Betrayed: Days of the Rogue

by Nicky Charles

  “Maybe next time.” She murmured her response as she tried to keep her eyes from widening. Gordie was adjusting the position of the table. His fingers brushed over the drawer, and she saw that it was open a fraction of an inch. He didn’t appear to notice however, merely setting the table in a place better suited to him before beginning to take out rolls of bandages and a tube of ointment.

  “You seem to have a lot of medical supplies on hand.” Eve didn’t want to think about exactly why he had so many. She had a feeling she wouldn’t like the answer.

  “I like to be prepared. Things happen.” Gordie pulled his chair over beside the bed and took her arm. “Did I tell you I considered being a doctor once?” He said conversationally. “I know I’d have a great bedside manner, always being able to read the emotions of my patients.”

  “It wouldn’t really be ethical though, would it?” Eve pointed out. “I mean, you’d be in their heads without their permission.”

  He shrugged. “I suppose, but it would be for their own good.”

  She made a noncommittal noise, not wanting to get into an argument with the man. Besides, she was too busy looking at her arm. He’d removed the bandages, and she had her first look at the damage the wolf had done.

  Her skin was an angry red with dark puncture wounds in an arch formation showing exactly where the wolf had bit down on her arm. Bruises were already appearing and various lacerations criss-crossed here and there. Seeing the wounds brought back memories of how it had felt when the wolf had jumped on her. The impact of its paws on her back as it knocked her to the ground, the weight of the beast pinning her down, the feeling that her arm was being pulled from its socket…

  “Looks nasty, doesn’t it?” The gentle prodding of Gordie’s fingers caused her to hiss in pain. “Sorry. Just checking for signs of infection.” He carefully applied ointment and began to rewrap the wound. “How is it feeling?”

  “Sore. Throbbing. My wrist, too.” Eve licked her lips and carefully phrased her next words. “Do you have any more of those pills you gave me earlier? They really helped take the pain away.”

  Gordie cocked his head and studied her carefully. She wondered if he could somehow sense her intentions, and she focussed on the pain in her arm. If he got past her wall all he’d learn was that she was hurting.

  After a moment he nodded. “I’ll get you one as soon as I’m done here.”

  “Thanks.” Eve held back her sigh of relief, and watched as he finished tending to her arm. When he left she took a steadying breath, praying she could carry out her plan as easily as the heroine had in the best-selling novel she’d read a while ago.

  Gordie returned with a bottle of pills and carefully tapped one out into her palm.

  “Will one be enough to get me through the night?”

  “If you need another later on I’ll give you one.” Gordie put the cap on the bottle and tucked it in his pocket.

  “Okay.” She popped the pill in her mouth and quickly tucked it between her cheek and upper gum line, thankful that fear had made her mouth exceptionally dry. Carefully she took a sip of water, trying to keep the moisture away from the sedative. The next part was the hardest. Setting down her glass, she purposely placed it slightly over the edge of the table and then gave a gasp of feigned surprise as it tipped onto the floor. “Sorry! I’m so clumsy!”

  “No problem, I’ll get something to clean it up with.”

  Gordie set down his can of soda and hurried to get some paper towels. As soon as his back was turned, Eve took the pill from her mouth. Some of it had already started to dissolve, leaving a nasty taste in her mouth, but there was still a significant portion intact. She dropped it in his drink hoping it would be enough to do the trick. She’d been counting on him leaving the whole bottle of pills, but since he hadn’t she’d have to hope one would do the trick. After giving the can a few swirls to speed up the dissolving process, she set it down and folded her hands in her lap just as Gordie reappeared.

  “I’m sorry about the mess.” Eve apologized again as he dealt with the spill. He glanced up at her, his expression neutral. She thought to give fake smile, but then stopped. If she was too compliant, he’d become suspicious. In fact, he might already have begun to wonder about her. The man had kidnapped women before. No doubt there was a certain behaviour pattern he’d come to expect. Yet she couldn’t do a complete about-face, and being too hard to get along with could push him over the edge.

