one little bet?” Lottie asked in a sweet yet teasing voice.
“And this on the little lady to win,” Jordan added as he slapped another five dollars onto the queen on the table’s layout.
While this was going on, the rest of the men at the table placed their bets for what they thought would win or lose. Bets were placed on a display of the cards, all of which were shown in the suit of spades. If they thought a card would lose, they placed a copper token, or sometimes a penny, on that card. The bets came quickly and with plenty of cross talk between the gamblers before they were all stopped by a subtle wave of Lottie’s hand.
Lottie pulled the soda from the box and set it aside. She then removed the next card as well and laid it beside the box. All of these motions were done with such a quick fluidity that both the card she’d removed as well as the one displayed through the rectangular hole cut in the box were revealed at approximately the same time.
The card she set next to the box was the loser. It was the five of clubs.
The card showing through the hole in the box was the winner and it was the jack of spades.
“You know I love you, Jordan,” Lottie said. “But I’m going to have to take that money away.”
Jordan made a show of being mad, but knew better than to make a move toward the money.
As he played that hand along with a few others, Caleb watched the way things at the table moved. He could see how players were kept on their side of the layout and how well the dealer’s box and stacks of money were controlled. He also watched the frowning man at the end of the table, which was more difficult than it should have been, since Caleb wanted to keep his eye on Lottie more than anything else.
Even though the redhead never moved from her seat, her body shifted as if she were wriggling through calm waters. She tossed her hair from one shoulder to the other with little twitches of her head as she snapped the cards from the dealer’s box with deft twists of her wrist. When she spoke, it was always in a luxuriant tone. When she looked at Caleb, it seemed that she was making him a sinful promise with her dark brown eyes.
As they worked their way through the deck, every man at the table tried their luck with gaining the dealer’s favor. Some of the flirtations were innocent enough, while others drifted more toward heartfelt and even desperate. Lottie deflected most of them with as much skill as she used in handling the cards, and none of the exchanges ended on a harsh note.
None of them, that is, except for one.
The frowning man at the end of the table had his hands flat upon the felt and his eyes fixed upon Lottie. He hadn’t even made a move toward the small pile of chips that had been pushed his way.
“What the fuck is this?” the frowning man growled.
Although the other gamblers were no strangers to such language, those words were very much out of place at that particular table. A few of the men even seemed offended.
“No need to speak to the lady like that,” Jordan said.
Caleb shared that sentiment, but he knew all too well that saying as much wouldn’t do a lick of good.
“It’s all right,” Lottie said while patting Jordan’s hand. “He’s just a little upset. What seems to be the problem?”
Flicking a few fingers toward his chips, the frowning man said, “This is the problem. It’s short.”
Lottie’s brow furrowed as she went over the last several moves she’d made. Finally, she pointed out, “But you won. I paid you.”
“You paid me, but it’s not enough,” the frowning man insisted. “You shorted me and I want the rest of what you owe.”
“I paid you the proper amount. Just take it and if you want to win more, you should probably bet more than five dollars a hand.”
“I bet fifty dollars on that hand, bitch, and you know it.” Even though he hadn’t taken his hands off the felt on top of the table, the frowning man took on the disposition of a wolf that had just bared its fangs.
The other men around the table could feel the tension in the air on an instinctual level.
Caleb was more concerned by how close the frowning man’s hand was to the gun holstered at his side. “If you’ve got a problem, maybe you should take it up with me,” Caleb said.
The frowning man’s eyes shifted in their sockets just enough to get a look at Caleb. “And who the fuck are you supposed to be?”
“He’s not a part of this,” Lottie interrupted. Shifting in her seat, she squared her shoulders and fixed the frowning man with an intent gaze. “If you have a problem, you speak to me. This is my table and you know that well enough.”
But Caleb and the frowning man’s eyes were locked in a fierce test of wills.
The frowning man’s eyes were close-set and dark as two nuggets of charred iron. His face was a tough mask of leathery skin, which barely moved as he stared Caleb down. It normally took emotion to change a man’s face that way, but there was none to be found in this man’s expression.
“Whoever you are, mister, you’d be wise to let this pass. It don’t concern you.”
“That’s right,” Lottie said as she glared at Caleb. “It doesn’t. This is my table,” she added while shifting her gaze over to the frowning man. “Since I don’t want it disturbed any longer, I’ll set these matters straight right here and now.”
The frowning man didn’t attempt to smile, but he did take some of the edge from his glare when he said, “Finally, the voice of reason.”
Caleb’s first instinct was to get back into the confrontation before Lottie bit off more than she could chew. On the other hand, she seemed to know more about what was happening than he did. She also wasn’t short on backup since Earl was subtly reaching for something under his section of the table.
