Page 65 of Keel

“That’s it. Just relax. You aren’t getting away this time.” Forest’s laughter spilled out, flowing out into the darkness. She wondered if animals were as disturbed by his laughter as she was.

“I want a go at her,” Stone said.

A shiver shot straight through her. Forest had let Stone use her before, and she’d hated it. The man was rough, and he was nasty, asking her to do disgusting things.

She needed to escape. The moment she could get away, she would. Even if it put her in danger. She had no idea where they were, but she could tell they were in the middle of nowhere based on the trees and lack of lights. If she ran, she could end up dying out here, but it would be better than dying at their hands.

They carried her into the rough-hewn cabin, then tossed her onto a couch. Forest wiped his hands on his pants, like he was disgusted by touching her. She sneered, disgusted he’d touched her.

Why couldn’t he leave her alone? She had left, and he couldn’t just let her go. His need for control was disgusting. It didn’t show how strong he was. It detailed exactly how weak Forest was.

Pain spread through her, growing to an almost unimaginable level. What was going on? He’d hit her in the head. That’s why she didn’t remember being tied up or tossed in the trunk of his car. He’d punched her, knocking her out.

“You’re a pathetic excuse for a man.” Her words came out slurred, her speech patterns jagged.

“Shut up, bitch. Unless you want me to shut you up.”

She shook her head, and he laughed. But she wasn’t shaking her head to say no. She was shaking it in disgust. She was about to tell him to fuck off when Stone walked up and shoved her face against his body, forcing her to rub her cheek against his crotch. Revulsion rose, and she wanted to hurl.

Keel wouldn’t know what happened to her. He hadn’t arrived home, and maybe wouldn’t be home for days. He would have no idea how she’d disappeared.

Her only hope was the alarm she’d not turned off. Maybe that would send someone looking for her, but she doubted anyone would find her. She had no idea where she was, and she didn’t have her phone with her. No question, Forest and Stone would kill her.

She would end up just being another statistic in a long line of statistics no one really cared about. Sure, people made noise about domestic violence and human trafficking, but the reality was she would be another woman killed by an ex she’d tried to leave. There might be some crime junkie who covers her death as a cautionary tale, but police wouldn’t take young women telling tales of abuse more seriously than before. She would be just another statistic in a world that didn’t care.

The money she planned to donate would sit in her bank until the government seized it. No one would get help, and her death would be for nothing. She wished she’d already designated who would get her money when she died. Now, more than ever, she was determined to give the money to help battered women escape their abusive partners.

If only she could live long enough to get away from Forest and his brother, then she would donate a huge chunk and hopefully help many vulnerable women.

She was most sad about not being able to see where her relationship with Keel went. Keel was an amazing guy, and maybe things wouldn’t work out between them. She loved him, but sometimes love wasn’t enough.

She hoped he could move on. He’d said he hadn’t had a relationship in years, and that made her sad. He was such a good person and deserved happiness. Maybe he would find happiness with someone else, someone better than she was. He deserved a wonderful life. She just wished that life had been with her.

Chapter 40

For a moment on the drive out to the cabin, Keel feared they’d gotten it all wrong. What if Forest hadn’t brought Frankie out here? What if this was just a ruse to throw them off track?

If Frankie wasn’t here, he wasn’t sure what he would do or where they would look. Would he risk prison to get revenge? Maybe.

If Forest killed her, knowing he was in the ground feeding worms was worth whatever punishment that got dished out. He would relish inflicting pain on the man.

“We’re almost there,” Bean said.

Chase was driving and only nodded. Based on the map’s directions, they were about two miles out. If they were on a mission, they would stop and hike their way to the cabin. Chase wanted to drive past and see if anyone was there.

They had their night vision goggles, along with other equipment that would help them out here. They were lucky to have advanced equipment so they could move in and rescue Frankie. He had little doubt that if they informed the police where they thought Frankie was, they would just ignore the information. It would be too late before the police made a move. This had to be done by Keel and his friends if they wanted any chance of saving Frankie.

“We’re coming up to the cabin. What can you see?” Chase asked.

“A car,” Stanley said.

“A car and a truck,” Keel said as they slid past.

The car full of the rest of the guys behind them stopped about a half mile back, and Stanley had them on the phone. The plan was to move onto the property and take the cabin. They would rescue Frankie, and then he would deal with the assholes.

They quietly shut the car doors after grabbing their equipment. They were much lighter than when they were on a mission, so this felt easy. But it was far from easy. This was one of the hardest missions he’d ever been on. Frankie was depending on him.

Frankie watched everything, keeping track of where Forest and Stone were in the cabin, even though her head pounded like a jackhammer going to town on a bad cement pour. She’d screwed up. She shouldn’t have run out of the house to help Sonja without someone else with her. But who else could she have called? She hadn’t let Sonja die in the fire, and that was something.