Blind God's Bluff A Billy Fox Novel - By Richard Lee Byers Page 0,52
job done. It got him close.
When he popped into view, it startled me, and I may have hesitated for a split second before following through on Plan A. At any rate, by the time I fired, Leticia was already diving out of her chair onto the floor, and the love monkeys were scrambling to put themselves between her and me. I didn’t hit her or anyone.
Vic screamed. Then Mr. Invisible grabbed my arm and jerked it sideways so the automatic wasn’t threatening anybody. I used the palm of my other hand to break his nose, then wrenched myself free.
He took a swing at me, and I jumped out of range. And bumped into the wall. Something hard and heavy slammed down on my head, then crashed to pieces on the floor. It was a plaster Jesus. I’d jolted Him off his hook.
And He’d gotten even by knocking me slow and stupid for a couple seconds. Seconds I didn’t have to spare. Before I could get my shit together, the sopranos were all over me, holding me while Raul hammered punches into my ribs and guts. He kept it up until Mr. Invisible twisted the Smith and Wesson out of my fingers.
Raul did, and even a hypnotized bulked-up gorilla couldn’t miss the Baby Glock when it was right there in my pocket. Both guns ended up on one of the tables beside a glass jar full of paintbrushes.
“Good,” Leticia purred. “Now Billy and I can have a nice conversation. If you wouldn’t mind.” Raul stepped back to give her room, and she glided forward. Vic watched with her bruised face full of despair.
Leticia got right up close to me. Close enough for me to smell her perfume and feel the cool brush of her breath. “I know I said I like it rough,” she said, “but actually shooting at me was a little much.” She smiled. “I guess we should have had a safe word.”
By that time, the pain from the beating had faded a little, and I could wheeze out some words. “You win. I won’t go back to the hotel.”
“Oh, of course you will,” she said. “But from now on, you’ll play to help me.”
“Fine. Just don’t hurt Vic.”
“Oh, Vic, Vic, Vic! I think you need a more positive motivation. I’d like for us to be partners and friends, not just for the length of the tournament but forever.”
I realized she was talking about turning me into a slave.
She laughed at whatever it was that came into my face. “I promise, you’ll like it, and we don’t even need another drop of your blood. There are better ways.”
She shifted in even closer, so that the whole length of her body was touching mine, and moved a little to the side. She ran the tip of her tongue around the inside of my ear, then gently sucked and nibbled at the lobe. And my God, it felt good. It didn’t even matter that I’d just taken a beating, or that I understood she was trying to cripple my mind. I started drowning in it right away.
The sopranos and Raul stared at us, fascinated, wanting what I was getting, but not pissed off about it. Apparently the hex they were under kept them from being—or at least acting—jealous, no matter what—or who—the boss lady did.
Not that I was giving a lot of thought to their reaction. Like I said, what she was doing felt too good.
In between licks and nips, she told me she loved me, and whispered all the dirty, wonderful things she wanted me to do to me, and for me to do to her. I could have it all, if only I’d love her back.
A part of me was trying to. More than that, to adore her and go down on its knees to her like she really was some kind of goddess. I still knew she’d tried to drive me insane and kill me, that she was trying to break me now, but with every moment, it got tougher to remember what any of that meant or why it mattered.
I called up the Thunderbird. I looked past Leticia to Vic’s raw, puffy tear-streaked face. Both things helped, but I was only putting off the inevitable. Leticia was still going to take control of me.
We were just about there when I made the only move I could think of. I pictured the silver bird one last time. But instead of