“Any of you assholes feel like you got a wild hair up your ass, make your move now,” the frowning man said. “Otherwise, back off and let me and the lady here take care of our business.”
Before any of the gamblers could say a word, Lottie glanced around the table and spoke in a voice that was as calm as it was convincing. “It’s all right, fellas. This is just a misunderstanding. I’ll take care of it and we can get right back to the cards as soon as I’m done.”
That seemed to be enough to convince the men to pursue their entertainment elsewhere for the time being. Once the
table had been cleared, however, one seat was still occupied.
“Go on,” Lottie said to Caleb.
“Are you sure?”
She nodded and gave him another one of her promising winks. “Don’t worry. I won’t forget about you.”
Caleb got to his feet and took one more look at the frowning man. After that, he tipped his hat and headed to the bar. There wasn’t a spot open where he could still keep an eye on the faro table, so Caleb pushed aside a few drunks and made a spot for himself.
“Who’s that man?” Caleb asked the barkeep.
The moment the barkeep spotted the frowning man at Lottie’s table, his eyes widened and he pulled in a quick, reflexive breath. “Oh…I don’t know.”
“Don’t give me that,” Caleb said. “He’s been waiting to stir up some shit from the moment he sat down.
“He’s probably just drunk. A lot of times drunks need a while to screw up their courage.”
“He’s not drunk and he’s not looking for any courage,” Caleb said with certainty. “He’s just been waiting for his opening. Now he’s got it.” Although he didn’t want to take his eyes from the table, Caleb did just that so he could get a better look at the barkeep. “You know who he is.”
“He’s trouble, mister, and you’re better off not knowing him. We all are,” Seeing that Caleb wasn’t about to back down, the barkeep sighed and said, “His name’s Boyer.”
“And what’s his problem with Lottie?”
“It’s got something to do with the game she runs. I don’t know the details because I just rent her the space and take a small percentage of the winnings.”
“How small?”
“Ten percent,” the barkeep said in a wavering voice. After a stern, unfriendly glare from Caleb, the barkeep shifted his eyes away and added, “More like twenty percent. I swear that’s all.”
It was only then that Caleb realized he was starting to lean over the bar and stretch his hand toward the gun at his side. At least that explained why the barkeep had suddenly become desperate to get away from him.
“All I want is to…” Caleb’s words trailed off as he twisted around to look back toward Lottie’s table, only to find it empty. After looking around quickly, he caught a glimpse of her long red hair as she tossed it over her shoulder while making her way around a corner and into another section of the saloon. Boyer was close behind.
“What’s over there?” Caleb asked.
The barkeep glanced in that direction and replied, “Just some storage space.”
“Aw, hell.”
6
Lottie walked with a bounce in her step and a smile on her face as she made her way through the saloon. Several of the men glanced at her to trade a few quick words, and several more glanced at her just to catch a glimpse of one of the prettiest faces in the place. She played up to every last one of them, expertly keeping at least a few people watching her as she led the way to one of the back rooms.
If Boyer noticed any of the attention she was getting, he made no indication. He was aware enough to know when nobody else was able to see her because that’s precisely when he made a move of his own.
Lottie had just stepped into a small hallway that led to two doors facing each other in a cramped space. Positioning himself so he filled up most of the end of the hall, Boyer moved forward while dropping his hand to the gun at his side. Before he could clear leather, the woman in front of him wheeled around and raised a small gun of her own.
“You must truly think I’m stupid,” Lottie said as she held the derringer at just above hip level. “And that, more than anything, truly pisses me off.”
Boyer’s hand didn’t waver from its position. His expression didn’t change. He didn’t even stop moving forward as he said, “I don’t think you’re stupid. I do think you’re a bit too confident for your own good. Otherwise, you would have accepted the more than generous offers you’ve already been given.”
“Generous offers? Is that what you call them? And here I thought I was being threatened and pushed out of my business.”
“Gambling isn’t your business around here. If you don’t know that by now, then maybe you are stupid.”
“You’re the stupid one if you think half of these men would drop half of the money they do if it was someone else but me dealing those cards,” Lottie said.
“Which is why you were offered nearly twice the amount given to the other dealers in this town.”
“If I’m gone, those gamblers will find somewhere else to go. Also, it’s not like you can just kill me and dump me somewhere. I’ve got protection of my own, you know.”
Boyer instantly picked up on the shift in Lottie’s tone as well as the flicker of her eyes as she took a split second to look at something behind him. In a sudden burst of motion, he swiveled at the hip and grabbed hold of the man who’d just stepped into the hall.
