Ransom (5 page)

“Who’s driving us to town?” I said.

“Sanford says he can’t, so Paula said she’d give us a lift,” Dave said.
 

His smile shifted into an expression of mild anxiety at the mention of Paula’s name. His reaction made my lips curve into an amused smile.

“Paula?” I said, waggling my eyebrows at him suggestively.

“Don’t do that man,” he groaned.

I made loud kissing sounds in response. He went the shade of a ripe strawberry.

“When are you two going to hook up anyway?” I said.
 

I grasped his bony shoulder and gave it a squeeze. “It’s okay man, we all know how you feel about her,” I said in a low voice.
 

Even though I was speaking in barely a whisper, he gave a sideways glance as if Paula was standing beside him, listening. When he realized that no one was in the vicinity, Dave spun back toward me.

“Shit Ransom, shut your freaking trap, if she hears…”
 

He went an even deeper shade of red, something I didn’t think was possible given he was already blushing so deeply that the whites of his eyes were like polished white stones. Knowing that if I kept it up he would get completely unhinged I eased off. The truth was, despite all the ladies that Dave had bedded he had the worst kind of crush on Paula.
 

As if on cue, Paula, a sound technician, strode forward, her arm looped through Jose’s, her hulking boyfriend of three months. Paula and Jose were almost the exact same height, clocking in at around 5’4, which was okay for a woman but not so much for a man. But what Jose didn’t have in height he made up in bulk. Muscled like someone from a Weider body building magazine that Pa used to buy, Jose was fierce. With his head shaved smooth and quite a few scars on various parts of his body, the biggest being a long slice that ran the length of his left bicep, Jose was the epitome of bad ass.
 

“Hey Paula,” I said.
 

Dave stepped away from me as if I had touched him with a live wire. Paula gave me a sunny smile that showed every one of her exceptionally white teeth. She had a pleasant, not pretty face, with glossy full lips and eyes that were a little too small and close set. Her skin, by far her best feature, was the color of coffee with a splash of cream and her dark hair hung to her shoulders in coiling curls. Her hot pink tank top showcased her ample breasts and plunged low enough that anyone in the vicinity would surely have received an eyeful. Her dark blue jeans could have been painted on they were so tight, and accentuated her curves that balanced between shapely and chubby.
 

Although Paula dressed a tad bit sleazy, she was the farthest thing from slutty that you could get. From what I knew she had steered clear of the one night stands and fleeting romances that ran rampant when we were on the road. Hook-ups were common and accepted, but as far as I knew Jose, who had been hired five months before was her first boyfriend ever in the past two years she had worked with us.

I glanced over at Dave who was swallowing spastically with his mouth open like he had forgotten his command of the English language.

Jose eyed Dave suspiciously, and because I couldn’t stomach getting into anything before we went to town, I elbowed Dave in the ribs. The act was enough to snap him back to his senses.

“I didn’t know you were coming,” Dave choked out.

 
I was immediately sorry that I had poked him into action. Jose’s eyes narrowed to slits and his tanned hands curled into tight fists.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” he asked, his Spanish accent thick. His lip curled into a sneer. I drew in a long breath, more than ready to get to town and have a frosty beer that seemed to be calling out my name.

“What Dave meant to say was that he’s glad we have a little muscle to back us up in town. You never know what the country hicks might do to strangers in this neck of the woods,” I said.
 

My smile was easy and as fake as a three dollar bill. I’d had more than enough practice hiding my true feelings. Jose’s lips pulled back over his teeth into what I assumed was supposed to be a smile, but just served to make him appear even more menacing. I was sure the silver capped incisors had a lot to do with that.

“Come on guys, I want to dance,” Paula said, her voice husky and more than a little sexy. Not that I looked at her in that way. For starters Dave was my best friend, not to mention that she wasn’t my type. I liked them blonde, tanned and as clueless as I could get. It wasn’t like I thought that blondes were dumb, because they weren’t. I had met more than my fare share of smart blonde girls; I had never looked at them twice. In my opinion the flakier a girl was, the better. Chicks that blew pink bubble gum bubbles while drinking colorful cocktails with tiny umbrellas, and who talked about their nails, hair and where they’d
 
had their spray tan done, was all kinds of perfect. It always helped if they dressed in itty-bitty skirts and even tinier tops.

