Hold Me

by Baker, LJ

  I stood still for a moment, trying to decide the best course of action. I could comply, hope he was just there for supplies and when he had what he wanted, he'd leave. Or, I could fight. Risk him killing me in the process, or kick his ass and hope that he was there alone.

  "I think you and me are gonna have a lot of fun together," he breathed against my neck.

  Okay. Fight it is.

  I slid my arms under his and flipped myself around. Before he could react, I brought my knee up, into his groin with all the force I could manage. At the same time, I elbowed him in the throat and pushed him back against the wall. He dropped to the ground with a thud.

  "You bitch!"

  I turned to get to the gun, but he grabbed my leg and pulled me down to the floor with him. I kicked at him, making contact with his face before he let go, and scrambled to my feet. I pushed the bedroom door open and another one stood smiling. It was the last thing I saw before everything went black.

  ***

  My vision gradually returned and muffled sounds became clearer. I was tied to a chair in the kitchen. I felt warm blood trickle down my head and fall into my lap. Across the table, Will was tied to another chair, his perfect face, beaten and bloody. His eyes were open wide and he was whispering my name to get my attention.

  I looked around, fully expecting to see Dan tied to another chair, but he was nowhere to be found.

  "Where's Dan?"

  Will shook his head and glanced around the room. "I haven't seen him. You okay? You're bleeding."

  "You should see your face. I'm fine." I wasn't. My head throbbed the way it had when I had a concussion and there was a searing pain shooting from my shoulder down my arm.

  I could hear something going on in the back, but I couldn't see them. Or Dan.

  "How did they get in?" Will struggled against his bindings and slid his chair up against the cabinets.

  "No clue. Something seemed off, so I came out to check."

  One of them came down the hall and walked into the kitchen. "I see you are done with your little nap sweetheart. You're a feisty one, I hear. Your little boyfriend didn't put up nearly as much of a fight."

  He walked over and ran his hand over my hair. I pulled my head back to avoid him, but he just pulled me by the hair with his other hand.

  "Now don't be like that. We went to a lot of trouble to get together with you. Followed you all the way from Franklin when you were sitting out in the open. If I'd known you were going to be such a problem, I'd have taken your friend out back there and saved us a few days of trouble."

  I heard his words, but they weren't sinking in. They followed us from Franklin. I wasn't even sure where that was. It had to be along the route Dan and I took on our supply run.

  "Why didn't you then?" I spit in his face as he leaned down to run his thumb over my cheek.

  He laughed out loud and walked over to Will. "The fun is in the hunt, darlin. Besides, making your boyfriends watch will be so much more enjoyable." He pushed Will's chair back against the table and slammed his head down into the hard surface, knocking him unconscious.

  He was the same one who took me out earlier. He was dressed in flannel, with a cowboy hat and a thick, bushy beard. His voice was gravely, thick with years of too much smoking. He reminded me of a creepy Marlboro Man.

  My chest ached and an anger boiled up inside me. I would find a way to kill those bastards, no matter what it took. "Okay, then why don't you untie me? We can get started right now."

  One of his buddies came into the kitchen. It was a different one than I'd seen earlier, so that meant there were three of them. At least.

  "How's our little duckling doing?" He purred in a more proper, masculine voice then his friend. My skin crawled at the sound.

  That one was cleaner and not bad looking. In another life, he could have been a CEO or a doctor. He appeared to be the brains of the operation. Clearly, the one I left crumpled on the floor with some majorly crushed nuts, was not the smart one.

  "Oh fine," Marlboro man said. "She was just offering up her services."

  "Was she now?" Brains raised an eyebrow and sat down on a chair next to me.

  I glared at him and bit the inside of my cheek to keep from saying anything. It was probably best to keep quiet and see what direction things were going before I made him angry. Janet taught me to take the time to access the situation first and plan out the best course of action before making a move, whenever possible. And I knew she was right.

  "She certainly was." Marlboro man walked up behind me and slide his filthy fingers through the back of my hair. "Maybe we should take her up on her offer."

