And then, as though someone had heard her desperate thought, a bat flew against the glass front window with a loud thump!
This was not terribly uncommon—because the front of the capital A part of the cottage was mostly glass, birds and bats did sometimes fly into it. But this was a particularly large bat and it made a really loud noise on impact. Amanda jumped and gasped and Chuck jerked, looking instinctively towards the source of the noise.
Torri saw her chance and took it. Gripping the ballpoint pen in her fist, she drove it backwards, ramming it point-first into her ex-husband’s thigh as hard as she could. It went right through his jeans and deep into his flesh.
“Ow!” Chuck howled. “You little bitch!”
He reached for her but Torri had already scrambled out of the chair and around the table. She ran for the front door but Amanda was in the way. She threw the half-full gas tank at Torri’s head, so Torri had to take a moment to duck. As she tried to dodge around the angry woman, she felt a hand close on the back of her nightgown and then Chuck yanked her back down.
Torri fell backwards, flat on her back, and hit her head hard on the wooden floor. Colored lights flashed before her eyes and then her ex was on top of her, sitting on her stomach with all his considerable weight so she couldn’t breathe.
Leaning over her, Chuck pinned her wrists above her head and glared down into her face. His eyes were angry and the dark, pelt-like toupee he was wearing had gone askew in the scuffle—it was sitting slantwise on his head like a jaunty French beret.
Another hysterical laugh rose in Torri’s throat at the crazy sight, but Chuck’s weight was pressing down on her so hard she could barely breathe.
“You know, I was going to try and talk Amanda into letting you live, you little bitch,” he snarled at Torri. “But now I think she’s right—you and this cabin both deserve to burn.” He looked up at his mistress. “Only we can’t use gasoline, baby—they can tell when you do that. But I’m sure this old cabin will burn just fine without it.”
“Good!” Amanda gave Torri a triumphant grin. “You’re gonnna burn, bitch—burn!” she crowed.
“But first you’re going to finish signing those papers,” Chuck growled down at her, his face looming into hers. “And then—”
Suddenly there was a loud bang at the front of the house. At first Torri thought the wind had blown the door open but then she heard Amanda squeal in surprise and rushing footsteps.
“How dare you harm my female?” a low, angry voice above her head growled. A huge fist came into view in a blur and punched Chuck right in the face.
It all happened so fast, Torri had no idea what was going on. As her ex cried out and let go of her arms, he was punched again and shoved off her, finally allowing her to breathe normally. She rolled over on her side, gasping. Chuck was also lying on his side on the floor, passed out cold.
“What—?” she began and then Vic was pulling her into his arms and looking down into her face anxiously. His eyes were red but as he looked at her, they slowly changed back to blue.
“Sweetheart—are you okay?” he asked her. “Did they hurt you?”
“Vic?” she could hardly believe it. How could he be here when she knew he was supposed to be in stasis on the Mother Ship? But before she could ask, she had to shout, “Behind you!” because Amanda had grabbed the poker from the fireplace and was about to swing it at the big Kindred’s head.
Vic whirled around and grabbed the poker out of her hand with superhuman speed. He threw it across the room with a clatter and Amanda gasped and took a step back. She tripped over a throw rug and sat down hard on her butt, her wig going askew so that it was twisted partially around, hiding half of her face with its furry blonde abundance.
Outside, there was the sound of sirens.
“What…who called the police?” Torri gasped, looking out the big glass windows at the front, as she saw the flashing red and blue lights coming up the driveway.
“I placed a call to your local authorities as I was coming here—I was afraid I wouldn’t be in time.” Vic cupped her cheek in his hand, an anxious look on his face. “Was I in time? Are you all right, sweetheart? They didn’t hurt you, did they?”
“I…I’m fine.” Torri rubbed her wrists where the handcuffs had left red marks and then touched the back of her head, which ached where it had connected with the hardwood floor. “Just a little scared but I’m okay now that you’re here.”
At that moment, a voice shouted,
“Police! Nobody move!” and a policeman with his gun drawn stepped warily inside the cabin.
“Officer, thank goodness you’re here!” Amanda exclaimed. “Look—these two broke into our cabin and attacked us,” she continued, pointing at Torri and Vic.
“That is untrue, officer,” Vic said steadily, frowning. “I am the one who placed the call for help in the first place when I was informed that my female was being attacked.” He nodded at Torri, who he was still holding close.
“Hey—are you one of those Kindred fellas?” The policeman, a big, rawboned man in his fifties with cheeks red from the cold outside, looked at Vic closely.
“I am.” Vic nodded. “These two individuals are my female’s ex-mate and his mistress—they came here to attack my female, Torri.” He nodded down at her.
“He’s lying, officer!” Amanda yelled indignantly. “They broke in to attack us! Me and my honey, who’s over there unconscious on the floor!” She pointed at Chuck and broke into braying sobs that were obviously fake.
“If they’re the ones who broke in here, why is that lady wearing her nightgown and you and your ‘honey’ are dressed all in black like you don’t want to be seen in the dark?” the policeman asked, frowning skeptically.
Amanda didn’t seem to have an answer for this. She stood there with her mouth open and her brow furrowed, as though trying to think up a plausible explanation.
“Officer, these people are my husband and his mistress,” Torri said, taking advantage of Amanda’s silence. “They came here and dragged me out of bed tonight to make me sign those papers you can see there on the dining room table.” She motioned to the table, where the two piles of paperwork lay.
“Let’s have a look.” The officer holstered his gun, though he kept an eye on Vic—who was clearly doing his best to look non-threatening, despite being seven feet tall—and walked over to the table. He poked through the paperwork for a moment, frowning thoughtfully. “So he wanted a divorce, huh?” he asked, looking up at Torri.
She nodded.
“That’s not all, though. That other stack of paperwork is supposed to be me signing over the five-million-dollar inheritance my grandmother left me when she died. Then they planned to either kidnap me or burn the cabin with me inside it. That’s why they brought a gas can,” she added, nodding at the red plastic gas container with its bright yellow spout lying on its side on the floor.
“That’s a lie!” Amanda brayed. She had stopped crying the minute she saw it wasn’t going to get her what she wanted and now she was furious instad. “She’s lying—everything she says is a lie!” she shouted, jabbing her finger at Torri.