by S. J. Lewis
She felt her whole body trembling. She could feel her orgasm coming. It seemed to start from far away, but it rushed forward faster and faster as it came closer.
When it struck, her body went limp. She had no strength to scream, but she could hear herself moaning. The sound seemed far away, as if she was in the next room. Her legs were trembling. Jolts of pleasure kept shooting up her spine from deep in her pussy. Sam tightened his grip and kept on plowing. It felt like he went on for hours before she heard him groan repeatedly, low and deep.
***
“Mmmmm…” She purred as they snuggled close together in the bed. “We needed that.” Sam slid his arms around her and threw a leg over hers.
“No argument there, Red.” His fingers stroked her back. “You don’t feel nowhere near as tense now.”
She laughed, low in her throat. “Where were you?” she asked.
“Business.” He shrugged. “I’ll tell you all about it when this is over.”
She stroked his hair. He kept it clipped short, and she liked the spiky way it felt against her palms. “I’ve got to tell you something.”
“What?”
“I think someone at Simonds is trying to find out just what my relationship is to you. Why would they be doing that?”
“Don’t know.” Sam shrugged. “Who’s been asking?”
“Well, that older woman, Esther, was pretty direct asking me about it. I shot her down, though, and the next day, she was gone.”
“That’s kinda strange.”
“Yes, it is. They replaced her with a blonde a couple of years younger than me who seems to want to be my new friend. She asked about you too, but it was a lot less direct. She said she’d seen you once, and asked if I could introduce her to you.” Sam chuckled. “It wouldn’t do her any good, Red.”
She smiled at that. “Seriously, Sam, I think she may be trying to find out what we are to each other.” She paused. What exactly were they to each other? She was sure that Sam had something going on in the background. She didn’t know what it could be, and it bothered her that he wouldn’t open up to her.
“You going to tell her?” Sam asked. “It could be that she really just wants to meet me.”
“Maybe,” Claudia shrugged. She could understand a woman wanting to meet him. Hell, she could understand one wanting to take him to bed soon afterwards. She stifled a giggle at the thought of perky Chrissy discovering just what Sam was into.
“What’s funny?”
“Nothing,” she replied. “Just a thought. How’s the business of collecting the rest of your money coming along?”
“Stone wall, Red,” he growled. “But I’ll get it, one way or another. I’ll be glad not to have to come back here again.”
“Why’s that?”
“I keep running into that Anna whatsername.”
“Turco? Anna Turco?”
“Yeah, that’s her. She’s pretty direct about what she wants.”
“So?”
“I got you, Red. Why would I want anybody else?” He shook his head. “ Anyway, somethin’ about her just puts me off.” He glanced over her shoulder at her ticking, wind-up clock. “Damn.”
“What’s the matter?”
“I gotta go, Red.” He kissed her. “I don’t wanna go, but I have an appointment.”
“Will you be back?” She tightened her arms around him.
“Sure,” he grinned. “It’ll only be for a couple hours.”
***
She showered after he left. The handcuffs had left faint marks on her wrists, but they wouldn’t last long and anyway, she always wore long-sleeved shirts. It was getting dark outside, but there was still a lot of time left in the day. She thought maybe she would go over the case again while she was waiting for him to return. She donned a bathrobe and sat down on the big, comfortable couch. She’d just opened the file when the hotel phone rang.
“Hello?”
“Claudia?” It was Anna Turco. “Hello?”
“Yes, I’m here. What is it?” Anna sounded a little nervous.
“I think I may have found something that could help you with your investigation.” Either the connection was weak or she was almost whispering. It was hard to hear her.
“Can you tell me what it is or bring it over?”
“I…I don’t think so.” Now she sounded a little scared. “Can you meet me? I’m at that restaurant we went to. I feel safer in a public place.”
“All right,” Claudia tried to sound reassuring. “I can be there in twenty minutes. Will you be all right until then?”
“I think so,” Anna responded. “Thank you.”