  "All in good time. We have plenty of time to play. How's Ben?"

  Ben. That must be crushed-nut guy.

  Marlboro man chuckled. "She did a number on him, but he'll live."

  "And the other one?" Brains looked at me and smiled before returning his glance to his friend.

  What other one? Was he talking about Dan?

  "Not such a tough guy now." They both laughed and Marlboro man continued. "I patched him up so he didn't bleed out right away. He might be big, but he's no match for ole Bessie here." He patted the gun strapped to his waist.

  My eyes widened and my lungs stopped taking in oxygen. I wanted to ask what he did to Dan, demand to see him, but nothing would come from my lips. I was frozen, left only to imagine the worst. And the worst, was probably exactly what it was.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  "This isn't going to turn out well for your friends. You get that, right?" Brains held a knife up in front of me, a half smile on his face.

  "Just take me and leave them alone. I'll do whatever you want," I pleaded with him, any concern for my own welfare was lost to worry for Dan and Will.

  "This isn't a negotiation, darlin. You will do whatever we want, either way." Marlboro man lifted Will's unconscious head up by his hair and dropped it back to the table with a thud.

  Brains used the knife he was waving in front of me to cut the ropes between my wrists and pulled me to my feet. "Now you be a good duck, or your boyfriends won't get to come to the party. Ever."

  He replaced the rope with a thick zip tie and pulled me down the hall by my hair.

  When we reached the end of the hall he pushed me up against the wall and looked over me. "Which one do you care about more?"

  "Huh?"

  "The big guy or the scrawny tall one in the kitchen? Or is this some kinky threesome arrangement?" His eyes narrowed and he licked over his lips.

  I turned my head to the side to avoid his breath in my face, but he grabbed my chin and pulled it back hard.

  "Play nice, duckling. Or I will play with your boyfriends instead." His eyes blackened and I knew we were in serious trouble. The evil in his soul clearly went far beyond anything I'd ever come in contact with.

  He looked over me a long moment and leaned in close to breathe into my hair, before opening the door to the bedroom to shove me inside.

  Dan was sitting on the floor with his hands tied behind him to the foot of the bed. Crushed-nuts, er Ben, was sitting in a chair a few feet from him, with a sawed-off shotgun resting on his lap. The room was lit by a small lantern, but it was bright enough for me to make out the blood soaked into the carpet in a circle around Dan. He had bandages wrapped around his arm that were also soaked with blood, and his head was hanging down. I couldn't tell if he was conscious or not, but I could see his chest rising and falling in shallow waves, so at least he was breathing.

  Ben narrowed his eyes and glared at me. Obviously, he wasn't over our little tussle in the hall earlier. "You bring me a bitch to play with, John?"

  John. That must be Brains' name.

  "Don't get too excited there, Ben. You probably wanna let your junk rest a bit before you go swinging it around."

  Ben shifted in his seat and I knew he was still sore from the crotch shot I gave him.

  Good.

  Dan lifted his head up and looked at me through his hair. Hi
s expression was almost defeated and it wrecked me to see him that way. My eyes filled with tears, but I fought them back. There was no way in hell I was going to let those twisted bastards see me cry.

  Ben stood up and slung his shot gun over his shoulder with a strap. He walked over to Dan and kicked him hard in the ribs. "I like kicking shit too, bitch."

  Dan fell over and groaned. I struggled to free myself of the hands gripping my hair, so I could go to Dan. Help him, or comfort him, or something.

  John released his grip with a laugh and pushed me forward. I stumbled and landed on my knees, then crawled over to Dan.

  "I'm sorry." Tears ran down his face as I tried to push him back into a sitting position. My hands were luckily bound in front, so I had a little usage.

  "This isn't your fault," I whispered, though I knew they could hear anything I said.

  John grabbed a handful of my hair and yanked me to my feet. "That's enough. I just wanted to make sure you realized who was in charge here. Both of you."

