by Susan Stoker
Jess saw red. She had no idea Tabitha was being abused. None. She’d trusted Brian. She hadn’t really liked him much at the end, but she had no idea he was so twisted. Jess reached out and shoved Brian as hard as she could. “She was your niece! How could you do that? That’s sick!”
Brian stood up and hauled Jessyka up by her hair. As she scrambled to get her feet under her and to take the pressure off her scalp, Brian put his face to hers and sneered, “All she was good for was fucking. I got my drugs and she got some dick. Besides, who do you think came up with the idea anyway? Yeah, her fucking mother. Don’t put this on me, Jess, I was just doing what mommy dearest wanted.”
Jessyka felt sick. She’d lived with Brian for years. She had no idea Tabitha had been going through what she had. No wonder she’d ended her life. It hadn’t been because Jess was moving out, but she’d ended up being more of a catalyst for Tabitha getting the courage to end her own torment. Hell, for all Jess knew, Brian was telling Tabitha he’d hurt her if she didn’t comply.
“Now, walk. Or I’ll drag you the rest of the way by your fucking hair.”
Jess knew Brian would do exactly as he threatened. She’d never been so scared of him as she was right now. Before, she’d only been worried he’d smack her around. But now? Knowing how depraved he was? Knowing what he’d done to Tabitha? Jess was terrified. Where was Kason? What had Brian done to him? For the first time Jess realized that Brian might have already killed him. He was obviously crazy enough.
Jess stumbled along in front of Brian as best she could. Her hip hurt worse than it had in a long time. Brian kicking it certainly hadn’t helped. The pain reminded her of the one time she’d decided she could do a 5K charity walk. She’d done it, but her hip had hurt for at least a week afterwards. The difference in the length of her legs didn’t allow her to walk for long periods of time, nonetheless a forced march over uneven ground like this.
While Jessyka fell a few more times, Brian didn’t kick her, he just hauled her up time and time again and forced her to keep walking.
Finally Brian came to a halt and grabbed Jess’s arm. He pointed to the right as if he knew exactly where he was going. “In there.”
“What? Where?”
Brian pushed her hard until Jess fell on her hands and knees. “There.”
Jess lifted her head and saw Brian pointing toward a break in the trees. How the hell did Brian know where they were going? There was no difference that Jess could see from where they’d just came from and what the trees looked ahead of her, especially in the dark. She had no idea how far they’d come either. Her faltering gait was misleading. It could have been one mile or four.
Jess stood up slowly, repressing the groan of pain she could feel on the tip of her tongue, and crawled to where Brian was pointing. She moved the branches out of her way and suddenly came face to face with Kason. And he was absolutely livid.
Chapter Sixteen
“Lookie what I found, SEAL man!” Brian cackled as he propped a flashlight in the crook of a tree nearby. Ignoring the daggers shooting out of Kason’s eyes, Brian put his boot on Jess’s butt and shoved until she fell with a cry right in front of Kason.
Jess heard Kason grunt and saw him struggle against the ropes that were holding him to a large oak tree. She stared at him in dismay.
Kason had dried blood on the side of his face, obviously from the cut at his temple. Brian had wrapped cloth around his head and shoved it into his mouth so he was effectively gagged. He’d been tied by what seemed like miles of rope. Kason’s hands were behind his back, putting his body at an awkward angle as his back couldn’t lie flush against the tree he was tied to. His legs had been tied together at the ankles, then wrapped up with the same rope as was holding him the tree at his knees and thighs as well. He also wasn’t wearing any shoes or socks.
Somehow it was seeing his bare feet, so vulnerable in the middle of the forest, that got to Jess the most. “I’m so sorry,” she whispered before Brian grabbed her by the hair and hauled her upright once more.
“Fuck!” Jess couldn’t stop the word from escaping.
“He’s not so high and mighty now is he?” Brian murmured into Jess’s ear as if he was a lover whispering sweet nothings. “Now he knows how it feels to be helpless, just like I did when his buddies came to visit me. Seems to be a fair exchange if you ask me.” Brian threw Jess away from him and she once again landed on all fours in front of Kason. She was sick of being on the ground.