  Getting to his feet, Gordie tossed the wet paper towels in the garbage pail near the door and then sat down in the chair by the bed. He was giving her a doubtful look. “You know—”

  Eve interrupted him, deciding a bit of complaining might make her seem more like a typical abductee. “Being tied to this bed hour after hour is starting to get boring.” She rubbed her tethered ankle with the other foot. “And these zip ties are chaffing.”

  “Then don’t pull on them.” Gordie sat back in his chair and studied her.

  “Can’t you at least put the longer rope on me so I can get up and walk around a bit?” She affected a hint of a pout.

  “Perhaps later on.” He raised one brow. “Weren’t you just complaining about your arm? If it’s so sore, you should be resting.”

  Damn. The man had a point, but at least the vaguely suspicious look had left his face. He took a swig of his soda. Eve held her breath as he did so, hoping the pill hadn’t caused the drink to taste strange. Apparently it hadn’t for Gordie made no comment.

  Eve relaxed slightly. Now all she had to do was to keep Gordie talking until he finished the drink and then wait for the sedative to do its job. She tried to calculate how long the pill had taken to affect her and then compare her body weight to Gordie’s, but soon gave up. Mental calculations had never been her strong suit.

  She realized that Gordie was studying her and shifted uneasily, searching for a topic of conversation, but he beat her to the task.

  “You’re different from the rest.” Gordie leaned forward, his elbows on his knees.

  “Different? How so?” Eve wondered if this was a good thing or a bad thing.

  “The others all agreed to go out with me first, and only started protesting after we’d formed our initial bridge. But you, you’re different.”

  “Because I didn’t agree to a date?”

  “That and the way you’re acting now. The others all cried and begged and fought against me.” He cocked his head to the side and looked pleased. “But you’re accepting this, aren’t you? You realize fate has brought us together.”

  Fate. Was that whom she had to blame for the mess she was now in? “Um…”

  “You don’t have to explain, Eve. “ Gordie got to his feet and moved to sit beside her on the bed.

  Eve inched away as far as the tether on her leg would allow. Gordie merely put his arm around her waist and drew her back. She fought not to cringe at the feeling of warmth from his hand as it rested on her waist. This close, his scent filled her nostrils, a strange combination of gasoline and bleach that made her want to wrinkle her nose and cough.

  “So shy and proper.” Gordie crooned the words gently. “Have you ever formed a bridge with another empath?”

  “I…” She hesitated. Mentioning Rafe would likely not be a good idea. Did Gordie even know Rafe was an empath? Or perhaps Rafe had a good enough wall in place that Gordie wasn’t even aware of him. And would Gordie realize she’d already formed an initial bridge with Rafe? Would he be able to tell? Was it like being a virgin? Was there a bridge cherry that had to be popped? Rafe hadn’t mentioned anything, but…

  “Never mind. It’s easy. All you have to do is let me in.” He leaned closer, his breath whispering over her cheek.

  She shivered, but not with desire.

  “Relax, Eve.” He twirled a lock of her hair around his finger.

  Oh God, what to do? “Gordie, I…I’m getting sleepy. The pill you gave me…”

  “One kiss, Eve. Just one.” He placed his hands on her shoulders and l
eaned closer.

  Eve tried to lean away and unexpectedly found herself falling onto her back.

  Gordie gave a pleased grunt and followed. He loomed over her and Eve began to panic. She pushed at him with her good hand, but he didn’t budge.

  “Please, Eve. A tiny taste of the heaven that will be ours.” Gordie trailed his lips along her jaw. It felt wet and sloppy and she jerked away.

  “No! I don’t want this. Gordie—”

  A strange look came over his face. His eyes seemed unfocussed. “That’s what the others always said. I thought you were different, Eve.” He glared down at her, his mouth twisted in an angry sneer. His fingers tightened on her shoulders.

  Oh damn and double damn. “I didn’t mean it that way, Gordie.” She tried to back-peddle, to keep him from going off the deep end.

