Selena was about to settle down for the milking, when she was snatched backward against a hard male body. She opened her mouth to scream, but a filthy hand clamped over her lips, and she felt the tip of a knife dig into the side of her neck. She knew who held her before she even heard his hated voice.
“Easy there, missy,” Jeb hissed into her ear. He could feel her heart pounding, and he relished the power he had over her. “Now, nice and easy, you just come with me.”
He pulled her backward a few steps, and Selena’s eyes opened wild with panic. She searched through the trees, trying to catch a glimpse of the other women. Cassie’s campsite was at least fifty yards away. The three families had a habit of camping a short distance apart for added privacy. The other women were facing away from her, and they hadn’t noticed anything amiss. Tears of fear welled in Selena’s eyes, but she blinked frantically to clear them. It wouldn’t do her any good to give in to her terror. She had to think. If she could just get loose, she could scream and draw the other women’s attention.
Jeb seemed to sense her train of thought. He leaned close to whisper in her ear.
“I wouldn’t do that, if I were you, missy. If you get them other women involved, I’d just have to kill ‘em.” He pulled her face downward so she could see the pistol tucked into his waistband. “Now, I really don’t want to get them involved. After all, this is between me and you. You understand?”
Selena gave a small nod of her head as she felt her hopes plummet. She didn’t want to risk her friends getting hurt, and she didn’t doubt for a second that Jeb was evil enough to carry through with his threat.
“Good,” Jeb said softly. “Now come on.”
He turned her and they walked deeper into the woods, away from their camp. Jeb kept his hand clamped over her mouth and the knife pressed against her neck. At one point, Selena tried to struggle against him, but he pressed the knife into her skin until a tiny trickle of blood dripped down her throat.
“Now, now. Don’t make me cut you, missy. You just do what I say, and I promise not to hurt you.”
Selena’s heated glare told him what she thought about his promise. With each step, her fear increased, but she couldn’t think of any way of escaping. Her only hope was to go along with him and stall for time. She hoped that eventually, she would be able to find an opening to escape from him. With that thought in mind, she paid careful attention to the direction they took. She wanted to be able to find her way back to camp if she did manage to get free. The sky was too overcast to see the sun, so she really didn’t know which direction they were going, but there was a light wind, and she noted its direction.
After what seemed like an eternity, they reached a small clearing, and Selena saw a horse tethered to a tree. Jeb pressed her face forward against the trunk of a large tree, using the weight of his body to pin her against it.
“Now,” he said, grinning down at her, “I’m gonna take my hand off your mouth, but if you scream, I swear I’ll slit your throat. Do you understand?”
At her nod, he removed his hand but kept the knife against her neck. Using his free hand, he reached into his back pocket and withdrew a length of rope.
“Put your hands through here,” he ordered.
She moved her hands as if she would comply with his request, but instead, she jabbed her elbow into his ribs and tried to twist and wriggle out of his grasp. Jeb swore and slapped her viciously across the face, splitting her bottom lip. His fingers bit into her upper arm as he shoved her hard against the tree, knocking the wind out of her.
“Listen, missy, you’ll do as I say or it’ll go even harder for you. Do you understand?” Jeb hissed into her ear.
Selena gasped for breath but managed to nod her head. She would have to wait for a better opportunity to get away from him.
“Now, put your hands through here,” he ordered, giving her a rough shake.
Selena looked down to see that he had already tied the rope into two loose loops. She hesitated, loathe to let him tie her hands. She felt the knife dig into her neck once more and gasped. Swallowing hard, she slipped her hands through the loops, and Jeb yanked the ends, tightening the loops around her wrists until the rope bit into her skin. Selena winced and shot him a venomous glare.
Jeb’s taunting grin told her that he knew just how tight he had made the loops. He was enjoying her discomfort, and she had no intention of asking for him to loosen the bands. She refused to give him the satisfaction. Jeb wound the end of the rope around her waist and tied it in another knot over her wrists, securing her arms tightly against her body.
