Fencing You In (22 page)

Once Harvey looked over his shoulder in Gage’s direction and he thought Harvey had spotted him, but the man turned back to the cashier and paid for his purchases.

Gage had a feeling Harvey would be heading back to the Anderson place, but he didn’t know for sure. He could be holding Tess anywhere. Gage gave Harvey a bit of a head start and then followed him.

It was getting darker as they walked out of the supermarket’s front doors. Harvey loaded his groceries into the truck and climbed in and started it. By the time Harvey had loaded everything, Gage was in his vehicle and wasn’t far behind as Harvey drove out of the parking lot.

Gage hung way back because the road out to the Andersons’ didn’t have much traffic and Harvey might notice him. When the man turned down the road to the Anderson place, Gage kept driving past so that Harvey wouldn’t suspect anything.

After a few heartbeats, Gage turned around, went back to Harvey’s drive, killed the headlights, and parked near the end of the road. He reached into his glove compartment and drew out the pistol he kept there. He kept the weapon loaded with only snake shot that was designed to kill rattlesnakes, and didn’t have any regular ammunition with him.

The pain and stiffness in his right shoulder made it almost impossible to use his arm at all. He’d probably be as good at using the gun with his left hand as a lame duck with a crutch. He made sure the safety was on before he stuffed the gun in the waistband at the back of his jeans.

 When the truck had been locked up, he started walking up the rough road to the house. His limp made him grind his teeth, as did the throbbing ache in his shoulder.

The darkness made it harder to walk up the rough road to the house. A wind had kicked up and tugged at his ball cap.

Harvey’s truck was parked in front of the darkened house, and only one window was lit on the south side, approximately where Gage remembered the kitchen to be. Gage made his way to the window from which the glow spilled onto the ground.

When he reached the window, he eased up to it and peeked through a part in the curtains. Harvey was putting the lid back onto the one tumbler and inserting the straw in it. Gage watched as Harvey took his time making several sandwiches and wrapped them in plastic wrap.

He looked distracted as he put the sandwiches into one of two plastic grocery bags and left the kitchen, heading in the direction of the living room with both bags. He left the cup with the straw on the countertop.

Gage hurried to look into the living room windows, but there was no light and the curtains were drawn tight. In the stillness of the night, Gage thought he heard the loud thump of a heavy door coming from inside the house.

He waited, hearing nothing but silence coming from the house now. He carefully tried the front door, not wanting Harvey to notice in case he was in the living room. Locked.

Gage went around to the back of the house and tried that door. To his surprise, it was unlocked. With his left hand, he slowly turned the knob, then used the same hand to draw his weapon. He waited a heartbeat and slipped into a utility room with a washer and dryer, wind following him inside. He shut the door against the wind and it howled through the cracks in the doorframe.

After walking through the utility room, he checked to make sure Harvey wasn’t in the kitchen as he peered around the doorframe. He’d seen the man walk out, but he may have returned. When Gage saw the kitchen was empty, he slipped inside. He glanced at the counters and saw only breadcrumbs, the cup with the straw, and a small water spill.

He headed to the living room, and again peered around the corner. No sign of Harvey. The house was dark and silent, but enough light came from the kitchen into the living room that Gage could make his way around without tripping over anything. Everything was as he remembered except for the couch, which had been pulled a couple of feet away from the wall. The cops must have looked behind it when they were conducting their search and hadn’t put it back.

The house was old and full of creaks and groans in the wind and he felt a draft as he went down the hallway where the bathroom was. The living room, bathroom, kitchen, and utility room were the only rooms downstairs.

He silently searched the rest of the downstairs and found no signs of Harvey or Tess. Harvey was in the house, somewhere. Whatever it took, Gage would make Harvey tell him where Tess was.

Steps creaked as he made his way upstairs and searched for Harvey and Tess. Moving up the stairs made his body ache even more and he felt weaker than he’d ever felt in his life. But determination kept him going. Determination and love for his woman.

Everything was the same, as far as he could tell, as it had been when Gage had been there earlier today. His frustration grew to the point where he wanted to punch walls.

