He watched me and I waited for the right time. "Yeah, I know how you love the sunshine." His eyes warmed.
"Hey you two, don't forget you have an audience." Jenny's voice made Robin look towards her.
His distraction was my opening, I cupped both hands and pushed water at him, throwing it in an arc that splashed him from the top down, soaking his tee shirt.
He blinked the water out of his eyes and pinned me with a look. "You'll pay for that."
I laughed and turned to run, but he was faster. Before I could make two steps on the rocky river bottom, he wrapped an arm around my waist and lifted me off my feet.
I squealed when my back hit the cold wetness of his tee shirt, then I laughed harder, struggling against the tight arm across my belly. I knew he was probably gonna dunk it and me would be cold, but I knew he wouldn't let me get hurt.
"You got me all wet." His voice was close. His chin rested in the crook of my neck, his day's stubble rough against my skin made me want to move against him so I could feel it rub. "I ought to dunk you for that." Then his voice dropped until it was soft enough that only I could hear him. "But I bet I don't have to drop you in the water to get you all wet, do I?"
I laughed again and pushed my hips against his.
"None of that." He dragged me to one side of his body. "Jenny doesn't want to see that."
He kept his arm around me as he walked us both to the shallow water at the edge of the river and took a seat on the river bottom.
"I thought you were gonna dunk her for splashing you." Jenny said as Robin pulled me onto his lap.
He chuckled. "I don't need to. I'll get my revenge later."
Jenny turned pink. "I don't wanna know." She held up both hands in front of her.
Robin laughed harder. "How have you been Jenny?"
"Good, just been working. You know how it is."
His arm still around my middle. "Yeah. I do."
24
Later, after Jenny had gone and we'd eaten dinner, we settled onto the sofa to watch some television. As was becoming our habit, Robin sat sideways in one corner of the sofa, with me in front of him. I turned on the TV and snuggled against him. He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me tight. I leaned back and relaxed, quickly becoming engrossed in the story unfolding on the screen.
I don't know when he started but we hadn't been watching long when I realized Robin was up to something. He ran one hand lightly up and down the bare skin of my leg. Then he moved to draw small circles on one breast, over my shirt.
I didn't say anything as I waited to see what he would do next. After several minutes, he shifted again, this time wrapping his arm around my belly and slipping his hand under my loose tee shirt. It didn't take long before I felt his hand moving back and forth over my stomach, occasionally dipping lower to tease the waistband of my shorts. Knowing he couldn't see it, I let a smile spread across my face.
He continued to play his fingers along my tummy, slipping his hand into my shorts and moving lower on my stomach. I pretended not to notice but I couldn't stop the heat from pooling inside. The subtle teasing went on for some time. I fought to remain still, to keep him from being able to tell how much he was getting to me.
We'd watched several programs before his teasing had me so fired up I couldn't hold still any longer. I squirmed against his hand as he drew his fingers along the inside of my thigh.
"How long do you plan on drawing this out?" I asked, my voice rough.
"I don't know. You made me wet this afternoon, now I've got you all wet."
"You've had me wet for some time. Are you planning on keeping me this way or doing something about it?"
"I'll do something about it…eventually. In the meantime I'm having fun." He got bolder and his hand moved higher on the inside of my thigh, almost but not quite, touching my sex.
I twisted around to look at him with one brow lifted. I didn't say a word as I tried to read his intentions.
"Start another show." Robin nodded at the TV.
I turned around and hit the button to begin another program. I don't remember what the show was, or what it was about. I couldn't focus on anything but the hands tormenting me. I squirmed and wiggled in his lap. I could feel his length behind me growing harder and pressing against my back.
By the time the credits started flashing across the screen, I was a hot mess. I couldn't think about anything but his hands on me, and what I hoped he would do.
I didn't bother to turn off the TV as I shifted on the sofa until I was facing Robin. I'd had enough of his hands on me without mine on him. I knelt in front of him, looking down at his up-tilted face. "I can't take this anymore."
