They needed to tread lightly, not scare her, and just enjoy the fact that they were alive and weren’t alone. They headed out of the store and back the way they had first come. Although Mason didn’t see anyone, he felt eyes on them. How had he missed that initially?
Because you were too focused on the girl.
Yeah, and that was dangerous, because his concentration was elsewhere. He needed to get his head in the game if they had any chance of getting her back safely.
Chapter Eight
They watched her like they were fucking starving for her. It made her feel greasy and dirty, and all she wanted to do was kick every single one of the leering bastards right in the balls. There was a total of nine she could see, and she knew there were some scattered throughout the woods, watching the perimeter. A fire was in the center of their little campground, and the men sat around it, drinking and passing a joint around.
The smell of marijuana was strong. She was tied to a tree a few feet from the fire, and the rope dug into her skin. It only made matters worse that she was trying in vain to wiggle her hands free. The warmth of her blood sliding down her wrists and dripping onto her palms had her renewing her efforts, because surely the pain to come was a hell of a lot worse.
The men were passing around bottles of liquor and joints, and with each passing hour, they were getting drunker, lewder in their comments toward her, and she could tell they were getting more excited as they kept looking over at her. The fire crackled, and through the flickering and swaying flames, she saw one man eyeing her very intently. There was lust in his eyes, but he wasn’t watching her in the same disgusting and violent manner as the others. His dark hair was cut close to his head, and when he stood and flicked his cigarette to the side, her heart started pounding.
He was a big guy, and the closer he came toward her, the more she pressed her back against the bark. There was something different about him, something that had her skin tightening and her hands shaking. He just seemed far more dangerous than the other men, but she couldn’t understand why she felt that way.
Where the others were loud and celebrating, this man watched her with silent curiosity and deadly calmness. When he was only a foot from her, he eyed her up and down. The smell of cloves filled her nose when he leaned in and lowered his head so they were eye level.
“You do know what they’re going to do to you tonight, don’t you.” He didn’t phrase it like a question.
Sparrow swallowed past the lump in her throat but didn’t respond. Was he trying to torment her, to make her more frightened? It was certainly working. She just continued to stare into his eyes. This man was running around with this fucked-up crew, and that made him no better than they were.
He continued to hold her stare for several long moments before the corner of his mouth curled. “I think you do, but I don’t think you know the severity of it.”
“I’m sure I have a pretty good guess.” Sparrow’s heart was beating a mile a minute. There was a part of him that reminded her of Mason. He was so calm, so detached, yet the air around him was charged, and the clear danger that came from him was like a thick, suffocating cloak. “Get the fuck away from me.”
For several long seconds, he just stayed right where he was, and when his smile grew, she felt the knot in her belly grow too.
“You see those men behind me?” he asked. She didn’t need to look around to know they were tossing back the bottles, slapping each other on the back, and gorging themselves on meat they cooked over the fire. And what kind of meat they were eating was not something she wanted to explore. “Those men are vile fuckers, and they plan on tearing you up to the point that you pray for death.” He said it so chillingly soft that a bead of sweat dripped from her hairline because of how frightened he made her. “I can help you, though.” He placed his hands on the tree right beside her head.
“I’m sure you can, for a price.” She pushed her fear away, needing to appear strong even if she felt anything but. “And that’s not a price I’m going to pay.”
He cocked one light eyebrow. “I don’t think you’re really in any position to not accept my terms, princess.” He took a lock of her hair and rubbed it between his fingers. “The men behind me want to defile your body for the sole purpose of getting off. They won’t kill you but drag it on, use you like you are their own personal toy.” He slowly lifted his eyes and held hers with his own. “I can help you avoid all that.”