  “Then show me.” He pressed his mouth to hers. Instinctively, she struggled to get away, keeping her lips tightly sealed. Gordie lifted his head and grabbed her face. His fingers bit into her jaw as he tried to force her mouth open. “Let me in, Eve!”

  His voice slurred as he spoke, and she hoped the sedative was starting to work but obviously not fast enough. She could feel him probing her mentally, trying to get past her defences, to bridge with her emotions. Jerking her head this way and that, she bucked and pushed at him but to no avail. Gordie crushed his mouth to hers, his tongue trying to wedge between her lips. His body pressed down on her, holding her in place. He was heavy, so heavy. His weight felt like it was squeezing the air from her lungs. She fought to breathe, to escape and then, with a sigh, he collapsed on top of her!

  Shocked, Eve lay there, hardly able to believe that pill must have taken effect.

  “Gordie.” She said his name, but there was no response. “Gordie?” She tried again, this time shaking him a little. He gave a heavy sigh and a mumble before lapsing into silence again. Elation filled her, and she would have liked to have taken a moment to savour her victory, but there was no telling how long the pill would affect him.

  With great difficult she managed to squeeze out from under him. However, she was still stuck because of the tethers. Eve studied the zip ties, noting how the teeth locked together. A shim, wasn’t that what she’d seen being used in that police drama she liked to watch? Of course, she didn’t have a shim tucked in the collar of her shirt. Nibbling on her lip, she surveyed the room but nothing came to mind except… Pulling open the small drawer in the table, she took out the newspaper clippings. Maybe the paper clip would work. Bending the malleable metal into an appropriate shape, she set to work. Her wrapped fingers made the task more difficult than it should have been, but in less than ten minutes she was free. Who said TV wasn’t educational?

  Now that she was able to move her good arm more freely, she was able to shimmy down to the end of the mattress. After removing the zip tie on her ankle she allowed herself a moment to rub the chafed flesh before climbing off the bed.

  She had no shoes or clothes save Gordie’s t-shirt, and spent precious minutes searching for them before a grumbling noise from the bed had her giving a start of fear. Gordie’s eyes were still closed, his mouth slack, as he lay half on and half off the bed. How long was the sedative going to last on his larger body weight? As loathe as she was to stay in his t-shirt, did she dare continue to search? Nervously biting her lower lip, she glanced around the room one last time. There was still no sign of her own clothing; she couldn’t delay her escape any longer. Keeping her eyes fixed on her abductor—for some reason she felt she couldn’t turn her back on him—Eve backed away, bumping into the dresser and then the wall. Reaching out with her hand, she fumbled for the door knob. Once it was in her grasp, she wrenched the door open and darted into the hallway.

  Running through the house, she had a vague impression of small rooms and simple furnishings but her eyes were now focussed on the kitchen at the end of the hall. It wasn’t that far away but fear made it seem a great distance. Her legs felt heavy; each stride was an effort like in some horrible dream where you couldn’t run fast enough from the unspeakable horror that chased you. Her bare feet slapped against the cool vinyl, classical music swirled about her, hiding the harsh sound of her breathing.

  The kitchen was just feet away when there was a thump behind her. Was Gordie awake already? She skidded into the kitchen, scanned the room wildly and then dashed to the door. Yanking it open she stumbled down the steps and into the yard.

  All was quiet outside, no sound of traffic or twittering birds. For a moment she hesitated, looking around, not sure what to do. A car was parked in the driveway, but she didn’t dare go back inside to look for the keys in case Gordie was waking up. Instead, she ran down the length of the driveway, only pausing when she reached the dirt road. Which way would lead to town? The sun was getting ready to set, so that was west, but the road ran north and south. Curling her toes, she wrapped her arms around her body, shivering. The ground was cold beneath her bare feet, and the wind cut through the thin material of the t-shirt.

  Deciding any direction was better than staying where she was, she headed south, alternately running and walking. For how long she had no idea. Her mind was solely focussed on putting as much distance as possible between herself and Gordie. It might have been ten minutes later, or maybe half an hour, but at some point the sound of a vehicle approaching from behind reached her ears.

