Page 6

Chapter Five

MALLORY

M y head feels like it’s splitting into two, as if I’m on a tilt-a-whirl at the county fair, and it instantly makes me pissed. If their goal was to give me a concussion, then they just might have succeeded. Either that or the mass amount of chloroform they’ve used on me is taking its toll.

Something hard nudges my side, convincing me to wake up more, but I really don’t want to. I’m not ready to face the horrors that are sure to await me. When I don’t comply, the nudge turns into a full-blown kick to my ribs, making me whimper and curl into myself.

“Wake the fuck up already! We want to play.” I open my eyes to see Chad crouched in front of me, a not-so-friendly smile on his face. He grabs me by my hair and wrenches me into a sitting position until we are face to face. “You know, if you weren’t such a stuck-up bitch, this wouldn’t be happening.” He says, his head tilting to the side. My mind whirls with thoughts on how and when I was a stuck-up bitch to him, but I keep coming up blank. “You don’t remember, do you?” Chad whispers after analyzing my clueless expression. He leans in with his mouth next to my ear, warm breath wafting over it, his teeth nipping at my earlobe. In any other situation, this might turn me on, but right now I feel like I’m going to hurl. “Guess you’ll find out soon enough.” He jumps to his feet, his fingers still tangled in my hair, as he drags me across the floor towards the door.

My heels bang against the wooden floor as I kick and scream, my nails scratching his hands, wishing he would let go. I don’t particularly love my blonde hair, but I’d rather not have a large bald patch in the middle of my head either. He pulls me over the threshold before using his entire body weight to toss me into the middle of the next room. My body hits the hard floor with a crack as I roll to a stop in front of a black leather couch. I lay on my back, stare at the vaulted ceiling and try to catch my breath. My head flopping to the side, I check out my surroundings, which isn’t much. A large flat-screen TV is mounted on the wall with a small table underneath it. Multiple sets of footsteps echo through the almost barren room as they walk towards me.

Once again, I’m staring at the three pairs of dirty shoes that belong to the assholes who kidnapped me. Jake is the first to squat down to my eye level. He reaches out and pets my hair almost like you would a puppy, admiring how soft it is. Derek squats down next with an inquisitive look on his face, as if he’s trying to figure out what to do with me. Chad just stands there and drops some leather objects on the floor in front of me without saying a word. Jake picks them up, turning them over in his hands before grabbing my wrists and sliding the cuffs on so fast I don’t realize what’s going on until it’s done. Jake uses the chain between the cuffs to drag me to my feet, legs shaking with soreness from muscles I didn’t even know existed.

“Here’s what’s going to happen, Mallory. You’re going to be our good girl and follow all of our directions, and you just might make it out of this in one piece. Nod if you understand.” I go ahead and nod my head because what other choice do I have at this point? Jake walks me out the door by my cuffs like a dog on a leash. We trail around to the back of the house, and what I see immediately makes me jolt and plant my feet to the ground. Jake notices my resistance and the sun-shiny face he’s had this entire time clouds over while he tugs at the cuffs, making me trip and fall flat on my face. My nose bounces off the grass, and I’m surprised it doesn’t start bleeding with the impact. Next, I’m being dragged across the ground by my wrists, twigs, and small rocks cutting into my skin as we go. Once I’m where they want me, Jake drops my cuffs while they all stare down at me.

My eyes start to water with what I see behind the guys. A stump between two trees and several ropes dangling down to the ground. Tears track down my cheeks unwillingly as Chad and Derek hoist me up onto the stump. Jake holds me around my thighs as the other two each grab a cuff and secure it to the ropes to my sides. Tugging the ropes tight, my arms are spread high above me, forcing me to be on my tiptoes even in my high wedges. Arms already burning with the effort I twist and pull at them, trying to loosen the ties, but all it does is make everything tighter.

“Please don’t do this!” I yell at them, my voice breaking. They are all standing in front of me with matching expressions that promise pain. “I-I have money! If you let me go, I’ll get it for you, I swear!” At this point, I’ll give them anything if they just let me go. I am sure what they have in store for me will break me in more ways than one.

