Out Bad (21 page)

He felt the packet being pressed into his hand.  In
less than ten seconds it was ripped open and rolled in place, the tip of his
cock resting against her.

He took a deep breath and tried to focus.  This was
going to be both the shortest and the longest ten minutes of his life.  He
was going to have to work very hard to make each one count.

He was about to push into her when Gwen’s voice in his ear
made him stop.

“Joe?”

He pulled back and pushed up on his elbows.  “What’s
wrong sweetheart?” 

He brushed her hair back and cradled her face in his
hands.  A small line of tears shimmered at the corners of each eye. 

He’d rushed this.  God damn it, he knew he should have
slept on that fucking couch.  He used his thumbs to swipe at the drops as
they fell from her eyes.  “Please don’t cry.  We don’t have to do
this.”  He tried to roll off her, but she wrapped her legs around his
waist, locking them together tightly at the ankles.

“No.”  She hooked her arms around his biceps holding
tightly to him.  “It’s not that.”  She took a shaky breath.  “I
really like you.”  She ran her fingers across the large tattoo covering
his shoulder before leaning to run her lips gently across it.  “All of
you.”  As the words left her mouth, she pulled her hips into him, sinking
onto him.

He was inside her. 

She was so hot, so tight.  He gritted his teeth as he
tried to keep from coming right then.  He hadn’t been ready and it
showed. 

He gripped her hips, holding her in place as he tried to
regroup.  Slowly he backed out and slid back in, somehow she felt even
tighter this time, squeezing him in a way that was making it impossible for him
to keep it together.

He felt her thighs quiver around him.  Oh thank
God.  He pulled back and slid in a third time.

“Don’t stop.  Don’t stop.  Please.  I’m about
to--" 

That was all he needed to hear.  He plunged in and out
of her, until she clung to him as her body shattered around him, her release
followed immediately by his.  He buried himself deep inside her as he
poured into that damn condom, wishing just a little bit it was her he was
filling.

His hair was still wrapped around her fingers, her body
still tangled in his as he slumped against her, completely exhausted, mentally
and physically, but feeling better than he had in his whole life.

He stayed like that, not wanting to move, and end the
moment, but ultimately, he had business to take care of.  He pulled free
of her, being careful not to make a mess before sliding the condom free. 

“I’ll be right back sweetheart.”  He was off the bed
and halfway to the bathroom when he heard Gwen’s voice behind him.

“I have a whole box of those.”

“Shit.”

Gwen was on the toilet for the fourth time in an hour, every
little bit she managed to pee burning like the fires of hell.  She peeked
between her legs into the bowl at the pink tinged water. 

She wanted to cry.  It had been so long since she’d had
any sort of regular sex that she had forgotten a very important rule. 

Always, always pee after.  Now she was paying the
price.

She’d probably think it was worth it after she had a couple
days worth of antibiotics running through her system.  Until then she
would be cursing the moment she told Joe she brought a whole damn box of
condoms with her. 

In less than two days it was reduced by half.

She leaned forward resting her chest on her knees and tried
to breathe as her belly cramped, the pain making her feel sick as a cold sweat
dotted her forehead.  She was going to have to figure out a way to deal
with this before it got any worse.

After splashing some cool water on her face and pulling her
hair back she crept into the darkened room.  Silently, she pulled on the
closest pair of pants and shoes she could find.  She unzipped the front
pocket of her purse to get the cash she'd grabbed while she was packing her
stuff and her new cop friends were checking her house for angry bikers. 

Hopefully the hotel shop had cranberry juice and
Motrin.  If she could just take the edge off until she got home tonight
she would be okay.

That was if she got to go home tonight.  Heath better
be figuring something out.  If not…  Her stomach cramped and the urge
to pee swept over her again.  If not, she would be the one doing the
killing.

She slid silently out the door, holding the handle so it
closed quietly behind her.  She would be back before Joe woke up and he
would never know she ‘couldn’t be trusted’ as Heath would say.  Did
say.  Ass.

The shop downstairs was empty.  It was way too early on
a Sunday morning for most people to be out and about yet. 

“If I want something can you ring me up?”

The
unamused
middle-aged man at
the desk nodded before looking back down at the classifieds.  Probably not
too many job openings for Mr. Personality.

She made a bee line for the darkened shop, scanning as fast
as she could.  Thankfully they had a rack of single dose
medications.  She pulled three ibuprofen packs off the metal hanger and
headed to the cooler.  Passing the large window that made up the front
wall, something outside caught her eye.

Thank God. 

She went to shove her packs back on their hook then headed
for the door.  Standing in the hotel vestibule, Gwen looked up and down
the road. 

