Against Her Will

by Nicole Sturgill

  Tanner looked down into her eyes for a moment. It seemed as if he wanted to say something--do something--but instead he gave her a comforting smile and then nodded and went to the door. He moved the wardrobe out of the way and left the room, closing the door behind him. Temperance went to the door and engaged the lock from the inside. She took a seat in the chair Tanner had been using and held the rifle tight.

  Something about tonight wasn’t right and she prayed that sending Tanner outside to help save the horses didn’t end with the man being shot in the back.

  Temperance sat there a long while and she squeezed her eyes shut tight and tried desperately to ignore the sounds of horses screaming though her stomach turned violently when she smelled the scent of flesh burning.

  A knock on the door had Temperance raising the rifle and hoping it didn’t slip from her sweaty palms. “Who is it?”

  “It’s me.”

  Temperance recognized Mary’s voice. The woman sounded tired and scared and Temperance knew she was probably upset over the fire. She sat the rifle beside the bed and went to the door, eager to see a friendly face and do what she could to comfort the woman.

  It wasn’t until she found herself staring at Trevor and two of his guards that she realized the mistake she had just made.

  Mary was standing there in Trevor’s grasp with a knife against her throat. “I’m sorry, Temperance,” Mary whispered.

  Before Temperance could speak that knife slid across Mary’s throat and the woman fell to the ground, gurgling, and choking on her blood.

  Temperance screamed, but it was quickly cut off when one of the men, a skinny gunslinger named Teagun, grabbed her arm and spun her around, pulling her back against his body and covering her mouth with his hand.

  Temperance struggled. She stomped his foot and sent her elbow into his ribs but he merely grunted and held on tight. Trevor clicked his tongue and Temperance stiffened when that blood knife blade slid across her cheek, not hard enough to break skin, but enough that she understood the threat.

  Tears gathered behind her eyes as she struggled to breath beneath Teagun’s hand. She was going to die. Trevor was going to kill her.

  “You shouldn’t have sided with him, Temperance. My brother is dead and very soon you will be too.”

  Temperance felt her heart shatter in her chest.

  Dead?

  Tanner was dead. Mary was dead.

  Two more people she cared about were now dead because of her.

  Temperance did the only thing she knew how to. She stared straight ahead and let her brain shut down. There wasn’t any reason to fight against the numbness any longer.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Tanner felt the heat of the fire against his skin as it singed the hair from his arms. His lungs burned from the smoke filling them and his eyes watered making it difficult to make his way through the fiery barn.

  He had a firm grip on a mare and was leading her from danger. Other men were doing the same with several other horses, though it was clear they wouldn’t be able to save them all.

  Tanner’s heart ached with the realization that many of these creatures were going to die and this was the last mare he’d have a chance to save. The ceiling was about to collapse and this whole place would come down on top of them…

  As if on cue a beam above his head popped loudly and a flaming chunk of wood came crashing down, narrowly missing Tanner’s head. The mare reared and Tanner had to fight to maintain his hold on her bridle.

  He couldn’t speak to calm her, the smoke was too thick, and so he just continued to pull her along as quickly as he could toward the exit.

  The moment the evening air outside the barn hit his lungs, Tanner began coughing violently. He handed the mare’s reins over to someone else and went stumbling away from the barn, coughing, and trying desperately to catch his breath.

  Tanner leaned against a willow thirty yards away from the raging inferno and breathed in through his nose, hoping to ease the coughing and lessen the burning in his chest.

  The smoke and the yelling all around him brought back flashbacks of battle and Tanner found himself struggling to remain in the present. He kept expecting to hear a gunshot and feel the bullet tear through his flesh at any moment…

  The night was pierced then by a gunshot. The very sound that Tanner had been expecting occurred. It occurred in the present instead of just in his flashbacks of the past.

  It took a moment for reality to sink in.

  It took a full thirty seconds before Tanner connecting the pain in his side to the sound he had just heard.