The phone went dead. Claudia hung it up and hurried to her bedroom. She could understand why Anna wouldn’t go to the police with whatever it was. She certainly wouldn’t trust them. And if it was something that could scare Anna, it might be a very big thing indeed.
She dressed hurriedly, thankful that the hotel offered laundry service. She pulled on a pair of jeans and the many-pocketed shirt Chrissy had bought for her. She also put on her comfortable old running shoes. This was no time for fake snakeskin boots. After a look at the darkening sky outside, she decided to go without her cowboy hat as well. She checked once to make sure she had everything she needed, then checked again. The last thing she did was scribble a quick note to Sam on the hotel stationery. She felt excited. Maybe she was going to break this case after all!
She took an elevator down to the parking garage under the hotel. Since she was staying for a week instead of three days or less, she had her own parking space there. It was a bit of a walk from the elevator, and she hurried, fishing her car keys out of her jeans pocket as she went. Out of habit, she scanned the parking area and saw nothing unusual.
She aimed the little electronic gizmo that dangled from the key ring at her car and pushed one of the buttons. The car made a beeping noise. She heard a click as it unlocked and saw the interior lights come on.
She had her hand on the door handle when she heard a faint noise behind her. She tried to whirl around to see what caused the noise, but something pressed against her side. Bolts of agony shot through her body. Her legs failed her and she started to fall. Somebody caught her, wrapping their arms around her torso just below her ribcage and holding her up.
“Help me.” The rasping whisper sounded like Anna Turco’s voice, but it was impossible for Claudia to think clearly. Someone appeared in front of her. They looked familiar, but her mind was having a lot of difficulty putting one and one together. All she was sure of at the moment was that someone had nailed her with a powerful taser set on “high”.
The newcomer tore the keyring from her hand. She heard the sound of the trunk popping open. No, no, this couldn’t be happening! She tried to struggle. It was useless. Her muscles weren’t responding properly, and whoever held her was too strong. The arms wrapped around her midsection were squeezing hard enough to make it difficult to breathe.
She was seized by her ankles and lifted up. She could see who the second person was now, Officer Pipes who was not in uniform for once. She tried to kick at him with no success. Her attackers carried her to the back of her car and dumped her in the opened trunk. She tried to rise. The taser was pressed against her rump and once more blue bolts of pain shot through her. All she could do was whimper as her hands were pulled behind her. Something hard circled her wrists. She heard a zipping noise as it was pulled tight…tight enough to hurt. The same thing was done to her ankles. Then the trunk was slammed shut, leaving her in darkness. She gasped for breath, trying to recover.
“Go. Meet me there.” That was definitely Anna Turco’s voice. What was going on? Whatever it was, it was very bad for her.
The car rocked a little as someone got into the driver’s seat, probably Anna. She heard the engine start, felt the car begin to move. She tried to kick and scream, but her body still wouldn’t obey. All that came out was a croaking noise as her car lunged forward.
The trip seemed to take fore
ver. It felt as if Anna was driving very fast. Where the hell were they going? What was going to happen to her? The thought of Pipes getting his hands on her made her nauseous.
Just as she started to get back some control over her scrambled muscles Anna made a sharp turn. The road suddenly became rough and uneven, but Anna barely slowed down. Claudia bounced up and down, side-to-side, unable to do anything. Her hands and feet felt numb and cold now. Her head banged painfully against the floor of the trunk, half stunning her.
Finally, the car slowed. The road was not so rough, but she could hear the engine laboring as if it was trying to tow something very heavy. There was a lurch, then another, and the car stopped. Anna gunned the engine, but the car didn’t move. She gunned it again, with the same result. Then she switched off the engine.
The utter silence that descended chilled Claudia to the bone. There were miles and miles of nothing all around the city, and it seemed Anna had driven very far into that nothing. She heard the car door open, felt Anna get out, heard and felt the door slam shut. A moment later, the trunk popped open. Claudia tried to steel herself for whatever came next.
