THE CRUEL SEVEN

by Terence Mitford

Yet again, Lisa found herself unable to say no to Erica. She glanced around the room and nodded. “Thank you. I’d be happy to stay here until the truck is working again. But then I need to go to the hospital to see Mike.”

  Erica smiled. “Until the truck is fixed, then. Now, I’ll leave you to get acquainted with your new room.” She walked out and closed the door.

  Lisa sat on the bed and bounced up and down, testing the comfort of the springs. Then she laid back and relaxed, a little surprised that Erica had just accepted without argument that she would only be there until the truck was repaired.

  But what surprised her even more was when Erica had stood up for her against Harvey. So she felt indebted to both her and Luke. Apart from the hospitality she and Mike had received, Luke had saved her life, and he and Erica had saved her from being raped. So she owed them a lot.

  Mike didn’t understand. He just saw Luke as a rival and a threat to their marriage, when in fact, it was Mike’s actions that had threatened their marriage.

  She opened her eyes at the sound of the door opening. Luke stood there grinning at her.

  She sat up and rubbed her eyes. “You’re back already. I must have fallen asleep. Did Larry agree to take Mike to the hospital?”

  Luke nodded. “He sure did, so you can stop worrying about him. Ma told me you’ve agreed to stay in this room with me.”

  “Did she tell you it’s just until I can get into town?”

  “Of course, and that’s fine. We understand you need to see Mike as soon as you can.”

  Lisa studied Luke. What had changed to make him and Erica so agreeable?

  Luke closed the door and turned the lock. “At least I have a few days to persuade you to stay here.” He walked to the bed, pushed her down into the pillows, and kissed her lips, face, and neck.

  She giggled like a schoolgirl having her first kiss with the boy next door. Then she broke contact and looked at him. “Stop it, they’ll hear us.”

  “Who cares?”

  He kissed her again and in no time she was breathless and her pulse raced like a machine gun in rapid fire mode.

  As he pinned her on the bed, in the middle of the day, she was oblivious to the possible consequences. It was only after he rolled off her, panting and sweating, and her body had stopped trembling, that she did the math again. It was day nine of her cycle and heading towards the danger zone. But she couldn’t have stopped Luke even if she had wanted to. And not just because of his superior strength, but because of her nonexistent willpower. She was becoming a slave to Luke’s brand of lovemaking.

  He got off the bed, grabbed a towel, and told her he was going to take a shower to cool off. Alone again, she thought about what had just happened. As incredible as the sex had been, she had to ask herself an important question. Did she love Luke? He turned her on, blew her mind and body, and made her feel desired when he was around. But did all that amount to love? She shook her head. If she had to ask, then clearly it didn’t. Because if it did, she wouldn’t have to think about it. She would just know.

  So she should factor that into her decision making.

  She didn’t need to ask that question in relation to Mike. She had fallen in love with him at nineteen and had never doubted for a second that she still loved him. But that didn’t mean she could spend the rest of her life with him. And the fact that she didn’t love Luke didn’t mean she couldn’t spend the rest of her life with him. So everything she had believed in was upside down and back to front.

  She rolled over onto her stomach and buried her face into the pillow. When the truck is fixed, I’ll make a decision. Until then, I’ll just go along with whatever Luke wants, and if I get pregnant, maybe it’s meant to be.

  39

  LISA

  It had been two days since Mike had left, and although Lisa missed him, she was content knowing he would be getting medical attention. Her new normality was keeping her busy during the day and in sexual heaven at night, and not having Mike around meant she could avoid the guilt she’d felt when visiting him in the cabin.

  But as she finished clearing away from breakfast, Luke came into the house and made an announcement. “I have some good news.”

  Lisa glanced at him. “Really?”

  “Earlier this morning I remembered that about six or seven years ago we changed the fan belt on the truck.”

  Ed looked up from his seat at the table. “Oh yeah, I remember that. It was slipping and squealing so I got a new one and you put it on.”

