“Here,” he said, offering me three small pills. “I’ll give you water once you have these in your mouth.”
He watched me with growing satisfaction as I opened my mouth.
“Tied and mouth open,” he said quietly. “You’re a fucking wet dream.”
I wanted to bite the hand he was holding out to me so badly as he drew near. Common sense was my only restraint. If I bit him now, he’d gag me again. Good behavior would keep the gag off and, if I played my cards right, maybe even my feet freed.
Bitterly, I held still as he placed the pills in my mouth, one at a time, then helped me drink. The water was divine, and I didn’t regret swallowing down those pills to get some. Hopefully, whatever he’d given me wouldn’t act fast.
When I’d drained the glass, he took it away and watched me expectantly.
“Are you going to untie me?” I asked, my voice scratchy. Whatever they’d done to me, it felt like they’d bruised my damn throat. Assholes.
“Soon. You be good, and let me help the little one first.”
“Why did you take her?”
“Why do you think?”
My stomach twisted. They planned to have sex with her? Babies?
He reached out to pet my head again.
“Don’t worry. You’re mine.”
He turned his back on me and looked at the girl. She was huddled back in the corner where her bed was wedged against the outer and the side wall. Thankfully, it appeared that Van had been honest in his interest in me over her because he untied her gag without any petting.
Good.
When he finished with her, he tilted Hannah’s head back by her hair. She was out cold without a gag. I could smell the alcohol on her from where I lay. She’d been in Tenacity long enough to set up a table and had gone missing shortly before I’d arrived. How much had she consumed that she was passed out already?
I glanced at the window near where she lay. The shade was down and the curtains closed. I could still see some light, though, which meant I couldn’t have been gone long.
“This one did all the work for me,” Van said with a grin in my direction. He released her and returned to me. “Feeling any better?”
“Still thirsty.”
“I can fix that.”
He helped me drink more of the second glass of water and tried to pet my hair again. This time, I jerked away. He grinned.
“The pills will kick in soon. Your tune will change then.”
“What are you still doing in here?” Oscar demanded from the door.
“Just checking on our girls.”
“You drug ‘em?”
“Yep.”
“Then leave ‘em be.”
I looked up at Oscar and found him studying me.
“Don’t make any trouble, and you’ll be fine,” he said. “Make trouble, and your life will get a whole hell of a lot harder. Am I clear?”
I meekly nodded and remained quiet as the men left. They didn’t close the door or force me to lie back down. Propped against the wall, I looked at the girl and winked, trying to let her know it would be okay.
She nodded and closed her eyes. Oscar and Van’s conversation drifted into the room as I tried to figure a way out for the three of us. Hannah being passed out was a huge problem. I wasn’t strong enough to carry her, and I sure as hell didn’t want to leave her behind with them. But for the sake of the girl, I couldn’t risk waiting for Hannah to get her act together, either.
“We need to be careful,” Van said from the other room. “They found us once because of those grey bastards.”
“That’s on you,” Oscar said, angrily. “I told you not to put her in the closet.”
With growing horror, I glanced at the girl across from me. She didn’t make a sound as I realized this wasn’t her first kidnapping. In fact, she looked a lot calmer than she had a minute ago. Almost as soon as I thought it, I felt myself relax, too. It was like my emotions were a faucet, and someone had just turned the knobs until there was barely a trickle. My fear was still there—I knew we needed to run—but I felt disconnected from the moment.
“With the work on the gates, everyone will be on that side of town and not paying attention to this side,” Oscar continued.
“Chuck’s in place on the wall with the ropes. As long as we keep it quiet, we should be fine.” Van chuckled. “I can’t believe those grey bastards made our job even easier with these supplies.” There was a shuffle of noise from the other room, like boxes being moved.
“It’s only right after they took half of what we worked to gather. It’ll help hold us over until we get settled again. You’re sure the girls we took won’t be noticed this time?” Oscar asked.
“They thought Tasha was hiding last time, and she was too scared to say any different. I doubt they’ll search for her a second time, and she’s got no family to care.”
I glanced at the girl across from me. I knew I should pity her, but that feeling was just beyond my reach.
“And the drunk one was pissing off too many people for anyone to give a shit.”
“We should have left Brenna,” Oscar said. “Her ma came for her once.”
“No. We’re taking her. For all we know, she’s already pregnant.”
I snorted softly. That had been my biggest fear until I’d gotten my period a week after leaving the bunker. Best period of my life.
“Fine,” Oscar said. “We need to move soon. The longer we wait, the bigger the risk. We’ll have to come back for one of the cows after we’re settled, and they have the doors finished. I’ll bring the next round of supplies to the wall. Leave them girls be until I get back.”
The door closed, and I waited. It didn’t take Van long to reappear.
“How you feeling?” he asked.
“Fine.” My answer was slow and breathy.
He grinned.
“Yes, you are. Want me to untie your feet for you?”
I nodded.
He removed my boots before untying my ankles. When he finished, he didn’t get up and move away; but then, I hadn’t thought he would. With slow touches, he peeled back my socks and ran his fingers over my skin.
“You have no idea how much I’ve thought about you since they took you. They robbed us of the future we could have had.” His fingers stroked the top of my bare feet then slid up my jeans to my knees, barely missing my stitches underneath. He gripped me firmly for a minute then glanced behind him at Tasha, who still had her eyes closed.
As soon as he faced me, I knew what he was thinking and felt no surprise when he tugged me down so my legs dangled off the bed. Even with the pills making everything swimmy, I felt the ache in my shoulders as I lay awkwardly on my bound arms.
“Do you know if it worked?” he asked softly, reaching for the button of my jeans.
“What?” I asked, feigning ignorance.
“Did my seed take? Are you pregnant?”
He unzipped my pants and started working them down my hips.
“My arms hurt. Can you tie them in front of me?” I asked.
He smiled, stopped what he was doing, and rolled me to my side.
“You’re so sweet,” he said. “Pretty. You talk nice. Not a mean bone in you.”