She nodded, her heartbeats strumming.
For a long pause he stared at her and she met his gaze, unflinching and defiant. Finally, he leaned over and untied her arms then her legs, his eyes never leaving hers. She shook out her wrists and ankles to get the feeling back in them. “Thank you,” she whispered, and from the way he smiled, she knew she’d scored some sicko points with him.
She went into the bathroom and shut the door behind her. “I’ll just be a minute.” She turned on the water and splashed some on her face, wincing when she saw her swollen reflection in the mirror. There was no window in the bathroom; she had no idea how she would escape this psycho who was hell-bent on some twisted form of retribution. Maybe she should succumb to him. He seemed taken with her, so maybe he’d let her go.
“Are you almost done?”
“Yeah.” She wiped her face with some toilet paper and opened the door. “Is there anything to drink? I’m very thirsty,” she said sweetly. If she could just keep him talking, maybe her dad would figure out something was terribly wrong, especially when she didn’t come home, or when Johnnie didn’t answer his phone. She was convinced that Mark had done something to the prospect.
“Do you like Coke?” he asked.
“I love it.” She smiled, and he came over and kissed her softly on the lips. That time, she didn’t bite him; she let him enjoy the kiss while she strived to gain his confidence.
He walked to the refrigerator and took out a Coke for her and a Coors for him. He handed her the can and she sat down in one of the chairs near the fireplace. He took one opposite her. “What happened to Mr. Austin? Did you hurt him?”
He laughed. “There never was a Mr. Austin. I made it all up. I hacked into your Facebook and e-mail accounts and saw you were crazy for the wildlife stuff. I pretended to offer you the job. Frankly, Kylie, I was disappointed you fell for it so easily. I’m sure your father taught you to be less trusting.”
“Who was Mrs. Morris?”
“An actress I hired. She needed the money, and I told her I was creating a movie. She has two small kids. She didn’t give a shit what I was doing, as long as I paid her as promised.”
“Clever.”What a fucking nut!
“I’m sorry I have to kill you. I don’t want to. I’d love to keep you for myself, but it’s a fucking shame when the children have to pay for the sins of their fathers.”
“Yeah.” She nodded, the Coke giving her the much-needed sugar boost her body craved.
Mark rose from the chair, narrowing his eyes. “Come on, it’s time I show you a different world of pleasure.” She glanced down at his crotch and saw his erection tenting his pants.
“Okay,” she said softly, noticing a poker nearby.
When Mark turned his back and took out some other items from his black bag, she grabbed and swung the poker, slamming it down hard between his shoulder blades. He cried out then spun around, his eyes bulging, spittle forming at the corners of his mouth. “You fucking cunt!” He charged at her.
With agility, she moved out of the way and he stumbled on top of the bed. She knew she had to kill him; if she didn’t, he’d do awful, sick things to her before he snuffed out her life. She raised the poker and brought it down again, but Mark rolled away at the last second. Furious, he rushed her again, screaming obscenities. Kylie ran to the broken window, but he yanked her back to him by her hair. “You will be severely punished for what you did.” He dragged her to the bed, holding her arms securely at her sides.
In a desperate move, she threw her head back hard, hitting his Adam’s apple, and he moaned, releasing his hold on her. She sprinted away, grabbing the poker again, and that’s when she saw the gun. She stopped in her tracks.
“Get the fuck over here or you’re dead,” he hissed. “And put the fucking poker down.”
At first, she felt resigned, but then she figured he was going to kill her anyway, so she might as well die before he savagely raped her. “I’m not doing shit. You want to kill me? Then fucking do it.” She held her ground.
“It’s too bad I couldn’t fuck you alive, but I’ll still enjoy you when you’re dead.” He lifted the gun and she closed her eyes, tears stinging them as she thought of her dad and Jerry.
Pop! Pop! Pop!The noise was deafening, and she opened her eyes to see the shocked look etched on Mark’s face before he fell facedown on the floor. Then she saw her dad, Jerry, and Hawk in the doorway behind the bed. She ran to her dad and hugged him while she stared at Jerry, tears of relief flowing down her cheeks.
Hawk went over to Mark’s body and nudged him onto his back with the toe of his boot. He whistled low. “Fuck, Kylie, you didn’t need our help. You fuckin’ kicked this bastard’s ass.”
She smiled weakly, but she knew if they hadn’t come in, she would’ve been the body on the floor, not her kidnapper. Part of her felt sorry for the troubled young man whose father taught him nothing but pain and violence. But then she thought of Ricky’s broken body, and the savage way Mark had murdered Kelsey and Wanda, and she knew he wouldn’t have stopped until someone stopped him—until the Insurgents put him down.
Banger went over to the body and stomped his boot on Mark’s face, cussing up a storm. Kylie collapsed into Jerry’s arms, and he held her close as she shook like a leaf, her teeth chattering. She caught her dad’s gaze as she clung onto Jerry then Banger cleared his throat. “Let’s get the fuck outta here.” He turned to Hawk. “You and Jerry take care of this. Come on, little one.” He held out his hand and Kylie pulled out of Jerry’s embrace and took it. Her dad wrapped his arm around her trembling body. “You’re gonna be okay. It’s all over now.”
Leaning her head on her dad’s shoulder, she walked out into the sunlight; the darkness had finally passed.
Chapter Thirty-Five
That night, Kyliesat with her father on the front porch, watching the fireflies spark in the night. A cool breeze washed over the heat of the day, and the crickets sang in the swaying branches of the oak trees. Kylie sat with her knees against her chest on the wicker bench on the porch. Her dad sat on the rocker, smoking a joint, his blue gaze fixed on her.
He uncrossed his leg and cleared his throat. “Did the fucker touch you?” His voice was barely a whisper.
