“I dunno? A rope?”
“And she’s gonna put a rope around herself and just let us pull her up so we can put a bullet in her brain?”
Nope. She wasn’t doing that.
“Why do you think the boss doesn’t care about that asshole biker’s threats no more?”
“Because he’s planning on leaving the country, remember? Boss ain’t gonna be happy that we didn’t get the biker.”
“Fucking bad luck that we make a move when he’s not around. Maybe the boss won’t ask about him. Why’d we have to take care of Betsy anyway if we’re leaving?”
“Because she’s a loose cannon, asshole.”
“I think you mean thread, dickhead.”
There was a thumping noise but she was too busy thinking through what they’d just told her. Forrest was planning on leaving? No wonder he no longer cared about Ink’s threats to expose him.
Was Sunny all right? Had they hurt her?
“Is Sunny okay?” she asked. “How did you find me?”
There was silence.
“Great. Now she’s talking to us. How are we gonna do this while she’s talking to us?”
“Shut up, man. Who cares if she’s asking questions? We don’t got to tell her about that Jana chick.”
“What a fucked-up bitch she was. Thinking she could jump straight from Myers bed into the boss’s.”
“Like he’d wanted that used-up cunt.” They both laughed.
Jana? Ink’s ex-personal assistant. How did she know Forrest? Maybe she hadn’t. Maybe Forrest had found her. And Jana, wanting revenge for her arrest, had given her up to Forrest.
She felt ill, knowing Ink would blame himself if he found out.
“I’m just glad the boss finally decided to make a move. Watching and waiting was doing my head in.”
“At least you got to watch Betsy. I had to watch that blonde-haired chick. Her life was damn boring. Just fucking lucky she went off on her own today so I could snatch her or we might still be waiting around.”
“I think we did a fucking fine job. Boss is gonna be pleased. We followed his instructions. Use the blonde-haired bitch to get to Betsy. Kill Betsy and dispose of body.”
“Might even give us a raise.”
Something let out a howl in the distance. What was that? A wolf? No. Nope. Not happening.
“What the hell was that? You didn’t say there were fucking wolves out here!”
“How was I meant to know? I’ve never been out here before.”
“Where is it? Is it coming for us? We got to go!”
“We can’t go, idiot. She’s not dead. We’re supposed to be burying her.”
“We could leave her here for the wolves.”
“That’s the first smart thing you’ve ever said.”
“We could shoot her again. Make her nice and bloody.”
Her breath sawed in and out in fast pants.
Don’t faint!
The voice came from inside her. Deep. Sure. Calm. But with a hint of steel.
I will always come for you, Betsy. All you have to do is fight. Fight to stay alive.
She’d promised. She wouldn’t give up now. She forced herself to slow her breathing.
Another wolf howled. Or maybe it was the same one. Who knew? Maybe it was a mating call or maybe they were hungry and coming for her.
“Fuck! Did you see something in the woods?”
“Shit! Let’s get the fuck out of here!”
There was a scream. Oh God! What was going on? She sat there, panic making it hard for her to breathe, to think.
When there was no other sound, no painful flare as a bullet hit her, she managed to raise her head. She couldn’t hear anyone above her.
Did she call out? What? And risk reminding them that you’re down here?
Something shifted above her. A few pebbles fell down the hole. How far down was she? Silence remained. Taunting her. It wasn’t that she wanted Thing One and Two to stick around. After all, they were burying her alive.
But still, being out here on her own wasn’t too fun, either.
You need to get out of here, Betsy. They could come back.
What was she going to do? She didn’t even know where she was. How was Ink going to find her?
She couldn’t just lie here and give up. Maybe they were coming back. Maybe they weren’t. Either way, if she stayed here, she’d die.
Adrenaline rushed through her, filling her with energy. She used her good hand to press against the wall of dirt. She forced herself up and stumbled a step forward, slamming into the other side of the hole. It wasn’t that wide. Maybe three feet. But unfortunately, it was deep enough to be over her head. She leaned against the dirt, her right arm hanging uselessly against her side as she stared up at the hole above her head.
Fuck.
How was she going to get out of this? Even if she could somehow climb out, one of her arms wasn’t even working.
“This is impossible,” she moaned.
Fight, Betsy.
A cough overtook her, reminding her that she still wasn’t a hundred percent and this cold air wasn’t doing her any favors. But she had worse things to worry about right now. She felt around, searching for something she could use to get out of here.
But there was nothing to hold onto. Nothing to use to boost herself out. She rubbed her good hand tiredly over her forehead, knowing she was probably leaving streaks of dirt behind. On a good day, she likely wasn’t strong enough to pull herself out of this hole. With a throbbing head, aching body and a bullet wound?
Not. Happening.
So what to do? Wait for Ink to magically find her? How? There was no way he could find her here.
There was a noise from above. She froze. A few pebbles drifted down the hole then someone appeared above her. She let out a scream, unable to help herself. She couldn’t make out the person’s face, it was growing too dark.
A light shone from behind him, keeping his face in shadows.
“Hello.”
