Just a Taste [Merricks, Montana 4] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour)

by McKinlay Thomson

  He didn’t think she was dead, not yet anyway. He could feel it in his gut. Everything in his entire being was telling him she was still alive and his gut instinct hadn’t failed him yet.

  Wolf had a feeling of déjà vu. He had been here before, in this room, with these men, searching for a missing woman. Only this time it was his woman they were looking for and the feeling of hopelessness and desperation was his, too.

  “Where are we?” Blake asked, walking into the room and taking charge.

  Wolf looked around the room at the men that were assembled—men he had known for years and trusted with his life and now the life of his woman. Brock was seated at the head of the table, laptop open and frantically typing. Hawk sat next to Cole and Trace Jackson, looking over maps of the area, and Grayson sat across from them with James Hammond at his side. Chase and Jarrod Walker stood along the back wall waiting for instructions.

  Some of the usual players were missing, but that was understandable. Pierson Carter had been put on women-sitting duties and was at home keeping an eye on Kate, Sarah, and Holly. Austin, Tyler, and Ryan had chosen to scour the town on foot for any sign of Emily. Wolf didn’t. It would do any good, but they had felt they needed to do something useful.

  Tank, well, he was still coming down the mountain. He was the town recluse, but he always came when the shit hit the fan. He was ex-military, but no one knew which. He was a grumpy bastard and was scary when pissed off. Nothing seemed to piss Tank off more than one of the town’s women being in danger.

  “No one has seen much of Candy since the auction,” James said. “She has been quiet, which isn’t like her.”

  “She was spending time with Mistress Savannah,” Wolf said. “I didn’t like it, but there wasn’t much I could do.”

  “What do you mean?” Cole Jackson asked, frowning. “I knew that Mistress Savannah had won her, but that was for only one night.”

  Wolf explained to the group about seeing Candy and Mistress Savannah at Silk Ties and the questions he had posed. He told them about his suspicions and the reason behind them. He still felt that he was right. Candy wasn’t a pain slut and wouldn’t stay with Mistress Savannah, he was sure of it, but like he said, if Candy didn’t say anything, there was nothing he could do.

  “Shit,” Trace said. “Do you think that Mistress Savannah has something to do with this?”

  “Let’s not rule it out,” Blake told them. “Assume she does and add her to the suspect list.”

  “I am looking up her information now,” Brock said. “Savannah Longstaff lives in Belt and works for the Belt Valley Bank as a clerk.”

  “Longstaff,” Chase said. “No wonder she didn’t want anyone knowing her last name.”

  “What else can you find out about her?” Wolf asked. He wanted to know everything he could about his potential enemy. He didn’t want any mistakes made when it came time to rescue Emily.

  “Give me a minute,” Brock said. “And I can tell you what she had for breakfast.”

  Wolf didn’t doubt it. Brock was the best hacker in the state and had been invaluable to his club. CUSS handled all of Silk Ties’s security, and Brock ran background checks on all members who joined.

  Blake’s cell rang and he walked from the room. Wolf continued pacing while he waited. He needed to think. Had Candy ever given him any clues? Where did she like to hang out? Did she have any special places that she went? Did she own any properties outside of Merricks? Where did her parents live?

  Blake walked back in the room and Wolf looked up. God, he hoped for some good news.

  “That was Erik,” Blake said. “Candy’s house is empty and her car is in the garage. He said her work hasn’t seen her in over a week. So we still have nothing.”

  “Did we check the bomb shelter?” Hawk asked. “Maybe she took her there, thinking we had forgotten about it.”

  They had discovered the bomb shelter at the back of the town hall when Holly’s ex-boyfriend had taken her hostage for insurance money he thought she had received. It was one of the times that Sarah had shot someone. God, did he wish he made Emily carry a gun now, but she would probably shoot herself by accident, or him and Hawk when they pissed her off.

  “Her brothers have already checked it,” Blake replied. “And nearly every barn, house, and shed in the town.”