Jess thought fast. She had to do something. Brian was bat-shit crazy. She didn’t want to think about what he was going to do to them. She had to buy some time. Jess knew there was no way she could save them both, but all she had to do was give the others time to find them. She wasn’t a SEAL, she wasn’t a soldier. Hell, Brian outweighed her by a lot and she couldn’t overpower him. But maybe she could trick him somehow.
Kason was the vulnerable one here. She knew he was a SEAL and a super soldier, but seriously, he was trussed up so tightly there was no way he was getting loose. Hell, if he could’ve gotten loose, he would’ve while Brian was back at the bar grabbing her. It was up to her to save him. The tables were turned for once. It was up to her to protect Kason until his friends could get to them. And she had no doubt they would. It was what they did. She only had to give both her and Kason time for that to happen.
The terror Jess had been feeling since she realized it was Brian that had taken both her and Kason melted away and a feeling of calm came over her. She had no idea if this was what happened to Kason and the others when they were on a mission, but she was going to go with it.
Jess looked up at Kason again and mouthed, “I love you,” then turned back to Brian. Ignoring the sounds coming from Kason, she said, “Brian, seriously, why didn’t you just talk to me before all this? Do you really think I wanted to hang around Tabitha? Seriously? She was fat. It was actually a bit embarrassing to go out with her. Do you know how much she’d eat? Jesus, I was actually a bit impressed. I only hung out with her because I was trying to do what I thought you wanted me to. ”
Brian didn’t look convinced. Jess kept talking, staying on the ground and trying not to look aggressive at all.
“You know the day she took all those pills? I brought them to her.” Jess’s stomach rolled at the lies she was telling Brian, but she had to get him to believe her. “We’d talked about it. Oh, she never told me she was having sex with your friends, but she said she was thinking about seeing if taking the pills could make it better for her. I might have egged her on a teensy bit.”
Jess could feel Kason’s eyes boring into the back of her head, but she continued on. “I told her that maybe if one pill made the sex better, taking more would make it feel even better. She asked me how many she should take and I told her to take the whole fucking bottle.”
At Brian’s look of disbelief she rushed on. “I know, it’s absolutely ridiculous, but she trusted me and believed me. I told her to take them as soon as I left so they’d be able to go into effect by the time your friends got there. She wasn’t that smart.”
“You always said she was smart,” Brian said deadpan.
“Well, yeah, because I didn’t want to offend you. She was your niece! If you had just told me she was your ticket to the drugs, I might not have encouraged her so much. But you were the one who was always complaining about her. I thought I was doing you a favor!”
Jess tried not to throw up. She silently sent a prayer up to Tabitha asking for her forgiveness for the absolute filth that was coming out of her mouth. Jess couldn’t think about what Kason thought about her right now, she just kept talking.
“And really, Brian, now that I’ve had it rough with him,” Jess pointed over her shoulder with her thumb at Kason, “I get it. I get what you like now. I like it. I want it like that with you. We were always so sweet and vanilla. I bet that’s not how you really like it is it?”
Jess’s heart was beating hard in her chest. She was getting to the meat of her plan a
nd it could go wrong in a big way if she wasn’t careful.
Seeing Brian’s eyes light up in interest and lust, Jess forged on. “Yeah, I bet you like to tie your women up don’t you? He tied me up once, and I liked it. I know you like to hold me by my hair, but I haven’t done that in the bedroom before. Bet I’d get off on it.”
Jess reached behind her and under her shirt. She unsnapped her bra and kept talking as Brian’s eyes followed her movements. “I haven’t ever tried drugs either. I bet that makes it even hotter, doesn’t it? Does it make you feel like you’re floating?” Jess pulled her bra strap down one arm and took her arm out of the strap, keeping herself covered by her shirt as she moved. “Have you and your friends shared a woman before? That’s another thing I haven’t done yet either. Kason’s been too possessive. But I bet your friend’s hands would feel good on my tits as you shove your dick in me.”
