Psycho [and Psychic] Games

by Amie Gibbons

  It’s easier when my throat’s not drying out, but I could still do it.

  I started singing like Grant told me to do if I was ever trapped again.

  I imagined casting the song out into the world, somehow catching someone’s attention with it, catching Jean or Collins and making them see where I was.

  I sang quietly, careful not to move my mouth too much in deference to my wound, while I stretched, plotted what I’d do to Truck once he got back into the room, and focused really, really hard on mentally beaming a message.

  I fell asleep by the door.

  ###

  I woke up with light sneakin’ through the window and piercing through my eyelids cuz I’d forgotten to draw the curtains.

  My heart sank.

  I’d seriously hoped Collins would’ve popped up again.

  I sat up.

  My throat was rough and begging for water and my breathin’ was shallow. My nose was crusty and chock-full of liquidy snot and sneezes, and my face had gone down to a general soreness. The cut on the outer edges of my cheekbone was scabbing, and the whole area was painful to touch. I was surprised he didn’t knock out any teeth with his blow.

  And I needed to pee.

  I didn’t really need to go bad since my body was hanging on to most of its moisture like a cactus, but I was getting uncomfortable, and it was only going to get worse.

  I stretched some more.

  Wait! Was that it?

  Yup.

  Scraping.

  I jumped to my feet, holding the sheet up like the world’s worst matador.

  The door swung out and I leaped.

  And got the barrel of a gun shoved into my ribs as an arm knocked the sheet down.

  “Hands up.” Truck barked.

  My hands went up to stand by my head.

  “And step back,” he said.

  I did.

  There went that plan.

  He’d been expecting me. Perfect.

  “Did you really think you could surprise me and make a run for it?” Truck asked.

  “I thought it was worth a try,” I said, the scratchy voice not mine.

  “It wasn’t.” Truck kept my gun pointed at me. “Now, what punishment will be harsh enough to convince you of that, but not be overkill? I’d hate to overdo it this early in the relationship.”

  Relationship? Seriously?

  “My body’s telling me something I could do to you that would be a decent punishment,” he said. “But I’ve been locked up for a year so that’s pretty much my body’s reaction to everything. I’m going to screw you. There’s no question about that. But I’m a little iffy on when and how. Do I want to chain you up and just have at it? Do I want to touch you, kiss you, make you want it too? And do I want to jump right into that right now? I’ve always loved the anticipation, but I also have to be practical. I can’t stay here forever. And leaving with you would be a bigger risk. I still have so many things to do to you, so much to show you, that it’d be a shame to run out of time.”

  I stood still.

  “I know.” He snapped the fingers on his left hand in exaggeration. “I could go get someone from one of the nearby cabins. There’s this beautiful little flower, barely legal, that I was eyeing yesterday. I’ll bring her here, chain her and you up, rape her while you watch, then kill her in front of you too. And the entire time you will know that she was being violated because of your disobedience.”

  The blood drained from my face.

  No! He couldn’t just hurt someone cuz of me.

  “Do you like to rape?” I asked. “Cuz you picked them up, had sex with them, then made them want it after you locked them up.” I couldn’t watch those tapes, I’d just read that in the reports. “Then you tried to make it good. Always tried to stimulate an orgasm out of her. I didn’t exactly get why.”

  “Because it’s the ultimate degradation.” Truck smiled that same bland, neighborly smile. “Not only were they down, taken, they enjoyed it. I made someone enjoy being violated.”

  “So you do like to rape?”

  The profilers had written in Truck’s file that they thought he wanted the woman to enjoy it to prove to himself what a man he was. That he was good in bed.

  Truck just looked at me.

  “Cuz it seemed to me that you were pretty well... nice as a rapist can be. You weren’t rough, you did foreplay so they were lubricated. You didn’t beat them during sex.” I shrugged. “Just seemed you’d prefer a willing partner.”

  “You offering?” His smile widened.