A few cars splashed through what was left of last night’s
thunderstorm.  Nothing looked odd.  No suspicious looking individuals
just waiting to pounce on her.  They were all probably overreacting
anyway. 

She headed out the sliding doors and jaywalked across the
street, moving quickly.  Overreacting or not, she needed to hurry. 
If Joe figured out she was gone, he would not be happy. 

If it hadn’t been an emergency, she wouldn’t have
left.  She would have stayed, still happily snuggled in bed beside him,
but desperate times called for desperate measures.

She held her breath until she was safely through the doors
of the drug store, the bright fluorescent lights a stark contrast to the dull
dreariness of the morning outside.  She hurried to the pain relievers,
grabbing a big bottle as she passed.  Next she found those blessed little
red pills that would hopefully calm her burning urethra until she got a sturdy
antibiotic.  Shoving two boxes under her arm, she headed to the coolers at
the back of the store.

The juices were on the bottom shelf of the open
cooler.  Squatting down, she pulled two plastic bottles of cranberry out
of their slot and stood back up to head to the register.  She backed up
and bumped right into someone, dropping the boxes under her arm.  “Shit.”

She looked up to apologize and found a very large bearded
man in all black glowering down at her.  Her stomach dropped as she backed
away. 

What in the hell had she been thinking?  Now she was
going to die all because she was too embarrassed to tell a man they’d had a
little too much sex and now she had a urinary tract infection.  Death by
UTI.

“You dropped your stuff.”  The big man bent down to
retrieve her pills and held them out to her.  “Sorry.  Didn’t mean to
startle you.”

She grabbed them with a shaky hand, adrenaline coursing
through her body.  He wasn’t here to take her to the woods and kill her
after all.  Gwen let out the breath she'd been holding.  She needed
to get a freaking grip. 

She tried to give him a smile, not really sure if it worked,
then thanked him as she scurried away, hauling ass to the register.  She
needed to get back to that room before she let herself get any more worked up
over nothing.

The woman at the checkout gave her a knowing, sympathetic
smile.  She handed her the bag and receipt.  “Hope
ya
feel better honey.”

“Thanks.” 

She stood just outside the door and ripped open the pain
meds, swallowing three with a swig of the cold juice then tore into the other
box and pushed two from their protective foil, walking toward the road as she
popped them into her mouth. 

Waiting at the side of the road for an oncoming car to pass,
she tipped back the cranberry, adding those pills to the first three. 
Hopefully they would get to work quickly.

She dropped the half empty bottle of juice into the bag and
stepped onto the road as the car passed her.  Her foot barely hit the
pavement when brake lights shined beside her as the car came to a sudden
stop.  The trunk popped as heavy arms wrapped around her middle and across
her face.

She was pulled back tightly against a body, the arm across
her face cutting off her voice and her air.  She swung her elbows back
hard into whoever was behind her, putting all her strength into causing as much
pain as possible.

“You
ain’t
big enough to hurt me
darling.” 

The deep voice in her ear only made her fight harder. 
She stomped her heel down on the top of the man’s boot, wincing in pain, as the
steel toe dug into her flesh through the thin sole of her slip-on. 

“I told you, you wasn’t strong enough.”  He laughed,
his breath hot on her neck. 

She needed to think.  She closed her eyes as she tried
to come up with a way out of this.  If Joe wasn’t exaggerating, she was as
good as dead if they managed to take her. 

“Stop
fuckin
’ around.  Just
stuff her in there.  We
gotta
get
outa
here.”  She opened her eyes as the other man
tried to grab her away.

She didn't want to go in the trunk, or any of the car for
that matter, but if she had to end up in that trunk, she could kick out the
tail lights and someone might see her.  Maybe.

Gwen's vision was starting to get dotted.  She tried to
fight her head loose, at least to the point she could get a little air
in.  She could not pass out or it was over.

“Hell no.  I think
Ima
keep
her with me.”

“Whatever.  Just get her in the Goddamn car.”  The
other man went back to the driver’s door as the guy behind her started to drag
her to the other side of the car. 

She went limp, dragging her feet, making it as hard as
possible on him and trying desperately to think of something she could do to
stop this.  She looked as far as her eyes could move.  The streets
were as empty as when she set out for the store a few minutes ago, not a soul
in sight to witness what was happening.

The man flung open the back door and tried to maneuver her
in.  The driver was turned around watching the struggle.  “What the
fuck is taking so long Cooter?”

You've got to be kidding.  She was being kidnapped by a
guy named Cooter?

“She’s heavier than she
fuckin
’
looks asshole.”  He loosened his grip on her face as he tried to wrangle
her limp body. 

The minute she felt the give she let loose, screaming her
head off.  The amount of air she had left in her lungs was actually pretty
surprising given she was not far from blacking out a couple seconds ago. 

