Meanwhile, Brian was going crazy. “Why the fuck are you holding on to me? I’m the one who’s in this army.
He’s the one who doesn’t belong here! Whose word are you going to take?”
Matt handed Elin her clothing, and she hurried to cover her naked body as two more men entered the scene. One was Randy, who looked as though he wanted to disappear into the trees. The other man was blond-haired Trey, who stormed over to Brian.
Matt turned and, in a show of quiet authority that left Anna breathless, said, “Will someone please uncuff this woman so she can get dressed?”
Trey stepped between Brian and Matt, glancing first at the teenager then at his red-faced subordinate.
“What are you doing, Brian?”
“I was taking her to bathe, sir,” Brian said, calming in the presence of his leader. He shook off the men who restrained him and ran a hand down the front of his T-shirt. “As you ordered.”
“I ordered Dan and Randy to bathe the women,” Trey said. “Not you. What are you doing here?”
“I took over for Dan, sir,” Brian said. “He needed to take a trip to the woods, and he asked me to take the last pair to the river.”
Trey looked over his shoulder at Randy, who immediately dropped his gaze to the grass. “Is that true, Randy?”
Randy’s silence was indictment enough.
“What the fuck?” Brian cried out. “This guy jumps out of fucking nowhere and attacks us, probably to take our girls, and I’m being questioned?”
Trey glanced at Brian, then turned to regard Matt seriously. He looked the boy up and down. His eyes flitted over to Elin, who still held her soiled clothing in front of her naked body, then back to Matt.
“What’s your name?” he asked.
“Matt. And I wasn’t trying to kidnap anyone. Do you really think a guy like me would take on these two guys? He was trying to hurt this woman. And I wanted to stop him.”
“How was he hurting her?”
“He was…he was trying to…” Matt stuttered.
“He was trying to have intercourse with her?” Trey’s face was expressionless, his eyes cold.
Matt started to shake his head, then stopped with an embarrassed shrug. “He was trying…he was making her do things, and then he tried…he wanted her to use her mouth…” He shifted in discomfort and shot Elin a nervous look. Elin lowered her eyes to the ground.
Trey swiveled on his feet, took two steps toward Brian, then drew back to deliver a hard punch to his face.
“Stupid fucking wasteful bastard. You were going to traumatize her, and for what? A fucking blow job?”
Brian turned back to Trey, spitting out a mouthful of blood. His eyes burned with fury. “So you’re taking his word over mine?”
“You’ve been dying to hurt her from the second we got her.”
Anna blinked in surprise. There was something unsettling in Trey’s tone of voice.
Brian opened his mouth, but Trey kept talking. “Don’t you dare deny it. You can’t get over the fact that she managed to land a few blows on you. That her lover killed Sue. Yes, I believe him. He’s got no reason to lie, as far as I know, but you’ve got every reason. I don’t know why Dan allowed you to take his assignment—I’ll deal with him later—but I do know that you didn’t volunteer so you could be a good guy.”
Brian shook his head and muttered under his breath, but he kept his gaze to the ground, refusing to meet Trey’s challenging stare.
“You’ll report to me after lunch.” Trey nodded to Doc, who put his hand on Brian’s shoulder and encouraged him to turn in the direction of camp. “Collect the key for Elin’s cuffs from him, Doc. I want you to hold on to those for now.” Trey glanced over at Randy. “You, too. Report to me after lunch. I’ll determine what to do with you then.”
As Doc and the other guard led Brian and Randy away, Trey turned to Elin. “It happened like the boy said?”
Elin nodded, eyes downcast. “Yes, sir.” She shifted the T-shirt in front of her chest, tugging on the cotton material to try to cover her upper thighs.
Anna’s lip curled in disgust as Trey moved to Elin and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into a close embrace. “You’re okay now,” he told her.
Elin nodded. She didn’t pull away, nor did she accept the comfort Trey obviously thought he was offering.
“Yes, sir.”
Trey ran a gentle hand down the length of Elin’s naked back, then stepped away to fish around in the pocket of his blue jeans. Clearly he carried a set of handcuff keys of his own. “Let me see your wrists.”