  Oh God. Could I do this?

  To save some innocent girl, I’d have to.

  I could deal with it.

  I couldn’t guarantee some innocent girl could.

  “If you don’t bring anyone else into this.” I held his eyes though the next words made me sick to my soul. “Then you get me. You won’t have to rape me, or chain me up, or anything. I’ll be with you, I’ll move with you, kiss you, do all the things I normally do during sex, no hold backs. And I’ll do it willingly.”

  Truck held my eyes for a second. “You’re serious? You’d really have sex with me, even though the idea clearly repulses you, to save some girl you’ve never met?”

  I nodded.

  “Deal.” He stepped towards me and I struggled to hold my ground.

  Would I cry?

  “But not until later,” Truck said. “We have tests to run. And I’d prefer you clean.”

  I nearly sagged as relief washed through me.

  Put it off. Just figure out a way to get away before I couldn’t put it off any longer.

  He stepped up to me, his face bent down towards mine.

  “You try to escape again, and the deal’s off. There’ll be no negotiation. You try to get away, or if you actually do get away, I’ll grab that girl and I will rape and kill her, no question. Is that clear?”

  “Yes,” I whispered.

  “Good girl. Come along.”

  He took me to the bathroom and I did my business. He told me clean up and I hopped in the shower. The water was cold and I didn’t care.

  I drank it as I stood under it until I had my fill, probably enough to get sick if I did much more.

  I showered and brushed my teeth.

  He wasn’t gonna try anything now, right? He’d said we had tests first.

  He’d set a fresh pair of hospital scrubs and a tiny white tank top on the counter.

  I changed into them. The bottoms had to be rolled up and the top was soft cotton that stretched over my breasts, leaving the nipples dark and obvious under it.

  He obviously did that on purpose.

  Hey, maybe I could distract him with my boobs and run then.

  I knocked on the door once I was done and Truck opened the door, leading me back to my room.

  “Before we get to work,” he said, shuttin’ the door behind him. “I want a kiss.”

  He kept the gun up and jammed it against my ribs, just hard enough to make me flinch.

  He bent his head down, gun diggin’ into my side as he took my lips.

  He tasted of minty mouthwash.

  A kiss.

  Collins had something about emotion, passion, driving magic or somethin’.

  I imagined him in front of me, a sexy stranger with no face.

  And kissed Truck back, wrapping my arms around his waist and pressing into him, opening my mouth.

  He paused, jerkin’ back like he was surprised.

  Then put his free hand on my back and held me against him.

  His mouth was rough and needy, but he wasn’t slobbering all over the place like some guys.

  “Collins!” I screamed silently, focusing on him, on how this’d feel if it was him in front of me, forbidden, dirty, and hot. “I’ve been kidnapped and am in the Smokies. A nice cabin on the Pigeon Forge side.”

  I kept kissing Truck, using tongue and lips as harshly as he was.

  He made a small noise and I could feel his enjoyment pressing against my stoma
ch. The gun was still far too intimate with my side, but if we kept going, he’d get distracted and let it waver at some point.

  He pulled back and I held back a huff of frustration.

  If he’d just let up on the gun, I could’ve twisted and pulled it out of his hand like I’d practiced so many times with the guys.

  “Do you know what it’s like,” he panted into my ear, “to have this need and not be able to satisfy it with anything but your own hand? There’s a reason so many men are raped in prison. I haven’t had sex in over two years. Do you know what I imagined doing to you while you were interrogating me?”

  He pressed the gun a little harder into my side with the word ‘doing.’

  “I would break out and you would be the one chained,” he said. “You would scream for me as I ripped into your tiny body. You would fight, but you wouldn’t really want to get away.”

  He pressed me against him harder, wrapping his arm around my waist, the gun’s pressure easing. His breathing sharpened, growing harsher as he started moving against me.

  Oh yeah. If I could get him carried away, letting up, yeah, he’d be distracted.

