“Well, we don’t want to get kicked out, so let’s just tone it down a few notches, mmkay?” I smiled sweetly up at him and he kissed my nose.
“Anything for you, love.”
I tried to turn my attention back to pretending to be frightened. Ten more minutes of assorted spooky goblins later we were disembarking and walking back toward the square. My sides were sore from laughing at Jesse and I still had tears in my eyes from when a guy in a scream mask actually got the jump on the Newcomb brothers.
“It’s not funny, Shelby,” snarled James. “We could have really hurt that kid.”
This only caused me to fall into peals of laughter again. James growled curse words and stalked over towards the hot chocolate stand. My shoulders were still shaking when Cash picked me up and tossed me over his shoulder in a fireman carry.
“Let me go, you monster!” I squealed gleefully to no avail.
He carried me like a sack of potatoes until we joined the others. Jesse munched on caramel kettle corn with every sign of enjoyment and Ty took advantage of her preoccupation by feeling her up.
“Umm, PDA?” I said pointedly and was just as pointedly ignored.
I rolled my eyes and stole some popcorn. James returned balancing three cups of apple cider and handed Cash and I each a cup. I inhaled the spicy scent while I let the warmth seep into my hands.
It had finally started to get down to freezing at night and my breath was already starting to mist. I tended to run hot, so I was only wearing a hoodie and jeans, but the cold was steadily starting to make its way in. A hard body pressed against my back and I was inundated with warmth.
“Mmm…thank you. That’s much better.” Cash kissed the top of my head and enfolded his arms around me.
“What are you thanking me for? You’re keeping my front warm.” I could feel his chuckle rumble through his chest.
“Alright, you disgusting lovebirds,” sighed James. “Let’s quit with the public displays of affection and do this.”
Sending him an apologetic glance, I towed Cash behind me toward the entrance of the haunted forest. There was a line of people cueing to get in, so we talked over our group strategy. The forest was a quarter mile trail through dark, forbidding woods that snaked around blind corners that hid ghouls and goblins. If you weren’t careful it was easy to get turned around or separated. The workers only allowed a certain number of people every few minutes so they were spread out evenly on the trail.
“Okay, you three and you three,” said the zombie, pointing at a group in front of us and James, Ty and Jesse. Jesse opened her mouth to object but I cut her off.
“It’s alright, Jesse. We’ll catch up.” I tossed my eyes pointedly at Cash until she got the idea.
A condescending smile curled her lips. “Sure, sure.”
She grabbed both men by their arms and tugged them with her. James looked extremely uncomfortable and out of place in Dockers, leather shoes and a fleece pullover. Deal with it, big bad!
We had to wait five minutes before the zombie motioned for us and a large group of Edison High cheerleaders to head down the trail. All the girls had matching track outfits with the high school’s mascot on the back. Cash must have looked like a knight in shining armor to them because they all clustered behind him using him as a shield against the scary guys in masks. I had to say something to one of them who decided it was a good idea to grab his belt. Back of girlie, this knight is mine!
A demented-looking clown snuck up from behind us, terrifying the girls. All five of them hid behind Cash and pushed, trying to get as far away from Bozo-on-acid as possible and effectively swept him up, separating us.
The plea for help was clear in his eyes, but there wasn’t anything I could do to keep him from being herded around the corner and nothing he could do without hurting one of the girls. I laughed at his helpless situation and watched him disappear, warding off the clown with a dirty look.
I was about to turn the corner when someone grabbed me from behind. Thinking it was Cash or James being funny, I wasn’t alarmed until whoever it was put a rag against my mouth. I took in a deep breath to scream but inhaled a sweet chemical smell instead.
Suddenly I was dizzy and my legs gave out from beneath me. I thought, I’m really tired of this crap and then everything went black.
The man, who was known as Alpha to most, Hank to some and Junior to no one still living, drove on Interstate 99. He was an hour away from the girl, whoever she was. She had been projecting a wide range of emotions which only got clearer as he neared her. Mostly, she was a small knot of joy and love in the back of his mind, but a half hour ago there was a flash of fear and irritation before it dulled to nothing.