Okay, she didn’t recognize the voice. It wasn’t Thing One or Two.
“This almost feels like déjà vu.”
“Déjà vu?” she asked. Was she hallucinating this? What did he mean, déjà vu?
“Yes, déjà vu is the feeling that one has lived through the present situation before. I mean, it’s not quite the same but very similar.”
“I know what déjà vu is,” she said, completely confused.
“Then why did you ask? Did you suffer a hit to the head?”
How did he know that?
“Yes,” she said cautiously.
“Explains how they managed to get you through the forest and into this hole. Dug you a grave, did they? Surprised they didn’t just leave you out here for the wolves.”
“I don’t think they thought of it,” she murmured, feeling kind of out of it. Was she really having this conversation with a stranger while standing in her own grave?
“Hmm, kind of nasty to bury someone alive. Even I have better standards than that.”
She swallowed heavily. What did that mean? He had better standards? Did he regularly kill people?
Was he going to kill her?
“Who are you?”
“Why, I’m sorry. How rude of me. Hello, Betsy. I’m the Fox.”
35
“You’re…you’re a fox?”
Umm, maybe that hit to her head had done some real damage.
“Not a fox, Betsy. People can’t be animals. Well, unless shifters are real and I’d think I would know if that was the case. I’m the Fox. Really, I’m insulted that Sunny hasn’t told you about me.”
She jolted in shock then groaned as her head thumped with pain.
“You know Sunny?” Hope filled her. All right, he might be kind of strange and she still wasn’t sure what that whole thing about having standards when it came to killing people meant. But if he knew Sunny then she might just have a chance at being rescued.
“Know Sunny? I’m her god
father.”
Her hope started to fade a little. If he was Sunny’s godfather then he had to be a lot older than her.
Still, that didn’t mean he couldn’t call for help. Preferably before Thing One and Two returned to finish the job they’d started.
“Kind of like a fairy godfather. Wait, do they have those or is it only fairy godmothers? I need to start reading up on my fairy tales. Gonna need to know this stuff when I find my own Little.”
“Your own Little? Are you a-a Daddy Dom?”
“I am. Not that I’ve ever had a Little. And I don’t go to those kinky clubs. And I’ve never had any training or anything. But how hard can it be? I like to be in control. When I fuck someone, I’m the dominant one. I like the idea of always being in charge. Making all the rules. It’s the only way I’d fully be able to trust someone. Let them close. Hmm, you know, you’re very good at listening. I don’t usually speak this much about myself.”
There was a strange note in his voice. Like he was regretting saying anything.
“My lips are sealed.”
“You’re a smart girl, Betsy. No matter what your Mama used to tell you, you’ve got brains as well as beauty.”
“How do you know about my Mama?”
“Well, we all have one, don’t we? Just some of us have better mamas than others.”
“Yes, but how did you know what my mama said to me?” Maybe she should stop asking him these questions. After all, she was still sitting in a hole in the forest, where there were wolves. And let’s not forget the Things.
“I make it a point to know everyone in my Sunny’s life.”
All right. This was starting to sound more than a bit creepy.
“You know she has a boyfriend, right?”
“Of course I do.”
“Do you know if she’s all right?” she asked in small voice. She didn’t know what she’d do if Sunny had been hurt because of her.
“Sunny is fine. I would never allow her to be anything else. Unfortunately, I had other business to attend to and didn’t hear about what was happening until it was too late to prevent her being taken. That won’t happen again.”
She shivered, believing him.
“Now, should we get on to more pressing matters? Like getting you out of there? Unless you like sitting in your own grave?”
What kind of question was that? Careful, Betsy. She bit back her sarcastic remark.
Never kick a cow turd on a hot day.
She always thought that saying was hilarious. It hadn’t been one of Mama’s. She’d never bring herself so low as to say the word turd. But Betsy had heard it plenty growing up. If this guy was going to help her, looney or not, she wouldn’t turn him down.
She also couldn’t afford to trust him. Just because he said he knew Sunny and he seemed to know things about her was no reason to trust him. In fact, it made her more suspicious of him.
Had he been watching them?
Was he some kind of stalker?
Shoot. Out of the frying pan and into the fire.
She looked back up, nearly crying out in fear as she realized he’d gone. “Hello? Are you still here?”
“Yep. Just getting the rope ready.”
“Do you know where Thing One and Two went?”
“Who?”
She closed her eyes briefly. “The two guys that brought me here.”
“Oh. You don’t have to worry about them.”
“How can you be sure?”
“Because I killed them, of course. That’s what the déjà vu was. I killed two idiots who tried to hurt my Sunny. Now I killed two men trying to harm you. Of course they already harmed my Sunny, so they would have died anyway. You’re not upset that I killed them because they touched her, are you? Sunny always comes first in my heart. You understand, don’t you?”
He’d killed them? She swallowed back bile. Was this guy insane? He had to be. And she was going to let him help her?
What choice did she have? If she stayed in this hole, she’d likely die.
She groaned.
“Are you upset because I care more for my Sunny than you?” he asked curiously.