Jess pulled her other hand out of her bra strap and pulled the bra off completely. She dropped it behind her on the ground, once again ignoring the furious sounds coming from Kason. She was breathing hard. Jess had no idea if she would get out of this in one piece, but she had to try. She arched her back and put her hands on her hips, making sure to pull her shirt taut at the same time, showing off her nipples, which were clearly visible in the cool night air against the stretched tight cotton. Jess slowly stood up, still talking.
“Have you done that, Brian? What about an unconscious girl? What is it called? A roofie? I bet that’d be fun. Imagine being able to do whatever you want with someone and they can’t complain about it. I can’t say I want to be the one drugged though, I’d rather watch.” Jess laughed, hoping it didn’t sound to Brian as fake as it did to her own ears.
“What are your fantasies, Brian?” Jess held her breath. This could go wrong so quickly, but dammit she had to do something.
“I fantasize about fucking you right here in front of this asshole. I want to shove my dick down your throat until you’re choking on it, testing your gag reflex. Would you like that, Jess?”
Jess gulped. Fuck. “Oh yeah, you know I’ve always loved your dick. What else? You’d like it if I fought, wouldn’t you?”
“Oh yeah, because when you settled down and accepted the inevitable, it’d be perfect.”
“What about if you had to chase me first?”
The sounds coming out of Kason were nonstop now. He was grunting and obviously trying to talk, but Jess ignored him. It looked like he figured out her plan and wasn’t happy.
“You think you can outrun me, Jess?” Brian asked with a sneer. “You’re a cripple. You wouldn’t get five steps before I’d be on you.”
Jess lifted her arms and gathered her hair on top of her head, making sure to arch her back at the same time. She knew her breasts were jiggling under her shirt and fear was making her nipples peak. She threw her hip to the side, ignoring the twinge of pain the action caused.
“Of course I can’t outrun you. You know how badly I walk and run with my hip. But you could give me a head start . . . make it more exciting for you.”
Jess held her pose, but rejoiced inside as Brian actually considered her words. She tried to sweeten the pot a bit. She lowered her arms and put her hands on her hips again. “Tell you what, you give me a two minute head start. You can watch which way I go. If you catch me in two minutes, I’ll let you and your buddies fuck me at the same time, as long as you share your drugs with me.”
“And if it takes longer than two minutes?”
Jess wanted to jump up and down like a little kid, even though she knew she was still in deep shit. She had him. Brian was going to go for it.
“Then your buddies are out, but I’ll let you stick your huge cock down my throat right here in the woods.”
Jess couldn’t come up with anything else at the moment. Hopefully Brian was cocky enough to believe he’d be able to get her within the original two minute time frame. And more hopefully, Tex and Kason’s friends would hurry up and get to them.
“Oh, you’ll take my cock, Jess, whether it takes two minutes or two seconds.”
Jess smiled what she hoped was a seductive smile at Brian.
“Looks like your boyfriend isn’t too pleased with you.”
Jess didn’t want to turn around and look at Kason. She was disgusted with her own words, she could only imagine what Kason thought. But knowing Brian had pointed it out because he wanted her to look, she turned.
The fury on Kason’s face, Jess expected to see. His eyes were blazing with it. His toes were curled and every muscle in his body was taut. But under the fury, Jess saw the concern, compassion, and even love in his eyes. She quickly turned back around. Shit. She couldn’t do what she needed to if she kept looking at Kason. She needed to stay removed from it all.
“So, want to play catch-me-if-you-can?”
Brian cocked his head at her and said, “You know, I regret not talking to you now. If I’d only known what a kinky little whore you were, we would’ve gotten along much better.”
Jess smiled and winked at Brian, but didn’t say anything.
“Yeah, sure, I’ll bite. I have nothing to lose. You aren’t getting away from me on that gimp leg. It’s gonna feel so good to hear you scream as I take you, Jess. You always were a limp fish lying under me, so still. I can’t wait to feel you squirm as I take what I want, how I want, and whenever I want. Your two minutes start . . . now!”
