Page 15 of Small Town Beast 2: Saverin’s Duet (Sins of the South)

Tanya dove for her purse, ducking under the hail of bullets.

She covered her ears and crawled towards the door, but at a cry from Wilks Johnny her heart won over self preservation.

She turned to look back at the man who had tried to protect her.

He’d been shot through the chest. The shotgun tumbled from his grip.

With the last of his strength he pushed himself out of the wheelchair and landed heavily on the ground. Tanya crawled towards him.

“Why?” she cried, not even knowing what she meant, or to whom she spoke. The men, laughing, began marching through the gate.

“Can’t die in that chair,” Wilks Johnny said, clutching the bright red flower of blood where the bullet had pierced his lung. Hiram was roaring out directions to the others. Tanya pulled Wilks Johnny close. Blood was bubbling up from the wound, full of air. Bad. Very bad.

“It’s okay,” she said. “It’s alright, Mister, you ain’t hurt that bad.”

“I’m coming,” Wilks Johnny mumbled as his dark eyes clouded. “I’m coming to you, baby. Finally.”

His old leathered hand was warm as it closed on Tanya’s. Once it had been a strong hand, a young man’s hand, and it had fought and loved and built. His fading gaze met Tanya but did not see her.

The men dragged her off the porch and ziptied her hands.

She was marched to the red hot doors of an F-150.

Hiram Snatchell caught her chin and smeared his beefy thumb over her lips.

She tried to bite him, but he took a handful of her hair and jerked her head back, back, forcing her gaze to his.

This was a man used to subduing women. His eyes were blue, small, and cruel.

“Where’s Saverin Bailey?” he asked patiently.

“I don’t know,” Tanya stammered.

It was the truth. Wherever Saverin had gone, he hadn’t told her. He’d left her here with no protection from his gangster hillbilly family.

“Fuck you,” she said. “You just shot that old man dead and he didn’t do you anything. You can go to hell!”

“You’re the waitress from the Appletree, ain’t ya?” smiled Hiram. “We ate good that morning, didn’t we, boys? Sweet of you to pick up the tab for us, darlin’.”

“Go to hell! Devil!” Tanya screamed.

All his buddies went ooooo and Tanya found herself jerked aside by one of the roughnecks in Hiram’s posse. His hot breath seared the back of her neck as his big hairy hand cupped between her legs. S he went still as a rock.

“Learn this bitch a lesson, Hiram,” the man laughed, violating Tanya slowly with his hand.

“We don’t have time for that,” Hiram said. “We’ll be here all damned morning and we got bigger fish to fry.”

“You scared of Absalom?” someone snickered. Which turned out to be a mistake. Hiram leapt on the man who said that so quickly Tanya only saw the blood, and the tooth the unfortunate big-mouth spat on the ground.

“Anybody else got some shit to say?” Hiram roared.

“No, boss.”

“Won’t do it.”

‘Well then, put her up and let’s go back to the hill.”

Instead of letting her go, the bastard holding Tanya ground his dick into her ass.

Another hand took her other breast, kneading it like Saverin had kneaded it that morning.

Disgusting animal , dirty devil! Tanya tried to struggle but the groping hand reached up and wrapped around her throat, flexing to show her he could cut off her air without even trying.

“Tough girl, ain’t you?” he breathed in her ear. “Let’s see how tough you are when we’re all through. I’ll go last…draw it out…you won’t beg the rest of ‘em– too proud. But you’ll be begging me to quit. That’s a promise, darlin’.”

He shoved her back to Hiram, who propped her up against the truck while they finished their ugly job.

A group of them went into poor Wilks Johnny’s house, and the rest dumped out Tanya’s bag into the dirt.

The creep who had threatened her didn’t bother shifting his stare from Tanya to check out the papers and lip balm scattered on the ground.

He wanted one thing, and Tanya knew he’d try to get it no matter what the big boss said.

Hiram picked up Tanya’s clutch from off the ground. As Tanya watched in sickening horror, the Snatch Hill leafed through the contents, her IDs, coupons, library card…And winning powerball ticket.

Tanya would always wonder how she stayed so calm. She watched Hiram coolly slip the winning ticket back inside the wallet and tuck the whole thing into his jacket. His eyes met Tanya’s in curious wonder. He knows. She wanted to vomit.

“I’d expect a slut for High and Mighty Saverin to have more to show for it,” Hiram grinned, acting up for his goons. “Let’s see how much Bailey will pay to keep you off my cock. Maybe I’ll give him a redheaded stepson, what d’you think, honey?”

“Fuck you,” Tanya said, her voice trembling against all her efforts. Just like that she’d lost her whole future. Her plans to save Amari. Her college degree. Her house with the pool. Private school for Amari. A new car, a boat for the river, a vacation to Jamaica…

Her eyes tracked back to the house where poor noble Wilks Johnny lay in a lifeless heap. But I’m alive, she thought firmly. I just have to stay alive as long as I can.

“You better watch yourself,” she told Hiram, looking him in the eye.

Just like with her former manager, Kyle, Tanya knew it was better to face down a bully than let them smell fear.

She was going to get that ticket back and there would be hell to pay for this murdering coward that had shot an innocent man at his own front door.

Pinching her cheek, Hiram looked back to the house and raised his voice. “Find anything?”

“Nope,” answered a stooge, walking back to the gate with Wilks Johnny’s shotgun in hand. “Poor bastard was a purple heart. Shame.”

“Nobody told him to shoot at us,” said Hiram coldly. “Let’s go, boys.”

Tanya planted her feet. “I’m not going anywhere.”

Laughter rang around. There were at least fifteen of them.

Kidnapped, just like Amari.

Die now, or later?

Hiram cocked his head, watching her thoughtfully. “Stu?” he grunted.

“Yeth, bothth,” lisped the newly-toothless one.

“Get the cattle rope.”