Not my fault—I didn’t kill him! The thought made him feel lighter than air. He followed the trail back to the cabin, excited to tell Christine the good news. He would hug her and cuddle her close to his chest and then drop to his knees to bury his face between her thighs. He couldn’t get enough of her sweet taste and scent and right now that was what he wanted—what he needed.
He had been away from the curvy, Mature Elite for hours and the stress of the guilt and uncertainty he’d been carrying for so long had really worn Roarn down. He could feel the Fury’s red static buzzing at the corners of his mind, just waiting for a chance to take him over. Roarn knew he couldn’t give it that chance—he needed to get back to Christine quickly.
And now that he knew the truth about himself—that he wasn’t a killer—he would never leave her side again.
THIRTY-SIX
Christine marched up the rickety aluminum steps and banged on the door with one fist. In the other hand, she held the shotgun behind her back, mostly out of sight. Her plan was to shove the gun in Mike Fenster’s face and demand that he hand Jenny over at once. Then she would bring the girl back to her cabin and lock the doors tight until Sheriff Wainright showed up.
She banged on the door again.
“Open up, you bastard—I know you’re in there!” she shouted.
Suddenly, the rusty door was flung open and a grinning Mike Fenster met her eyes. But he wasn’t the only one in the doorway—he had one tattooed arm locked around Jenny Albright’s waist, pinning both her arms to her sides. In his other hand, he held a long silver hunting knife, its wickedly sharp edge pressed to her throat.
“You—” Christine began, and then stopped, because she didn’t know what to say.
“Are you surprised, you old bitch?” Fenster sneered at her. “Because I’m not! I knew this pretty little piece of ass would bring you up here, sure as shit draws flies!”
“You let Jenny go!” Christine snapped. The poor girl was trembling in Fenster’s grip, her eyes filled with silent tears. “You don’t dare touch a hair on that girl’s head. Sheriff Wainright is on his way right now!”
“Don’t think so,” Fenster sneered. “See, I sent my little brother, Clancy, down to Chapman’s drugstore to cause a distraction. He’s gonna take a five-finger discount where the cashier can see. She’ll call the Sheriff, of course, and that oughta keep him busy for a good, long time. Long enough for me to do whatever I want to this pretty little cunt—and there’s not a thing you can do to stop me.”
“You’re not touching her!” Christine started to raise the shotgun, but at that moment, it was yanked out of her hand. “Hey!” she exclaimed, only to feel a heavy arm loop itself around her neck.
Christine reacted at once. She drove her elbow sharply back into the gut of the man who was holding her. Unfortunately, it was like ramming her elbow into an iron wall. The person behind her said,
“Ooof!” But he didn’t lessen his grip a bit. If anything, he tightened it.
“Let me go!” Christine shouted, kicking and struggling.
“Hey, Mike, she’s crazy!” a low voice said in her ear.
“Stop fuckin’ around and bring her inside, Dweebo!” snapped Mike Fenster, glaring over Christine’s shoulder.
Turning her head, she saw it was the youngest and the strongest of the Fensters who had her.
“Let me go!” she shouted at him, still struggling and trying to reach the gun, which he held in his other hand.
“Mike, she’s really hard to hold!” Dweebo protested. But he was doing a pretty good job of it. He had the muscles of a bodybuilder and was easily able to keep Christine from getting away or reaching the shotgun.
“Bring her in the fuckin’ house, I said!” Mike snarled. He dragged Jenny further into the interior of the rusted trailer as he spoke and his younger brother followed with Christine, though she was still trying to get away. Her heart was slamming against her ribs—she didn’t want to go inside!
But there was no help for it, the youngest Fenster brother dragged her into the trailer before she could stop him.
Once the door banged shut behind her, she knew she was in a much worse situation than she had been before. Why hadn’t she realized this must be some kind of a trap? She’d thought that Fenster was just taunting her—now, unfortunately, she and Jenny might be in for a world of hurt.
The inside of the trailer had a chemical reek so strong it burned Christine’s nostrils and it was every bit as dirty and disgusting as the outside was. To her right, the kitchen area was hidden by layers of plastic sheeting which had been nailed to the ceiling but the area she could see was awful.