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All at once Wes understood—Alex was empty, entirely without empathy. Was there even a shred of humanity in the man? He had no more sense of another person’s pain than a snake would have when it swallowed a rat. “Wouldn’t you, Mara?” the loathsome man continued. “You want to lie down right now in the mud so Tom and I can take turns spanking your naughty little bottom, isn’t that right?”
To Wes’ horror, Mara started to sink to her knees. Blind instinct took over, his Tom Cartwright persona sloughed off once and for all like a snake’s dead skin. Wes pushed Mara behind him. He raised his clenched fist and, putting everything he had into the blow, landed a powerhouse right hook on the side of Alex’s jaw.
The asshole went down like a sack of cement.
~*~
Mara stared in stunned disbelief at the man lying in a crumpled heap before them. “Oh, my god,” she breathed. “Oh, my god. Oh, my god.” Blood was trickling out of the corner of Alex’s mouth. For a moment she feared he was dead, but then he moaned, a low guttural sound.
Mara leaped back, fully expecting Alex to open his eyes, to rear up and throw her to the ground, to call in the reinforcements. He would have Wes killed. He would send her to the box for sure, or worse, sell her.
“Oh, my god. Oh, my god,” she repeated, aware she sounded like a broken record, but unable to stop herself.
Wes bent over the inert man and rolled him to his side. Lifting Alex’s arm, Wes tugged at the sleeves of his jacket, yanking it free of Alex’s limp form. “Here,” he said, holding the jacket out to Mara. “Put this on.”
Mara took a step back, confused and frightened. It was as if the world had tilted on its axis and she couldn’t quite get her balance. Alex would not be pleased to find her clothed in his jacket. She was never to cover herself in front of the men, unless it was in an outfit of their choosing, for their pleasure.
“It’s okay, Mara. Take it,” Wes said insistently. “We need to hurry. He’ll regain consciousness soon.”
With her eyes fixed on Alex as if he might suddenly spring up, Mara accepted the jacket and wrapped it around her body. She watched as Wes grabbed a coil of rope from the small heap of supplies that must have come from his backpack. Positioning himself beside Alex, he jerked the man’s arms none too gently behind him and, holding his wrists with one hand, tied and knotted the rope around them.
He used a hand towel to gag Alex, wrapping rope around his head and over the towel to keep it in place. While Wes was working, Alex’s eyes fluttered open, and Mara gasped, her hands flying to her mouth. To her vast relief, they fluttered shut again. He remained still, bound and gagged in the mud.
Wes jumped to his feet. He started to speak when a voice issued from the walkie-talkie on Alex’s belt. “Alex? I’m here where you said to be. You in there?” Mara recognized the garbled but audible voice of Ronaldo.
Wes bent down and grabbed the walkie-talkie from Alex’s belt. Without missing a beat, he pressed a button and, in a voice that sounded surprisingly like Alex’s said, “Mara and the guest will be right out. Take them back to the resort without me. I need to take care of something. I’ll radio you when I want the cart returned.”
“Roger that.”
Wes dropped the walkie-talkie beside the still unconscious Alex. He took Mara’s hand in his and urged her gently forward. “Let’s go.”
Ronaldo lifted his eyebrows when he saw them emerge from the trees. He pursed his lips in disapproval at Mara’s covered form, but said nothing. Wes helped Mara into the back seat of the cart and settled in beside her. Ronaldo turned back to smile obsequiously at him. “Did you enjoy the hunt, sir?”
Wes nodded brusquely. He put his arm around Mara’s shoulders and Mara found herself leaning into him. For the first time since her abduction, the tight ball of terror deep in her gut had uncoiled. “Sure,” he said to the driver. “But I’m ready for a hot shower. Thanks for the ride.”
Taking the hint, Ronaldo turned back around and drove the cart over a grass-covered path until it joined the paved road. Wes pulled away suddenly from Mara and leaned forward, reaching into the back pocket of his jeans. He had his cell phone in his hand and he was staring at the screen.
“They’re here,” he whispered softly into Mara’s ear. “They’ve landed and are coming ashore.”
When Ronaldo pulled smoothly into the circular driveway in front of the resort building, Wes jumped out and raced around to Mara’s side. He pulled her quickly from the cart. “Thanks for the ride,” he said in a loud, jovial voice to Ronaldo.