  He put his hand to his right side and when he raised it up in the glow of the firelight his palm was red with blood.

  He’d had experience with bullet wounds and knew that this one wasn’t fatal but that didn’t lessen the pain. Tanner wondered if anyone had seen or heard what had happened. He doubted it. The noise and the chaos around the barn was too great…

  Tanner caught a rush of movement to his left but before he could react a sack was thrown over his head. Tanner was grabbed and he felt the blade of a knife pressing against his throat. “Fight me and die, you bastard.”

  Tanner’s hands were tied in front of him and his gun belt was removed, all while that knife blade remained tight against his skin. A hand grabbed his upper arm and began to lead him away.

  “Where are you taking me?” Tanner whispered, barely able to speak through his smoke charred throat.

  “Trevor said to get rid of you. So, we’re getting rid of you.”

  Tanner let himself be led away from the tree. He could tell they were moving away from the fire and chaos as well. Based on the direction they were heading he would guess they were in the orange grove.

  There were only two men with him and he knew neither of them were Trevor. Trevor would have been enjoying listening to himself talk and neither of these men had said another word as they’d walked.

  That meant that Trevor and two other men were still at the plantation house. That meant that Temperance was in danger.

  Tanner took the deepest breath his abused lungs would allow. There was still a blade at his neck but it was being held more loosely now as they walked. His hands were tied in front of him thankfully so he had some use of them.

  The men stopped walking and pushed Tanner to his knees. “That bitch of yours?” the talker of the duo sneered. “You know the woman you stole from your brother and have gone to all this trouble for? Yeah, she’s been on her knees like this for us plenty of times. Moaned like a bitch in heat too. I hope you got to enjoy that mouth and tight core at least once.”

  Tanner’s temper flared as the men chuckled. Fucking bastards. Temperance was beautiful and soft and warm and a bright light in a world full of darkness. No one had any right to touch her with anything other than love and respect.

  He felt a gun be placed to the back of his head. “Can you at least take the bag off my head before you kill me?” Tanner asked. “I want to die with a bit of dignity.”

  The men were still chuckling and clearly quite confident in themselves. They removed the sack from Tanner’s head and he didn’t wait a full second before striking.

  He threw his arms up, knocking one of the men back and then leapt to his feet and kicked the second in the arm sending the gun sailing into the trees. Tanner pulled the knife from his boot and stood there on slightly crouched legs, waiting for one of the men to make a move as they recovered and stared at him with shock.

  His side was bleeding and burning but it was a flesh wound and he was accustomed to working through pain. It was nothing he couldn’t handle.

  Tanner tossed the knife from hand to hand and then waved the men toward him, “Come on then. Aren’t you gonna mind your boss and get to killing me?”

  The men lunged. Tanner spun to the side and swung with the knife. He was good with a blade and while his movements had been rushed, they had also been precise.

  One of the men stumbled and turned to lunge again but pa
used when he realized the second still had his back to them and was clutching at his throat.

  “Kurt!” he exclaimed. “Quit fooling…”

  Kurt turned and Tanner grinned when he realized he’d done the job right. The man’s throat was slashed open and blood was pouring from it. Kurt quickly fell to the dirt as blood pooled around his head.

  “You goddamn bastard!” the remaining man yelled. “That was my brother!”

  “Better him than me,” Tanner shrugged.

  The man bellowed with rage and lunged for Tanner once again. Tanner skirted to the side and sliced sideways, piercing the man’s side in roughly the same place as his own bullet wound was.

  “Fuck!” the man yelled, holding the bloody wound.

  “You should have picked a different side, friend. This isn’t gonna end well for you.” Tanner lunged again, ready to have this over. Temperance needed him.

  The man went for his gun, but Tanner didn’t give him time. He leapt at the man and brought the blade down upon his temple, sinking it deep into his brain.