  “What did Caroline have to say?” Wolf asked. She might know something and not realize it.

  “She was under the impression that Candy wasn’t working alone,” Blake told them. “It goes with the Mistress Savannah theory. She said that Candy came in with a gun and made Emily tie her up in the office before they went out the back door. Once they left the office, she said she couldn’t hear what they said, but she did say that whatever vehicle they drove off in sounded large and its motor rumbled like an old truck.”

  “That narrows it down,” Wolf said sarcastically. Half the damned town drove old and large vehicles.

  “Maybe the street cameras can turn something up,” Brock said. “We know what time she was taken and that we are looking for a large truck or pickup. I’ll just hack into the feed and see what we can turn up.”

  “You don’t need to hack in,” Blake said. “We can go through the police feeds.”

  “It will be quicker this way,” Brock replied. “And less red tape.”

  “Just get it done,” Wolf said. He was starting to lose his patience and his goddamned mind. Their relationship had only just started. He couldn’t lose her now.

  “We can see the alley that runs behind the bakery,” Brock said. “It is right near the intersection of Main and New Street. All we need to look for is a large vehicle pulling out at the time that Candy took Emily. We should be able to see which direction it goes and what make and model it is.”

  Sounded simple enough to Wolf. Please finally let it be the lead they needed. They couldn’t have vanished without a trace and with no witnesses. Someone had to see the truck or pick up, but if Emily was inside and out of sight, they wouldn’t have thought anything was wrong. Wolf felt like they were going around in circles.

  “Look here,” Brock said. “An old blue van pulls out of the alley exactly the time that Caroline said it would. The picture is out of focus, but it looks like two passengers. It heads toward the highway.”

  “Do you think they left town?” Hawk asked.

  “Could be,” Blake said. “But a lot of roads branch off before the freeway.”

  Wolf walked over and looked over Brock’s shoulder. He could see the passengers in the van, but they were fuzzy. None of them looked like Emily, so it must be Candy and Mistress Savannah if she was involved.

  “Can we get the registration?” he asked.

  “Let me just clean up the picture a bit,” Brock replied. “Here we go. Looks like 3.A56879. I’ll run it through the registration database and see what pops up.”

  Finally they had something they could work with. They were only one step closer to finding Emily, but to Wolf it felt like a huge step. Once they found who the car was registered to, they might be able to figure out where they would take her.

  “It is registered to a Colson Longstaff,” Brock said. “The address is just outside of Cascade on the Missouri River.”

  “That’s a couple of hours’ drive from here,” Blake said. “They are probably still driving.”

  “Have you tried to locate the signal of her cell phone?” Tank said walking into the room. He was wearing full fatigues, his face painted in camo. Wolf raised an eyebrow at his friend. “What? I was out hunting.”

  “You are always out hunting,” he replied and turned to Brock. “Brock?”

  It was so simple. He was surprised none of them had thought of it and now he was angry at himself. He always made her carry her cell and have it on. They had even tried ringing her more than once.

  “On it,” Brock said. “Why didn’t I think of it before?”

  “Because you’re an idiot,” Grayson said, sarcastically. Brock gave him the finger and went b
ack to his screen.

  “Good girl,” Brock said. “She has it on. It is hitting off a tower between Cascade and Wolf Creek. They have to be headed toward this Colson person’s place.”

  “Good,” Wolf said. “Let’s move. Hawk and I will ride with you, Blake.”

  Wolf didn’t wait for anyone else and made his way from the building. Mistress Savannah was in on it and that meant she was going to get the full brunt of his wrath. They had her and he was going to do anything on his power to get her back safely. Even if that meant taking a life.

  Hang on, kitten. We are coming, he thought.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Emily was tired and in pain from having her arms tied behind her back for so long. They had been driving forever and she had rolled and crashed around the back of the van at every bump and turn. Candy and Mistress Savannah had said very little on the drive and they hadn’t stopped, not even for gas.

