The way he leered at me told me his concern was purely fictional. He was reveling in his destruction. I wondered how many people he had to call to dig up some of the things in that file. His tone made me nervous, but I pasted a smile on my face and started for the door again. Sheriff Strauss stepped aside and let me through. I blew out a breath and opened the door, that much closer to getting the hell out of here. Only William wasn’t standing outside the door. He was on the ground, unmoving.
I stepped back, colliding with Strauss. His moist palm came down over my mouth before I could scream for help.
“Now, now. Don’t make a fuss. We’re just going to take a little ride. Willy will be just fine.”
The feeling of his hot breath on my neck made me sick to my stomach. I felt the pressure of something at my back.
“Ms. Howard, we can do this the easy way or the hard way? I don’t particularly have a preference. I’ll tell you something about me. I’ve never shied away from a fight.”
“I’ll do what you want, just don’t hurt anyone else. Please.”
“Good. Now fix that pretty face and walk.”
I walked out into the hall and down the club corridor to the guest spaces. People waved hello as I passed, unsuspecting that I was being abducted in broad daylight. Once we reached the parking lot, I started praying to whatever god was available that William would wake up, rush out those doors, and save me. But as we got closer to the sheriff’s car, fear consumed me. My legs felt like bricks as the sheriff shoved me forward. The farther we got from the country club, the more aggressive he became.
“What else did Mr. Woods tell you about last night?” I stammered out, trying to distract him. He was so drunk that perhaps I could knock him off balance and make a run for it.
“Curiosity killed the cat. You’ve overstayed your welcome. There’s no saving you now.”
The drawl that had once drenched his words like syrup disappeared, and my blood ran cold.
Strauss popped the trunk of his car, shoving me forward. Before I could scream, he shoved a cloth over my mouth, and everything went black.
Cold water broughtme back to consciousness.
I gasped for air as the chill of the water set into my bones. My arms are tied behind my back, I’m sitting in a chair in a dimly lit room, and Sheriff Strauss is standing over me.
My first instinct was to run, but the ropes around my arms dug into my skin, causing pain to flare in me as I struggled with my binds.
“Good morning, sunshine,” he said with a slick smile.
The absolute joy in his voice made my blood run cold. I wanted to speak, but I couldn't.
“You’re a quiet one,” he said with a chuckle as he pulled a chair up to sit in front of me. “That’s okay. You don’t need to do much. I’m not the one who needs to speak with you anyways.”
He leaned in closer to me without speaking, and I caught the scent of his pomade again. My stomach rolled from the smell of it, combined with feelings of a hangover from whatever he gave me.
My mind slowly puts together the sequence of events. He hurt William, then he drugged me.
Tears sprang to my eyes.
“Oh, darling. I think you’re starting to make sense of it now. He said you were smart,” he said with another chuckle as he leaned back in the chair, crossing his legs.
The way he’s looking at me squirm in the chair, I want nothing more than to be far away from him and this place, wherever this is.
“W-w-why?” I stuttered out, trying to make sense of it all.
He abducted me for Charles. But why?
Sheriff Strauss had always left me feeling on edge, but I thought he was just a creepy older man. I had encountered my fair share of older men who liked to prey on younger women. But sitting here so close to him with the smirk on his face confirmed my suspicions. He was as dirty as he seemed, and he was working with Charles.
He rose from the chair and paced the floor around me, momentarily reaching down to caress my hair out of my face. “You really are a pretty little thing.”
“Fuck you!” I was terrified, but anger started to seep in. Anger at myself and anger at the cards that the world had dealt me. Hadn’t I suffered enough? Now I was here with a man who was no doubt delivering me right to the devil. I couldn’t contain it anymore. “Fuck. You!” I screamed as I kicked and struggled with my bindings.
His hand came down quickly across my face. He used his other hand to yank my head back with my hair enclosed in his fist. Pain shot through me, and the nausea from earlier returned.
“Now, do I need to teach you a lesson before he arrives, or are you going to behave?” He barked out. No longer smirking or smug.
