He shoved me forward, his hot breath on my neck. “Such spirit. Let’s see how long it lasts. Move.”
I straightened my spine and took deliberate steps as he marched me into the darkness.
Once we were outside, a spotlight on the barn lit up the thick wooded area, highlighting the fat raindrops that began to fall as the trees swayed from side to side.
“Keep going. You won’t find anything out here, and no one will find you.” Josh pushed me toward a path beneath a tunnel of trees with muted lights hanging from the trunks.
An armed guard stood watch at the base of the path, stiff and robotic as we passed him. There had to be more guards, but I didn’t see any. About ten feet in, I stopped short and turned to face Josh, hoping to slow down time.
The longer it took for us to get to where we were going, the longer Fran had to survive. More importantly, I needed to think. This was my chance to map out a plan to free all of us.
But the encroaching darkness was my enemy.
He yanked me by the hair so hard my neck almost snapped off. “You really are going to be fun to break to my will.” Running his nose along my neck, he inhaled deeply. “You smell delectable. Instead of you watching the show, I’ve now decided that you’ll be part of it.”
The second he released me, I headbutted his chin. He stumbled backward, laughing.
A guard came running up to us. “Sir.”
Josh waved off the guard. “Go back to your post. I got this.” His eyes darkened with delight as he rammed me against a tree trunk.
My head connected with the bark, and air whooshed out of me.
Despite the pain, he wasn’t going to break me.
He pressed his hard body into me and guided my tied hands to the bulge in his jeans. “Feel this? The harder you fight, the harder I become.”
I rolled my eyes. “Seems kind of small to me. You sure you can please a woman?”
Shut the fuck up,my inner voice supplied. But I couldn’t help myself, and I had to stall with any tactic I could. Maybe then help would arrive, although the skeptic in me didn’t believe anyone would find us.
He nipped at my chin. “Oh, Grace. You sure are so sweetly feisty.”
“Boss,” someone called. The word, followed by heavy breathing, caused Josh to jerk in the direction of the voice.
Harris ran up. “What’s taking so long? My mother is about to have a nervous breakdown.”
“Get her in line,” Josh growled.
“I’ll tell you like I told Drew.” Harris didn’t seem to care that Josh was poised to slice his throat. “She adores Fran. My mother should’ve never been coerced into this entire scheme.”
Josh got in Harris’s face. “It’s too late for her to grow a conscience. Either she obeys or her sister’s medical debt won’t be paid.”
Fascinating revelation. Maybe I could convince Sabine to free us all.
Harris held up his hands. “She understands that, but our clients are growing restless too.”
“Their cocks can wait,” Josh said with derision. “They’ll thank me when their dicks are buried deep inside their prizes.”
“You’re a bastard,” I tossed out as Harris darted off. “Both of you.”
“I am. My dad would be proud that I’ve picked up where he left off. He would be especially proud of how I have you in my grasp. You know, when Drew took me to see my father’s cold,dead body, I vowed that day at the age of thirteen to learn the sex trade, to plan my revenge against you, and to make sure I buried you beside him.”
His arrogance oozed like pus from an infected wound.
The more I taunted him, the more determined he became. And I couldn’t stall him any longer. Harris just might throw Fran to the wolves without Josh’s permission.
I marched in the rain like a good soldier going to war in the direction that Harris had gone. “Then let’s get this show on the road.”
