Page 17 of Outfoxed

I’d spent over thirty minutes crawling out of my cellar, which put me on a tight schedule to get cleaned up and get to work. While fortune favored the bold, storms ate the stupid, and I’d just have to test my luck while the skies rumbled curses at everyone for daring to exist.

It was just another day in Tulsa, and whistling a merry tune, I jogged to the gym so I could get on with the rest of my day.

Saturday, May 2, 2043.

Tulsa, Oklahoma.

The Alley.

As the sky opted against eating everyone for breakfast, a ridiculous number of Tulsa’s residents converged on one of the few watering holes with the right license to serve the good stuff. I swept in five minutes before my shift, headed for the kitchen, grabbed the required apron, and prepared for the owner and boss to rain hell on my head for skipping out yesterday.

With unerring accuracy, he angled my way. The older man, roughened around the edges from putting up with the worst Tulsa had to offer, wouldn’t take any bullshit from anyone, and I stood my ground prepared to spend the next five minutes verbally sparring with him to salvage my dignity and self-respect.

“Gertrude headed East this morning.”

Good for her. I was glad my money gave her the chance to go somewhere safe and sane. “Okay. What do you want me to do, Brent?”

“I’ll need girls to cover her shifts until we find a replacement. Can you do two extra hours in the morning?”

I wouldn’t like it, especially if we suffered from an early morning blow, but I could make it work. The extra hours would help down the road, too. “I can. Anything I should know about the crowd?”

“There’s trouble.”

When wasn’t there trouble in Tulsa? I resisted the urge to roll my eyes, barely. “What sort of trouble?”

“The mayor’s put out a call for courtesans, and we’ve got a bar full of gossips working the circuit. Keep your ears open and your head down. And, for once in your damned life, put your tail away and cover your ears, would ya?”

Damn. Brent had opened with a soft hit, but he’d swung up for a hard blow with that one. “Where do you suggest I put my tail? It’s attached to my ass, McCoy.”

“I guess cutting it off is asking too much, isn’t it?”

I twitched, turned my ears back, and somehow refrained from growling at the bastard. “Nobody is touching my tail. No petting, no stroking, no tugging, and definitely no cutting it off.” I turned to show him my tail, gesturing to its immaculately groomed perfection, which had cost me twenty frustration-filled minutes at the gym. “This tail is a thing of beauty, and I won’t have you cutting it off.”

Brent grinned, and it dawned on me the bastard had gotten in a few jabs at me. “You’re easily riled up today, Jade. Don’t let the customers get to you. They’re going to make comments. I’ll come bang heads together as needed, but you’re going to have a lot of comments about your tail today because of the search for courtesans.”

“The mayor is really looking for courtesans?”

“Apparently, the residents of Asylum are looking for suitable people to bring into the fold.”

Tulsa would erupt into riots when news spread that some might win an invitation into Asylum. I also worried about the timing. Why would a bounty for me be issued right before the mayor announced there’d be some shindig for courtesans? “What sort of search are we talking about here?”

“The kind where men and women are put up on auction and sold to the highest bidder. You steer clear of that nonsense, Jade. You’re exotic, and those idiots down below like exotic—and the way the rumors have it this morning, not everyone is a willing participant. The auction will be in two weeks, and you’d be best off keeping your head down, your ears covered, and your tail safely hidden. If you don’t have a long dress, I’ll get you one and make it your uniform for the next while, because to hell with losing a girl to that bullshit.”

Bullshit was one way to put it. “I don’t have a dress,” I admitted.

“Tell me your sizes or what you think might fit, and we’ll figure something out. You watch out for Tom Hartlen. He’s flirting with everyone this morning, and he even made a damn pass at me when he first came in. You’ll be on your toes all shift; I’d bring in an extra girl, but everyone I’ve got is already here.”

While the main room had seemed busy, that the boss had brought in everyone warned me I had a hell day ahead of me.

A hell day beat a quick trip to the East in the not-so-loving arms of a bounty hunter. Oh, well. I’d make do. I always did. “You got it. How do you want me to handle Tom?”

“I’ve already told this to the rest of the staff, but if someone touches you that you don’t want touching you, go ahead and get violent. I’ll even provide a stick.” Brent went to one of the steel cabinets and pulled out a billy club, which he handed over. “Wear it in the open and don’t be shy about hitting someone like you mean it.”

“Did someone act up this morning?”

“Lora spent the past hour crying upstairs, and I won’t have one of my girls crying like that again in my establishment.”

“Who do I have to hit for upsetting Lora?” Of all the waitresses working at McCoy’s, the girl was the only one below drinking age, and she ferried out meals to diners without touching the alcohol.