  Luke nodded. “I wasn’t sure if I’d saved the old belt, but I guessed that if I had it would be in a box in the generator shed.”

  Lisa studied him. “Was it?”

  Luke grinned and held up his dirty hands “It was, and I’ve just put it back on the truck. So we’re mobile again.”

  Luke exchanged a glance with Erica, who nodded and turned to Lisa.

  “It looks like you’ll get to see your husband sooner than we thought,” Erica said.

  Lisa couldn’t help a little jump of excitement as she grinned at Erica. “Are you coming with us?”

  “No, just you and Luke, but you can bring back some supplies.”

  Lisa nodded. “Of course, and I can get myself some new clothes.” She brought her hand up to her mouth. “Oh, I don’t have any money.”

  “Don’t worry about that,” Erica said. “Luke will pay.”

  Lisa turned back to Luke. “When can we set off?”

  “Later this morning, as soon as we finish staging the scene with the traffickers and the sheriff. Those bodies are starting to smell a bit now.” He nodded to the twins, and they followed him outside, with Lisa close behind.

  He had already parked the SUV next to the sheriff’s jeep in front of the house, and Lisa watched as Luke jumped in behind the wheel and the twins got into the jeep. As the engines started, she studied a crack across one of the headlamps of the SUV and a dent in the front fender.

  Luke must have seen because he shouted out through the open window, “I hit a deer on the way back from scouting out a good place for the scene. My fault, I wasn’t concentrating.”

  Lisa shrugged. “At least you won’t have to claim off the insurance.”

  Luke called out to Billy and told him to follow behind in the truck so he could bring them all back.

  Two hours later, the truck rumbled back up to the front of the house, and Lisa ran out to meet the boys.

  Luke jumped out first. “Give me a few minutes to wash up and we can set off for the hospital.”

  Although still conflicted about her long-term future, she was happy knowing she would soon see Mike again.

  The drive to town seemed to pass by quickly as Lisa tried to tie down her feelings. Being away from Mike had helped her to focus, and only went to reinforce how much she loved him. Then she glanced across at Luke and got that reoccurring tingle inside. And even though he turned her on in a way that was still new to her, she couldn’t shake off a deep-rooted feeling that she belonged with Mike.

  “How long now?” She asked Luke.

  “Only a few more minutes.”

  She glanced down at her dress. “Can we stop at a store first? I don’t want to walk into the hospital like this.”

  Luke glanced down at her legs and smirked. “I like you in that dress, but okay, we’ll pass a dress shop en route.”

  The town was smaller than she had imagined. They drove the length of the main street in less than a minute and pulled up outside Meg’s Fashion. It was a double fronted store with dresses in the windows that ranged in style from young and sexy to sensible and sedate.

  Before Luke could engage the parking brake, Lisa jumped out and hurried inside. She smiled at the woman behind a wooden counter. “Hi, I’m Lisa.”

  The lady, somewhere in her fifties, with her graying hair curled tightly into a knot on the top of her head, gazed back at her with wide eyes. Lisa glanced down at her dress again and nodded. “Maybe you could help me find something.”

  The lady
took a moment to drag her eyes away from Lisa’s dress and snap back into professional mode. “I’m sorry, I’m Meg, as you might have guessed from the name of the store. I couldn’t think of anything more creative, so Meg’s Fashion it is.” She stepped out from behind the counter. “Now, what did you have in mind?”

  “I’m open to suggestions.”

  The woman studied Lisa again, no doubt assessing her size, then went to a rack of summer dresses and pulled out an almost identical dress to Lisa’s except for color and pattern. Instead of a yellow paisley design, it was white with red poppies.

  Lisa shook her head. “It’s lovely, but can I see something more substantial, like trousers and a shirt?”

  Meg laid the poppy dress on the counter and walked to a different rack, and as she began pulling out various garments and placing them next to the dress, Luke walked in. When Meg looked over and saw him, she widened her eyes.

  Lisa glanced at her. “Is everything all right?”