  She had no idea where they were headed and no idea how long it would take to get there. She couldn’t see out of the blacked-out windows and couldn’t sit up even if she could. She hoped they stopped soon. She wanted out of the van, but she also didn’t want to ever get to their destination. Mistress Savannah would start torturing her as payback for whatever she thought Emily had done.

  Emily felt the van slow and take a sharp turn. She rolled across the van and slammed into the opposite wall with a grunt. The bumpy road told her that they had gone off the paved highway and onto a dirt road. They must be getting close.

  The van took another turn and drove down an even bumpier road. Emily pegged it as a driveway and trepidation took over. She knew they were here, even before Mistress Savannah turned off the engine and opened the door.

  “Get out, Candy,” she said. “I’ll get our new little slave.”

  Emily jumped when the van door slid open and light flooded the once dim interior. Mistress Savannah wasted no time in reaching in and grabbing her hair. She pulled Emily from the van and onto the grass. She couldn’t cry out with the gag in her mouth, and pain exploded in her knees when they hit the hard ground.

  “Get up, slut,” Mistress Savannah said, pulling her to her feet. “It was a long drive and I need a rest. Lucky for you, my Uncle Colson has a special room waiting for you. It’s in the barn. That way.”

  Emily was shoved toward the barn and she stumbled. The barn was dilapidated and looked like it could fall down at any second. The house wasn’t in much better shape and Emily wondered what had happened to the uncle. Fortunately, Mistress Savannah was in a talkative mood.

  “Dear old Uncle Colson was a brute of a man,” she said. “He loved to inflict pain on women. I came to live with him after my parents died. He taught me all I know. I have the scars to prove it. I’m going to show you just how cruel he could be.”

  Mistress Savannah dragged Emily along and shoved her through the barn door. She looked around the large empty barn, the smell of mold and hay hitting her nose. Candy walked toward the back of the barn and through another smaller door.

  “Hurry up,” Mistress Savannah said, giving her hair another tug. They followed Candy through the small door and Emily’s eyes widened as she saw the room for the first time.

  A rough wooden St. Andrew’s cross sat in the corner with metal rings running up and down its arms. A small metal cage sat in the opposite corner on the hay-covered floor and had a wooden saw horse to its right. One whole wall was covered with torture devices. Sharp hooks, knives, whips, canes, spiked paddles, and floggers hung from nails and made Emily whimper at the sight.

  They weren’t the soft sensual toys that Wolf and Hawk had used on her. They were meant to cause damage and the most amount of pain possible. They were meant to make the victim bleed, and Mistress Savannah planned to use them on her. Most still had its last victim’s dried blood still on it, and Emily couldn’t help but wonder who that poor person was.

  “Candy,” Mistress Savannah said, dragging Emily to the middle of the room. “Get in the cage while I make our guest comfortable.”

  Candy crawled into the small cage and the metal door clanked behind her. Mistress Savannah wasn’t gentle as she untied Emily’s hands and retied them in front of her body. Emily shook with fright as a hook was lowered from a beam and shoved through the rope tying Emily’s hands. Mistress Savannah then turned the lever and her arms where lifted above her head until she was hanging, only her toes touching the floor.

  “I had to kill him, you know,” Mistress Savannah said, removing Emily’s gag and throwing it onto a bench that lined the same wall as the torture devices. “For many years I was his student, learning the art of inflicting the most pain on an unwilling slave and keeping them alive for as long as possible. He taught me by example and used every one of his instruments on that wall on me.”

  “What does that have to do with me?” Emily asked.

  “Why nothing,” she replied. “Other than the fact that I’m going to do the same to you. Can you imagine the terror he instilled in me? His young, helpless niece. I trusted him and he abused me. So when I couldn’t take another minute of being his slave, the teacher became the student.”

  What did you do?” Emily didn’t really want to know but she was stalling. The longer Mistress Savannah talked, the better.

  “Stupid old prick didn’t even see it coming,” she answered. “Every night I would cook him dinner, and while he ate one of his slaves would take him in her mouth. I snuck up behind him and whacked him over the head with a skillet. Then I brought him out here and showed him just how much I had learned.”

