1970 - There's a Hippie on the Highway by James Hadley Chase Page B

drive away, then Randy said awkwardly, ‘I’ll show you your pad.’ He didn’t look at Harry. His thin face revealed he was shocked and upset by what had happened.
    ‘No! Get him out of here!’
    A girl whom Harry guessed was Nina Dominico had appeared in the doorway of the restaurant. The sight of her gave him a little jolt inside: as if he had touched a bare electric wire and had received a shock.
    He remembered what Randy had said: Nina is pretty special. You have to see her to understand just how special she is. Well, he thought, Randy hadn’t been exaggerating. Probably twenty-two or three years of age, she was of average height but looked taller because of her slim build: a compact full-breasted body and long, tapering legs. Her hair, black as a raven’s wing, reached to her shoulders and was parted in the middle, forming a frame for her face that had a wild sensual beauty that moved Harry as he had never been moved before. Right at this moment, Nina Dominico was in a flaming rage and he thought her tigerish expression and her flashing black eyes made her the most exciting woman he had ever seen.
    ‘I don’t like your friend, Randy!’ she said, her voice shaking with the fury that boiled out of her. ‘Take him away! The sight of him sickens me!’
    Harry’s face tightened and the colour of his eyes changed from blue to steel grey.
    ‘What’s the trouble, Miss Dominico?’ he asked quietly.
    ‘You!’ She moved from the doorway and planted herself in front of him. He looked down at her. She was wearing a scarlet halter that emphasised the fullness of her breasts and white stretch pants that set off the solid curve of her small hips and the length of her legs. ‘Why don’t you hit someone your own age, you cowardly thug?’
    ‘Are you telling me your father can’t look after himself?’
    Harry was very aware of her creamy flawless skin.
    ‘When a guy looks for trouble the way your father looks for it, sooner or later, he is certain to find it. I’m sorry you are upset. I would be even more sorry if I had been a dummy and let him land a punch on me.’
    ‘If you imagine you’re getting a job here, you have another thing coming!’ she cried. ‘I won’t have you here. Get out and stay out!’
    Harry’s face remained expressionless.
    ‘I don’t take orders from little girls. Your father has hired me. If he tells me to go, I’ll go, but not on your say-so.’
    She swung her hand in a wild, vicious slap but Harry had no trouble in swaying out of range. The violence of her unconnecting swing made her stagger forward and thud against him. He felt for a brief moment the swell of her breasts against his chest before she jumped back. She stood panting and glaring at him and shaking with fury.
    ‘What’s going on?’
    A small man wearing black trousers, an open neck white shirt and a scarlet sash around his waist had come out onto the veranda.
    Harry immediately disliked his small, mean eyes and mouth and the arrogant way he stood.
    ‘Manuel!’ Nina screamed. ‘Tell this thug to get out! See him off!’ She swung around and ran past Manuel and disappeared into the restaurant.
    Manuel eyed Harry, then looked inquiringly at Randy.
    ‘Who’s this? Did you bring him here?’
    Randy shuffled his feet uneasily.
    ‘He’s the new lifeguard. Solo hired him just now.’
    Manuel’s little eyes narrowed.
    ‘So what’s she beefing about?’
    ‘She’s upset.’ Randy lifted his hands helplessly. ‘Solo and Harry had a friendly scrap. You know Solo. It got a little rough and Nina didn’t like it.’
    Manuel hesitated, then shrugged.
    ‘We don’t like trouble here,’ he said to Harry. ‘If you’re going to work here, watch it.’
    ‘If you don’t like trouble, talk to Mr. Dominico,’ Harry said quietly. ‘He seems to like it.’
    Manuel’s eyes sparked and his mouth tightened. He hesitated, then looking at Randy, he said, ‘I’ll want you in the bar in half an hour. There’s work to do.’ He