“Yeah, let’s go.”
 

I gave Dave a shove forward, he stumbled then got his footing and like a cow that had been prodded to move, followed Jose and Paula. I poked Dave in the ribs again when I noticed his eyes were glued to Paula’s ass. All I needed was for Jose to look back at just the right moment and he would beat the living shit out of Dave. Or at least he would try, I wouldn’t let that happen to Dave.
 

I wasn’t afraid of a fight, I had been broken in well to the world of violence a long time before. I never actively sought out a tussle, but wouldn’t back away from them either. But getting into something with Jose, one of the workers, was just plain wrong. We were supposed to be like a family, or at least the closest thing you could get to it. Traveling, eating, and sleeping in such close proximity made it essential for us to get along.

“We need to get you laid,” I murmured close to Dave’s ear. He nodded agreement. I knew who he was thinking about in that moment and her first initial was P.

The sun was just beginning to set, coloring the sky in strips of gold, salmon pink, with a touch of violet when I spotted the sign that said Town of Ternat, population 100,000. Any town that had that many people was probably big enough to be a city, but I had guessed that no one had bothered to change the status or even cared. As we drove, the miles of undisturbed farmland were quickly eaten up by brick and stone houses that became more abundant the closer we got. Ten minutes into the drive the fields were just a memory. Taller brick apartment buildings loomed in the distance, and the sheer amount of light shooting from the town was a startling comparison.
 

How two completely different areas could be so close together was beyond me. Though I’d never been there I imagined that was what it was like in Las Vegas. Big city lights surrounded by desert. This place was no Las Vegas but it was definitely a lot bigger than the towns we had passed through lately, meaning Gabriel’s show would be sizable.
 

Paula was in the driver’s seat, Jose next to her, then me and finally Dave. It was times like this that I was happy that Dave was skinny. Almost as soon as we had pulled out onto the road leading to town, Jose’s hand had gotten real busy on Paula, massaging her neck, back, legs, pretty much any skin he could get hold of. With such close quarters it was impossible to miss the action, and from the way Dave’s face had darkened with fury he had certainly noticed. Within minutes of leaving, you could have cut the tension coming from Dave with a switchblade, much like the one Jose carried in his boot. Thankfully Dave kept his mouth shut, and other than the sporadic glares he threw Jose’s way he kept his cool. I hoped that the weed he had stashed in his jacket wouldn’t loosen his lips later.

Besides hoping that everyone remained chilled, I was feeling a little sick from the combined scents of Paula’s flowery perfume, Dave’s obnoxious cologne and Jose’s eucalyptus balm that he had rubbed on his overworked muscles, all with an underlying stink of sweat. Even with the windows opened wide, it was hot and my black t-shirt was already stuck to my back with perspiration.

We had only been driving about twenty minutes, but it had seemed like triple that because the smells weren’t the only painful part. Dave’s elbow had been firmly planted in my rib cage the whole drive. I didn’t have enough space to actually take a full breath. I swore an oath under my breath and sighed, vowing that I wouldn’t let my suffering be in vain. Sex was definitely going to be on the menu.

Dave had done a little research before we had started to town. He had narrowed down the clubs to a few places that all just happened to be in the same general vicinity. With the assistance of a portable GPS we easily found the spots that we were looking for.

As we cruised down the road, I was surprised to see that the space was mostly only bars and restaurants. Clearly we had come to the right place to party. People filled the sidewalks, music blared from the open doors of the clubs, and the aroma of yeasty beer and street side hot dog and pretzel carts was heady in the air. I drew in a long inhale, savoring the smell of civilization. Where most people would have reveled in the smells of fresh country air, I loved the scents of people. Warm bodies, lip gloss, fried food, and even the underlying odor of the sewer felt right, because in all the chaos I could disappear. In the crowds I was just another person, normal. Here I was Ransom, there were no shows, no healing sessions, no talk of ghosts and spirits or Gabriel Sanders, the second coming. For a little while I was free.