That worried him. Even when a pack member was asleep there were still vague impressions of emotions, but this dullness felt like the numbing effects of anesthesia. That partnered with the quick flash of distress made him uneasy and urged him to push far past the speed limit.
If she was who he suspected she might be, there was no way he would let her come to harm. I already lost one of my girls, I’ll not lose another.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Unlike the other few times I’d woken up from involuntary unconsciousness lately, there was no gradual gaining of wakefulness. My eyes shot open and I was completely aware that I had a pounding headache. I felt like I would puke, my wrists and ankles were sore where they had been tied tightly with a rough rope to a hard wooden chair and I felt bruised all over. What the…
“Oh good, you’re awake,” an accented male voice said from the darkness.
As much as I could tell, I was tied up in what seemed to be a garden shed, albeit a large one. A man was in the corner but that’s all I could see since his whole body was shrouded in the shadows. I sat in a beam of moonlight that streamed in from the only small window in the shed and it wreaked havoc on my night vision.
“Yes, I’m awake. Who the hell are you and why have you tied me to this damn chair?”
My voice came out a little gravely, but understandable considering the situation.
I heard harsh laughter coming from my captor and it grated on my nerves. “You’ve made my life difficult, chica.” His Hispanic accent grew more apparent with each word he spoke. “So I’m making your life difficult in return.”
Oh crap, it’s the pot farmer, I thought as my stomach plummeted. The panic I had been fighting finally rose to the surface and I started breathing faster.
I reached out to Cash, expecting to find a ball of fury, worry and love in my mind. Instead I felt nothing. Not Cash, James or any of the other lupines I had so quickly grown used to the few days they had been with me. Panic grew to hysteria and it was harder to breathe.
“What did you do to me?” I was going for tough and capable but those few words came out as a terrified plea.
Again, his harsh, rasping chuckles floated over to me where I sat tied and helpless. “Ether. I’m sorry if you don’t feel good, but I had to use it. I couldn’t let you scream and warn your big friend.” I relaxed a bit as a niggling worry I hadn’t let myself acknowledge disappeared. Cash is okay. My chest loosened and I could breathe much better. Cash is okay. Knowing that made it much easier to focus on the task at hand; escape.
I needed to test my bonds, so I tried to keep him talking. “Ether? What, do you cook meth and grow pot?” Disgust heavily laced my words but they didn’t seem to affect my captor.
“Yes, I’m what you call an entrepreneur.”
I think he tried to be funny but it didn’t strike me as overly humorous. Being kidnapped might have skewed my perspective somewhat. The knots holding my wrists were tight, and no amount of twisting or pulling made any difference. My hands had even begun to go numb from lack of circulation, announced by the telltale pins and needles attacking my fingers.
“What do you want from me? I don’t have any money.”
That wasn’t entirely true. I had a big fat check from Harris Ranch sitting in my bank account, but he didn’t k
now that. The man shifted slightly where he sat and I tensed, waiting for a gunshot or a knife, certain he would to kill me.
“You cost me a lot of money, chica. I want it back.”
“I told you, I don’t have any.”
He grunted. Whether in agreement or dissent I wasn’t sure. “That doesn’t matter. You’re going to earn it for me. I have a friend—” The emphasis on “friend” made it clear whoever he was would be no friend to me. “He will take you and make you earn my money. You are pretty, chica, so it won’t take long.”
I shuddered in horror as I grasped what he told me. He planned to sell me into slavery and prostitution. I’d heard of human traffickers, but I didn’t think Central California had those kinds of problems, not like LA or New York. Whoever this “friend” of his was would probably drug me within an inch of my life and force men on me.
It dawned on me that while I didn’t want to die, I’d prefer that fate to the one this man described. I’d rather go to heaven than live in hell on earth. I didn’t know how, or why, but this man blocked my bond with Cash so I couldn’t rely on him to ride in on a white horse and save me. I was on my own. Even though I couldn’t feel him, I sent a wordless message of love and apology out to Cash before turning my thoughts toward death.