“There,” he said with satisfaction. “That should hold you nicely.”
He turned her to face him and gave her a taunting smile. He leaned hard against her, pressing her back into the tree until its rough surface bit into her shoulders. His foul breath nearly made her retch. His eyes raked down her body, clothed in the thick wool coat.
“I’m gonna enjoy you, Selena. I’ve been waiting a long time to have you beneath me again.”
Selena shivered with dread, but she glared up at him. She refused to let him see just how terrified she felt.
“My husband will kill you for this. You know that don’t you?”
Jeb laughed softly, obviously not frightened by her threat. “It will take him most of the day to find those oxen I stole. By the time he gets back to camp, it’ll be dark, and you and I will be long gone.”
Jeb forced her legs apart with one knee and reached a hand between them to cup her crudely. He jabbed and prodded through the layers of her clothes.
“You and me are gonna have a real good time this evening. I’m gonna ride you ‘til I get my fill, then maybe, if you’re real good and behave yourself, I might let you go back to that husband of yours.”
Selena fought to quell her panic as she bucked and squirmed, trying to rid herself of his loathsome touch. She didn’t believe for a second that he would release her.
“You’ll have to kill me first! And my husband will catch up with you sooner or later. Then you’ll wish you were dead.”
Something in her tone made Jeb’s hackles rise, but he shook off his unease and grabbed her by the elbow. “Come on,” he said, yanking her along as he stalked to his horse.
Selena struggled against him as he tried to lift her to the horse’s back. Each time he came close to getting her mounted, she wriggled off. After several attempts, Jeb lost his patience and punched her on the jaw, knocking her nearly senseless.
“Be still,” he snarled. He waved the knife in front of her face. “You wouldn’t want me to carve up that pretty little face of yours now would you?”
Having no doubt that he meant every word, Selena ceased her struggles and held still as he lifted her astride the horse. Jeb looped another piece of rope around one of her ankles and wound it beneath the horse before tying it to her other ankle. She blinked back tears of frustration, realizing that even if she could scramble off the horse’s back, she would be trampled beneath its feet or dragged helplessly beneath it. She waited, powerless and full of dread, as Jeb untied the horse and swung up behind her.
Selena tried to keep from making contact with his body, but Jeb yanked her back against him. He set the horse in motion. With the density of the forest and the ground covered in slippery slush, they could only manage a brisk walk, but as each minute passed, Selena knew the chance of Liam catching them grew slimmer. She couldn’t suppress the tears that slid down her cheeks.
Liam and the others followed the trail for almost an hour. Whoever had taken the animals had been careful to cover their tracks, but the odd thing was that every time they had almost lost the trail, they would find another couple of prints a few yards away. They occasionally found a boot print, always belonging to the same boot and obviously that of a white man. Liam couldn’t shake a growing sense of unease. It was almost as if the thief had wanted them to keep following the signs. Liam opened his mouth to say as much and froze. Sharp talons of fear dug into his mind, an
d he gasped.
“What is it?” Gerald asked, seeing Liam’s sudden pallor.
“It’s as if someone is trying to lure us away from camp,” Liam whispered, almost to himself. “But who would . . .” he broke off as the memory of Jeb’s threats flashed in his mind, and he growled ominously. “I’ve got to get back to camp! Selena’s in danger.”
“We’ll all go,” Matthew said, turning to follow him.
“No, you stay on the trail and find the oxen. I’ll go and make sure the women are all right,” Liam said.
He started running back to camp at the fastest pace he could manage through the icy slush. Hearing steps behind him, he turned and found Gerald following in his wake.
“I’m going with you,” Gerald said firmly.
Liam reluctantly nodded and led the way. Before they even reached camp, they could hear the other women calling Selena’s name.
“Oh God, no!” Liam located Marcia through the trees and ran straight to her. “What happened?” he asked, clutching Marcia’s shoulders anxiously.
“Selena said she had a few more chores to do and then she was going to join us. When she didn’t show up, I got worried. I came to see if she needed any help, but she’s gone!” Marcia’s eyes were full of concern as she stared up at Liam.