It was dark outside now. The sky overhead was strewn with stars. Anna’s form loomed up and blotted them out. She switched on a flashlight and aimed it at Claudia. There was just enough reflection for her to see Anna’s face. It was angry, triumphant and ugly in its menace.
“So, you’ve been fucking him all along, you bitch,” she snarled. Pipes appeared at Anna’s side. She barely noticed him. “Well, you’ll fuck nobody after tonight!” Anna went on. Pipes pushed past her, grabbed Claudia’s shirt and tore it open. Claudia screamed at him. That wouldn’t stop him, but it was all she could do at the moment. Then Anna struck the side of his head with the flashlight. That stopped him just before he could get his hands on Claudia’s bra. He staggered and fell out of sight.
“What the fuck!” he yelled. He came up slowly, keeping away from Anna. His hand covered the spot where she had struck him.
“I told you no.” Anna snarled. “If you want, I can give you a hand job later, but you don’t touch her. Understand?”
Pipes cringed as if she’d struck him again. “Yeah, yeah, I understand,” he nodded.
“Good. Now go turn your truck around so we can get out of here. I’ll be there in a minute.”
Pipes shuffled off obediently. Anna turned her attention back to Claudia.
“Fucking him all along…” she repeated. Her tone was venomous.
“Fucking who?” Claudia found she still wasn’t thinking clearly.
“Sam Pender, you bitch,” Anna snarled. “You thought no one would ever find out? Well, I followed him and I found out! I made sure he didn’t see me. You won’t be fucking him again and with you gone I can have him all to myself.”
Claudia started to make a reply, then thought better of it. Anna wasn’t merely jealous, she was totally insane…psychopathic. Did she really believe that Sam would turn to her? She probably did. There was no point in arguing with her. It would just earn another shot of the taser.
“So…” Anna took a deep breath and went on, much calmer now. “We’re out in the desert here. Notice how cold it’s getting? It will get colder before sunrise. But when the sun comes up in the morning, it will bake you in your own car. You’ll suffer, you damned red-headed bitch. You might even last for hours…in agony.” She clearly liked that image. She leaned closer. “I hope your last thought is of me fucking Sam Pender.”
Anna straightened and slammed the trunk lid down. After a moment, Claudia heard another car start…Pipes’ truck, no doubt. She heard it drive away. The sound faded, and silence descended once more, so deep that she could hear her own heartbeat.
Chapter Fifteen
Claudia waited, wondering if Anna would think twice and come back to finish the job she’d started. Long minutes passed, it started to get uncomfortably cool but Anna didn’t return.
Okay, Claudia took a deep breath, held it, and let it out slowly. That was it? She shook her head. It hurt when she did that. Psycho Anna had watched too many cop shows. Claudia had no intention of just waiting to be baked. First things first. The trunk was more than a little cramped, and it was getting stuffy inside. She twisted herself around, looking for the light of the emergency release button. Ah, there it was. She twisted around again and groped for it with her bound hands. It wasn’t easy. Her bonds were so tight that she had little feeling in her fingers. She struggled for a few moments before the trunk popped open.
She took a deep breath of cool, dry air. She might still bake, but it wouldn’t be while locked in the trunk. Now that she had more room, she could try to get her hands in front of her again. That took a little longer than getting the trunk opened, but she managed.
She took a look at her wrists. They’d used one of those plastic zipties. The hard plastic was digging into her flesh. She wriggled her fingers experimentally. She might not be able to feel much with them, but they still worked. There was another ziptie securing her ankles, but the thick socks she wore kept it from hurting quite as much.
She looked down at her shirt. The night air was chilly enough to raise gooseflesh now, but when Pipes had torn it open he’d ripped off most of the buttons. She pulled it shut with her bound hands before swinging her legs out of the trunk.