  Meg pulled her gaze back to Lisa. “Are you with him?”

  “Yes.”

  Meg just stared at her for a long moment, then nodded and turned back to the racks.

  Luke walked over and pointed at the trousers and shirts on the counter. “Put these back. She’ll take the red dress.”

  Lisa turned to him. “But I wanted to—”

  “If I’m paying, you’re going to have what I like. And it’s obviously what you like because it’s similar to what you’re wearing now.”

  “I do, but—”

  “I want to see your pretty legs.”

  Meg turned back to the racks and pulled out a white, figure hugging cotton shirt and a pair of blue denim shorts with frayed legs. She smiled at Lisa. “I think you would look great in these. They are new in and very trendy at the moment. The shorts will show off your pretty legs while being a change from a dress.”

  Lisa looked at Luke.

  He gave a single nod of his head. “Okay, try them on.”

  They both fit perfectly, like they were made just for her. When she emerged from the fitting room, Meg nodded. “I knew it. They look great on you.”

  “How much?” Luke asked.

  The woman walked over to Lisa and checked the tags. “Seventy-five dollars for both.”

  Luke scowled at her.

  She pursed her lips and walked back behind the counter. “I suppose I could do them for fifty.”

  Luke took out his wallet and counted out the cash. “She’ll keep them on.”

  Lisa stepped up and thanked him, then lowered her voice to a whisper. “I need some new underwear.”

  He shrugged. “Okay, but make sure they are sexy.”

  She had sensed there was history between Luke and the woman, so she wanted to speak to her alone. She gave Luke a cheeky smirk. “Do you mind waiting in the truck so I can surprise you?”

  Luke shrugged again. “Okay, don’t be long.” He placed another twenty on the counter and walked out.

  Meg gave Lisa a polite smile and directed her over to the shelves displaying the underwear. “You’ll find the younger styles on the right.”

  There were just two types: big, comfortable, and practical, or small, skimpy, and sexy. She chose a two pack of white floral panties from the small and sexy range, and after checking the prices of the bras, she sighed and returned to the counter.

  The woman placed the panties into a store bag, along with Lisa’s own yellow dress, and handed it to her. Then she scooped up the twenty from the counter.

  While waiting for the change, Lisa had to ask, “Do you know Luke?”

  Meg nodded. “I know the family.”

  “I’m staying with them for a while.” She watched for the woman’s reaction.

  Meg glanced at her and then handed her some change. “Are the other girls still there?”

  “No, just me.”

  The woman gave Lisa a tight-lipped smile that looked forced. Then she scooped up the clothes from the counter and began returning them to the racks.

  Lisa waited for a moment to see if Meg was going to explain her apparent reticence over Luke. But when nothing else was forthcoming, she walked to the door, where she glanced back and said, “Thank you for the clothes. I might see you again.”

  Meg turned her head and spoke over her shoulder. “I doubt it.”

  Meg’s comment stopped Lisa dead in her tracks. “Why do you say that?”

  “The girls who stay with the McCrawleys never come back.”

  The hairs prickled on the back of Lisa’s neck. “What are you saying?”

  “Just that. The girls who go out there don’t come back into town. No one knows why.”

  “Maybe they just went straight home.”

  Meg nodded. “Maybe they did.”

  Lisa opened the door, but when Meg called out her name, she paused and looked back. “Yes?”

  “Be careful.”

  Lisa gave her a nod and a two-second smile, then walked out and jumped back into the truck’s passenger seat. She had just seen a side to Luke she didn’t like and had many questions she wanted answers to. But they would have to wait for the return journey. Right now, all she wanted was to check on Mike and find out what the doctor’s diagnosis had been.

  The middle-aged lady behind the hospital reception desk glanced up as Lisa stepped forward.

  “I’m here to see Mike Walker. I’m his wife.”

  The lady typed on her computer keyboard and frowned. “I’m sorry, do you know which ward he is on?”

  “No, but he has a back injury, and he was brought in two days ago.”