Elin had to pull the T-shirt away from her bare breasts in order to obey the command. She held out her hands and waited patiently as Trey unlocked the cuffs. After he removed them, he captured Elin’s wrists and rubbed them, asking softly, “How does that feel?”
Something about the tender nature of his voice and actions made Anna’s stomach turn. She looked at Kael and caught the unabated anger in her indigo eyes.
“Better.” Elin met Trey’s eyes for a moment, flinched, then added, “Sir.”
“Good.” Trey planted a soft kiss on Elin’s forehead. “Get dressed, darling. It’s nearly lunchtime.”
Matt looked away as Elin dressed, but Trey watched until she tugged her T-shirt back on, then he turned his attention to Matt.
“I’ll talk to you in my tent first. I think we have a few things to discuss.”
“All right.” If Matt was afraid, he was doing an excellent job keeping that fear out of his voice.
“Do me a favor and grab the little girl, okay?” Trey said. “Let’s get these two settled down for lunch, and then we can talk.”
Matt nodded. He approached the dark-haired girl slowly and crouched in front of her so that he was at eye level. “Hey there. What’s your name?”
When the girl didn’t answer and kicked at the grass shyly, Elin said, “Her name is Lana.”
“Lana. That’s a pretty name.” The girl wouldn’t meet his eyes. “Do you want to come with me so you can eat lunch?”
“Go ahead, Lana,” Elin said. “Matt’s not going to hurt you.”
Lana raised her eyes and assessed Matt, uncertain. Matt smiled at her until, after only thirty seconds or so, Lana lifted her arms into the air in silent consent.
“Thanks, Lana,” Matt scooped her into his arms. “I’ll just follow you,” he told Trey, and Anna sent a silent thank-you to him for not leaving Elin alone with the leader.
There was something about the way Trey treated Elin— however solicitous it seemed—that made Anna uneasy. From Kael’s quiet sigh beside her, Anna knew she felt the same way.
“You’re wonderful with children,” Trey commented to Elin. From his tone, it was clear that he considered this a high compliment. “Somehow I knew you would be.”
Anna shuddered.
“Thank you, sir,” Elin mumbled.
“All right, then. You want to stay uncuffed for lunch?”
Elin didn’t hesitate to nod vigorously. Anna wondered how often Elin got to be free from her restraints.
From the brief flash of light in Elin’s eyes at the suggestion, she guessed that it was relatively rare.
“You’re going to behave?” Trey took Elin’s upper arm, pulling her to his side.
“Yes, sir.”
“That’s all I need to hear.” Trey gestured to Matt. “Come on. I imagine the food’s almost ready.”
Kael pulled away from the tree and sat back on her heels. She covered her face with both hands and exhaled shakily. “That was…too close.”
Anna didn’t want to think about it. She was having enough trouble maintaining her relative calm as it was.
Her cheeks burned as though Elin’s humiliation had been her own. “I guess now we know how Matt can help us,” she whispered. Thank God we found the boy. We would have been killed on the spot, but Matt…I think Matt might just be accepted into the fold for that one.
“Come on.” Kael grabbed her hand. “We�
��re going back to our original position. I want to see the camp.”
Anna allowed Kael to drag her through the trees once more. They were stealthy and sure-footed this time, careful not to attract attention now that the excitement had died down. They found the place where they had originally crouched, and they resumed their positions looking out over the camp.
Near the center, women sat in a large circle on the ground. Elin and the little girl, Lana, were led to a gap in the circle and encouraged to sit. Trey waved his hand at a subordinate, who immediately shackled Elin’s left foot to the right foot of the woman sitting beside her in the circle, Elin’s right foot to Lana’s left foot, and Lana’s right foot to the left foot of the woman to her right. Once finished, the men had all of their prisoners ready to eat lunch without risk of escape.