Getting out of the trunk was difficult, and she slipped and fell back in twice before succeeding. She stood up and looked around. There was a faint light off in the direction her car was pointed. It might be the last remnants of the sunset or it might be the glow of the city lights. She had no way to know for sure. There was no moonlight. Would there be a moon in the sky tonight? She hoped so. With nothing but starlight to see by she couldn’t see much of anything. Oh, wait a minute!
She turned and reached into the trunk. The desert emergency kit was still there in its box. She opened it, took out the flashlight and switched it on. The batteries seemed to be fresh. More welcome was the blanket at the bottom of the box. It wasn’t easy wrapping it around her tied as she was, but she managed. There were two one-quart plastic bottles of water and a package of road flares still in the box. She wondered if the kits provided by the rental company saw much use. It had seemed to her at first just to be a clever marketing ploy. Now she was very glad to have it available.
She worked her way around to the side of her car. Maybe they’d left it unlocked. The going was soft sand and very difficult. A nasty suspicion prompted her to shine the flashlight on the wheels. Dammit! Anna had bogged the car down very effectively. The sand was up to the middle of the hubcaps. It wasn’t likely she’d be able to drive away even if the car was unlocked. A minute later, she found that it wasn’t unlocked. She peered in through the window, still using the flashlight. The keys seemed to be gone. Either Anna had taken them with her or she’d thrown them out into the utter blackness of the desert night. She shone the light around, just in case.
She seemed to be at the bottom of a deep and narrow ravine. The banks were lined with brush, strange, spiky-looking plants. Even stranger-looking trees provided a partial screen overhead. Her heart jumped when she shone her flashlight forward and saw another car parked a little distance ahead of hers. She worked her way forward to get a look at the license plate, if there was one.
There was. Claudia sagged against the side of her car. She didn’t have to try to look in the car or the trunk to know she’d found Sam’s missing friend. She closed her eyes. One tear trickled down her cheek before she could gather herself together. Struggling through the powdery sand, she sat down on the rear bumper of her car. She switched the flashlight off and laid it carefully in the trunk.
Officer Pipes had been so eager to rip her clothes off that he’d never noticed that there was something in one of the pockets of her shirt. The cell phone itself was so small that Anna hadn’t noticed it either. She unbuttoned the pocket, took it out, and flipped it open. It wasn’t going to be easy operating it with her hands bound and numb, but if it was easy anybo
dy could do it. There was a signal. It was very weak. She hoped it would be enough. She punched in the number Sam had given her and held the cellphone up to her ear.
The phone rang…and rang. Finally, someone answered it.
“Hola?” It sounded like an elderly woman’s voice.
That much Spanish she understood. “This is Claudia Cole. I need to talk to Sam. This is urgent.”
“Si. Momentito, por favor.”
The connection was broken. Claudia looked to see if the signal was still there. It was. She spent some very long minutes worrying before the phone chimed. She fumbled with the little thing, trying to hit the button to answer the call. She almost dropped the phone.
“Hello? Hello?” she said anxiously.
“It’s me, Red. You okay?”
She breathed a sigh of relief. It was Sam! “No, I’m not okay, Sam,” she answered. “I think I solved your case, but I’m stuck out here in the desert. And Sam…”
“Yeah?”
“Keep away from Anna Turco. She’s completely insane. Pipes is in on it with her, too.”
“Okay, okay,” Sam sounded worried now. “Where are you, Red?”
“I don’t know! They drove me out here in the trunk of my own car. It’s bogged down, and I don’t have the keys…” She realized she sounded panicky and stopped.
“What can you see?”
“Not much. I’m in a ravine and it’s dark.”
“Can you get out of the ravine? Take a look around?”
“I’m tied up with those plastic police cuffs,” she replied. “I don’t think I can, but I’ll try. Hold on. Don’t hang up, Sam, please.”
“I won’t, Red. I’m not goin’ anywhere.”
She tried hopping and almost fell. She switched to shuffling along. With her bound ankles she made slow progress. She kept a secure grip on the phone. She thought she heard Sam arguing with someone. She stopped.
