Double Her Pleasure (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting)

by Marla Monroe

  “He’ll find her. He’s a good man, Joshua.”

  Joshua was beginning to think that Jayson was right and this was a waste of time.

  “Dad, she might have been kidnapped and tied up and all. They put you in the back of a car when they do that.”

  “Bobby, I said be quiet. This is important.”

  “But, Dad. It could have been her in that car.”

  Joshua stilled. What had Tommy said?

  “Tommy, what did you say?”

  “Don’t pay any attention to him. He’s been watching way too much TV lately. Goes on and on about it all the time.”

  “Dad, it’s true, though. That’s what they do with people when they kidnap them and kill them. They put them in the back of the car then dump them in a river.”

  “Tommy!” His mother scolded him.

  “What were you saying earlier, Tommy? About the car and the stuff coming out of it?”

  Joshua knelt down next to Tommy’s chair. Jayson stood behind him.

  “Well, we were on our way out to Granny’s, and there was this car in front of us with stuff falling out of its butt. Dad, you remember. You said damn it when you ran over part of it.”

  “Tommy! You don’t use that language.”

  “Sorry, Mom.” He didn’t look a bit sorry to Joshua.

  “The car had obviously been hit from behind or backed into something because the taillight was broken and falling apart.”

  “But, Dad, I saw it on a TV show where the guy was in the trunk and he broke out the taillight and pushed junk out the back to let people know he was in the trunk. That’s how he got saved.”

  “Where were you when you ran over something, Bob?” Joshua felt a tightening in his chest.

  “Hell, you don’t think the boy is right, do you?”

  “I can’t take a chance that he isn’t. Where were you?”

  “Out on Old Shiloh Road. It was about four maybe five miles after you turn onto it.”

  “How far did you follow the car? Did it turn off anywhere?”

  “We followed it till we turned off on Smith Road.”

  “Thanks, Bobby.” Joshua turned and looked at Jayson. “Let’s go. Do we have flashlights in the truck, Jayson?”

  “We’re going to need to go back to the ranch and get the big ones.”

  “Let’s go.”

  They hurried out the door and back into the truck. Joshua pulled out of the parking lot, slinging gravel. By the time they had made it back to the ranch, Joshua had a knot in his chest that threatened to cut off his breathing. He needed to calm down and think.

  “I’ll get the flashlights.” Jayson was gone before Joshua could say anything.

  He hurried inside and grabbed a box, filling it with bottled water, a blanket, some cereal bars, and the first aid kit. Then he grabbed the best map of the area he had. When he carried it out to the truck, he found Jayson loading up the big flashlights.

  “We need a map of the area,” Jayson said.

  “Got one. I figure once we find the stuff on the road, we’ll mark all turnoffs on the map and go from there.”

  “Let’s go then. We’re wasting time standing here.” Jayson climbed into the truck.

  Joshua quickly jumped into the other side. He pulled out of the drive heading for Old Shiloh Road.

  “It’s going to be nearly impossible for us to see anything tonight, Jayson. You realize that, don’t you?”

  “I’m not giving up, Joshua.”

  “I’m not saying to give up. I’m just warning you that we can’t do much more than find the location of the taillight debris. After that, we’re going to have to wait until daylight or we’ll ruin any trail there might be fumbling around in the dark.”

  “Let’s find the crap, and then we’ll decide what to do.” Jayson continued staring out the window.

  They drove for nearly twenty minutes before turning on Old Shiloh Road. Then they began searching the road for any signs of a broken tail light.

  “Stop! There’s something on the road there. Let me get out and look.” Jayson was out of the truck before it had even stopped rolling.

  Joshua waited in the truck as Jayson explored the area before climbing back into the truck.

  “It’s definitely part of a taillight. I didn’t see anything but a few pieces of this. I’m going to walk in front of you with the flashlight and look. Don’t run over me.” He slipped back out of the truck with the flashlight and began walking down the middle of the road.