Anna gazed at Elin’s profile. Her lover was too far away for Anna to easily read her face, but what she did see was troubling. Elin’s shoulders were slumped in a kind of defeat that Anna was certain hadn’t been there before Brian’s attack. She looked lost and forlorn and barely responded even as Lana laid her dark head on her lap. Elin stroked the girl’s hair with a heedless hand.
Trey retreated toward his tent, gesturing for Matt to follow. Matt hesitated a moment, then, while Trey’s back was turned, quickly leaned down and whispered something into Elin’s ear. Just as quickly, he stood up and hurried to follow Trey back to his tent at the upper edge of the circle of the camp.
For a long moment Elin didn’t react. Anna stared at her lover, desperate for some clue as to Matt’s words, and after a number of heartbeats, she saw it.
Elin lifted her face and looked into the blue sky overhead. She sat up straighter and threw her shoulders back in quiet determination. Then, so subtly that nobody around her seemed to notice, she turned her head to glance in the direction of the trees where Anna and Kael were hidden.
Anna swore she could see the slight, hopeful smile on Elin’s face despite the distance between them. She knew without a doubt that Elin was aware she and Kael were out there, waiting and watching and utterly determined to rescue her. Anna closed her eyes and thanked Matt for restoring Elin’s hope. To see her lose it for even a moment had been terrifying.
Kael gave her a nudge. “That asshole is on the move.”
Anna opened her eyes and scanned the camp until she saw what Kael meant. Brian, having been released from the watch of his fellow guards, was stalking angrily away from the tents. He passed the field where the football game was breaking up and made it into the trees not far from where Kael and Anna were hiding.
Nobody followed him. Anna assumed that he was either deserting or looking to blow off some steam before Trey meted out his punishment.
“I want to go talk to him,” Kael growled. The tone of her voice left no doubt that talking wasn’t all she wanted to do.
Anna felt her heart stutter in anticipation. Nodding, she squeezed Kael’s hand with her own. “Then let’s go find him.”
Chapter Nineteen
They followed Brian’s trail almost a half mile through dense forest, snaking onto higher ground far above the river. Anna couldn’t imagine that this encounter would end any way but in bloodshed. She felt as though they were stalking an animal, waiting for the first glimpse of their prey. A dark energy radiated from Kael’s lean body, her desire to kill almost palpable in the cool afternoon air. Anna felt her own murderous rage, though she wasn’t sure she could follow through with it.
If she killed Brian, it wouldn’t be the first time she’d taken a life. After losing Garrett, she’d sworn that unless it was in true self-defense, her blind retribution for his murder would be the last time. She hadn’t liked how lost she’d felt when she gave in to her violent desires.
She didn’t want to kill Brian. But she wouldn’t necessarily mind if Kael did.
She understood the concept of vengeance, and more important, she was unwilling to direct Kael’s actions in whatever came next. Anna saw that Kael was struggling with her own demons, and she would allow her to exorcise them however she needed. Hearing something, she signaled Kael and they both stopped walking and listened keenly. Anna gestured to a cluster of maples to their left. He’s there, she mouthed, hearing angry muttering and harsh breathing.
When they caught sight of Brian, his back was to them. He was leaning against the broad trunk of a tree, forehead pressed to his forearm, his other hand busy in front of his body.
He remained oblivious as they approached from behind, panting in time with his aggressive strokes.
“Fucking little redheaded bitch. When I’m fucking done with you—”
Brian’s curses were cut short when his body slammed up against the tree as Kael tackled him. He grunted loud and struggled in an effort to turn and face his attacker. Kael wrapped one arm around Brian’s neck while she produced a wicked- looking knife from the back of her jeans with the other. Anna hadn’t even realized she was carrying it.
“Make one sound, and I’ll slit your throat,” she growled into Brian’s ear and pressed the blade against his neck. She eased her free arm from his throat to make room for the knife and pinned him in place with a rough hand on his back. She kept him pressed hard against the trunk, face smashed to the side against the bark. “After I cut your dick off. Do you understand?”
Brian hesitated, then he gave Kael a fast nod.
“We’re going to take a walk.” Kael pressed the edge of the blade against his throat, drawing a thin red line of blood to the surface. With a glance at Anna, she said, “Get out the gun and keep it pointed at his head. If he so much as breathes wrong, put a bullet in his brain.”