She sucked in a quick breath and started to scream again,
bracing her arms and legs against the door
jam
as she
did.  Please God, let someone hear me.

The man in the front turned wildly in the car looking to see
if anyone was there to see the commotion.  “Shut her the fuck up man!”

She sucked in another breath, the next scream not clearing
her lips when a meaty hand clamped over her mouth and another gripped her
ponytail, yanking her head back sharply.  “Stop being a little bitch and
get in the car.” 

A knee dug into her back as the guy behind her, shoved his
weight against her.  She tried to push back, digging her fingers into the
edge of the door opening and struggling to keep her feet under her.

Suddenly his weight was gone from her back.  Maybe
someone was seeing what was happening to her and they were taking off. 

A second later he slammed into her, breaking her grip,
launching her across the back seat of the sedan.  He jumped in behind her,
sitting on the lower half of her body as he pulled her legs in and slammed the
door closed.

“Go!  Get the fuck
outta
here.”  He turned to look out the back window as the car lurched forward,
speeding down the empty street.

The two men were laughing, Cooter slapped his buddy driving
on the back.  “I told you Skrag.  I told you we could get her.”

“Fuck yeah you did!”

Gwen was pinned face down on a worn leather seat, the bag
from the drug store still wrapped around her wrist.  Tears bit at the back
of her eyes as she wondered if they would just kill her and dump her
somewhere.  Would the crap littering the floorboard of this piece of shit
car be the last thing she saw?

She was so fucking stupid.  So sure everyone was
overreacting.  No way would a biker gang really kill someone who had
nothing to do with what was going on.  Now here she was with fucking
Cooter and Skrag driving someplace no one will ever find her.

She was so close.  All the time she'd wasted. 
When most people have years of happiness and joy to flash before their eyes,
she had nothing.  Working, spending her money collecting useless shit,
that was all she had to remember. 

And Joe.

Pain seized her chest.  He would never get over
this.  He would think this was all his fault and it wasn’t.  It was
all hers.  If she’d only listened to someone else for a change, everything
would still be okay.  She would still be with him right now and they could
be together. 

Not now.  Now Joe would be left to live the life she’d
only just been able to leave behind. 

“You sure are pretty girl.”  Cooter ran a fat finger
down her cheek. 

She felt sick.  Maybe they didn’t plan to just kill
her.  Oh God.
She swallowed hard.  No way.  No fucking
way was either of these two twats going to have her.  Over her dead body.

Suddenly death wasn’t the worst thing that could happen to
her.  Somehow, dying had seemed like an inevitable outcome she could
accept.  Rape though.  Rape was not going to be happening
today.  Not unless she found a broom handle.

She blinked her eyes hard and fast clearing the tears that
had gathered.  She was being stupid.  Again. 

Stupidity is what landed her here but it was not what would
get her out.  She needed to be smart.  Smarter than the guys who
managed to grab her.  She didn’t imagine that would be too hard.

She took a deep breath.  As long as she kept it
together she would be okay. 

Her legs were numb from the weight of the fat ass who
grabbed her.  She wouldn’t be able to run when they did finally get out of
this fucking car.  She looked around, there had to be something in here
she could use as a weapon when the time was right.

The two men were arguing about where they should take
her.  That should probably have been something they discussed before now,
but it gave her a little insight into what kind of people she was dealing with
here.  Idiots.  That could only work in her favor.

They had her when it came to numbers, she needed to keep
that in mind, and they were definitely stronger than she was, not that hand to
hand combat would have been part of any plan she considered.  Whatever she
did, would have to be smart and quick.

“Think he’ll come
lookin
’ for
her?” 

The man in the back seat looked down at her, a smile on his
face.  “I sure would.”

Both men laughed again as Cooter rubbed her back, her skin
crawling under his touch.  Whatever she came up with, he was going to
fucking suffer for this. 

“You sure are a pretty thing girl.  You sure you don’t
want to end this now and come be my baby?”

She would rather die.  “No thank you.”  She kept
her voice strong.  No way were these guys going to get off on scaring
her.  “I like men.”

A hand came down hard across her ass, leaving her skin
stinging and her eyes watering.  Cooter leaned down, putting all his
substantial weight on her back making it nearly impossible to breathe.

“Better watch what you say girl or I’ll show you how a real
man handles a mouthy bitch.”  His breath was hot against the side of her
head.  She jerked away, unable to stand his face so close to hers.

“Where the fuck are we going?”  The driver pulled
Cooter’s
attention off her and back to their plans, or lack
thereof.

He leaned up, bracing one arm over the front seat as he
rubbed his scruffy chin.  “Let’s go the motherfucker’s house.  He’s
gotta
come home eventually.  Maybe we can get him
too.”