“No, no, of course not,” she said to placate him. He was still her best bet for getting out of her. “I love Sunny. She’s amazing.”
“She certainly is.”
“Do you know Ink?”
“Kind of.”
Kind of? What did that mean?
“Could you call him or Sunny for me?”
“No,” he said cheerfully.
“No?”
“No reception out here. We’re in the middle of the forest. I’m going to make a loop at one end of this rope and throw it down to you. Can you put it around you, under your arms? Then I’ll pull you up.”
“Can you…are you sure you can pull me up?”
“Don’t worry, I’m used to dragging around heavier people than you.”
She froze. What did that mean?
“Understand?” he repeated firmly.
“I understand.” Sheesh, what was it with all the men around her lately? They all had that commanding thing down.
“Here comes the rope.”
A light shone down, showing the rope lowering. She reached for it with her good arm. Crap, this was going to be painful. She pulled it over her shoulders awkwardly with one arm then grabbed the wrist of her bad arm and forcibly pushed it up through the noose. She let out a pained cry as the rope landed around her waist. She dropped her sore arm back down, breathing through her nose in an attempt to hold back any more cries.
“You all right?”
She panted shallowly. Shoot. If that hurt so much what was it going to feel like to be dragged out of here?
“My arm hurts to move,” she explained. “I was shot.”
“Getting shot tends to hurt.”
“You’re speaking from experience?”
“Yep. Let’s do it now, before you can worry too much. If you start bumping into the side of the hole, you’ll need to use your good arm to protect your sore one from being jolted too much. I’m going to do this as fast as I can, all right?”
“All right,” she said, her teeth clenched together as she wiggled the rope up so it was under her arms. It drew tight.
Here went nothing.
* * *
Ink was ready to tear his hair out.
Panic threatened to completely derail him. He knew he had to calm down if he had any chance of finding her. But it was damn near impossible when they had no idea where she was.
“Nobody I’ve talked to knows where Forrest is,” Spike said, walking into Ink’s living room. Duke had already arrived and currently had Sunny bundled up on his lap on the sofa. “He’s laying low. His house here is over-run with feds. No way they’d take her there. I’m surprised he had time to bother sending these guys after her.”
“Maybe he’s had them watching Betsy for a while,” Stone said with a frown. “There had to be some way they knew she was friends with Sunny and how to find this place.”
“I thought they were going to kill me,” Sunny said with a small sob.
“You’re safe, baby. You’re safe,” Duke crooned to her.
He had to turn away from them. The pain of knowing Betsy was out there, hurt, frightened, at the hands of two goons.
It made him want to hurl.
* * *
Her stomach heaved again.
Sweat coated her skin and she shook from an overload of pain and adrenaline.
She’d hoped she might lose consciousness because of the pain. Had prayed for it. Maybe even yelled that at one stage.
But no such luck.
She lay on her good side on the ground. She couldn’t even work up the energy to be happy about the fact that she was out of that damn hole.
“Well, now. That wasn’t so bad, right?”
Not so bad, was he insane?
Actually, she was fairly certain he was insane.
“Thank you. For saving me.” She pushe
d up with her good arm so she was sitting. The world around her spun and she had to take some shallow breaths to calm her stomach. But eventually, everything came back into focus.
The man who’d rescued her was standing a few feet away. He had the flashlight aimed at her body so it wasn’t shining so brightly into her eyes. It cast his features into darkness. She couldn’t tell much about him, just that he was a lot taller than her and had to be pretty strong.
“You’re not out of the woods, yet.”
She snorted, looking around her at the huge trees. They appeared to be monsters, looming over her in the dark. She shivered.
Definitely not an outdoorsy sort of girl.
“Nice pun.”
“Pun?” He looked around. “Right, yes. We are in the woods, aren’t we?”
Okay, he was more than a little odd. But he’s here helping you, Betsy. Be nice.
“Do you…do you know where we are?”
“Of course I do.”
She had to fight back the panic again. That wasn’t helping anything. “What do we do?”
“We hike out to where there’s cell reception by the roadside. It’s not far. The men who brought you out here, obviously didn’t want to walk far.”
“They wouldn’t,” she muttered. She didn’t look around for the bodies. She didn’t want to see them. And she couldn’t believe she was having to trust the man who’d killed them.
“What were you doing out here?”
“Rescuing you of course.”
“But how did you know I was here?” None of this was making any sense. Well, maybe it would if she could think past the pain and fear flooding her.
“Right time, right place?”
Right, obviously he didn’t want to tell her. Her shaking increased to the point where her teeth were chattering.
She wanted Ink.
She wanted for this guy to not turn into some psycho who was going to lead her off to his cabin in the woods, chop her into bits and have her for supper.
Well, if that’s what he’d wanted, he’d chosen the wrong girl. She was mostly skin and bones.
A wolf howled and she let out a cry. “I’m thinking it might be a good idea to leave now.”
“Y-yes. Yes, please.”
She pushed herself onto her feet, swaying.
Hero Daddy Page 31
