His anger problems make me think he’d be mad even if the woman had an idea he agreed with. He seems the type to beat the hell out of her, and then do exactly like she suggested and claim the idea as his own.
“I’ve driven by campus several times, and there are tons of girls still on campus, taking classes during winter break. They’re not taking heed of the letter the college put out. They want to party. They don’t care that someone went missing a month ago. It’s life as usual for them.”
More silence, and my body shakes as I wait for the sound of a slap to ring out. I have no hope of survival if the man hurts his partner—the woman he keeps around—without remorse.
“It’s not too dangerous. The police have no leads, and they’ll never find the last girl. You made sure of that. I just want you to be happy. Maybe the next girl will be more willing.”
Another grunt, another echo of silverware clanking on a plate.
“Girls now are stubborn. Not all of them will love you as quickly as I did, but I’ll help you keep looking until you find the right one.”
Jesus. Was this woman one of his earlier captives? That’s the way it’s sounding to me.
“Cori was the most stubborn girl, yet. Wasn’t she?”
The woman chuckles with his question, but the sound isn’t filled with any humor. “She got what she deserved. Had she just complied, she wouldn’t be in the backyard. I really think this will work.”
A few more grunts and grumbles come from him before he speaks again. “Sure do miss good pussy.”
“You could use the one we have to take the edge off. I’ll prepare the bed.”
I freeze, every muscle in my body seizing in fear. I’ll fight him until he kills me, but even that may not prevent him from using my body the way he wants. Tears leak into the blindfold as I lie on the floor trembling.
“Can’t even get hard looking at that old bitch,” he mutters. “Tomorrow night we’ll hunt.”
Chapter 7
Grinch
“I know you’re itching for vengeance, but you need to take a deep breath,” Kid says, the binoculars still held to his eyes.
“They could be hurting her,” I grind out, my jaw locked and aching.
“But we have to wait for the authorities. We won’t do anyone any good if we’re sitting in jail for going crazy on those two hillbillies.”
My legs shake, urging me to dash to the house and empty my weapon into the two men inside.
“Kincaid is smoothing things over with the local sheriff’s department so we can be involved, but they’ll shut us down if we don’t play by their rules. I’m not going to risk one of my men because some guy on the SWAT team thinks he’s a hero.”
Kid’s reasoning makes sense. We do this all the time, and weighing what’s best for our team is always at the top of the list. Sometimes what’s best for us doesn’t line up with what’s best for the people we’re trying to help, and this is pure torture.
“The sooner we go in, the quicker we find out if she’s in there,” I remind him, although he’s just as aware of that fact as I am.
The man driving the SUV that matched up with the license plate Thumper got the text on arrived at his house a couple of hours ago, only Grace wasn’t with him. We watched, helplessly, as he pulled another woman out of his vehicle. Although also blond, this woman was at least six inches taller than Grace.
Heat signatures on the residence tell us that there are at least four people inside, and since a second man came out to meet the other guy on the porch to help get the struggling woman inside, we can account for three of those four. We have no way of knowing if it’s another man inside or possibly Grace.
The radio we’ve been using to communicate with local law enforcement crackles, the man coming over the line to let us know they’re ready to move. We have to stay where we are—two-hundred yards away—and watch as it unfolds.
“Seriously?” Legend mutters, his voice coming through the comms in our helmets as we all watch as one of the SWAT guys stumbles and nearly falls after tripping over something in the yard.
“I guess we should just be grateful his fucking rifle didn’t fire,” Scooter adds.
My fingers tap out on my thighs, anxious energy filling my blood and heating my entire body. If they fuck this up, I may end up in jail anyway because if something happens to her that we could’ve prevented by being the entry team, I’ll beat anyone I come in contact with.
Thankfully, the team gets their shit together before they breach the front door.