Lone Rider (4 page)

By the time they stopped again, Tess felt numb. She shook with cold -- and dread -- as
Dallas
released the handcuffs and climbed free of the motorcycle. Wrapping her arms around herself, she huddled alone on the seat.

             
She watched the other men disappear along a wooded path. She already concluded Bogen was the leader of this motley crew
,
and if this was where he lived, they were probably in a hurry to get to him first and present Snake’s side of the story. Her stomach flip-flopped
,
dreading what would happen next.

             
She felt
Dallas
’ fingers brush her cheek as he smoothed the wind-tangled hair away from her face. She pulled back as if stung. His actions confused her. When no one could see, he treated her gently. Yet look what he’d done.

“Where are we?” she demanded, teeth chattering. “And what are you going to do to me?”  She hated that her voice sounded watery, hated the choking lump of fear in her throat.

             
“I won’t hurt you, Tess.”  His voice was low, barely above a whisper. “And I’ll do my best to make sure no one else does either.”

             
She stared at him, unable to reconcile his sincere tone with his deeds. Then the meaning behind his words hit,
f
reezing the blood inside her veins. She was in danger here, danger he m
ight
not be able to protect her from.
I’ll do my best
.

And if his best wasn’t good enough?

             
Dallas
reached up to touch her again, then stopped his hand midair. She looked stricken, but it made no sense to coddle her. Not now. The worst of it still lay ahead.

Unfortunately, the night had taken a different twist for both of them
,
and there was no turning back. His options had been severely limited the moment Snake pulled up. He didn’t like it any
more then she did. The trick would be remembering not to take it out on her, even though, damn it, it was partly her own fault. If she had paid a little more attention to her gas gauge...

“I know you’re frightened,” he continued. “But right now your well-being depends on how well you listen. You must do everything I tell you, without questioning it.”

She scowled at him, temper flaring. “Go to hell! You have no right bringing me here. I’ll see that you’re arrested and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. All of you.”

             
He looked away briefly, then pinned her with narrowed eyes. “Seeing as there’s no cop around, you’ll forgive me for not quaking in my boots. Tess, whether you realize it or not, I’m your best hope of getting through this; the only protection you’re likely to find.
Trust me
.”

             
There were those two words again. “Why should I trust you?” 

             
Ignoring her question,
Dallas
lifted her off the motorcycle. Their bodies touched as he slid her down his length in a blatant show of masculine power. When her feet touched the ground she pushed away. He caught her arms, holding her tethered, closer than she wanted to be, silently daring her to test him.

             
She met his stare. “Let me go!”

             
“I’m afraid I can’t do that.”

             
Shifting his position only slightly,
Dallas
neatly spun her around so her back was to his chest. Too late she realized his intention as he grasped her wrists and pulled them behind her.

             
“No! You don’t need to do this.”  She fought in earnest, struggling to prevent him from cuffing her hands again, twisting her head, trying to watch him. “I promise I won’t cause any more trouble.”

             
“It’s for your own protection. So’s this.” 
Dallas
stuffed a piece of cloth into her mouth and secured it with a bandanna.

             
Protection? She didn’t need his brand of protection, she needed to get away from him. She bucked her shoulders, trying to break free
,
but
Dallas
held her fast, knotting the cloth tightly.

The gag stifled
,
and for a moment she thought she wouldn’t be able to breathe. She felt his warm breath at her ear as he rubbed his hands briskly over her upper arms. “I know you’re cold. I promise I’ll get you warm as soon as this is over.”

             
Over
, she wanted to scream. When would it be over? She tried to talk through the gag, but only indecipherable sounds came through. She tugged uselessly at the tight cuffs, scarcely able to move her arms. Angry, she kicked backwards, landing two solid blows to his shin.

             
Swearing,
Dallas
gripped her shoulders and snapped her body hard against his chest. It was like slamming against a brick wall. There wasn’t an ounce of softness on his frame. She gritted her teeth in frustration.

             
“Give it up, Tess,” he whispered harshly. “If I have to, I’ll hog-tie you and carry you in.” 

             
Even though his leg smarted where she’d caught him off guard, he wasn’t angry. Her show of spunk, however small, encouraged him. It would help her survive. He looked at her, taking in her bowed head, her muffled sobs. The lady didn’t like people to see her cry. He respected that.

He shifted his weight from one foot to the other, giving her a moment to pull herself together. The part of him that wasn’t royally pissed at her longed to comfort her, tell her everything would be okay.

Except it wasn’t going to be. The best he could hope for was that Bogen would indeed let him keep her.

             
He had one ace up his sleeve: Bogen owed him a favor. If Bogen agreed,
Dallas
could offer her some protection. She’d be a prisoner for now, but it beat the hell out of the alternatives.

             
He stared at her, guilt knifing a dull blade through his stomach. He didn’t like seeing her like this, scared, fragile. He recalled his first glimpse of her. A foolish blo
nd
angel stranded by the side of the road. Damn if she hadn’t shaken his equilibrium. Kissing her hadn’t helped. Even her resistance tasted sweet, soft. He’d wanted more but hadn’t dared take it. He’d already violated several rules he’d normally never break.

