by Paige Weaver
His thumb ran over my bottom lip cruelly.
I saw red. No way would I let this scum touch me. He would have to kill me first.
As his thumb made another track over my lower lip, I knew what I had to do. I bit down hard on his thumb and kicked my leg up as hard as possible at the same time, nailing him in the balls.
With a painful cry, he clutched himself and fell to the floor. Indiscernible words spewed from him as he withered into a fetal position and held his manhood.
I saw my chance. Jumping over him, I ran as fast as I could to the front door. If I could only make it outside, I would be free.
“CATCH HER!” Greasy screamed as he struggled painfully to his feet.
My heart pounded as I reached for the door handle.
“NOOOO! NOOOO!” I was grabbed from behind and hauled back against a hard body again. Frustrated tears ran down my face as the big guy pulled me away from the door. He flung me violently across the room like a rag doll. I landed against the wall hard, the impact vibrating through my head and body.
Get up! Get up! Ignoring my protesting body, I got to my feet and ran down the hallway, tripping a few times in my haste.
My heart was pounding so hard that I didn’t hear the footsteps behind me. The heat was sucking all my energy but I moved fast around the corner, determined to get away from this nightmare.
Then it ended.
I screamed as I was tackled from behind by Greasy. I went down hard, landing on my stomach. When he crawled up my body like an insect, I screamed wildly. Grabbing my long hair, he wrapped it around and around his fist until I cried out from the tearing in my scalp. I fought as he pulled me to my feet by my hair.
“You shouldn’t have kicked me like that, bitch! Now I can’t be nice,” he growled as he shook me hard. He started walking down the hallway, yanking me by my hair.
I tried to drag my feet but the pain in my scalp was excruciating. Tears ran down my face as I reached up to tug at the hand pulling my hair. Oh, God! I couldn’t fight him! This was it. My time was running out.
Greasy threw me into the nearest bedroom. I hit the floor, smacking my elbow. Ignoring the pain, my eyes frantically raced around the room, looking for anything that I might use as a weapon.
There was nothing.
He didn’t take his eyes off of me as he slammed the door and started to advance on me. I crab–crawled backward until the bed blocked my path.
“I’ve been thinking ’bout you since that day. Took me forever to find you,” he said, looking me up and down.
“How did you find me?”
They were the first words that I had spoken to him. I wished they sounded more kickass but instead they came out as a whimper.
He smiled, reminding me of a snake. Reaching into his back pocket, he pulled something out.
“You left this behind.” My driver’s license. “Maddie Jackson. 21 years old,” he said, reading the information.
I swallowed past my dry throat. When they stole the truck, my purse was on the seat. My license still listed my father’s address. I had never changed it and now it would get me killed.
“I asked around town and some really nice folks told me where to find you.” He laughed sinisterly. “They were so gullible. For food and water, people will talk.”
Greasy kneeled down by me and reached out to touch my hair again. I looked away as the skin on my arms crawled at his disgusting touch.
I was trying to figure out how to escape when suddenly he was on top of me, covering my body with his. I screamed as loudly as I could.
His hands were everywhere as his weight held me down. I fought, kicking and scratching with a renewed fury. My fingernails came away bloody as I took long claw marks out of his cheek. Ignoring me, he tore at my shirt. Please, no! I didn’t want Ryder or my dad to find me raped or dead.
Reaching up, I drilled my finger into his right eye as hard as possible. He howled with pain but didn’t roll off me. Instead, he backhanded me hard. Once then twice. Blackness threatened to pull me under but I fought it, refusing to give in to the peace it offered.
With a curse, he grabbed both of my wrists cruelly and held them above my head. I cried out when he buried his face in my neck to nuzzle my skin. Bucking and fighting against him, I used all my energy to fight.
He ignored my struggling as if it were nothing. Using his free hand, he reached into his back pocket. A second later, he pulled out a switchblade knife. Flipping it open, he smiled down at me with a crazed look on his face.
I looked at the blade with terror. Oh, shit! What was he going to do?