I’d seen my fair share of movies where the hero escaped captivity, so I knew I could get out of the chair if I tipped it over and kicked my ankles free from the chair legs. But without knowing my surroundings, I didn’t know if I could escape. The most I could hope for was, if I got out, I could make my kidnapper angry enough to kill me, instead of sending me to a waking nightmare. That’s wonderfully morbid of you, Shelby.
With that in mind, I took in my surroundings, this time making sure to take in anything I could use for a weapon or an escape route.
The walls of the shed were made up of two by fours and plywood. The only opening I saw was the small window to my right, which wasn’t nearly big enough for me to squeeze through. I guessed that whatever door there was must be behind me, because the three walls I could see were devoid of one. The only other things in the shed were the chair I was tied to and a small stool the man was perched on.
I could use either piece of furniture, but chances were I wouldn’t have time so I’d have to make do with my fists and feet. Not wanting to tip my hand, I frantically tried to think of a question, any question that might throw him off.
“Are you a witch?” That seemed to do the trick. I heard his sharp intake of breath and it was a few heartbeats before he answered.
“We’re called brujas, and no. My grandma was a powerful bruja and she taught me tricks. How did you know?” I opened my mouth to answer but he cut me off sharply with a flick of his hand. “It doesn’t matter. Enough talking.”
He stood up quickly, and before I could move had another rag covered in ether pressed tightly over my nose and mouth. I tried to hold my breath to avoid breathing in the anesthetic fumes but he punched me hard in my ribs and I sucked in a breath in surprise and pain. Before I could respond it was lights out.
I awoke with a jolt when my captor kicked my chair and jerked hard in surprise before realizing my mistake. Leaning to the side I retched, wave after wave of nausea pounding into me while my head felt like it was imploding. Since it had been hours since I’d eaten, nothing but bile came searing up my throat. When I quit heaving, I sat head bent down and shaking.
“Here, drink.” He held a bottle of water up to my mouth, but I refused not knowing what he could have put in it while I was unconscious. I clamped my lips shut tightly, trying to get away from the bottle he shoved in my face and felt like a two year old throwing a tantrum. The man grunted in irritation.
“You have to, chica. You can’t earn me money if you’re dead.” He raised the bottle to my lips again, but I just turned my head away. “Fine. You make me do this, línda.” He pinched my nose hard, painfully, and with my lips sealed tight I couldn’t breathe. You bastard! I tried to shake my head to remove him, but his grip was too strong and eventually I opened my mouth to gasp in air.
He shoved the bottle into my mouth and poured the water down my throat, choking me until I swallowed. I tried to spit out as much as I could, but he poured it too fast, and I knew I’d ingested a good amount. If it was laced with anything, I’d soon feeling the effects even if I didn’t taste anything. Still, the cool water eased the burning in my throat and I had been thirsty, but now I was wet and the shed was far from toasty.
“How long are you going to keep me here?” I said.
The kidnapper sat back down on his stool and regarded me with a blank expression. For the first time since I was captured I got a good look at his face. He was definitely of Hispanic heritage, dark brown hair and eyes so dark to be almost black set in tanned brown skin. He wasn’t much over five and a half feet tall, but he was thick and muscular. From what skin I could see, he also had several tattoos but the only one I could define clearly was a bulldog inked on the side of his neck. A drug dealer and a gang member…awesome.
“You’re staying here until my friend shows up. He’ll be here soon.”
His eyes remained flat and emotionless, almost as if he were discussing the weather instead of selling me into slavery. Well, crap. I’ve got to do something quick. I sat in silence and watched him. He didn’t move, he hardly even blinked, but I knew he’d have to move sometime.
He sat forward on his stool, resting his elbows on his knees and observed me, eyes intent, as if he waited for something. The bastard had drugged me! I did a quick check of my body, flexing my feet and hands against the ropes, trying to tell if I felt different somehow. My fingers and toes tingled, but that probably was from lack of circulation rather than the spiked water.