  Joshua sighed and concentrated on idling down the road without running over his brother.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Haley had to fight to keep still as Matt stomped around the area looking for her. She didn’t think he would ever leave the area so that she could move again. Her legs were cramping, and her hands and knees stung from the gravel embedded in them from when she fell. She was sure she had bugs crawling all over her. Just the thought nearly made her lose her control.

  Finally, Matt moved off. She waited until she thought she couldn’t wait any longer, and then she slowly sat up. She waited for Matt to come stomping back to grab her, but he didn’t. She scrambled to her feet and brushed off her face and chest. Then she listened to see if she could tell where Matt had gone. Silence greeted her. That wasn’t good. If he wasn’t moving, she couldn’t be sure where he had disappeared to.

  “Come on, Matt. Make some noise.”

  As if in answer to her prayer, the sound of moving brush reached her ears from the direction of the cabin. She walked deeper into the woods and headed in the opposite direction. She walked until she thought she would pass out from the fast pace she had set. Her feet and legs were hurting from walking on uneven ground. Her head hurt, and she was thirsty.

  The sound of a car behind her spurred her faster. She once again headed deeper into the woods. As she raced through the trees, brush slapped against her face and tore at her clothes. She stopped and listened, trying to hear if there was anyone coming after her.

  Silence greeted her. Not just the silence of running feet but the complete absence of noise. There were no insects, no wind, and no animal sounds. But then how could she hear anything over her own heavy breathing?

  Haley leaned against a tree and closed her eyes, praying that Jayson and Joshua would find her. She was so tired. She looked up and judged by the direction of the sun that it was around noon. She needed to find the road again and stick close to it. She would get lost in the woods if she continued wandering aimlessly. Not to mention that she was scared of wolves and bears.

  The sound of a branch breaking not far from where she stood shifted her heart back into overdrive. She crouched low to the ground and eased deeper into the woods once more. The fear that Matt would find her again fueled her ability to put one foot in front of the other despite her earlier plans to follow the road.

  When the sound of running feet reached her ears, Haley broke out into a full out run once more. Adrenaline rushed through her bloodstream, making it easier for her to run, but nothing could keep the branches and vines from whipping at her and tripping her. She fell twice before she managed to find another hiding place. The little gulley had a hollowed-out ridge that she climbed into, praying there were not snakes or other creatures utilizing it.

  She heard the footsteps stop above her then continue on until she could no longer hear them. She was so tired and wet with sweat. Since nothing had bitten or growled at her, Haley decided to stay there for a while and rest. She wasn’t panting nearly as badly as before, but her legs ached and her stomach hurt. She was so thirsty. She was tempted to try the trickle of water making its way down the gulley. Common sense told her not to. She would hold off for now.

  She lay there dozing off and on for quite a while, thinking about Joshua and Jayson. Were they looking for her yet? It was Sunday, so they had to have missed her since she hadn’t been waiting for them Saturday night.

  I don’t know where I am, how can I expect them to find me? Please, God, let them
find me soon.

  She jarred awake when she realized it was once again getting dark outside. How long had she been lying there? Was Matt still looking for her or had he given up with it growing dark outside?

  The sounds of insects seemed almost deafening now. She wasn’t sure what to do. Should she try to find her way home or wait where she was until light? If she wondered aimlessly in the dark, she could end up even deeper in the woods. No, her best bet was to wait until sunrise. She could stay where she was.

  Only fear began to seep back into her bones. She was so freaking thirsty she didn’t think she was going to be able to stand it much longer. The water in the little stream seemed louder to her now. Something ran by her hiding place, and she froze. What was it? It seemed too small for a wolf. Maybe it was a raccoon. If they kept moving close to her, Haley was afraid she was going to freak out. She wasn’t normally so skittish, but she hadn’t had a very good weekend so far.

  Everything was bothering her now. Her hands were stinging, her face hurt, her knees burned, and her legs ached. One thing it did, though, was take her mind off of being thirsty for a while.

  Fatigue finally got the best of her, and she slowly fell back into a restless sleep.