  It shouldn’t have been this easy, but I was strangely calm.

  If I had sex with him, he’d lower his defenses, and I’d get out.

  That’s all that mattered.

  And once I decided that… it was easy.

  “JB,” I whispered, tilting my head up and meeting his eyes.

  They were wide and desperate. Almost there already.

  “I’m saying yes,” I said. “I’m a woman of my word and it’s not like I’m not attracted to you.” I stood on tiptoe and kissed his neck. “Tell me what you want.”

  He made a choking sound and I unbuttoned his jeans and unzipped them.

  He moved his free hand so fast I couldn’t react and pressed my hand into his bulge, rubbing against it, jamming the gun harder into my side.

  Crap!

  Either I pushed the seductive thing too far and he wasn’t so far gone he was losing his senses, or he just liked the gun as part of his domination.

  “Don’t you want my clothes off?” I asked.

  “No time,” he panted. “Too long. Can’t wait.”

  I moved back, going for my top very obviously so he wouldn’t think I was pulling something.

  “No.” He pulled me in close again.

  Seriously!

  He ground against me.

  I had to think of something.

  He’d be a lot easier to overtake when his brain didn’t have dibs on the blood supply.

  He jerked against me with a moan, keeping my gun dug into my ribs as he rubbed into my hand, little noises escaping.

  And the gun didn’t waver.

  He stumbled back, gun up and covering me.

  “God,” he said. “You weren’t… I was expecting revulsion. It usually takes longer for women to feel for me, but you.” He smiled. “You can just go with it, can’t you? Bend to whatever, and as long as you decide to do it, I can’t break you.”

  I frowned. “Do you want to? Or do you want me?”

  Based on the reports, he could go three or four times in a night. If I could get him up and desperate again…

  I held my arms out, shoulders back, letting my breasts strain against the cloth as I pointed back to myself.

  “I’m right here, JB. I’m willing and you know dominance does it for me so I’m even turned on. You don’t need to break me. I’ve decided to go with it, meaning it’ll be a lot more fun for both of us. Just take me. Take what you need.”

  I met his eyes and grabbed the bottom of my top, whippin’ it off over my head.

  He gulped.

  I lowered my voice an octave and said, “JB…”

  What were the dirty things Collins was sayin’ again?

  “I could lie down on the bed,” I said, “and you could slip yourself between my breasts, release on them.”

  Ummmmm. Dirty talk wasn’t really my thing, but I read romance novels. I just had to say stuff we could do to each other, right?

  Truck sucked in an obvious breath, eyes wide.

  He opened his mouth and closed it, shaking his head.

  He zipped up and walked out.

  I growled at the door.

  He might’ve been onto me.

  I sat on the bed and focused on my surroundings. People? He said there were people around here. Meaning they might hear me scream.

  Or maybe even pick up a psychic call.

  Wait a second. Truck’s got that. He could hear me. So how do I know he didn’t hear me call for Collins?

  Well, he had been distracted at the time.

  I focused on seeing outside.

  Flash.

  The woods again. The vision spread out to show the line of cabins. There were no people in sight, but there was a trail down to the cabins. I knew that just as I knew no one was in them. This set was down for renovations.

  But didn’t that mean construction workers would be here?

  Either way, there was no girl.

  I opened my eyes.

  Truck had lied.

  I know, I know. Why was I even surprised?

  I didn’t have to worry about some innocent girl, that was something at least. I put back on my top and stretched some more as I waited. He thought he had me now.

  I could use that.

  I wasn’t sure how, but I figured he’d be a little cockier and think I wouldn’t try anything, which meant underestimating.

  He was back within ten minutes. I didn’t try to jump him at the door again. No risks. I’d bide my time and take him down when I knew I could.

  He closed the door and waved for me to sit. I did.

  “Get up,” Truck said, colder than I’d expect considerin’ what we just did.