             
And she was far from normal. Though she had tried to hold herself back from him, he’d felt her firm curves as they rode. She had a fabulous body -- which wouldn’t go unnoticed by Bogen. He needed to be prepared to do some fast
talking if Bogen decided he wanted to send her to Sanchez.

             
She stood warily in his arms, still shivering. Wrapping his arms around her, he pulled her unresisting form tight, dropping his voice. “I meant what I said earlier. It’s very important you do everything I say. Your life depends on it.”

             
She tried to argue, but her words were unintelligible with the gag.

             
“I know it’s crazy to ask,”
Dallas
continued
, “b
ut you’ve got to believe me.”

             
He pulled her up the same path Duke and Eddie had used, deliberately slowing his pace to match hers. They reached a clearing before a ramshackle two-story farmhouse. Dim yellow light poured from the front windows.

A man stepped out from
the shadows, armed with a nasty-
looking assault rifle. The guard nodded to
Dallas
. “Bogen’s expecting you.”

             
As they passed, the guard scrutinized Tess intently. Too intently. The look on his face repulsed her. She inched closer to
Dallas
and felt the slight tightening of his hand on her forearm. Silently she admitted she did feel safer with
Dallas
than any of the others.

Dallas
led her into the front room
,
where Duke and Eddie huddled around a desk, speaking in low tones. Behind the desk sat a large, dark-haired man. Even though it was night
,
the man in the chair wore sunglasses. Bogen?

She could feel his eyes dissecting her. She met his stare, trying unsuccessfully to see behind the glasses. Dismissing her, Bogen turned and listened once more to Eddie.

             
Tess quickly scanned the rest of the room, searching for avenues of escape, finding none. The other furniture in the room, a stained sofa and four ragtag recliners, circled around a large-screen television.

             
She glanced back at the desk, then quickly dropped her head to hide her excitement. On a scarred credenza behind the desk sat a telefax machine. If she could somehow get to it and use the phone!

             
Hoping to appear nonchalant, she looked at the adjacent room. Probably a dining room in another time, the room now held a pool table. The windows were boarded shut. There appeared to be nowhere to run in that direction. She glanced furtively back at the desk. The telephone on the fax machine was her best chance. The problem would be getting the opportunity to use it...before it was too late.

             
Would
Dallas
help her? If he could distract the others and buy her just a few moments alone with the phone--

             
The room grew quiet as Bogen suddenly pushed out of his chair and stood. An obese man, Tess wondered how he managed to move with such ease. Bogen’s attention shifted back to her, cold and calculating, stripping her, assessing her, making her feel violated. Her mouth dried in revulsion, her senses screaming like an activated burglar alarm.

Bogen radiated hostility. And
at the moment
that hostility was directed at her. Her skin crawled in a new direction under his gaze. Snake seemed like a gentleman compared to Bogen.

She backed away until she ran into
Dallas
. His hand clamped over her shoulder, pinning her in place.

             
“Nice,” Bogen said, nodding. He stepped forward and tugged her jacket apart, scrutinizing the thrust of her breasts. Tess held her breath, expecting to feel his hands grope.

“I see why she’s caused such a stir. We need to talk. Privately.”  Taking their cue, Duke and Eddie started for the door, but Bogen stopped them. “Lock her up, Duke.”

Lock her up
? Tess started to scramble away as they closed in. She skittered to the right, but found herself tethered by
Dallas
’ firm grip. Damn
Dallas
and his lies! Damn them all!

When Duke grabbed her and tugged, she swung out her leg and tried to kick him.

“Pop her,” Bogen ordered.

Ceasing her struggles, Tess steeled herself for a blow, but none came. Instead Duke stepped away, toward the desk, leaving her to watch incredulously as he retrieved a small glass vial and a hypodermic needle from a drawer. Their intent became clear.

She shrank backwards, her eyes never leaving Duke. If they drugged her, they could do anything to her, with her. She’d be helpless. But what could she do to stop them? It was four against one and she was starting...to feel...faint.

She blinked rapidly, aware that she was hyperventilating, the gag impeding her breathing. She felt
Dallas
slide an arm around her waist.

“No needles,” he said firmly.

Tess sagged against his arm.

“I’ll give her six of these.” 
Dallas
held up a prescription bottle. “She won’t give you any trouble after that. Eddie
,
get some water.”

Turning her to face him,
Dallas
grasped Tess’ chin, forcing her to meet his eyes. “If you don’t swallow these, we’ll use the other. Choose wisely.”

Once again Tess faced an impossible choice. She’d seen the hypodermic Duke held. The needle wasn’t even capped. It obviously wasn’t sterile and had probably been used before. What ghastly disease would she get from it? And who knew what drug was in the vial?

She caught a glimpse of the bottle
Dallas
held. A tranquilizer. Or so the label read. Her mother had used them on more than one occasion. And while Tess had never taken it, she knew it was a common prescription. But six of them?

“I’ll loosen your gag so you can swallow,”
Dallas
continued. “Then it’s going right back on. I don’t want to hear one word.”

She glared at him, but nodded. As soon as he freed her of the gag, she took a sip of water to wet her mouth. She heard the rattle of pills as
Dallas
opened the container, shook out pills, then held them close to her mouth. She shot him one more murderous look, then glanced at his palm.