  * * * *

  Jayson shined the flashlight back and forth until he found more taillight pieces. He bent and picked them up. Then he continued down the road. Slowly he gathered all the pieces. He stopped Joshua and piled them in the floorboard of the truck before returning to the road. After a while, he picked up a torn, oily rag, a wrench, and a couple pieces of wadded-up pieces of paper without anything written on them.

  After a while he gave up that there was anything more. He backtracked, and then stopped to help Joshua mark all the side roads on the map. They counted five. He guessed it could have been worse.

  “Jayson, we can’t track her anymore in the dark. We’re going to have to wait till morning.”

  “Hell, I know it, but I don’t want her out there alone again. She’s been gone for twenty-four hours now.”

  “She’s a fighter. She’ll be okay, Jayson. We have to believe that. Plus, I want to find out if the sheriff has found anything.”

  “Let’s go by Matt’s place and check his car out to see if he’s missing a taillight. If he is, we can track him to her tomorrow. He’s bound to go back. If it’s not him, we know to look for someone else.” Jayson ran a hand across the back of his neck. “My money is on him, though.”

  “I agree. He was stalking her. Let’s go.”

  Joshua turned around in the road and headed toward town once again. Thirty minutes later they parked down the road from Matt’s house. They both got out and walked toward the man’s house. Once they were within sight of the place, they began to stick to the shadows and eased along the drive until they were close enough to the car to see that the light was taped up with red tape. They looked at each other and nodded their head, and then snuck back to their truck.

  “Let’s go see the sheriff.” Joshua jumped in the truck.

  “Think he’s still at the office at this hour?”

  “If he isn’t, I’m waking him up.”

  They pulled up outside the sheriff’s office to find him climbing into his truck to leave.

  “Sheriff. We think we have a lead.” Joshua called out

  The man leaned out of the truck. “What do you have?”

  “We asked around and found out that someone saw a car out on Old Shiloh Road where someone had to have been in the trunk breaking out the taillight and shoving stuff through the hole. We picked up the debris, and it was an assortment of stuff that would have been in a trunk along with broken parts of a taillight,” Jayson said.

  “We drove over to Matt’s, and he is missing a taillight.”

  “Fuck. I’ll go pick him up.”

  “No!” Jayson knew that would be her death sentence.

  “Why not? I’d think you would want to know where she is.”

  “He won’t tell you. I think we need to follow him tomorrow. He’s bound to go back out there again. He wanted her for himself. He hasn’t killed her.” Jayson prayed he hadn’t killed her. If he had, the man was dead.

  The sheriff seemed to think it over for a few seconds. Then he nodded.

  “I’m going to get my deputies in on this. I don’t want to leave anything to chance. I think we should watch the house beginning around four thirty.”

  “We’re going to be there all night. I’m not taking a chance that we miss him.”

  “Damn it, you two. I don’t want you in the middle of this. That man is going to be arrested, not killed. Do you get that?”

  “Yeah. But all bets are off if she’s…gone.” Jayson didn’t want to say it.

  “Promise me you’ll let my men handle him. You take care of Haley.”

  “We’ll take care of Haley.” Joshua didn’t promise anything else.

  Jayson was with him on that. They would take care of her and, if necessary, take care of Matt, too.

  “We’ll be there around four thirty. Stay out of trouble till then.”

  Jayson followed Joshua back to the truck. They climbed into the cab and backed out of the drive. Then they returned to Matt’s and set up shop in a driveway down the street. They had a row of tall bushes shielding their truck.

  “You take a nap and I’ll wake you up in a couple of hours. Then you can watch after that,” Joshua suggested.

  Jayson was reluctant to do it but finally admitted to himself that it was a sound idea. He needed to be at his best for Haley’s sake. She was going to be fine. He wouldn’t think any other way.

  Two hours later, Joshua woke him up to keep watch while he caught some sleep. Jayson checked the time. It was a nearly two thirty. He would wake Joshua up at four thirty, and the sheriff and his men would be taking their positions as well. He hoped they wouldn’t be too obvious or Matt would run and they’d never find her.