"Are you sure?" He grinned, appearing pleased with himself.
I didn't bother with words, instead I dipped my head to capture his mouth. I used one hand, buried in his hair, to hold him to me while ran the other over his shoulder and back. I gathered his loose fabric with one hand, then used both to pull it over his head, breaking my kiss just long enough to get rid of the offending clothing.
Resuming the kiss, I sat on my heels and ran my hands over his chest, teasing his nipples for a moment before moving down his body. I raked my nails over his skin, making him pull away from my mouth with a gasp that turned to a groan as my hands dipped low on his stomach.
I grabbed the waistband of his shorts. "Lift up."
He leaned back against the arm of the couch, raising his hips off the seat. I pushed his shorts and underwear off his hips, it took some shifting, but soon he was bare and at my mercy as he sat back down where he had been. I moved closer, until I straddled his legs, then leaned down to kiss him again.
My mouth locked firmly on his, I let my hands tease across his chest then move out to grip his shoulders as I guided myself down over him. I lowered my body, letting my weight push him slowly inside me.
He growled against my mouth and his hands came up and gripped my hips, pulling me down until our pelvises met. He lifted me up and pulled me down again, not waiting for me to do the work. Together, we established a swift, rough rhythm that soon had us both gasping for breath. I felt my body begin to draw tight. I ran my thumbs back and forth over Robin's nipples. I wanted him as close as I was.
My body started to clench around him, his hands on my hips tightened and he slammed my hips hard against his until he held me in a viselike grip against him and tensed.
25
A week after having dinner with my family the insurance company called back. The agent informed me they had determined my Jeep was totaled and they would be cutting me a check to cover its value. The check would be delivered by Fed-Ex and I should have it by the following Monday. They also said that they would only cover the rental car for two days past that. If I wanted to keep it longer, I'd have to pay for it. That meant I had some shopping to do, fast.
I looked on-line first, but the closest dealerships to list their used vehicles on the internet were in Tucson. I looked through the listings but nothing caught my eye.
I thought about getting a car or a pick-up, but I really wanted another Jeep. I really liked having the ability to go wherever I wanted and the flexibility of the soft top, the hard top or even no top.
Holding out hope I might be able to find one relatively local, I called all the dealerships in Safford to find out if they had any Jeeps in stock. They did, but only Cherokees, no Wranglers. I had set my mind on a Wrangler. I went back to the internet, this time narrowing the search to all the Jeep Wranglers with a year ranging from a year old to about ten years old and asking price from over twenty thousand to just under ten, figuring that anything cheaper wouldn't last long enough to make it worth the money.
The insurance check should be somewhere in the middle. I did some research and made several calls. I explained the situation, that I was still waiting on the check but I would be paying cash. Then I started negotiating.
I ended up making a deal on a four-year-old Wrangler Sport that had less than thirty thousand miles.
It was a neon green that was, for some reason, called Electric Lime Green. The color didn't matter much, but it was better than black. Because I was paying cash, I made a killer deal, and ended up paying several thousand under the actual value.
I scheduled an appointment on Tuesday to pick it up, making sure I could reschedule if the check didn't make it on time, and then called the rental agency. I asked if I could return to car to Tucson instead of the local office, and again, explained the situation. The local agent assured me it would be fine. The whole process had been a pain in the ass, but I was excited at the prospect of having a Jeep again, even if I didn't looking forward to the drive to pick it up.
26
By the time Tuesday arrived, I was impatient to make the trip. I got up with Robin and as soon as he left, I pulled out.
I checked the clock on the dash as I passed the city limits sign on my way out of town, five-thirty. If I didn't stop, I should make it to Tucson by eight-thirty, nine if I stopped. I could handle that. Since it was early and I wasn't likely to be using my phone, I left my blue-tooth earpiece off.