With a spine–chilling giggle, he started cutting my shirt down the middle. I cried out as the blade pricked my skin several times as he sawed through the cotton. He continued to giggle as more and more of my abdomen was revealed.
I froze as the blood started to trickle slowly down my stomach. I wasn’t sure how badly I was cut but knew that if I struggled the knife would slice me more.
When my shirt was completely cut in two, he used the knife tip to push the edges back, leaving only my bra. Hysteria bubbled up in me as he licked his lips in anticipation.
The tears were now racing down my face as I tried to hold onto what little sanity I had left. I prayed for help from somewhere, from someone. Terror was making me feel dead inside, numb to what was about to happen.
Finished with the knife, he placed it on the floor. His hand went to my abdomen as his other hand continued to crush my wrists painfully.
“NOOO!”
I turned my head away in disgust when he pushed his face into my neck again. Through my tears, the glint of the knife caught my eye. It lay inches away. Suddenly, I knew what I had to do.
I had one shot at this. It may be the only opportunity I had left. I forced my muscles to relax. He had to trust me. He had to believe I wasn’t a threat. My body went limp beneath his.
“That’s more like it, sugar,” Greasy said against my skin as he slowly released my wrists. The blood flowed quickly back to my fingers. I flexed them slowly, needing the strength.
As his hands moved to my waist, I slowly reached for the knife. Moving in a split second, I grabbed the hilt and held it tightly in my fist.
Greasy smirked unknowingly as he pulled back to look down at my bra.
I ignored his nightmarish grin as my mind raced back to Anatomy class. The location of all the major arteries and organs filled my mind like a picture out of a textbook. If I was going to do this, I had to make sure it counted.
When his hand reached up to grab my bra, I saw my target. With hate and fear rolling through me, I quickly sliced him underneath his left arm, putting as much strength as I could behind the cut. He screamed as blood started splurging immediately from the wound.
I had hit the brachial artery.
Blood flowed down his arm in rivers to land on top of me. The floor beneath us quickly became red with his blood.
I started to crawl out from under him when he gripped me hard by the ribcage, unknowingly grabbing my still–healing cracked rib. I screeched at the pain that coursed through me.
“You cut me!” he screamed, glancing down at the blood pouring out of him. He held a hand over the cut but it didn’t stop him. I watched in horror as he unbuckled his belt and took it off. Roughly, he grabbed my wrists and yanked them above my head.
“NO!” I screamed as he tightly wrapped the belt around my wrists, again and again, then tied it to the bed frame. The blood was instantly cut off from my fingers, leaving them numb and useless.
“Now, let’s finish this,” he said, wavering above me unsteadily. His eyes rolled back in his head and he turned ghostly white.
I watched with a combination of horror and relief as he looked at me one last time before falling on top of me, passed out from the blood loss.
I twisted my hands, trying to get out of the belt. It held tight, rubbing against my tender wrists and tearing at my flesh. I tried to use my body to push Greasy off of me but he was t
oo heavy. Then, to my horror, I felt him take his last breath.
Oh, God! Oh, God! I now had a dead body on top of me. Starting to feel hysterical, I struggled to escape. The blood continued to gush from him, making everything slick and wet. I felt bile rise in my throat at the metallic smell in the air.
I couldn’t push him off. Oh shit, I couldn’t get him off! My mind went a little crazy. I had to get him off me! As the warm blood drenched me, I went berserk. I screamed and screamed until my throat was raw.
Over my screams I heard a gunshot ricocheted through the house. I instantly thought of my dad. I had to get to him! I pulled at my wrists until they were raw but the belt refuse to loosen.
When I heard footsteps running down the hallway, I started shaking. That couldn’t be my dad. He couldn’t run. I had to hide! If the other man found me, I knew that he would kill me without blinking.
The door flung open, slamming violently against the inner wall. My sobs turned into cries of relief.
I was safe.
Chapter Thirty–One
Ryder was standing in the doorway.