“Sorry, baby, but it’s time that you pay your penance,” Chad says to me as he brandishes a knife from his back pocket. He flips it open and walks to me, slowly dragging it down the middle of my dress until it flutters off my body and to the ground. I start to curse myself for insisting on wearing this strapless dress after Rue said she liked the T-shirt one better. I wobble before them on the stump in my heels and my black lacy thong. “Damn Mallory, if I had known this is what you were hiding under your clothes all this time, I would have done this sooner.” He looks at me, biting his lip before he leans forward and runs his nose along the seam of my panty-clad pussy making me squirm with unease.

My breaths come out in short puffs, and I feel like I’m going to hyperventilate as Chad uses the knife to snap the sides of my thong and it falls from my body. Leaving me standing there naked, my body flushes with embarrassment. No man has ever seen me naked before, and I had no intention of having that happen anytime soon. Chad runs his hand up the outside of my thigh, eliciting goosebumps from my skin. I feel another pair of hands grab my tits from behind, squeezing them hard, making me cry out with pain. A sharp pain explodes across my pussy and I look down in shock as Derek slaps my pussy again with what feels like his entire strength, making me scream. My pleas for them to stop fall upon deaf ears, their hands wandering my shivering, naked body. Then all of a sudden the touching stops completely as their attention turns away from me to something else.

A twig snaps at my right hand side, and I hear footsteps coming closer. The guys surround me almost like a dog would when they are guarding their dinner. I follow their line of sight as a man emerges from the woods, making me still on the log I’m standing on. My tears flow faster knowing I’m standing in my damn birthday suit not only in front of these douchebags but a stranger as well. The man is older and much taller than the guys, more rugged, like he’s been living in the woods for a while. He’s wearing a black T-shirt that stretches over his muscles, and I know he’s hiding one of those yummy V’s under there. Black tactical pants are stretched over his thighs, and black muddy combat boots adorn his feet. Brown hair is swept back from his face with what looks like gel, but it could very well just be grease. His chiseled jaw is clenched, and his blue eyes are hard as they sweep over my body, making my entire body shiver and sway on the toes of my heels. The gun that he has clutched in his hand makes me nervous, and I start to tug at my ropes again to no avail.

“Hey man! There’s plenty to go around over here; we really don’t mind sharing.” Chad pipes up when he sees the gun, a friendly smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. The man tilts his head and looks at me like he’s trying to solve a puzzle. He takes a few steps closer, his eyes trailing between each man before me. I open my mouth to speak, but a hard smack slams across my ass, making me screech in pain instead. “She deserves everything she has coming to her, so you might as well join in with us.” Chad waves his hands at me like I’m the prize of the show, and the three of them back up, giving him several feet of space.

The man walks up to me; he’s so tall that he’s almost eye level with me. His rough hand sliding along the outside of my thigh makes me tremble. The warmth of his palm and the way he caresses my leg confuse the shit out of me because he almost seems caring. I tilt my head to the opposite side and squeeze my eyes shut to try and prepare myself for what’s next.

“Look at me, little one.” His voice is deep and smooth like Bourbon, his tone commanding but not in a frightening way. I sweep my eyes to his instantly, pleading with them for help. Once our eyes connect, there is a shift in his demeanor. He leans closer to me, his hand now grabbing my thigh tightly, while his other one still holds the gun. “You’re going to be okay; you got me?” He says it so low that I almost miss it. I sniffle and nod my head at him in acknowledgment. “I need you to close your eyes. Do you think you can do that for me, beautiful?” He says with a tilt of his head, and then the hand that was clutching my thigh comes up and grasps my chin, forcing me to look at him. I try to nod my head but he shakes his. “Use your words.” He growls. Taking a deep breath, I whisper that I understand and close my eyes. As soon as everything is black, I hear three consecutive gunshots sounding, the noise piercing my eardrums, a scream crawling up my throat so loud it rivals the sound of the gunshots.