“Where was she the last time you saw her?” Liam asked.
“Over near your tent.”
Marcia put an arm around Gerald’s waist, hugging him for comfort as they both followed Liam to his campsite. Liam noticed the milk bucket near where the cow was tied, and he searched around on the ground. It wasn’t hard to pick up a trail of Selena’s small footprints and the same boot prints they had been following earlier.
“He’s taken her! The bastard’s taken Selena!” Liam’s voice sounded so primitive that Marcia shivered.
“You know who it is?” Gerald asked with surprise.
“I think so, but there’s no time to explain right now. I have to catch them.” Liam glanced at Marcia, “You women stick close together. No one should stray from camp. Do you have a pistol?”
“Yes, and a shotgun,” Marcia whispered.
“Good,” Liam said, nodding grimly. “Keep them handy and loaded. Use them if any strangers show up. I’m going after Selena.” He turned to follow her trail.
“I’m going with you,” Gerald said firmly. “Why don’t we take Adam and Peter’s horses? We don’t know how far we will have to travel, and we’ll have a better chance of catching them.”
Liam didn’t even pause, but yelled over his shoulder. “You go saddle them, and catch up to me. I’m going to stay on the trail.”
Liam followed the tracks for several hundred yards before coming to a small clearing. He could see from the footprints where Selena had been forced against a tree and then lifted onto a horse. Liam’s jaw hardened even further. He turned as Gerald approached. He was riding one horse and pulling the other behind him. Liam quickly mounted and led the way as they picked up the trail once more. At least this time, the bastard hadn’t taken the trouble of covering his tracks.
Liam suspected that Selena’s stepfather was the man who had kidnapped her. Ever since Selena had encountered him at Fort Laramie, Liam had worried about the man and wondered if their paths were destined to cross again. One way or another, he was going to find the bastard and kill him. Liam could only hope and pray he found him before he was able to hurt Selena again.
With every minute that ticked by, Selena’s fears increased. She hoped desperately that Liam would come after her and rescue her, but the more she thought about it, it could be hours before he even knew she was missing. Although she racked her brain, she couldn’t think of any way to get free, the way she was tied to the horse. She worked as inconspicuously as possible trying to free her hands from the loops, but she only succeeded in making the rope bite into her wrists. Jeb’s laughter in her ear made her stiffen.
“Trying to wiggle loose are you, missy? Those knots are tied special. The more you wiggle, the tighter they’ll get.” Jeb laughed again at his own humor. Realizing that Selena wasn’t going to answer him, Jeb searched for a way to ruffle her composure. “You always thought you were too good for me, didn’t you? Well, we’ll see how good you are when I get you beneath me again.”
Selena gritted her teeth and focused on not letting her fears get the best of her. She knew from prior experience that Jeb enjoyed seeing her frightened.
“You’ll never get away with this,” she hissed.
“Oh, I think I will,” Jeb sneered. He unbuttoned her coat and reached inside, roughly assessing her curves through her dress. “Just like I’ve done before. It’s your fault I’m here, you know. If you hadn’t told the sheriff about what happened with your Ma, I’d still be back East, but when he came nosing around, wanting to arrest me, I hid out. When he finally gave up looking for me, I decided it was time to head out west.”
“The sheriff tried to arrest you?” Selena asked, desperately trying to distract Jeb from unbuttoning her clothes.
“Yeah, but I was too fast for him. Thanks to you, he was convinced I should be tried for murder,” Jeb said, jerking her harder against him to stop her from squirming. His fingers never paused as he taunted her. “I was hoping to be the first to have you, but I don’t really mind that you gave yourself to that husband of yours. He just broke you in for me so to speak.” Jeb cackled at his own humor.
Selena squirmed against him, trying to keep his hands from making contact with her skin. “Don’t touch me!” Her voice rose with panic even though she tried to keep it calm. “You’re nothing more than a filthy murderer.”