  I did.

  “Sit,” he said.

  He was playing with me. Seeing how much he could boss me before I snapped at him.

  The game was only fun if he could get to me. He wasn’t going to get to me. He wasn’t going to make me break cuz I’d bend to whatever he told me to do.

  I sat and blinked up at him.

  “You’ve got the game down,” Truck said. “I should’ve found a way to take Grant too. He would’ve been fun to break.”

  I snorted. Couldn’t help it.

  “No one breaks Grant,” I said. “No matter what.”

  Truck stared at me.

  “I mean, he’s Grant,” I said. “You’d tell him to do something and he’d tell you to shoot him. Then he’d do one of his old football moves and rush you, get the gun from you, and shoot you. Grant doesn’t know how to submit to anyone.”

  “And you do?”

  “You’ve got the gun, and are threatening to hurt an innocent girl if I don’t cooperate. I’m bending cuz it’s better than the alternative. You have the power and I’m okay with that. Hell, now that I’ve decided to go with it, it’s kinda fun.”

  He stared at me.

  “Now that we’re in a better place with each other,” I said, “can you tell me how you did it? You don’t have money coming in that we could see. When you had your job, your money went to the house and living and savings, and those all added up. But you had a ton of other houses and construction in there and camera gear and props. Not to mention the magic assassin. So where did all that money come from?”

  He blinked at me.

  “So you’re saying Grant wouldn’t degrade himself to save an innocent person?” he said like I hadn’t asked him anything.

  I rolled my eyes.

  “No.” I shook my head. “I just said, he’d do something amazing and Grant-ish to get the gun from you. You’d never have the chance to hurt anyone else.”

  “Not this situation.” It was Truck’s turn to shake his head. “Say he’s locked up, can’t move to pull one of his amazing, Grant-ish moves, and it’s either do as I say or watch some innocent girl get tortured. Then what?”

  “Well that’s obvious. Grant would do
whatever he had to to keep the girl safe.”

  “You said you were seeing someone, a vampire, yes?”

  Interesting change of subject.

  “Yeah.”

  “How does he feel about your relationship with your boss?”

  “Huh?”

  “I got the impression you and Grant were more than just co-workers.”

  “We’re friends,” I said.

  Where was he going with this?

  “But that’s not all,” Truck said.

  “I love him. I think I’ve loved him pretty much since the night we met. And he’s seen me as a little sister or daughter or whatever, since that night. He sees me as a friend he has to look out for.”

  “Does he know how you feel?”

  “Yup.”

  “Does your vampire know how you feel about Grant?”

  “Yes,” I said slower.

  “And that hasn’t created any problems?”

  “Not really, at least not with me and my boyfriend.”

  “Elaborate.”

  It wasn’t a request. This was gettin’ old.

  “It’s a long story, if you want to hear it. I mean, you’ve noticed I can talk.”

  “Please,” he said, waving a hand imperiously at me as he perched on the bed, keeping the gun on me, “talk away.”

  So I did. I told him what happened last month, how I’d met Quil, the case, how it ended. Which led to me explaining the vamp politics, and the whole Carvi on the loose thing.

  I talked, and talked, and talked.

  How the hell did he not shoot me just to shut me up?

  I think he wanted to see how long I could go.

  I surprised even myself. The longer I talked, the longer I could stall. So I just kept talking.

  Boy, was my throat killin’ me. I must’ve been talking for hours.

  Truck interrupted to ask questions, and I answered when I could.

  Finally, I was done. I’d said all I could think to say for the moment, and my throat was burning too badly for me to be able to babble about nothing.

  “Could I have some water and food?” I asked.

  I knew I didn’t want to ask, letting him know something was getting to me was a bad idea.

  No matter what people say, it can hurt to ask.

  Truck stood from the bed with a superior smile. “I’ll be back in a bit.”

  He left, keeping the gun on me until the door was closed.

  Was that a yes?