Paula pulled into a paid parking area that had a few spots, but from the looks of it they would soon be filled. Right after we were parked we poured out of the truck. I was so sweaty that I probably could have used another shower. Where I was pumped to finally get out of the truck, Dave seemed irritated, and from the expression on his face was quietly fuming.

 
Even though Jose and Paula had been dating for a little bit, something that Dave had been ripped up over, he had never had to have their relationship rubbed in his face like this before. I pitied him, but not enough that I was willing to give up my night on the town. Nothing and no one was going to take that away from me.

“Which one should we go to?” Paula asked, eyeing the dozen or so places that ran the length of the street. I noticed that lines were already forming in front of some of the doors.

“It doesn’t matter to me, we should just get in line,” I said to no one in particular. “Let’s take the lead from the locals. I figure the longest lines are probably the best places.”

 
They all nodded ascent and I led the way. With Dave, Paula, and Jose in tow, I maneuvered my way to a place that looked about right, based on the hot blondes giggling in the lineup, and the lack of boyfriends at their sides. As I strutted to the back of the line I let my eyes linger on the target I had already picked for the night. She hadn’t clocked me yet, so it gave me the advantage of a few seconds to have a really good look at her.

 
Her hair was platinum blonde and poker straight, framing a heart-shaped face. Her eyes were well coated with makeup and appeared to be violet. It made me wonder if she was wearing colored contacts, since normal people didn’t have eyes that color. The black sleeveless dress she had squeezed into looked a few sizes too small, accentuating her waspish waist, slightly curved hips and surgically enhanced chest. She was literally spilling out over the top of the dress, making it near impossible to keep my eyes anywhere else.
 

The skirt of the dress barely covered her butt and showed off her long lithe legs, that were as bronzed as the rest of her. Her three-inch stilettos, held on by a skinny piece of black leather, half the diameter of a shoelace, added inches to her already above average height. I was amazed that she could even walk in them.

She was exactly the kind of girl you would have seen at a strippers bar, gyrating on a pole. Just the thought of her naked, doing nasty things to a piece of steel made my heart speed up. It was as if someone had conjured up the perfect girl just for me. If she had the IQ to match the look then I was set for the night.

I stopped in front of her, cocking an eyebrow as if I had just seen her. As expected she drew in a long breath, until her breasts seemed ready to explode free, something I wasn’t at all adverse to seeing happen.

“Hi,” she said in a breathy voice that managed to take me up another notch.
 

“Hey,” I said in a husky voice, reserved strictly for female marks. She licked her glistening pink mouth, then bit softly on the swell of her bottom lip.
 

“Ransom.”
 

Dave’s voice was an irritation, like a fly buzzing around my head. The sooner I got what I needed the better. Dave had no idea that I didn’t just want sex, I needed it, and the release that came with it.
 

I had been fifteen when I had discovered that sex had a medicating affect on my shitty life. It had been the summer before Gabriel had started doing tours, prior to us becoming like nomadic gypsies, traveling the countryside to venues. Her name had been Lydia. She had been seventeen and two grades ahead of me in our school. I hadn’t even really liked her much, and found her boyish figure, crooked top teeth and perpetually messy hair, less than appealing. But that hadn’t meant that I had turned my nose up at what she had offered me that summer, as much sex as I wanted in return for her calling me her boyfriend. I still had no idea why that had mattered to her so much.
 

It turned out to be a sweet deal, one where she had shown me the ropes and hadn’t even complained at my completely inexperienced moves. The first time we’d had sex it had been heat, urgency and an explosion, the second time she had shown me how to please her, and the third time I had started to get the hang of it. But it hadn’t been until the night that Pa had given me a solid thrashing for talking back to him, that I had really appreciated the value of sex.