Chapter 40
For a moment on the drive out to the cabin, Keel feared they’d gotten it all wrong. What if Forest hadn’t brought Frankie out here? What if this was just a ruse to throw them off track?
If Frankie wasn’t here, he wasn’t sure what he would do or where they would look. Would he risk prison to get revenge? Maybe.
If Forest killed her, knowing he was in the ground feeding worms was worth whatever punishment that got dished out. He would relish inflicting pain on the man.
“We’re almost there,” Bean said.
Chase was driving and only nodded. Based on the map’s directions, they were about two miles out. If they were on a mission, they would stop and hike their way to the cabin. Chase wanted to drive past and see if anyone was there.
They had their night vision goggles, along with other equipment that would help them out here.
They were lucky to have advanced equipment so they could move in and rescue Frankie.
He had little doubt that if they informed the police where they thought Frankie was, they would just ignore the information.
It would be too late before the police made a move.
This had to be done by Keel and his friends if they wanted any chance of saving Frankie.
“We’re coming up to the cabin. What can you see?” Chase asked.
“A car,” Stanley said.
“A car and a truck,” Keel said as they slid past.
The car full of the rest of the guys behind them stopped about a half mile back, and Stanley had them on the phone. The plan was to move onto the property and take the cabin. They would rescue Frankie, and then he would deal with the assholes.
They quietly shut the car doors after grabbing their equipment. They were much lighter than when they were on a mission, so this felt easy. But it was far from easy. This was one of the hardest missions he’d ever been on. Frankie was depending on him.
Frankie watched everything, keeping track of where Forest and Stone were in the cabin, even though her head pounded like a jackhammer going to town on a bad cement pour.
She’d screwed up. She shouldn’t have run out of the house to help Sonja without someone else with her.
But who else could she have called? She hadn’t let Sonja die in the fire, and that was something.
Stone was in the bathroom, from what she could tell, and Forest had stepped outside to smoke. She wiggled her hands, trying to get them free. It wasn’t working.
Stone came out of the bathroom, his eyes on her. “You should be thankful. We could have dropped you over the edge of the last bridge.”
She didn’t know what to say to Stone. The man had done so many despicable things, and now she was trapped in a cabin with him, with no escape.
Stone’s evil chuckle sent shivers through her. “I’m going to enjoy this.”
She tried to fight the revulsion inside, threatening to consume her. Stone saw her discomfort and threw back his head, laughter spilling out. He was enjoying himself too much.
“Don’t worry, darling, I’m going to fuck you so hard you’ll never forget me. And trust me, you’ll love it.”
The man didn’t understand anything about women. He was bad at sex from what she remembered. At least it would be over soon since he didn’t have staying power.
The door opened, and Forest stepped in. She’d been worried about being alone with Stone, but she was even more worried that Forest would start hitting her again, making her pass out.
If she were out cold, there was no way she could fight either of them off.
She needed a miracle to get away from these jerks.
“Someone just drove past,” Forest said.
Stone snorted. “Dude, people drive.”
Forest shook his head. “I got a weird feeling about it.”
“It’s because you’re weird.”
“Shut up. You don’t know anything. Just come out and look with me.”
Stone slapped her ass, making her yelp. “Keep that in mind while you wait for me. I’m going to destroy your ass.”
“You’re both pathetic.” She wanted to spit at them, to curse and call them names.
Stone spun, grabbing her by the hair. “Shut up, you bitch. You’re the pathetic one, all tied up with no escape. Trust me, you need someone to teach you a lesson.”
“Come on, Stone.”
Stone spun to face Forest. “You need to teach her to shut her fucking mouth.”
“Listen, we can teach her a lesson later, right now, we need to get rid of whoever is out there.”
Frankie wanted to scream more, but they were out the door. Maybe whoever had driven past out there would help her. But she couldn’t depend on a rescue. She had to get free while they were outside. If she didn’t, it would be lights out for her.
The door closed behind them, and she tried pulling her legs down and breaking the thing binding her arms to her legs. The first try did nothing. The second try almost had her crying out in pain as the thing around her wrist cut into her skin.
Pain couldn’t stop her. She had to make progress. Then she would run from the cabin and fend for herself.
She pulled again, and again, trying to make some headway. On the sixth pull, the strap on her ankles broke as she spread her knees and pulled her legs up.
She froze, her muscles seizing up for a moment as pain shot up her legs. She glanced down, seeing blood around her ankles, but at least she was free, or kind of free.
Frankie stood on wobbly legs, fear running through her. She had to get out of here, so she headed to the back door, ready to take off. She opened the door, just as the front door opened.
She glanced over her shoulder, her gaze landing on Forest’s face. The shock in his expression was laughable. But she couldn’t enjoy laughing at him because she had to get away. No question, if he caught her, she would pay with her life for making him look like a fool.