  “Date of birth?”

  Lisa answered, and the receptionist tapped away again, then shook her head. “We don’t have anyone by that name here.”

  Lisa stared at her for a moment. “He was brought in by a man named Larry.” She turned to Luke. “What’s Larry’s last name?”

  The receptionist spoke before Luke could answer. “I’m sorry, Miss, but we wouldn’t have a record of who brought your husband here, unless it was a gunshot wound or suspicious in some other way.”

  “Please check again. Maybe they misspelled his name when he was admitted.”

  “Mike Walker?”

  “Yes.”

  “I don’t think we could misspell that, do you?”

  “Check anyway, please.”

  The woman sighed and tried again, and after staring at her screen for a long moment, she shook her head. “I’ve checked admissions for the last three days. We’ve not had any for back injuries or with the first name of Mike or Michael, or a last name of Walker or anything similar. I’m sorry, but I’m going to have to ask you to move aside and allow me to deal with the people waiting behind you.”

  “Are there any other hospitals in this town or close by?”

  “Not within fifty miles.”

  Lisa turned and walked away, confused. She got back into the truck and studied to Luke. “Didn’t you say you helped to get Mike into Larry’s vehicle?”

  Luke frowned. “I did, and although I set off back before they left for the hospital, I’m sure they would have only been a few minutes behind me.”

  “Take me to Larry’s place.”

  Twenty minutes later, they started up a steep incline. “This is the road I told you about the other night.” Luke said. “Up ahead is what we locals call Graveyard Pass. The road narrows and there’s a steep drop on my side.”

  Lisa nodded. “Does Larry drink?”

  Luke glanced at her. “What?”

  “Alcohol, does Larry drink alcohol?”

  “He likes his whiskey.”

  “Was he drinking when you arrived with Mike?”

  “I’m not sure. There was a whiskey bottle on the small table next to his chair on the deck where he was sitting, but I don’t know if he’d been drinking that day.”

  As they reached the top of the incline, Lisa leaned across Luke to get a view of the drop from his window. “Stop here.”

  Luke braked and turned of
f the engine. “I think we are having the same thoughts.” He pointed over the edge. “It would explain why Mike isn’t in the hospital.”

  Lisa jumped out and ran to the edge and looked down. Wrecks of several vehicles, maybe five or six, were down in between the trees at the bottom of the steep slope. Luke’s door slammed shut and a moment later he stood next to her and drew a quick breath.

  She looked at him. “What is it?”

  “I think I can see Larry’s truck.”

  Lisa gasped.

  Luke pointed to what looked like a burned-out pickup truck with just a small patch of blue paint visible on what would have been the driver’s door. He drew Lisa’s attention to tire marks leaving the road next to where they were standing, and then to intermittent parallel gouges down the slope that must have been where the truck’s tires struggled for traction.

  Lisa moved closer to the edge. “I need to get down there.”

  Luke held her arm. “It’s not possible. Even the emergency services can’t get down. That’s why we call it Graveyard Pass.”

  She scanned the landscape, searching for a way. The vehicles were at the bottom of a deep ravine surrounded by almost sheer slopes and steep gravel inclines.

  She turned back to Luke’s truck in a daze, and couldn’t speak a word on the return journey to the house, where she ran to the bedroom and flung herself face down onto the bed, leaving Luke to break the news to the others. She remained there for what seemed like hours, alternating between tears and sobbing to periods of calmer reflection.

  40

  ERICA

  Erica had stopped Luke from following Lisa into the bedroom and ushered him away from the door. “Give her some time on her own.”

  “She’s upset.”

  “I know, but you don’t want her turning on you right now.”

  “Why would she do that? She doesn’t suspect me of anything. I let her think Larry had been drinking whiskey.”

  “She’ll be going through all the emotions right now and blaming everyone from the pilot for crashing the plane, to Harvey for not taking Mike to the hospital, to herself for not being with Mike, and you for taking him over to Larry’s. Give her time.”