Okay, Shelby. It’s time to roll the dice… I figured there could be only one reason why he’d want to drug me and that was to knock me out again, so went with it. I blinked a few times and groaned, rolling my head forward like it weighed a thousand pounds. Glancing up at my captor I caught a quick flash of satisfaction. Good, he’s buying it.
I let the time between blinks lengthen, as if my eyelids were getting heavier and heavier until they could open no more. My head lolled forward against my chest and I forced my breathing to slow into a smooth, steady cadence. With my eyes closed, I couldn’t tell what the man was doing so I listened, straining my ears to hear anything, a creak of wood, a whisper of fabric.
Maybe ten minutes passed before I heard him mutter a quiet “Bueno” before standing and walking out of the shed. I waited until I could no longer hear his footsteps outside and after several moments passed in silence I opened my eyes. Here’s your shot!
I tried to lean the chair back and lift off the front legs from the floor so I could shimmy my tied ankles off. The bonds were tight and after nearly going ass over teakettle several times I wiggled my right leg free. Using that leg as leverage, I slid my left leg free and slipped off the chair and lay down on the ground.
My hands were tied tightly behind my back, and I needed them in front of me. So as awkward and painful as it was, since my shoulders were sore and stiff from sleeping in that position, I wriggled and squirmed, sliding my wrists down past my rear and pulled my legs through my arms.
“Oof! Sometimes it would be handy to be short!” I muttered.
When my heart rate slowed down, I sat up and untied the ropes from around my ankles and rubbed the feeling back into them. It wouldn’t really help much if in my attempt to run I tripped because I couldn’t feel my feet.
As hard as I tried, I couldn’t free my wrists, my fingers unable to reach far enough back to make any difference, so I resorted to my teeth. The rope was coated in something to keep it from fraying and it tasted terrible, but I persevered. I had just succeeded in loosening one of the knots a bit when I heard footsteps returning toward the shed. No! Not enough time! I raged silently.
I scrambled to my feet. I stood in front of the flimsy shed door and waited for the kidnapper to get closer to
the door. Listening like my life depended on it, and it did, I heard the footsteps pause right in front of me. I kicked the door with everything I had and was rewarded when it flew open and slammed into him. He fell back with a shout of pain clutching at his face and I darted past trying to run as fast as I could with my hands bound in front of me.
The brightness of daylight blinded me, but it didn’t slow me down as I sprinted past a rundown single-wide trailer and a couple cars sitting on blocks. I tossed a glance over my shoulder and saw the kidnapper chasing after me, blood streaming down his face. Ha, how do you like that broken nose, asshole!
I sped through a veritable maze of junk. Car parts, old appliances, and rotting pieces of wood and rusting metal were littered everywhere. What, am I stuck in a Hoarders rerun? I saw what I thought to be a road and I veered my course toward it hoping to flag down a passing car or make it to a neighbor’s for help. The area looked like a subdivision in Madera called Little Okie. It had a lot of mobile homes, trailers with unkempt yards and the same assorted rundown cars and metal scraps. The sun was high in the sky, bracketed by the coastal and Sierra Nevada mountain ranges. I couldn’t be positive where I was, but I veered north toward home anyway.
Mr. Bruja gained on me even though I had longer legs and a head start. I tried to add a little more grease to my lightning but my lungs were burning and my legs were screaming. My muscles were sore and stiff from sleeping in a chair and protested every step. I made it to the road and stumbled, skidding on my hands and knees. Cash!
I must have reached the boundaries of the kidnapper’s witchy influence because as soon as my foot hit the worn down asphalt the bonds that I had been mourning ever since their absence slammed into my head. I felt Cash, James, and one other man very close, maybe only a few miles away and all three were black with fury. Warm strength poured into me and I noticed my aches and pains slowly diminish. Neat.
Hunter Moon (Lupine Moon Series) Page 22
