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“You don’t scare me anymore,” she taunted. “You’re nothing but an old man who gets off on torturing people. Hell, you don’t even torture people. You torture helpless little girls who can’t fight back. What do you think that makes you? You think that makes you a man? What kind of man gets off hurting helpless little girls?”
His face hardened. “You don’t want to provoke me, Carrie. That makes me very angry.”
“If you’re smart, you’ll just let me go and get the hell out of here. You know Cole’s hot on your trail.”
“Even if he remembers this place, it will take him so long to find it again it won’t much matter by the time he gets here. Now, shut up. I don’t want to have to hit you again.”
“Oh, as if you brought me here for a friendly visit.”
“Friendly?” He laughed. “My dear, I can be very, very friendly.”
Tate sat down next to her on the bed and ran his hand over her, from shoulder to knee. It was difficult, but she made herself not flinch.
“Your breasts are certainly much bigger now. And such delightful nipples.” He took the left one in his fingers and twisted it as hard as he could.
Dana clenched her teeth together and swallowed her scream. She wouldn’t give him the satisfaction.
“We’ll see just how long you last when the fun really starts.” He licked his lips and began to sing. “There was a little girl, who had a little curl, right in the middle of her forehead…”
****
“We need to do this carefully.” Cole was in the chopper on the radio with Scott, who’d switched places with Gaylen at the rendezvous.
“Of course.” Scott was now riding with Gaylen and one other deputy. “As deranged as this guy is, and knowing the game is up, if we come in with the chopper, he could decide to kill her and take off into the woods.”
Thanks to Cole’s memory, they were able to spot the cabin from the air, and he was directing the five vehicles from the air since the building was almost completely hidden from sight. But the helo stayed far enough away so if Tate happened to look, they’d just be a speck in the sky.
“Remember,” Cole continued, “I’m pretty sure he’s still got sensors around the cabin. He’s a nut about them. Has them all around the ranch house. The deer are always setting them off and driving my aunt crazy. We need NVGs to be able to spot them.”
“Got ’em in the bag I brought along,” Scott told him. “Ask and ye shall receive. What’s your idea? I’m up for anything.”
“I’ll tell George where to set me down and give you the spot to meet us. Pass it along to the others. The cabin is two miles in from the road where we’ll land.”
“Got it,” Scott told him.
“We can’t all go at the same time. We’d make too much noise and besides, someone would be sure to set off the sensors. But I can lead you in with me. When we get Dana out of there, we can call in the troops. Not until then.”
“Are you sure the two of us can do this?”
“Who else do I need?”
But the panic still gripped him.
Oh, baby, hang in there. Please don’t let him get to you. Be strong. I know you can do it. Dana. Dana.
Cole repeated her name over and over as he tried to center his mind on what was about to happen.
George set them down in the pasture Cole indicated, and he dropped to the ground. In a moment, the car with Scot and Gaylen bumped along with its headlights off. Scott was out almost before it stopped.
“Here.”
He handed Cole a pair of NVGs, putting on a pair himself, and Gaylen passed out radios and flashlights. Cole ran through the plan he’d formulated, letting Gaylen know he was leaving him in charge of everyone else.
“The others should be here any minute,” he told the senior deputy. “Tell them what’s happening. Remember. Do not head in until I call you. There’s no telling what this maniac will do if there’s a bunch of people thundering through the woods.”
“And if we hear shots?” Gaylen asked.
“If I yell for help, you have my permission to proceed. Not until then. Okay, Scott. Ready?”
