The gang sprawled about the saloon in various stages of intoxication. The Devlins had followed a girl upstairs quite a while ago, and the bottles on the shelves behind the bar shook ever so slightly. Frank glanced up at the ceiling in annoyance, his first glass of beer still half-full and wrapped in his hand. Gatz had a fiery redhead on his knee as he sat next to Frank, but his eyes were on their leader as his right hand roamed over her body. Dyer had convinced one of the whores to stand with a glass on her head and was lining up a knife. The whore squealed as he let the knife fly; the knife knocked the glass off her head and buried itself in the wall behind her. The crashing glass drew the attention of the barkeep. The aging man tugged at his collar and wiped his brow as he watched the girl clap her hands and fling herself on the outlaw. It was the third glass he'd lost that night.

Roy smirked into the rim of his glass of beer. He could feel the tension rolling off the bartender in waves as he leaned against the counter. It was always like this: the whores welcomed Frank and his men with their deep pockets and deeper needs while the barkeep sweated it out, eyeing their holsters and praying that the local law stayed away. Roy found that sitting back and watching was usually far more entertaining than joining in the revelry.

A clatter of boots on the stairs made Roy turn away from the barkeep. The Devlin twins came down into the saloon, slipping their belts back into place. The whore they'd been with sauntered down after them and came to the bar next to Roy.

"Whiskey, Lenny," she called out. Her full breasts threatened to spill out of her shirt. Roy could see scratches and what looked suspiciously like teeth marks on their tops. She took her glass from the barkeep and turned to Roy. His eyes flicked away from her, but he could see her smile growing out of the corner of his eye. She took a sip and turned her body to face him. "Those boys are closer than an oil baron and his money."

Roy grunted and took a sip of his own drink.

The whore cocked her head and smiled wider still. She followed Roy's eyes to watch Floyd dancing with one the other girls as the Devlin twins laughed. "They share everything, they said. Everything." She giggled and placed a hand on Roy's arm.

He gave her a sidelong glance that usually made people back up. She pursed her lips at him in a knowing smile. Quick as a snake, she snatched his hat off his head and placed it on her own. Placing her drink on the counter, she pushed back from the bar and twisted and writhed to the music tinkling from the piano. Roy sighed and shook his head. He threw back the rest of his beer and set his glass down next to hers.

"C'mon now," Roy said softly.

"Dance with me!" she called, reaching her arms out to Roy as she edged back towards the center of the room.

He grabbed a hold of one of her wrists and gently pulled her to him. She began to wrap her other arm around his neck when he took his hat back. Replacing the hat on his head, he released her wrist and murmured, "I'm not much for sharing."

A sour look crossed her face as she caught his meaning. She plastered a smile back on her face and ran her hands down his chest to his belt. "I wouldn't share you," she whispered as she tugged on his belt suggestively.

Roy took her hands off his belt and shook his head once more. "I ain't touching a whore them boys have tainted."

The slap came quick and hard. Roy's head snapped to the side with the impact. Grimacing, he turned back and grabbed her wrist again, rougher this time. She opened her mouth to protest, but her words were cut off as a hand closed around her neck.

Frank pushed past Roy, holding the whore in front of him. He pressed her against the bannister of the stairs as she clawed at his hand.

"Who do you think you are?" Frank hissed, his face inches from hers.

"Frank." Roy started towards them, his hands held out in front of him.

"You are nothing!" Frank insisted, shaking her. "None of you are!" he shouted, waving a hand at the whores crowded around on the balcony above. "You exist to serve—just a body for men to use as they need. Lower than anything in God's eyes."

Roy gingerly placed a hand on Frank's shoulder. The whore's eyes were bulging out of her head and her face had turned bright red. "Frank…" Roy said softly. "Let go."

Frank's eyes flickered between the whore and his chosen son. Roy tried his best to stay steady, his eyes locked on Frank's face. The girl made choking gasps, her own eyes on Roy, pleading silently. Slowly, Frank lessened his grip on her throat. She sucked in air and coughed violently, doubling over as Frank's hand slipped from her throat. The redhead who'd been sitting with Gatz collected her in her arms and pulled her away from Frank and Roy. A large-breasted woman stood at the foot of the stairs. She gestured to the redhead and took the other girl by the shoulders when she was close enough. They started up the stairs and the other whores followed close behind.

Frank and his men were left with just the barkeep and the man at the piano in the corner. The room was quiet as Frank dragged a hand across his face. "Let that be a lesson to you," Frank said to no one in particular. He waved a hand at the piano player, making him jump and turn back to his music, tapping the keys half-heartedly. Frank walked slowly back to his table, eyeing down the men. He sat next to Gatz, who raised an eyebrow at him over his drink. "Another round," Frank yelled to the barkeep.

Roy looked up at the balcony as the barkeep hurried to pull out glasses. The large-breasted woman stood at the bannister with her hands on her hips, glaring down at him. Roy blinked and looked down at his feet. Sighing, he shoved his hands in his pockets and made to walk outside.

"Boys," Frank called over the slowly returning noise. Roy turned to look at Frank as his eyes flicked to him from the Devlin boys. Frank held Roy's gaze as he nodded to the growing line of beers in front if the barkeep. Daryl and Donnie moved immediately to the bar and scooped up three glasses apiece. Roy stood and stared back at Frank as the twins walked across the room to bring beers to the rest of the men. Frank narrowed his eyes and lowered his chin, an unspoken threat Roy had watched him deliver to many others over the years. Breathing out sharply through his nose, Roy turned and grabbed three more beers from the bar.

Roy deposited the beers on the table between Frank and Gatz. He settled into the chair across from them and pulled one of the beers towards him, scraping the glass along the rough wood of the table.

"Thank you, son," Frank said slowly, running his thumb up and down in the condensation on his first glass of beer.

Roy gave a short nod and brought his beer to his lips. "Yes, sir," he mumbled into his drink.

Frank nodded slowly, holding Roy's gaze. Gatz looked back and forth between the two, his shoulders tense. Only when Frank leaned back in his chair did he let out his breath and take a large swig of beer. It was going to be a long night.


Thanks so much for reading! Please let me know what you think.

I got the impression that Roy really didn't like the Devlin twins, but if you disagree, let's talk about it! I love this show. :)