With that grab, Boyer got hold of Earl’s sleeve. It wasn’t the best way to control another man, but Boyer tightened his grip and put enough muscle behind his movement to nearly take Earl off his feet and shove him toward one of the nearby doors. Earl’s shoulder slammed hard enough against the door to force it open, revealing a cluttered supply closet filled with brooms, buckets, and extra chairs.
Even though Earl was shocked by how quickly he was pulled off balance, he managed to regain his composure just as fast. The knife he’d been carrying was almost knocked loose on impact, but he cinched his grip around it and made a quick slash with the blade.
Boyer leaned back just enough to dodge the swipe, while wearing a look on his face that barely seemed concerned with the weapon he’d so narrowly avoided. Once Earl’s hand flew by, Boyer reached out and grabbed hold of the man’s shirt, pulled him forward, and then followed up with a swift knee below the belt.
Earl let out a wheezing gasp and thanked his lucky stars Boyer’s knee had landed just north of his groin. Even so, the impact was enough to drive most of the wind from his lungs and cause his vision to fade for a second or two.
With everything happening so quickly, Lottie was barely able to move toward the storage closet before Earl was dropped to the floor. Standing in the doorway, she lifted her derringer to take a shot. Unfortunately, that was the very moment that Earl got enough breath to straighten up and lunge at Boyer like a charging bull.
Taking half a step back, Boyer tensed his stomach and was more than prepared to catch Earl on his way in. One arm snaked under Earl’s arm while his other snagged the knife from Earl’s hand. Boyer viciously pounded his knee into Earl’s chin and chest again and again, until he was the only thing holding Earl up.
“I warned you, too, asshole,” Boyer whispered. “Is that pussy worth dying for?” With that, Boyer flipped the blade in his hand so he could drive it into Earl’s belly. Gritting his teeth, he pulled the blade through Earl’s flesh until it snagged against the bottom of the man’s rib cage.
Lottie stood in the doorway with her gun in hand and her jaw hanging open. When she saw the blood pour from Earl’s wound to soak into the floor, she could barely keep from fainting dead away. When she saw Boyer set Earl down and then turn around to look at her, she knew she was about to experience her last moments on this earth.
A rough hand clamped down on her shoulder and nearly pulled her off her feet, but Lottie wasn’t pulled into the blade that had just ended one man’s life. Instead, she was pulled out of the doorway and into the hall until her shoulders knocked against the opposite door.
“Get the hell out of here,” Caleb said.
That was all Lottie needed to hear. She bounced off the door and turned toward the saloon’s main room. Some of the men looked away from their drinks or women long enough to show her a concerned glance, but none of them seemed to realize what had happened. Rather than explain it to them, Lottie headed for the front door.
Caleb watched her just long enough to know she was out of harm’s way. From there, he was able to twist all the way back in order to clear the path for the
blade that was coming straight at him.
Lunging forward to extend his arm as if his shoulder were spring-loaded, Boyer gritted his teeth and cursed under his breath the instant he realized he’d missed his target. Even before his lunge was completed, he was tensing for another strike.
Using his own momentum, Caleb continued to step back until he was able to turn and pivot all the way around. He then snapped his arm out and down like a cracking whip to make contact with Boyer’s elbow. The move didn’t do much damage, but it was able to wedge the incoming knife into the door right next to him.
Boyer tried once to pull the blade free, which was more than enough to realize it wasn’t going anywhere. By the time he swung around to get a look at what Caleb was doing, he was just in time to see a set of rough knuckles coming straight at him.
Caleb punched Boyer in the face so hard that he knocked the frown right off him. “Jesus,” he grunted while trying to shake out some of the pain that immediately flooded his hand.
After recovering from the punch, Boyer snapped his head forward to butt it against the bridge of Caleb’s nose. That impact filled both men’s heads with a dull roar. Boyer shook off the effects, while Caleb staggered back as though the entire floor was being tilted beneath his feet
Just as he was about to right himself, Caleb was pulled from the hall by a rough set of hands.
“That’ll be enough of that!” said the burly man who was practically dragging Caleb out by the scruff of his neck. “Take this shit outside, both of you.”
When he heard that last part, Caleb knew the fight wasn’t over. Sure enough, a few seconds after he was tossed out the front door, Boyer came out after him. Nobody seemed to be dragging Boyer, however. The frowning man was charging out on his own steam.
Still reeling from the knock he’d taken to his nose, Caleb started to take another swing at Boyer and was cut off by a short jab to the chin. While the first shot to the nose had dimmed his lights, the punch to the chin made Caleb see nothing but red.
Bucking the Tiger Page 4