"Where would we go?" Mel asked Hope cautiously.
"To Addie Sampson at the Marlborough Club. She runs one of the few brothels in the Levee District that isn't controlled by Jack. A word from me and she'll protect you. You can either work for her or go where you choose. I'll provide something for the finances for those that choose to leave. You have my word on it," Hope added quickly when she saw Mel's doubtful expression.
"Decide now, Mel," Ryan said harshly as he retrieved the pistol from the unconscious doorman. He glanced pointedly at Mario. "The giant's awakening. He's not going to be in a good mood when he does."
Mel looked down and saw Mario's huge bald head moving from side to side. He mumbled gutturally in a foreign language. She nodded decisively.
"We're going. There ain't time to get nothing from your rooms, so don't let me hear a word about that. Amy, give Molly your robe." When the woman, who was apparently Amy, opened her mouth as if to protest, Mel pointed a finger at her. "If you're gonna whine, then stay behind, Amy. You got a corset on under your robe and Molly's naked.
Now, let's go."
"Wait," Ryan said to Mel. "Is Jack unconscious?"
She glanced back into the room and nodded quickly.
"Get my gun from him. And the rest of you— mover
He approached Hope as the women began clambering off a sluggishly moving Mario.
"Stupendous job of following my instructions, Hope," he murmured in exasperation.
"I'm sorry, Ryan, but I couldn't leave you out in the hallway alone. And the women—Jack'll kill them if they stay."
Ryan opened his mouth and closed it. The fierceness of her spirit left him speechless.
And of course, she was 100 percent right about the prostitutes who had participated in the attack. Diamond Jack wasn't the type to lightly accept a rebellion against his authority.
Ryan met Hope's dark-eyed gaze and nodded once.
She sighed with relief.
"Here. Do you know how to use this?" he asked as he handed her the pistol.
"No," she said, eyeing the gun like he'd just put a snake in her hand.
"The safety is on, Hope, just—"
He paused when Mel stepped over Big Mario's body, carrying his SIG. Ryan took it from her and gave her the doorman's pistol in return, pausing to give both Hope and Mel terse instructions on how to use the weapons. In fact, he'd been a little surprised at how modern seeming the pistols were despite the narrow barrels. He would have guessed they'd be revolvers, but they were, in fact, early versions of automatics.
"If you should have to fire, shoot to kill. Chances are you'll hit something if you do,"
Ryan instructed.
The women were all assembled now. He told them to wait a moment while he checked out what the situation was in the entry-way. A few seconds later he came to the top of the stairs, raised his finger to his mouth to indicate they needed to be as quiet as possible and beckoned for Hope and the women to follow.
Ryan reached the bottom of the stairs first, pausing at the sound of approaching voices.
He signaled for Hope to go behind him and lead the women out the front door while he waited for whoever approached. Most of the women had scuttled out the door by the time a middle-aged, balding man who was leaning down as he flirted drunkenly with the woman on his arm looked up to see Ryan holding his weapon on him. Ryan noticed that he had a short-brimmed ivory felt hat clutched in his hand.
"What the—"
"Shut up or I'll hurt you."
"What do you want?" the young woman asked. Ryan recognized her as being the prostitute that had been in the lap of the man Jack had clobbered earlier. Up close, she looked like she was about sixteen years old.
"That hat, for starters. It's mine," Ryan informed the man, who had somehow procured his Coach Stagg hat that he'd left at the bar.
The man handed it to him, speechless. Ryan slammed it on his head, his entire ensemble now consisting of his pants, socks, boots and the hat.