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Incubus Dreams :: Гамильтон Лорел
Страница: 553 из 605There are men that see no as the ultimate insult, but usually it takes more than a rejection during a barpickup attempt to get this level of reaction. I kept my attention on him until we were swallowed by one of the curtains that hid the deeper rooms.
“That was just creepy,” I said.
“I know him,” Nathaniel said in a small voice.
I looked at him. “How?”
He licked his lips, and his eyes looked haunted. “When I was on the streets. He used to pick up the older boys, the ones that were almost too old for the trade.”
“Too old?” I asked.
“Most of the men that came down there weren’t looking for men, Anita. They wanted boys. Once you looked too grown-up you had to move where you worked. A different clientele.” He said the last with a bitter little twist of his mouth. “He’s older now, and he didn’t recognize me, but I remember him. I remember one of the older boys warned me about him.”
“Warned you?”
Nathaniel nodded. “Yeah.”
“Did he hurt them?”
“Not yet, but sometimes everyone gets a feeling about a customer.
He can ask for really standard stuff, but after awhile everyone just gets creeped. It’s like you can smell the sickness on them, like you just know that it’s only a matter of time before they hurt someone.”
I touched his face, and he looked at me, and his eyes held that sadness that he’d come to me with. That look that said he’d seen it all, done it all, and it had destroyed something inside him. I put my hands on either side of his face and kissed him gently. It helped chase some of that lostness away, but not all of it. Some of it clung around the edges.
Micah made a sound. “Anita, she’s your friend, but…”
I turned and found that Dallas the dancer was on the floor with Ronnie on top of him. She was still dressed from the waist down, but he wasn’t. Her shirt was unbuttoned, and if she’d started the night with a bra, it was gone now.
I’d had enough. Enough of strangers pawing my boyfriends. Enough of Ronnie dragging our asses down here. Enough of her self-destructive indulgence. I got enough of that kind of shit from Richard, I didn’t need it from her.
“Veronica Marie Simms,” I said.
She blinked up at the voice and the sound of all three of her names. “Who are you, my mother?”
I grabbed the belt of her jeans and lifted her bodily off of the man. It startled her, and me, because I didn’t have to fight to lift her. She was bigger than I was, taller, just bigger, and I lifted her like she weighed nothing. I got her stumbling to her feet.
“That was just creepy,” I said.
“I know him,” Nathaniel said in a small voice.
I looked at him. “How?”
He licked his lips, and his eyes looked haunted. “When I was on the streets. He used to pick up the older boys, the ones that were almost too old for the trade.”
“Too old?” I asked.
“Most of the men that came down there weren’t looking for men, Anita. They wanted boys. Once you looked too grown-up you had to move where you worked. A different clientele.” He said the last with a bitter little twist of his mouth. “He’s older now, and he didn’t recognize me, but I remember him. I remember one of the older boys warned me about him.”
“Warned you?”
Nathaniel nodded. “Yeah.”
“Did he hurt them?”
“Not yet, but sometimes everyone gets a feeling about a customer.
He can ask for really standard stuff, but after awhile everyone just gets creeped. It’s like you can smell the sickness on them, like you just know that it’s only a matter of time before they hurt someone.”
I touched his face, and he looked at me, and his eyes held that sadness that he’d come to me with. That look that said he’d seen it all, done it all, and it had destroyed something inside him. I put my hands on either side of his face and kissed him gently. It helped chase some of that lostness away, but not all of it. Some of it clung around the edges.
Micah made a sound. “Anita, she’s your friend, but…”
I turned and found that Dallas the dancer was on the floor with Ronnie on top of him. She was still dressed from the waist down, but he wasn’t. Her shirt was unbuttoned, and if she’d started the night with a bra, it was gone now.
I’d had enough. Enough of strangers pawing my boyfriends. Enough of Ronnie dragging our asses down here. Enough of her self-destructive indulgence. I got enough of that kind of shit from Richard, I didn’t need it from her.
“Veronica Marie Simms,” I said.
She blinked up at the voice and the sound of all three of her names. “Who are you, my mother?”
I grabbed the belt of her jeans and lifted her bodily off of the man. It startled her, and me, because I didn’t have to fight to lift her. She was bigger than I was, taller, just bigger, and I lifted her like she weighed nothing. I got her stumbling to her feet.