I got to the dealership not long after they opened. I contacted the rental agency to come pick up the car, and completed the paperwork they had ready for me. The whole process only took an hour. When I pulled out of the dealership, and took Auto Mall Drive to Oracle. I made a right and went straight to Eegees. It was May, and the flavor of the month had changed, it was now cherry, not my favorite, but not bad. After picking up my treat, I followed Oracle a couple miles down to Miracle Mile, which fed me onto the interstate, where I headed home. I had my new Jeep, in all its day-glow green glory, and I was on the road home by ten thirty. This was working out to be a fast trip.
I hooked my Blue-tooth earpiece to one ear and called Robin to let him know I was on my way.
27
Two hours after leaving Tucson, I passed the Safford City Limits sign. After getting to know it a little, I was pleased with the new Jeep. I'd discovered it had an aftermarket stereo far better than the one from the factory, and it ran like a dream. During the drive I'd put together a mental list of things I needed to pick up on my way through town, so I wouldn't have to make a trip back for a while.
I was glad to be back in a vehicle I enjoyed driving, I cranked the stereo up and I was singing along as I drove. I made a couple stops in Safford, picking up a few groceries and running my other errands. By then I was hungry, the only thing I'd had to eat since I'd left home more than eight hours earlier had been the frozen Eegee on my way out of Tucson.
I stopped at my favorite Mexican place and ate. I headed back to the highway to go home. I'd been watching traffic but not really paying attention to anything else around me, when someone opened the passenger door and climbed into the seat next to me.
Before I had time to figure out what was going on, the newcomer stuck something sharp in my ribs and told me to drive.
"Where to?" I asked.
"Don't ask questions, just do what you're told," he snapped. "Go to the college."
The light turned green and I drove. Stealing glances at him, I watched traffic and made the turn to take him where he wanted. He was big, muscular in an obvious way, unlike Robin. His stringy blond hair was pulled back into a ponytail low in on his head, making it impossible to tell how long it was. The orange jumpsuit he wore told me he was an inmate. From where he got in, my guess was that he'd been on a work crew doing lawn maintenance at City Hall.
As I drove the three and a half miles to the college, where I hoped he would let me go, he used one hand to open the glove box. He pulled out the paperwork I'd put there just hours earlier. His other hand maintained pressure on whatever he was holding to my ribs.
"Now I know your name, Samantha,"
I didn't bother to correct him, I didn't want him calling me Sam.
"Now if you run or abandon me when I get out, I can come to your house. I'll break in while you're asleep and I'll rape and murder you." He moved the object in my ribs so it dug in harder and hurt more.
I gasped and tried to move away, even a little, but he only pushed it deeper. I tried not to cry out at the sharp pain stopped me from moving again.
"If I find a man in your house, I'll tie him up and make him watch me rape you, then before I kill you, I'll make you watch me kill him first."
I glanced at him, his eyes were dark and hooded. The menacing look on his face terrified me.
"But if you do what I tell you, I'll let you go. Unharmed." He pulled whatever it was away a little, and the burn eased until it was merely a discomfort instead of actual pain. "I don't want to hurt you but I've got nothing against it either. Do you understand?" He waited for me to nod before pulling his weapon away from my ribs. He held it in one hand, still in his lap and I was finally able to see it was a screwdriver. Not a traditional weapon, but with enough determination and a little strength, something he obviously wasn't lacking, it was a deadly one.
At the college, he directed me to pull into a crowded parking lot next to one of the dorms. He was lucky, school was almost out for the year, another week and the lot would be vacant. Maybe he'd known that and timed his escape accordingly.
"Don't forget, I know where you live." He pointed the screwdriver at me and glared for a moment before hopping out and, using the screwdriver, took the plate off a rusty, beat-up car and put it over the temporary tag on the rear of the Jeep. While he was behind the Jeep attaching the plate, I pulled my phone from my pocket, unlocked the screen and hit the one touch icon that dialed Robin.