  “What happened to his slaves?” Emily asked. She didn’t think they got to walk free, but she was hopeful there was some humanity left in the woman.

  “I let them watch,” she said. “Then I killed them, too. I couldn’t let them go free. They knew too much, and now you do, too.” Emily didn’t like the sigh that came from Mistress Savannah. “I was going to dump your broken and bloody body back in Merricks for Wolf to find, but now I will have to kill you first. It will still have the same effect.”

  Emily started to wonder if this was more about Wolf than it was about her and tossed up whether to probe or not. She didn’t want to make the crazy woman angry. She decided to try and back off again if Mistress Savannah showed signs of losing her calm.

  “Did Wolf do something to upset you? Is that why you are doing this?”

  “You really are a silly bitch,” she replied. “Wolf was the perfect Dom before you came along. Strict, controlled, with a dangerous edge. He can inflict just the right amount of pain to have a submissive on the edge of screaming her safe word, before finishing a scene.”

  Mistress Savannah moved over to the torture wall and lifted down a dirty tattered cat o’ nine tails. It was made from rough rope and had small knots tied at the end of each tendril. Emily thought it looked like it had come straight of an old navy ship back when they used to flog their crew.

  “We could have been the perfect couple,” she said. “We would have shared a slave and inflicted sweet pain on her together before fucking each other and making her watch. But you wreck all that. You made him weak and now he is nothing more than another pussy-whipped pansy Dom playing at being the boss.”

  What about poor Hawk? Did she seriously think that Wolf would just leave his friend and partner to enter into a relationship with her and their slave? She obviously didn’t know Wolf as well as she thought she did. Hawk and Wolf were a packaged deal.

  Emily watched as Mistress Savannah slapped the flogger onto her palm. Emily should have kept her damned mouth shut. Wasn’t the woman going to rest before the torturing her. Now she looked hell-bent on inflicting pain with that evil-looking flogger.

  “Please,” Emily cried. “What are you going to do?”

  She circled behind Emily and she held her breath. Emily waited for the pain, but it never came.

  “Something is wrong,” Mistress Savannah said. “Oh, you still have your clothes on. Silly me.”

  Mistre
ss Savannah dropped the flogger on the bench and grabbed a knife from the wall. It was big and sharp and Emily felt bile rise in her throat. The woman made quick work of cutting Emily’s clothes from her body and didn’t nick her once. She should be thankful for that one small mercy, but she knew what was about to come.

  Emily felt the cold air hit her naked flesh and she trembled, but it wasn’t just the cold causing her to shake. She had never been so frightened in her life. Candy sat in her cage with tears running down her face, but Emily couldn’t spare an emotion to feel sorry for the other woman.

  When Mistress Savannah came back with the flogger, Emily knew her time was up. She would just grit her teeth and hope that she passed out quickly.

  “Please,” Emily said. “You can still have Wolf if you just let me go.”

  “No,” Mistress Savannah replied. “I don’t want him anymore, but that doesn’t mean I don’t want to rip his heart from his chest and stomp on it like he did mine.”

  Emily felt the noise of the flogger as it sailed through the air. It landed across her shoulders and she screamed as the harsh burning sting ripped across her back. The pain stole her breath. Emily had never felt anything like it. She wouldn’t be able to survive much more of this.

  Mistress Savannah brought the flogger down across her back once more and Emily screamed again. Tears ran down her cheeks and she sobbed through the pain.

  Please, she thought, thinking of her men. I love you, please hurry.

  * * * *

  Hawk sat in the back of the squad car, drumming his fingers against his thighs. It had been a long drive, but they had finally pulled up at the driveway to the Longstaff property. He knew this was where they had come. He could feel it in his bones. His Emily was here, she had to be.

  He hated waiting and wanted to rush in and get his woman, but he knew that would be foolish. They needed to scout the area and make a plan. It was no different than when he had been in the marines. Only this time, it was his woman they were rescuing.