  I tried to pull myself free, with or without my hair, but he dug his thumb into my already aching shoulder, and dragged me from the room. We ended up in my old bedroom and he pushed me down on the bed.

  "I think we need to have a little chat." He pulled the chair close and took a seat. I backed away and tried to put as much distance between me and him as possible, but he grabbed my ankles and pulled me forward.

  "Now see, this is part of the problem. You think that you have choices here. You don't. This will all go a lot smoother when you learn to be a good little duckling. The longer it takes you to realize that, the more difficult this will be for you, and for your friends."

  He pulled out his knife and cut the zip tie off then pulled me into his lap on the chair. "I'm a patient man and I'll enjoy whichever way you want to play it, but my guys, they aren't so patient."

  I took quick shallow breaths and tried to keep myself from jumping out of his lap. The more I struggled, the worse it was going to be. I couldn't risk them taking it out on Will or Dan, because of me. He ran his hand over my arm and up my neck. My skin crawled under his touch and my stomach twisted in disgust.

  "There are a few things you should know. First of all, we are going to kill your friends. Second, we are all going to have some fun before we kill them. Third, you will do as you're told." He swung one of my legs over his, so I was facing him and pulled me up against his chest. "Because if you don't, our little games will be a lot less pleasant."

  He slid his hand up the back of my neck, grabbed a handful of my hair, and jerked my head back so that my chin lifted up. I put my hands up against his chest to give me some bit of distance, and clenched my fingers onto his shirt. I could try to push him off, but he was stronger than me, and I knew it would make things worse. When he brought his face to mine, I knew he planned to kiss me and I didn't try to stop him. There was no use.

  His breath on my face was enough to make my stomach turn. It took all my resolve not to puke into his face. He lifted me off his lap and tossed me onto the bed.

  "It's been a while since I got to play with such a sweet little toy. I am definitely going to savor our time together, duckling." He unbuckled his belt, pulled it from his jeans, and snapped it in the air with a loud crack. "Be a good girl and take some of those clothes off. We can't have any fun with you all bundled up."

  My heart slammed against my chest and forced the oxygen in and out of my lungs at a fevered pace. On the inside, my body went into a frenzy. On the outside, I was frozen, unable to move or respond. There was no way I could do what he wanted, yet fighting him would probably mean he would hurt Will and Dan.

  I tried to imagine myself somewhere else, a place that I felt safe, pretend that I was anywhere than where I was. I closed my eyes, tried not to look at him, but it only made him laugh. He was enjoying my terror, getting off on it. If I could make him think that I wasn't as afraid as I was, maybe he would grow bored faster. Or maybe he would up his game.

  There was a knock on the door and Marlboro man stuck his head in. "Everything okay in here?" He glanced down at me on the bed and licked over his lips like a predator eyeing its prey.

  Just when I thought it couldn't be any worse, John motioned for him to enter. It was probably then, that every cell in my body jumped into survival mode. I leapt off the bed past John and squeezed myself between the bunk beds and wall in the far corner of the room. There was a knife under the lower mattress and I grabbed it before either of the men could get their hands on me.

  Marlboro man stayed back a few feet, a look of concern spread across his face. He certainly wasn't afraid of me, but he struck me as the kind of bully that was only confident when he was certain he had the upper hand. A coward.

  John didn't move from his original spot. Instead, he just turned to look at me and laughed.

  "What do you think you're going to do with that knife, little girl? There are two of us grown men, and Tim here has a 9mm in his belt. Do you think you're any match for that? Because if you do, I'd love to see you try."

  Marlboro man, or Tim apparently, pulled the gun out and smiled. "Come on now darlin, put that knife down and play nice."

  "Fuck you, Tim. Come and take it from me." If they were planning on killing me anyway, they could go ahead and do it. I wasn't giving up that knife without a fight.

  John sat down on the chair and propped his feet up on the night stand, amused. "Go ahead, Tim. Take it from her."

  Tim glanced from me to John, all smugness gone from his face. "Huh? Wha…wwhat do you mean?"