  Relief flooded her rapidly followed by fear. What if it was Gordie? He could have woken up and started to search for her. Images of the other women he’d captured—the ones who ‘went away’—flashed through her mind. If he caught her, he’d kill her, of that she had no doubt. With no thought other than avoiding the crazed empath, Eve veered off the road and headed into the forest.

  Chapter 46

  It was at their third stop that a glimmer of hope finally appeared in the search for Eve. Rafe was studying the map when Damien emerged from a ditch with a bit of something white in his mouth. After dropping it at Rafe’s feet, he shifted into human form.

  “I found that caught in some weeds.”

  Rafe picked up the crumpled paper napkin and sniffed it. Almost masked by the odor of cola, an unmistakable scent could be detected. “It’s Eve!” Relief flooded him, followed by an adrenalin rush. Quickly pulling open the driver’s door, he started the truck and put it into gear even before Damien had his door completely shut. “They must have gone this way.”

  “There’s no guarantee this is the right road, you know. A paper napkin could blow for miles.”

  “Or it could get stuck in a bush not far from where it was tossed out of a tow truck. It’s all we have at the moment.”

  “True.”

  “Any other clues on it?” He tossed the napkin to Damien and executed a neat U-turn, heading down the narrow dirt road. It had a lonely, seldom travelled look about it, and in his gut he knew Gordon Grant would choose this sort of an out of the way place to live.

  Damien was turning the napkin over in his hands, examining the logo printed on it. “It’s from a coffee chain. I seem to recall they’re in almost every town across the country so that in itself isn’t much help.” He held it to his nose for a second. “There’s a second scent present. A male, and I think we can safely assume it’s Grant’s.”

  Rafe didn’t answer, merely tightening his hands on the wheel while continuing to scan the area on both sides of the road, looking for any sign of a building or vehicle. When a small hint of smoke showed above the trees, he immediately slowed down. “Do you see that?”

  “Yep.” Damien nodded. “Looks like a plume of smoke from a furnace.”

  Pulling over to the side of the road, Rafe turned off the engine. “We’ll need to leave the truck here. He might hear us.”

  “We’ll approach as wolves—”

  “But shift back once we’re there. Eve knows nothing about Lycans.”

  Rather than answering, Damien opened his door and slid from the truck.

  Rafe followed suit, and the two shifted forms then b
egan to silently make their way towards the source of the smoke.

  A modest home came into view. It had simple white clapboard siding and a darker shingled roof. In the driveway, a small foreign make of car was parked near a rickety lean-to that housed a collection of old lawn chairs, a snow shovel, and a few garbage cans. There was nothing extraordinary about the place, but they still approached with caution, clinging to the shadows and carefully watching the windows.

  There was no sign of movement in the house. A few rooms had lights on, and bits of smoke lazily drifted from the chimney, but for all intents and purposes it appeared that no one was home.

  A sick feeling rose in Rafe’s stomach as he considered the fact that this might not be the place. He pushed the idea away and shifted into human form. This had to be it. The longer it took to find Eve, the greater the possibility that she’d never be found, and that was something he refused to consider.

  At his side, Damien whined soft and low. Rafe nodded. Damien was going to keep watch from a distance, a sort of backup in case something went wrong.

  With measured steps Rafe walked up to the house, constantly checking the windows for any sign that someone was watching his approach. When he reached the side door, he was surprised to see it swinging loosely. The latch was old, and obviously whoever had last entered or exited had neglected to give it a firm tug. That was curious; he’d have thought the homeowner would automatically check it was shut out of sheer habit.

  Cocking his head to the side, he listened intently. Classical music played softly, but there was no conversation. Heavy breathing and an indistinct mumble reached his ears instead. More importantly though, he could scent Eve. She was definitely here.

  It was all he could do to keep from rushing inside, but he forced himself to circle the building, cautiously sidling up to each window then peering inside. It was the fourth window that finally revealed some of what was going on inside. There was a large bed with ropes tied to the head and footboard and…Grant. The man was half on the bed and half on the floor as if he’d woken up and tried to move but fallen asleep during the process.