I was almost certain that my kidnapper hadn't spotted the earpiece sitting in my left ear. I was glad I hadn't pulled my hair up that morning as it helped to hide the small electronic.
I waited for Robin to pick up, praying he would answer before my captor returned.
"Hey, Sam, you home already?"
"Help me," I said quietly, hoping the man behind the Jeep wouldn't hear me. "Call Bruce, I've got big trouble."
"What's going on?" Robin asked.
Before I could respond, my kidnapper stood behind the vehicle and I shifted my attention back to him, but I left the line open so Robin could hear what was going on.
"This way, once someone notices you're missing, they'll be looking for a Jeep with temporary plates and we won't be stopped." He climbed back into the seat and told me to drive slowly through the lot. From the way he watched the parked cars as we passed them, I could tell he was looking for something.
"Stop for a second." He went to the back of a pick-up and did something I couldn't see, then lifted a duffel bag out and brought it back to the Jeep.
"Out on the road again," he ordered, "take a left at the light." He dug through the bag and pulled something out, then unzipped the top of his bright orange jumpsuit and pulled a tee shirt over his head.
My heart fell. The orange jumpsuit would have been easily recognizable for what it was, but in the tee shirt, he looked like anyone else.
"Where are we headed?" I asked, trying to get information for Robin, who was still on the line.
"I'll tell you where to turn when we get there."
"Not many choices once we get past Pima." I was talking more for Robin than myself. Through the earpiece, I heard Robin pull the phone away from his mouth and shout at someone on his end of the line, but I tried to ignore it. I had to concentrate on getting the man next to me to talk, especially since I couldn't respond to Robin anyway.
"If you're planning on Phoenix, I'll have to stop and get gas somewhere. I just came in from Tucson and I don't have enough to go that far."
"We'll deal with that when the time comes. You just remember what I said about cooperating. You do as you're told and I'll let you go. You run off on me and I know where you live, I'll kill you."
"I remember. You'll make me watch you kill anyone in my house when you come to murder me." I heard string of cursing on the other end of the line when Robin heard that.
"You got that right, just keep it in mind, in case it crosses yo
ur mind to dump me somewhere."
"I won't forget." I tried to make it look like I was concentrating on the road, while I tried to figure out what more I could talk about so Robin could have more information. At the same time, I tried not anger my abductor enough to make him lose his temper and hurt me.
"How familiar are you with this area?" I tried to make it sound like nervous chatter.
"I'm not, at all. Before they locked me up, I'd never been outside of the Phoenix Metro."
"Do you mind if I ask what you were in for?" Maybe the information would help Robin and Bruce to identify him. It wasn't that I thought there was likely to have been two escapes at the same time, but it was information. I hoped the more I could get from him, the better. Things would turn out. Maybe somewhere in my mind I knew, if nothing else, it gave me something to do other than panic.
"I was convicted of armed robbery and assault with a deadly weapon." He said it bluntly, almost as if he hoped it would convince me to cooperate.
"How long have you been in prison?" I hoped all the questions would make me seem like someone who couldn't stand silence, like someone who had to talk about something, anything.
"Two years, with another five still ahead of me. I couldn't take anymore, not here."
"You know my name. Can I have yours?"
"Why, you planning on telling someone?"
"No, I just feel stupid not having a name what to call you by."
"Then call me Steve."
"Okay, Steve it is then. Why me?"
"What do you mean? Why you what?"
"What made you choose me? You've probably been working there for a couple hours, if not more. Why did you pick my car to climb into at that stop light?"
"Lone woman, not paying attention to what was going on around her. Easy to surprise. Newish vehicle, so it would be reliable enough to go a long distance, like to Phoenix. Temporary tags, if anyone starts looking they'll be looking for that, not the plates I put on it. It's a small change physically, but for the cops they'll see a Jeep with plates, not a Jeep paper tags, sometimes that's all it takes to get past them." Once he started talking, he seemed happy to continue.
Robin's Nest Page 13