His face was pale but his hand was steady on the shotgun propped on his shoulder. Gavin appeared beside him, his rifle aimed and pointed into the room.
“RYDER! Get him off me!” I screamed, squirming under the body. “Get him off! Get him off!”
I saw his lips move and his gun lower but I couldn’t hear any of his words. The roaring in my ears drowned out everything.
Before I knew it, Ryder and Gavin were beside me. Ryder started loosening the belt around my wrists as Gavin rolled Greasy off of me.
When my wrists were free, Ryder lifted me up and carried me a few feet away from the pool of blood. Setting me down, he frantically started running his hands over my body.
“Are you hurt, Maddie? God, are you hurt? ANSWER ME!” he roared, his face full of fear when I didn’t respond.
Hands on me! No more hands on me! I pulled away in fright, terrified of being touched again.
Seeing my scared expression, he tried for a gentler tone. “Are you hurt, Maddie?”
I flinched as he reached out to touch me.
“What did the bastard do to you?” he hissed in shock as he looked down at my cut shirt.
“He’s dead, Ryder,” Gavin said, gravely.
“Good or I would kill him myself for touching her.”
Ryder glanced at me again, his eyes running down my body. I saw him swallow hard. “Shit, Gavin, there’s blood everywhere.” He looked over at his brother with agony. “I don’t know if she’s hurt. She won’t let me touch her.”
That’s when the shaking started. From the top of my head to the tips of my toes, I shook. Big, violent tremors that racked my body. I couldn’t control it. My mind was still in a dark place.
Gavin crouched down and reached out to touch me. I started crying and cringing away from his hands.
“She’s in shock, Ryder,” Gavin whispered. “We need to get her calmed down before she hyperventilates. Put her head between her knees to get the blood flowing again. You do it. She’ll trust you.”
I wanted to yell that I wasn’t scared of them. No, I was scared of the memories flooding my mind. Memories of that man’s hands all over me and the feeling of hopelessness. But the words stuck in my throat as I huddled into a ball.
“Maddie, it’s okay. I’m going to put my hand on you,” Ryder said, gently. He helped me sit up and gently pressed the back of my head down between my bent knees.
“Breath normally, Maddie. Don’t hold your breath,” Gavin instructed.
I tried to focus on my breathing and the feeling of Ryder’s hand on the back of my head but my eyes moved down to my chest. I saw blood everywhere. Dark, red, and sticky. I was covered with it.
“Get it off!” I started to scream, trying to wipe the blood away as I backed up against the bed frame. “Ryder, please get it off!” I cried, wiping my abdomen frantically.
Gavin jumped up and pulled the cover off of the bed. Grabbing the blanket from Gavin, Ryder started to wipe the blood off my skin.
“Maddie, you’re safe. No one’s going to hurt you again,” he said soothingly as he concentrated on getting the blood off of me.
I started to calm down as the blood started to disappear. His warm voice soothed my nerves. My mind cleared, the fog lifting.
“Where’s my dad?” I asked, hoarsely.
“Outside,” Gavin said, flatly.
“Son of a bitch!” Ryder hissed. His hands shook badly as he wiped away the blood from the small cuts on my stomach. “Gavin, he cut her.”
Gavin quickly kneeled back down next to me. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed that he had covered the body with a blanket.
“Maddie, I’m not going to hurt you,” Gavin said in a calming voice. “I just need to make sure you’re okay.”
“Nicks. Just nicks. I’m okay.” My words were choppy and broken as Gavin started poking around on my stomach. I couldn’t stop my body from trembling from shock.
“Maddie, this is my fault. I shouldn’t have left…” Ryder said, his voice breaking.
I looked over at him and saw his anguish. Pulling away from Gavin, I crawled into Ryder’s lap, needing to be as close to him as possible.
His arms went around me, holding me tightly as I knew he would. I felt his large hands span across my rib cage, pulling my shaking body closer.
“The cuts are minor and should stop bleeding soon,” Gavin said quietly behind us.
