“Fuck you. You will submit to me, bear. One way or another,” Gavin shouted, firing up his motorcycle. Humiliated and pissed beyond words, he envisioned the ways he would enact his revenge.
Still thirsty, he led the group to a convenience store and nodded toward the door. “Get us a few cases.”
A stunning woman filling her car’s gas tank quickly grabbed his attention. But it wasn’t just her sapphire eyes that drew him toward her.
Drawing in a deep breath, a sly smile formed across his lips. “Well, what do you know,” he said, watching her walk inside to pay.
“What is it, boss?” Mule asked, strapping a case of beer to his bike.
“Seems like our new bear has already found himself a sweet little mate.”
“He found his mate? How the hell did he get so lucky?”
“Who gives a damn. Just follow my lead.”
A few seconds after Gina pulled away from the station, Gavin and his crew followed her out of town. Taking note of the house at the end of the driveway she turned onto, they sped back to Gavin’s trailer to make their plans.
“There was another car there, boss. Do you think that’s the new bear’s place?”
“I would’ve gotten his scent just from going past the property, even if he was trying to block it. No, I think his mate is still living separately from him, but she isn’t living alone. Have any of you seen her around town before?”
“I did, boss. I spotted her down at that coffee shop on Main Street. She’s the new waitress,” one of the scrawny bikers replied.
“Good. I know just how to handle her.”
The following afternoon, Mule returned in an older Cadillac to pick up Gavin. The heavily tinted windows and rust-stained chrome completed its ominous appearance … the perfect car for carrying out their evil deed.
Parking behind Gina’s car, the pair waited for their prey’s workday to end.
Gina stepped out the back door, focused on her keychain. It was a surprise attack. Mule’s callused hand covered her mouth, muffling her screams and filling her nostrils with the stench of oil and stale beer.
Gavin appeared in front of her, admiring his captive. “Shh. We’re going for a ride,” he whispered, taking her keys.
Struggling, her feet left the ground, and she kicked uselessly while they gagged, blindfolded, and handcuffed her. “Throw her in the trunk of the caddy, and I’ll take her to my place. You take her car out to the bayou and dump it.”
“You got it, boss.”
The drumming from her kicking in the trunk resonated through the Cadillac, which only provided more sick amusement to Gavin as he drove to his secluded trailer.
Her kicks stopped by the time he parked. When he opened the truck, she managed to deliver a single kick to Gavin’s chest. “One thing you should know about me, that kind of shit only turns me on,” he said, laughing at her as he threw her over his shoulder. “For now, you’re just bait. If you want to keep it that way, don’t fight it.”
Gavin’s dilapidated trailer had been added onto over the years. Cobbling together other salvaged trailers, it had turned into a nasty compound that resembled more of a junkyard than a home. He took care not to hurt Gina physically. She was a rare beauty, and he could see why Nick was attracted to her. Taking her to a specially prepared room, he placed her on the bed and removed her gag, blindfold, and restraints.
Shaking, she quickly glanced around the windowless room. “I’m bait? Bait for what?”
“Bear bait.”
ChapterFifteen
As Maggie pulled into the driveway, she was surprised to see that Gina’s car wasn’t parked in the usual spot. It wasn’t exactly concerning, just unusual for Gina to not go straight home after work.
At sundown, an unsettling feeling washed over her. “She’s probably with Annie or Clara,” she mumbled to herself and picked up her phone.
When Gina didn’t answer, she made a call to Annie.
“Hey, Annie. Have you seen Gina since work? She never came home, and she’s not answering her phone.”
“No, but then I went straight home. But maybe she went shopping or … gasp! Oh, I know. Maybe she’s with her new boyfriend, Nick. So, are you her mother now? You have her on a curfew too?”