  Time seemed to drag. He fought the urge to check his watch every few minutes. Joshua seemed to be restless in his sleep. He figured he was dreaming about Haley. He had while he had been asleep. They had been disturbing dreams.

  Finally, four thirty arrived. He woke Joshua.

  “Any signs he’s even awake?”

  “Nope. I figure he won’t wake up till around five or six.”

  “Let’s hope he moves soon. I’m having trouble not going and wringing his fucking neck.”

  Jayson felt the same way, but they needed him to lead them to Haley. He was their only lead to where she was.

  He looked around, trying to figure out where the sheriff was. He was glad he didn’t see the others. That meant Matt shouldn’t either.

  Dawn broke, and the lights went on at Matt’s house. Jayson looked over at Joshua. He nodded. They were about to leave. He figured Matt would get coffee and maybe something to eat. He would take maybe forty-five minutes or an hour to get ready before he left.

  To their surprise, he walked outside twenty minutes later and climbed into his car. The bastard sure was in a hurry to get to her. Jayson didn’t like that one bit. What had he been doing to her? He tried to force his mind away from that and concentrate instead on the car as he backed out of the drive way.

  Joshua already had the truck going. They waited until the other man was almost at the end of the block before they pulled out behind him. He noticed another car behind them that he didn’t recognize. He grinned. They weren’t using the sheriff’s conspicuous cars. Thank God.

  “They’re in their own vehicles,” Joshua pointed out.

  “Yeah, I noticed. I guess he’s smarter than I thought.”

  “We voted for him.”

  “Remind me to vote for him again.”

  They followed Matt’s car as he turned down Old Shiloh Road. Ten minutes later, they turned onto a county road that soon changed into a gravel road. They kept well back, using the dust as an indication to where he turned. When he turned down what appeared to be a private drive, they drove past and parked on the side
of the road.

  The sheriff and one of his deputies did the same and got out. The other one stayed back.

  “We’re going to head down the drive on either side using the brush as cover. You two stay back here until I call you on your cell phone.”

  “Hell no. We’re coming with you.” Jayson was having none of it. He would be there to see about Haley.

  Joshua’s grim face echoed his sentiment.

  “I don’t want to argue with you two. We’re wasting time. Just stay the hell back until we get inside and have Matt wrapped up.”

  “We’ll give you a head start.” Joshua’s voice was steely quiet.

  The sheriff’s jaw worked as if he were trying very hard not to say something he would regret. Jayson huffed out a breath. They were wasting time.

  “Okay, let’s go.”

  They all took to the shadows of the brush and eased up the drive. It was a rather long one and took a good five minutes to negotiate. Jayson was ready to break into a run, but he paced himself to stay beside Joshua.

  Finally they emerged into a clearing where an old, abandoned-looking hunting cabin stood. His heart jumped into his throat. If they hadn’t followed Matt, they wouldn’t have found Haley for a very long time. There were easily fifty or so cabins in the area. He truly doubted that Matt owned the place. He wasn’t the hunting type.

  The sheriff and his deputies covered the single door and one window that appeared large enough to climb out of. They waited for them to make their move. After a few seconds, one of the deputies kicked the door in and jumped inside. There were sounds of a struggle. Jayson and Joshua hurried inside.

  Matt was on the ground in cuffs, cursing and demanding they let him go.

  “What the fuck are you doing busting in here and assaulting me? What have I done?”

  “Kidnapped Haley, you son of a bitch!” Jayson kicked him in the stomach.

  “Fuck, Jayson. Stop it.” Joshua grabbed him by the arm.

  “Sheriff? There’s no one in the other room, but there was at some point,” one of the deputies said.

  Jayson growled and ran into the other room to see for himself. Sure enough, there was no sign of her. He saw the torn pieces of tape covered in dried blood. He noticed that the drops led to the closet where the door had been taken off and there was a small puddle of blood on the floor near a nail that was poking out.