Where the hell was Harvey? Where could he have disappeared?

And more importantly, where was Tess?

Chapter 36

Tess’s arms and legs ached from having been tied down for so long. All she’d been able to do was look around her with her limited ability to turn her head. She’d spent most of the time staring up at the concrete ceiling and the hook, wondering if he had something in mind for that hook. The thought gave her a chill that rolled down her spine.

Where was Harvey? He’d left hours ago, supposedly to fix lunch and bring it back down.

What if he never came back and she died like this? Of thirst and starvation, unable to move and do anything to save herself. If there was a way to save herself. At least she’d die trying. Damn it. If she could only get out of this bed…

All of her attempts to free herself from the metal cuffs had rubbed her wrists and ankles raw. The cuffs had no give of course, but it hadn’t stopped her from trying. The ball gag kept her from making any sounds, so she couldn’t scream for help. Spit pooled at the back of her throat and she had to struggle to swallow it down whenever she could. She’d never realized how hard it would be to swallow with a ball gag in one’s mouth.

Exhausted from fighting her imprisonment, she eventually drifted off to sleep.

The sound of concrete scraping concrete jarred her awake. She opened her eyes and focused on the door, hoping that someone had arrived to rescue her.

It was Harvey, of course. Bizarrely, she found herself glad to see him. It meant she wouldn’t die alone like this.

At least not yet.

The door made a loud thunk when it closed and Harvey came down the steps carrying a couple of plastic grocery bags.

When he smiled at her, it was so chilling that she immediately changed her mind. She wasn’t glad to see him, not at all.

“I’m sorry, baby.” He set the bags on a small table beside the bed. “I had to take a little trip and wasn’t able to get back until now.”

Tess just stared at him. She couldn’t say anything with the gag.

“I wonder if all this time you’ve had to think has made you realize anything.” He continued to smile and raised one of the two bags he was holding. “Got you a toothbrush and a few other things you’ll be needing.”

She swallowed as he set aside the bag. It was clear he wasn’t planning on letting her go soon.

He brought plastic wrapped sandwiches out of the second grocery bag. He set them on the side table. “I’m going to take the gag off. Don’t scream and don’t beg and I won’t make you wear it. For now. Understand?”

She nodded.

He smelled of stale sweat when he leaned over her and unfastened the ball gag behind her head. When he pulled the ball out of her mouth, air rushed out of her in relief. “I have to go to the bathroom, Harvey.”

He paused a moment as if he hadn’t considered that possibility in his scenarios of kidnapping her. “Don’t try anything. It will only get you hurt. Got that?”

She swallowed and nodded. “Yes.”

He took a small key and unlocked each of the cuffs. Her muscles were sore and her skin burned where she was rubbed raw. She got up stiffly and he walked her to a small bathroom. He made her leave the door open but she still had privacy because the toilet was set back from the door and he didn’t come in.

She was grateful that she still had her dress and underclothes on. Harvey could have stripped her while she’d been drugged, but thankfully he hadn’t. It made her wonder exactly what his intentions were. Did he want her willingly? Or was he going to eventually force her to have sex with him? Rape her?

When she finished, she flushed, tugged down her skirt, and then washed her hands with soap and water. She walked back into the room with its gray concrete walls and metal shelves full of supplies and wondered if anything could be used as a weapon.

“There’s nothing sharp in here,” Harvey said, clearly reading her intentions. “Nothing you could hurt me with. So don’t worry your pretty little head about finding ways to harm me.” He gestured for the bed. “Sit, Tess.”

“Don’t handcuff me again, please.” She gave him a pleading look. “I’ll do whatever you want me to.”

“Whatever I want?” He raised an eyebrow and gave her an intense look.

Heat rushed to her face. “I meant that I won’t try to escape or anything like that.”

He laughed. “You have no chance in hell of escaping, so I’m not worried about that.” He pointed to the bed again. “Now.”

She went to the bed and her limbs trembled as she sat on the edge of the mattress.

“First we’ll eat, and then we’ll have some bondage fun.” He gave her a wicked grin.