  "Exactly what I said. Take the knife from her. She's just a little girl. You're not afraid of her, now are you?" John sat forward and rested his arms on his thighs. He seemed to be enjoying Tim's fear just as much as mine.

  Tim raised the gun with trembling hands. "You want me to shoot her?"

  John chuckled. "Well you could, but that kind of takes the fun out of it."

  "Tim lowered the gun a few inches and turned toward John. "Then how the hell do you expect me to get it from her?"

  I was positive John could have come up with a dozen ways. None of which would be pleasant, I was sure.

  John took a deep breath and exhaled hard, then slapped his thighs before popping up to his feet. He took a few steps toward me and smiled. He wanted me to put up a fight. It was evident in his cold, black eyes. He held his hand out to Tim for the gun, his eyes never leaving mine, and his smile widened. Tim placed the weapon into his hand and backed up a few feet.

  I wasn't really sure what my plan was. He could shoot me in the leg, rush me and take the knife by force, or even go as far as to shoot one of the guys. Any of those would likely get him the knife and force my compliance. I knew he was considering each of those options, and probably more, as he stood there watching me. I was like a wounded gazelle, cornered by a pack of hungry lions. Scared and out of options, but unwilling to just lay down and give up.

  There was little space between the beds and wall where I was hiding, and I was positive he wouldn't fit in with me. If he planned to physically take the knife from my hands, he would have to move the beds. He took another step, only a couple feet from the beds, and tilted his head to the side as if he were enjoying the anticipation.

  Tim shifted on his feet and took another step back. "Maybe I should go uh, check the one in the kitchen." He waited for confirmation from John, who was clearly in charge of the group.

  John answered his friend without taking his eyes off me, or even blinking. "Maybe that's a good idea, though he didn't look like he was going anywhere fast." After Tim left the room, he continued. "Just you and me again, duckling. Now what do you suppose we should do about our current predicament?"

  "Oh I think there's a simple solution to that, John. You and your sleazy friends get the hell out of my house and never come back." I faked some courage, but I was pretty sure he could tell it was all an act. I might be able to fool the other two morons, but John wasn't so easily fooled.

  "I'm sure there
is a better solution than that, duckling."

  "I doubt it." My fingers were gripped around the knife so hard the blood completely drained from my hand, leaving my fingers pale white and tingling with numbness.

  "Well, you know, I could just have Ben bring your boyfriend in here and then we could see how brave you are. Do you think you will be so brave while I'm carving him up like a thanksgiving turkey?"

  My stomach dropped like a brick and I nearly choked on the lump in my throat. It was worst-case scenario and he knew he had me. There was no way I would be able to watch him hurt Dan or Will, knowing I could do something to stop it. On the other hand, if they were going to kill all of us anyway, what difference did it make? I tried to think about what Janet's advice might be in such a situation. I didn't think that for a moment, she would give up her weapon, no matter what. She would probably tell me to keep it and fight to the end.

  I adjusted the knife in my hand and challenged him. "Go ahead. It was time for me to break up with him anyway." I glared at him and slowed my breathing, trying to give off some semblance of self-control. I doubted it would fool him, but at the very least, it might buy me some time.

  He narrowed his eyes and looked over me, likely trying to decide how serious I was. He could of course, just shoot me, but I got the feeling he wasn't going to.

  "Okay. Have it your way. Ben?" He called out behind him.

  A moment later ole crushed-nuts peered into the room. "Yeah?"

  "How's our friend doing?"

  He shrugged. "He's conscious. For now. What's going on in here?" He nodded his head in my direction and raised an eyebrow.

  "She needs a little incentive to play nice. Bring her boyfriend in here so I can help her see the importance of compliance."

  "Sure thing." He shot me a smug smile before leaving the room.

  My plan wasn't going so well. Apparently, he was willing to call me on it and Dan was going to pay the price. I wondered how Will was making out and immediately pushed the thought from my mind. I couldn't worry about that. I had enough to focus on at that moment. Anymore and I would surely lose it.