Chapter Seventeen
“Wolf smiled over at Caroline who was sitting in the seat in his car next to him. She was tired from the alcohol she’d drank that night with her friends and she turned her head to look at him.”
“I love you, Matthew.”
“I love you too, Ice. Have a good time?”
“You know I did.”
Wolf put his hand on Caroline’s thigh and moved it slowly upward. “Tired?”
Caroline put her hand over his as it moved up her body. “Never too tired for you.”
They smiled at each other until the light turned green and Wolf had to turn his attention back to the road.
His phone vibrated in his pocket and Wolf leaned to the side. “Ice, can you grab my phone and check to see what that text is about?”
Caroline groped Matthew’s butt as she pulled his phone out of his back pocket. She smiled as he groaned and said under his breath, “Watch it, or you’ll pay for that later.”
She smiled and looked down at the phone. She swiped the face of the phone, put in Wolf’s password and clicked on the text message. It was from Tex. Caroline frowned, it was late in California, but it was really late in Virginia.
“Who’s it from?”
“Tex.”
Wolf sat up in his seat, losing the easy going vibe he had going on. “What does he want?”
Caroline read the message and her eyebrows scrunched together in confusion. “I have no idea.”
“What does it say?”
What the hell is Jessyka doing in the middle of Brant park?
The phone in Caroline’s hand started ringing. She startled and almost dropped it, but then immediately handed it over to Matthew, knowing something was wrong.
Wolf took his phone and seeing it was Abe, swiped it to answer the call.
“What?”
“Did you get a text from Tex?”
“Fuck. Yeah, you too?”
“Yeah.”
“Call Cookie, I’m calling Dude. We’ll see if they know what Tex is talking about.”
Wolf ended the call and took the time to ask Caroline a quick question before he called Dude. “Jess was there tonight, right?”
“Yeah, she left around eleven.” Caroline looked at her watch, “About forty minutes ago. She said Kason texted her and was anxious to get her home. She said goodbye to us and the guys, then left out the front door.”
Wolf didn’t respond, but quickly clicked on Dude’s number.
“I got it too,” Dude said by way of greeting.
“Did you sense anything weird when J
ess left tonight? Ice said she got a text from Benny and decided to leave.”
“Not really, or I wouldn’t have let her leave. But given what’s going on now, she did comment on how she was all bugged up and that Tex could find her if he needed to.”
“She knew,” Wolf deducted quickly.
“Yeah, that’s what I’m thinking,” Dude agreed.
“Why wouldn’t she just tell you guys something was wrong?” Wolf didn’t understand what Jess had been thinking.
“What if the text she received wasn’t really from Benny?”
“Fuck.”
Wolf turned the wheel and guided his car into a large parking lot. He did a wide U-turn and headed back to the street. “Head back to the bar, we’ll meet there. I’ll try Benny, then Tex.”
Wolf clicked off the phone without bothering to say goodbye. Caroline was silent next to him. He took the time to silently run his hand over the top and back of her head to reassure her, then pulled up Benny’s number.
The phone rang, and went to voice mail after four rings. “Fuck.” Wolf didn’t bother trying again. If Benny didn’t answer, something was horribly fucked up. He pushed the number for Tex.
“I haven’t been able to get a hold of Benny,” Tex said as he answered the phone.
“Me either. I’ve got the guys, we’re meeting back at Aces.”
“Okay, everyone’s about the same distance away. I take it Jess shouldn’t be in the middle of Brant Park?”
“Fuck no.”
Wolf could hear Tex tapping on computer keys in the background. “Okay, she’s moving deeper into the woods. Looks like she’s headed smack dab to the middle of the park.”
“Keep me updated, call me if something changes.”
“Will do.”
The connection was cut.
Caroline whispered from next to Wolf. “What’s going on, Matthew? Did someone take Jess?”