Tess swallowed. She’d been starving before and now she wasn’t so sure she could eat anything.

“The egg salad went bad, so roast beef it is.” He unwrapped a half of a sandwich and handed it to her.

She took a small bite then found that she could eat after all. She finished the half sandwich then took the second half that he offered her and ate that, too. “I’m thirsty,” she said.

He frowned. “I forgot your cup upstairs. I’ll get it later,” he said before biting into his own sandwich.

She ate her second half more slowly to prolong the time until he would strap her down.

When she finished the last bite she looked at him with apprehension. He brushed the crumbs off his fingers onto his jeans then got up and walked to the shelf. He picked out several things before returning to her.

“Now for some fun stuff.” He set the small pile on the chair he’d been sitting in. “Stand up and turn away from me.”

Her stomach churned as she obeyed. She winced as he put metal handcuffs on her sore wrists, her hands cuffed behind her back. He took the ball gag and shoved it into her mouth again and fastened it. He turned her around by her shoulders so that she was facing him.

“You should be naked for this,” he reached for the low neckline of her dress and she thought he was going to tear it open. “But that can wait.” He gave her a grin. “Anticipation is half the fun.”

Instead, he caught her off guard by picking her up and laying her on her belly on the bed. He cuffed her ankles together and then showed her a couple of locks.

“There’s no getting out of this,” he said and her heartbeat quickened. He pulled her wrists back and locked her wrist cuffs to her ankle cuffs, hogtying her.

She whimpered behind the ball gag, one cheek against the mattress. Then he took a strap and put it around her arms and pulled the strap, drawing her upper arms back so tightly that her upper arms were nearly touching.

He put a strap around her head and pulled her head as far back as he could and fastened the strap to her ankles. She’d never been in such an uncomfortable position in her life. Her limbs and neck ached and her whole body hurt.

A wash of cold chilled her body. Was he going to leave her like this?

He walked in front of her and crouched so that she could more easily see his face while she was in the hogtied position.

“Beautiful,” he said. “Bet you’ve never been hogtied before. You can’t move, can you? Try.”

She tried shifting to get more comfortable while testing her restraints. She tried to move her hands but no part of her could budge. She gave a helpless whimper and he smiled.

He rubbed his crotch through his jeans and her stomach turned. She wondered how she had ever found him attractive. She’d never been drawn to him in any way, but she’d thought he was a good-looking man with a friendly nature about him.

Now she knew his twisted side.

“How long to leave you like this.” He tilted his head to the side. “Uncomfortable, isn’t it?”

She whimpered again, pleading with his eyes for him to let her out. Her arms and shoulders ached from being pulled back so tight, and the cuffs caused her raw skin to burn.

“That’s part of real bondage and domination.” He leaned forward and brushed a lock of hair from her forehead and she would have flinched from his touch if she could have moved. “It’s all about my enjoyment, not yours.”

Tears burned at the backs of her eyes as he pointed up. She couldn’t follow the gesture but she knew what he was pointing at. The huge hook in the ceiling.

“I have something else in mind now,” he said.

He began unfastening the locks and straps, including taking the cuffs off her ankles, and soon she was able to relax her head and the rest of her body. He left only the cuffs on her wrists and the ball gag in her mouth. She slumped on the bed, every part of her aching.

He grabbed the back of her dress and jerked her to her feet. She heard something tear and felt cool air where her zipper had held the back of her dress closed.

“Oops,” Harvey said, but she heard the grin in his voice. He took her by her upper arm and jerked her to her feet. Her legs almost gave out on her.

To her relief, he unlocked one of the cuffs on her wrists. In the next moment he was turning her around and letting his hands caress her breasts as he pushed her dress over her arms so that the material slid down her body and landed around her feet. She shuddered at his touch but he didn’t seem to notice.

Her face went hot as she stood in front of him in her red bra and panties. He gave a low whistle. “Sexy,” he said. “Are you ready to admit how much you want me?”

The ball gag still stifled her and all she could do was shake her head in the negative.