When she resisted, he reared back and punched her, making her see stars. Resisting this man would be impossible if he hit her again, but she couldn’t just go with him, so she tried to pull away. The pain from his next punch took her to her knees and then everything went dark.
Chapter 28
He had her.Jenkins couldn’t believe she was in his car, well, his trunk. Maybe he should have waited, but he’d seen her outside and heard her on the phone with him. It was confirmation the man wasn’t here. It was time to act and not hold back. His mother would have to accept he needed this. Besides, he would be in the basement. And if she started asking questions, he would get rid of the problem.
Thank goodness he’d waited until night fall. Everyone in the main cabin was inside, and no one saw him drive past.
Getting away from her cabin without being seen had been his biggest fear. Elation made his stomach twist and his head buzz. Another car approached, and he realized he was speeding down the old country road. If he didn’t want to be stopped by the cops, he had to slow down.
He could imagine telling the cops not to mind the woman in the back of his car. Laughter bubbled up and glee spilled out. Again, he had to tap his brakes. Maybe he should pull over and calm down. He felt like the only thingthat would calm him was sliding his dick into her and doing it on the side of the road would only get him into trouble.
The prudent path would be to wait until he was in the basement. Then he could do what he wanted and needed to do with her. She would be his forever, and he could wait until he got her alone.
Ever since he’d seen her in town, he’d known she was his. No question, she never would have agreed to be with him. No one wanted to be with him. It was how he looked. He couldn’t help his looks, so this was the only way to get her to give him a chance.
The rest of the drive home he paid attention to his speed and the traffic laws. The house where he lived with his mother was set back from the road and few people drove out this way, giving him the perfect opportunity to get her inside and downstairs.
The basement wasn’t huge. The finished part was just big enough for a twin bed and a small desk. The door to the rest of the basement was locked and had remained locked since he’d set up his private space downstairs a few years ago. He wanted a space away from his meddlesome mother. It pissed him off when she invaded his privacy and threw away the catalogues and magazines he’d gathered. Maybe it had been wrong to take them from neighbors’ mailboxes, but it was the only way for him to get them, and he wanted to see women in bathing suits and watching women and girls at the city pool or the beach got him in trouble.
He checked inside, seeing that his mother had already gone to bed. Careful to not make any noise, he went out to the car and clicked open the trunk. She was still out but wouldn’t be for long. She looked so helpless, beautiful. Like she belonged right here. He could imagine driving heraround like this, making sure she was always with him. But most days it would be too hot for her in the trunk. Keeping her in the basement was the best course.
He picked her up and was about to shut the trunk when he heard a car on the street. It slowed as it approached his house. Panic slid through him. The last thing he needed was anyone seeing him carrying her inside. He had to hurry and get her into the basement where she wouldn’t be seen, or everything he’d risked would be for nothing.
Chapter 29
The fog startedto lift in Elowen’s mind, but it was too thick to really crawl up out of the oppressive weight. What had happened?
She’d been talking to Griz on the phone. He was amazing, and she wanted to spend more time with him. But she hadn’t hung up. She’d gone inside.
Oh God, she’d been naked. She reached down, and sure enough, she was still naked. Horror filled her.
Who had broken in?
The pain in her head made opening her eyes difficult. The door had been locked, but that hadn’t mattered to the jerk with a gun. He’d blown the glass out and waltzed in.
Had she set the alarm?
She didn’t remember the alarm sounding. Would she have remembered something like that? The man had come in and hit her with something. What?
Her hands slid from the base of her skull up. Pain radiated all the way to her toes when she touched the side of her head. She was done for if she didn’t escape.
Elowen sat up, pain making her sink back down.Eventually she was able to sit up, and she tried to swing her feet off the side of the bed, but something around her ankle stopped her from moving.
She reached down, her fingers running over the cold metal. The bastard had shackled her to the bed. She was in big trouble.
Giving up wouldn’t solve her problems, but thinking was too difficult. She needed a miracle. How the hell would anyone find her? She didn’t have her phone, and she had no idea where she was. She was totally screwed.
Chapter 30
Thario gotthe address of the cabin, and Griz had given him Elowen’s phone number. He would call once he got there. She should still be asleep. He’d taken off early since he wanted to get to the police station by nine in the morning. Cops were busy people, and he found that approaching them too late in the day wasn’t great, unless you were willing to buy drinks and try to get information from them.
He hit town close to eight thirty and stopped at a cafe. After letting Frog use the restroom, he told his dog to sit in the back of his truck and behave before he headed into the restaurant. When he stepped in, he saw two officers with a man in button-down shirt and tie. He figured that had to be the detective. Thankfully, he’d called ahead and gotten the name of the detective and when he heard the man’s name, he realized he was right. Before he could stop himself he went over and introduced himself.
“Hello, Detective Baum, I’m Thario. I talked to you yesterday evening.”
“Ah, you’ve caught us early. Were you following me?”
Thario chuckled. “No, sir. I stopped to get coffee and food. Just heard your name, and decided to say hello.”