Jeb tightened his other arm around her, making her ribs creak beneath the pressure. “That was your fault that your Ma died. If you hadn’t been hollering, I could have had myself a taste, and then everything would have been fine.”
He had her dress opened to the waist. Selena felt cold air streaming over her exposed skin, but her shiver was from pure dread rather than cold. She watched in helpless horror as his grimy hand worked on opening her thick cotton chemise, and although she continued to squirm, he made steady progress on the buttons. She couldn’t suppress a panicked sob when he pulled the two halves apart, baring her breasts so he could ogle her lewdly.
“You’re even prettier than I remember,” Jeb cackled. He used the arm around her waist to press her bosom upward and hold her firmly against him while his free hand roughly kneaded her breasts. “Your tits are fuller than your Ma’s were. Does your husband ever bite you?” he asked. He pinched her nipple so hard she cried out with pain. “Does he ever bite you right there?”
“He’s not an animal like you,” Selena choked out, cringing from his hands. “He doesn’t have to torture women to get his pleasure.”
That only made Jeb laugh more as he continued to torment her. “Well, I’m gonna bite you hard enough to leave some marks you’ll remember me by. Then every time your husband sees you naked, he’ll remember that I had some fun with his wife.” Jeb cackled with glee.
Selena tried to block out everything as he groped her. He took special delight in whispering terrible things in her ear, just as he had done that day by the creek. He told her how he was going to make her do all manner of degrading things. Selena clenched her eyes tightly shut and tried to think about Liam. She called to him in her mind, hoping against hope that he would catch up to them before Jeb had a chance to follow through with his threats.
Jeb finally realized that Selena wasn’t going to react to his abuse, and he concentrated on steering the horse over the uneven terrain. He pulled her coat partially closed, but he left her clothes unbuttoned. He took pleasure in reaching in to tweak her breasts from time to time, just to see her jump and squirm again.
As an hour passed and then another, Selena endured a private hell. The more Jeb tormented her, the more aroused he got, until she could feel the hard length of him pressed against her bottom. He waxed bolder with each passing mile, and Selena fought back waves of nausea. He
r resolve grew stronger with each vile caress, and she realized grimly that she would rather die than to let him rape her. When Jeb leaned sideways to reach for the hem of her skirt, Selena saw an opening. She leaned her upper body as far forward as his restraining arm would allow. Jeb straightened when he felt her sudden movement just as Selena jerked her head back with all her might. The back of her head hit Jeb’s face with a sickening thud, and Selena was gratified to hear Jeb yowl with pain.
She ignored the shooting pain in the back of her head, intent on wriggling free of his grasp. She felt his arm loosen around her, and she squirmed frantically, clutching the horse’s mane and using her knees to keep from falling off while digging her heels into the animal’s sides. The horse didn’t know what was going on, and it danced in a nervous circle as the two riders struggled on its back.
“You little bitch,” Jeb mewled, reaching up with both hands to touch his face. “I think you broke my nose!”
Out of the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of him clutching his bloody nose. Without pause, Selena leaned forward and jerked back against him once more, cracking her head onto his face for a second time. The force of the blow combined with the pain of her slamming into his wounded nose was enough to unseat him. Selena heard Jeb hit the ground with a thud and a loud curse, but she didn’t waste a glance on him.
Selena dug her heels into the horse’s sides, tugging on the reins with her bound hands and using her knees to turn the animal back in the direction they had come.
“Giddyup!” she screamed, clutching the horse’s mane to keep from falling off as he bounded forward.
The horse was thoroughly spooked, and it ran recklessly through the thick forest. Heedless of the icy ground, Selena urged it on, wanting to put as much distance between her and Jeb as possible. She heard a shot ring out, and she leaned low over the horse’s neck, praying that Jeb wouldn’t hit her or the horse. She knew he was a good shot, so her only hope was to get out of range. Using her knees to guide the horse, she managed to weave in and out through the trees as she heard another shot. This time, she heard the bullet hit a nearby tree, and her heart leapt into her throat.
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