  The man fell instantly and Tanner pulled the knife out with squelch of blood, wiped it on his pants and returned it to his boot. He grabbed up his own gun belt, refastened it and then turned and stumbled back toward the house. He was bleeding, his lungs hurt and his throat was raw but all he could think about was Temperance and he could only pray that the woman truly would use that rifle.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Temperance found herself locked in a shed out behind the plantation house. She was laying on her stomach across a table and her hands and feet were secured with ropes, which were tied around the table legs to keep her from escaping.

  She was naked and her entire body trembled with fear as Trevor walked around her. He and the two men with him were studying her with lust-filled eyes as if she were a piece of meat for them to devour… And that’s all she was. She had no way of fighting against them.

  Her hope had died with Tanner.

  It had been a foolish hope anyhow. Hadn’t life taught her that no one was going to save her and that she had no way of saving herself? Whenever she tried to save herself it simply made things worse and those that tried to protect and look out for her ended up beaten or dead.

  Her heart cried out in pain when she thought of Tanner. Strong, quiet, haunted Tanner. There had been so much about the man she hadn’t gotten to learn. She had wanted to learn about that haunted expression he so often wore. She had wanted to learn about his nightmares and the fear that kept him up some nights.

  So lost in her thoughts was she that Temperance didn’t realize the men had removed their cocks from their pants until they approached her.

  “What are you doing?” she demanded.

  Trevor’s hand connected with her face and the pain ricocheted throughout her head. “Don’t question me!” he bellowed. “You’re going to be punished.”

  “Please…don’t,” Temperance whispered, her mind finally realizing and wrapping around what they were going to do.

  “Begging won’t save you, dear wife. You should know by now that I love to hear you beg.”

  A dirty cock was pressed against her mouth. It was one of the men, Temperance didn’t know his name, he had always been quiet and simply watched her from shadows. Temperance bit her lip to block his entrance as tears poured down her cheeks.

  She felt a hand on her backside and she turned her head to see Trevor behind her. Without warning, he raised his hand and brought it down so sharply on her backside that Temperance gasped with the pain.

  When she gasped that cock was shoved deep into her throat. Temperance tried to get away, but the man buried his hand on her hair and held her head down on him as he pumped his hips quickly.

  Temperance watched the third man through tear soaked eyes as he stroked himself and smiled at her suffering.

  Temperance knew it was coming, but still screamed when Trevor shoved himself inside of her. He raped her so violently that she felt as if she’d been torn apart. The cock in her mouth was bruising her throat and she was struggling to breathe at all.

  Trevor stiffened and let out a long string of curses as he released himself inside of her. He pulled out and waved for the third man to come have his turn.

  Temperance shook her head in protest and that caused the man at her face to let out a groan before releasing into her mouth. When he pulled out, Temperance vomited violently and gasped for air.

  The man behind her spread her ass apart and before Temperance could ask what he was doing he rammed his cock into the only hole in her body that had not ever been violated by a man.

  Temperance screamed in pain and Trevor’s fist connected with her mouth. “Stop that screaming!” he warned.

  Temperance bit her lip so tightly that she tasted blood and prayed for death. Surely, death would be better. It truly felt as if she were being ripped apart and torn to pieces.

  It seemed to last for hours and when the man finally pulled out of her, Temperance sagged against the table and felt unconsciousness attempting to overtake her.

  Then she saw the item Trevor held in his hand.

  Temperance shook her head violently. “Please…” she gasped, barely able to speak through her abused mouth. “Please don’t.”

  Trevor walked to her side and raised the whip. “You should have been a good obedient wife, Temperance. I paid for a good obedient wife. I didn’t pay a troublemaker or a whore who would run to my brother’s arms!”

  “Please, Trevor!”

  Temperance lost all knowledge on how to speak or breathe when that whip fell down upon her back. Her skin tore open and blood trickled down her sides. Temperance didn’t know what to do.

  And so she screamed.

  Repeatedly her voice filled the shack as they whip struck her again and again. Finally, her vision began to get hazy. Her body had endured too much pain and was shutting down and Temperance welcomed it.