I felt Ryder nod in understanding as his hands slowly moved up my back. Fresh tears filled my eyes as he held me against him. I had been so afraid that I wouldn’t see him again and now here I was, in his arms. Suddenly, I had to tell him the truth.
“I love you, Ryder.”
He pulled away to look deep into my eyes. “God, Maddie…I…”
Yelling from somewhere in the house interrupted him. A thread of panic had me clenching Ryder frantically before Janice rushed into the room, breathless.
She took one look at me and all the blood drained from her face. “Maddie?”
“She’s okay, Mom,” Gavin said.
Her mournful eyes moved over to Ryder and she shook her head no as a silent message traveled between them. I wanted to ask her what was wrong but she rushed away.
“I’ll be outside, Ryder,” Gavin said solemnly before grabbing the guns and leaving.
“What’s going on?” I asked Ryder.
“Let’s get you a shirt,” he said, avoiding my eyes and my question. He helped me to my feet and kept a hand under my elbow as I walked shakily out of the room.
A few seconds later, we were in the middle of my bedroom. I stood silently, my arms wrapped protectively around my abdomen, as Ryder rummaged in my closet. I tried to keep my mind blank. If I thought about what happened, I might lose the thin hold I had on my sanity.
Ryder finally pulled out a long–sleeved flannel shirt that was shoved forgotten in the back of the closet. His blue eyes held me captive as he walked toward me with purpose.
The shirt in his hand was forgotten as he gently ran his fingers along my jawline.
“Fucker hit you?” he asked, enraged.
My eyes filled with tears but I brushed them away.
“I don’t want to talk about it. I just need to get these clothes off.”
He nodded in understanding as he struggled to bring his rage back under control. With his help, I quickly took off what was left of my bloody t–shirt and bra. I refused to let my eyes linger on the half dozen nicks that covered me. There was no time to break into tears again. I needed to check on my dad.
I cursed my shaking fingers when the buttons would not go through the tiny buttonholes. Ryder brushed my hands away and finished buttoning up my shirt. His large fingers easily slipped each button into place, providing me with a sense of security I desperately needed.
From somewhere in the house, a door banged shut, causing me to jump in fright.
“It’s okay, Maddi
e,” Ryder said.
My heart raced as memories rushed me. “Where’s the other one?” I asked, taking a protective step closer to him, my arms wrapping around my body, suddenly cold.
“I shot him point blank.” His eyes bore into mine, looking so lost that I wanted to cry all over again. I saw him swallow hard. “We need to go see your dad.”
He took my hand and led me through the house. Outside birds still chirped and the sun still beat down without mercy.
Life went on.
I saw Gavin standing at the back of the pickup truck. His arms were resting on the top of the tailgate and his head was hanging down in despair. When he looked at me, I saw anguish in his eyes.
“Maddie, I’m not leaving you. I’ll be right beside you,” Ryder said, giving my hand a reassuring squeeze. I didn’t have time to wonder what he was talking about.
My heart stopped and all the air left my lungs in a whoosh as we rounded the end of the truck.
My dad lay flat on the ground, pale and still. Janice and Roger knelt on either side of him, both upset as they looked up at me.
“Dad?”
When he didn’t respond, I rushed over, dropping to my knees beside him and ignoring the gravel digging into my bare skin.
“DADDY!” I cried as tears ran down my cheeks, unchecked. “OPEN YOUR EYES!” I wailed, shaking him. When he didn’t respond, I looked to Janice for help.
“He’s fading, Maddie,” she said.
No, no, no! My dad couldn’t be dying! I fell on his chest, huge racks of sobbing erupting from my throat.
Janice touched the back of my head gently, trying to give me comfort. I listened as his breathing became shallower and shallower, each rise and fall of his chest coming less and less frequently.
He couldn’t die on me! He was all I had left! My throat closed up, suffocating me. I grabbed his hand and squeezed tightly. I prayed he would come back to me. I just wanted him to open his eyes and look at me again. Please! Please!
“Maddie,” Janice said, quietly, “he’s gone.”