“No problem.” Anna forced false confidence into her voice as she pulled the unloaded handgun from the back of her jeans. She made a show of cocking the gun, then pointed it at Brian’s head. “My pleasure.”
Kael clapped Brian on the back. “All right, asshole. When I step back, you move away from the tree and put your hands on your head. If you try anything, my partner here will blow your head off. Do you think anyone will come after you?”
Brian managed to shrug. “Eventually.”
Kael stepped back and Brian immediately turned to look at Anna, who kept her gun pointed at his face. She met his stare, unwilling to be intimidated by the hatred in his cold eyes. This man hurt Elin. She was glad she didn’t have any bullets in her gun.
Brian reached down to tuck his flaccid penis back into his blue jeans. Anna jerked her gun at the movement, and Kael’s blade returned to Brian’s throat before either Anna or Brian could react.
“What are you doing?” Kael hissed.
Despite his predicament, the loud-mouthed defiance they had seen at the river returned to the surface. “I’m just zipping up, faggot. Or did you want to do it for me?”
Kael delivered a sharp punch to Brian’s kidney. “Shut up and walk.”
Kael steered them farther away from the Procreationist camp, back toward where they’d stayed with Dr.
Kate. Brian set the pace, with only a little additional urging from Kael with the tip of her knife against the small of his back.
About a half mile from Kate’s home, they came upon a run-down old barn that had obviously been abandoned for years. Kael poked Brian in the back.
“In there,” she told him. “We need to have a conversation.”
Brian changed direction without a word. He pushed open the large front door, half-rotted off its hinges, and stepped inside. When he reached the middle of the barn, he turned to face Kael squarely for the first time.
“Wait, you’re—” Brian’s eyes widened in surprise. He dropped his hands from his head. “You’re the faggot who was with the redhead. You killed Sue and Derek.”
“I wish I could say it was nice to see you again.” Kael gestured with her knife. “Get your hands back on your head.”
Brian looked over to Anna. His expression betrayed his genuine confusion. “So who is she? Christ, faggot, you were fucking the redhead a week and a
half ago. It didn’t take you long to find a new one.”
“Shut the fuck up,” Kael snapped. Anna watched a vein pulse in the side of Kael’s neck. Brian was trying hard to upset her, and it looked like he was doing a good job of it. “It’s none of your business who she is.
Stop looking at her. And stop calling me faggot.”
Brian’s lips curled into a defiant smile as he slowly dragged his eyes back over to Kael. “What’s wrong, fag? Hit a little too close to home?” He laced his hands casually on top of his head. “You look like you’re probably just as good at sucking cock as that little bitch we took from you. Elin, isn’t it?”
Kael’s eyes flashed with pure rage, and she came at Brian with the knife, slicing him across the chest.
Brian’s hands dropped from his head, and he moved as though to strike back at Kael, but Kael delivered a hard punch to his stomach that doubled him over. She followed up with a blow to his face, knocking him onto his ass on the dusty floor.
“Say anything disrespectful about her again, and I’ll cut your tongue out.” Kael stood over Brian, heaving in anger.
Kael was deadly close to losing control. Anna didn’t understand why Brian insisted on pushing Kael’s buttons like this. Didn’t he see that Kael was dangerous?
On the floor, Brian shook with laughter. His T-shirt was stained with blood from the gash on his chest.
“Man, the look on your face,” he guffawed and pointed at Kael, who loomed over him. “You need to calm down. Don’t worry, she loved everything we did to her.”
Anna went hot at Brian’s crude insinuation. She aimed the gun at his forehead. “What the fuck is wrong with you? Keep going and I’ll kill you myself.”
Brian released helpless laughter. “Your boyfriend is going to kill me, anyway.” He raised hard eyes to Kael.
“You think I don’t realize that?”
“But you get to decide how you want to die,” Kael said. “And how long you want it to take.”
Brian’s grin faded. “So, what do you want to talk about?”
The Three Page 27