  She hoped she was dying.

  Dying sounded nice.

  That was her last thought before blackness overtook her as Trevor’s whip continued to rain down upon her.

  ***

  Tanner searched the plantation house. He went door to door calling out for Temperance. He had found Mary’s dead body in front of the bedroom door and now had the rifle that for some reason Temperance hadn’t used clutched in his hands. Damn it, he shouldn’t have left her!! Why had he been so foolish? So thoughtless?

  He’d kill his brother.

  That bastard wouldn’t get away with whatever he had done to Temperance.

  Tanner raced back out onto the porch. Daylight was breaking over the horizon and the barn was now nothing but a smoldering pile of ash and rubble. Tanner found Felix in the crowd.

  He ran to the old man and shook his arm, “Have you seen Temperance? Or Trevor? Or those men?” he demanded.

  “No…” Felix wiped ash and sweat from his brow and his eyes widened at the blood soaking Tanner’s shirt. “Sir, you’re hurt! You needs to go see Miss Wilma. She’ll doctor you up.”

  “This is an emergency!” Tanner snapped. ‘Trevor killed Mary and now he has Temperance. I have to find her and this property is too damned big with too many damned buildings!”

  “Mary’s dead?” Felix’s brown eyes filled with tears.

  Tanner nodded. “I’m sorry for your loss, Felix,” he whispered, kicking himself for breaking the news of the man’s granddaughters death to him in such a way. “But I have to find Temperance…”

  “Sir!” A young girl, only around ten years old came running through the crowd of ash-covered workers.

  “What is it?” Tanner asked with annoyance. He didn’t want to be bothered with children just now. He had to find Temperance.

  “Wilma sent me. She has Miss Temperance in her servants quarters…”

  Tanner didn’t wait to hear the rest.

  He took off as fast as his legs and his wounded side would allow toward Wilma’s living quarters. He burst through the door without knoc
king and his legs instantly gave out the moment he saw Temperance.

  Tanner fell to his knees and shoved his hand through his hair as his eyes burned. She was lying unconscious upon her stomach on a cot in the floor. She was naked and covered only from the waist down by a blanket.

  Her back…

  Tanner felt his stomach turn. Wilma looked up from Temperance’s bloody and torn back and paused with a medicine soaked rag in her hand. “Hello there, sir.”

  “What the hell…” Tanner’s voice broke so he cleared his throat. “What did he do to her?”

  “Whipped her,” Wilma replied sadly, going back to laying strips of that medicine soaked fabric over the bloody tears in Temperance’s flesh. The woman’s back was a mess. Every inch was ripped and split and bleeding…

  “Is she gonna be okay?” Tanner whispered.

  Wilma didn’t look up, but Tanner saw her chin tremble. “I don’t know, sir. I ain’t never seen nobody whipped this bad before and they also…” She stopped suddenly and bit her lip.

  Tanner frowned. “What did they also do?” he ground out.

  “They…” Wilma sighed. “They forced her, sir. We found her lying outside in a ditch and they forced the woman to lay with them so roughly that she’s ripped wide open. her backside and all, sir.”

  Tanner’s stomach clenched violently. “They… tore her to pieces?” he hissed through tight lips.

  Wilma sniffed and a tear slipped down her cheek. “Yes sir. I don’t know if she’ll wake up or not… As much pain a she’ll be in it might be a blessin’ if she doesn’t.”

  Tanner crawled forward on his hands and knees and stopped beside the cot. He raised a trembling hand and smoothed some of Temperance’s limp red hair from her pale face.

  “I’m sorry, Temp,” he whispered sadly. He pressed a gentle kiss to her freckled shoulder and squeezed his eyes shut tight as he fought back tears. He had failed her. He hadn’t kept the promise that he made to keep her safe. “You gotta wake up, sweetheart. You gotta come back to all of us, okay?”

  “Sir, can I get ya anythin’?” Wilma asked tearfully.