“Don’t know.”
“He might be,” I told her. “I’m pretty sure someone’s in it.”
“Oh, God.”
She sounded frightened.
“Don’t worry. I’ll get you out of here.”
“Hurry, okay? Please?”
“Tell me if he comes out.”
She nodded.
“Tell me if anyone comes out. We don’t know for sure it’s Tony.”
“Okay.”
“I’ll have to untie you.”
“Okay.”
Not wanting to set the rock down again, I slipped it underneath my shirttail and shoved a corner of it down inside the right rear pocket of my shorts.
Then I reached high with both arms. As I stepped in against Judy, the front brim of her hat shoved me in the face. “Let’s get rid of this,” I whispered, and gently lifted the hat off her head.
She winced.
“Sorry.”
“It’s okay.”
Her hair looked wet. Shiny golden curls were matted flat against her scalp. If there was blood, I couldn’t see any. But another red bandana, folded into a pad, was clinging to the side of her head above her ear. Her ear had a crusty nick on top. The pistol sight must’ve done that.
Turning away, I gave the hat a fling. It sailed across the firelit darkness and landed in some nearby bushes.
Just as I faced Judy again, the makeshift bandage lost its grip and fell. It dropped softly onto her shoulder. I stuffed it into a pocket, then looked closely at her gunshot wound.
The bullet had taken an upward course, gouging a path through her hair and scalp. The furrow looked shallow and about half an inch high. The hair around it was stained a rusty color, but the wound didn’t seem to be bleeding anymore.
“You were really lucky,” I whispered.
“I don’t feel so lucky.”
“It just nicked you.”
“It hurts like crazy.”
“You’re lucky you aren’t dead.”
“I feel like I’ve got the worst hangover in history.”
“Must’ve been the beer.”
“Sure,” she said. And a corner of her mouth tilted upward, trembling. I guess it was supposed to be a smile. The other corner of her mouth, red and swollen from when I’d worked her over with the stick, didn’t move at all.
“We’ll get you some aspirin,” I told her. “But first we have to get you out of here.” Reaching for the rope around her wrists, I leaned forward. Our bodies met. I couldn’t help that. It was necessary if I wanted to work on the rope. My shirt was open. We were bare against each other except for my shorts.
“Sorry about this,” I whispered.
“It’s fine.” When she said that, I felt her breath against my lips. I was slightly taller than Judy, but her head was tipped back. Every time she exhaled or spoke, soft air brushed my lips and entered my mouth.
Our difference in size made her breasts level with mine. Our nipples met. Hers were hard, too.
“Scared?” I asked.
“Yeah.”
“Same here. But don’t worry. I’ll get you out of this.”
“Hurry, okay?”
“I’m trying. Where are your clothes?”
“I don’t know.”
“Maybe they’re in the tent.”
“Yeah.”
“Unless he burnt them. Or maybe he left them in the woods somewhere.”
“I…they’re just gone. I don’t know where. I was like this when I came to.”
“This is a tough knot,” I told her. Which was sort of a lie. I was only fiddling with the thing, not really trying to undo it.
“You can get it, can’t you?” Judy asked. She sounded worried.
“I’ll get it.”
“What if he comes out?”
“Just give me a warning. I’ll take care of him.”
“But he has a gun.”
“He does?” I asked, forgetting.
Judy hesitated a moment. Then she said, “He must have one. He shot me, didn’t he?”
“Yeah. I forgot about that for a second. My God, if he comes out with a gun, we’ve had it.”
“Maybe you oughta run and try to get help.”
“And leave you here? No way. We’re in this together. You and me, honey.”
Murmuring, “Thanks,” she eased her head forward. Her cheek brushed against my jaw. Then she rested her face against the side of my neck. “You’re risking your life for me,” she whispered.
“I’m a hell of a gal,” I told her.
“Yeah,” she said. “You are.”
A few moments later, I told her, “This knot’s really giving me trouble. I can hardly hold my arms up.” With that, I lowered them and put them around her. “Don’t worry, I’m not quitting. I just need to rest for a minute.” I gave her a gentle hug. She winced and stiffened. “Sorry. Did that hurt?”
“Yeah, a little.”
“He must’ve really done a number on you.”
“I guess so. I don’t even know what he did. But I’m…awfully sore. All over. Inside, too.”
“The dirty bastard.”
“He’d better not’ve made me pregnant.”
“Don’t worry about it. If we don’t get you out of here, it won’t matter.”
“Trying to cheer me up?”
“How am I doing?” I asked.
“A lousy job.”
I gave her rump a pat, then said, “I’d better get back to work.” Reaching high again, I started to fool with the knot.
“If you get me out of this,” she whispered, “I’ll owe you my life.”
“Forget about it,” I said.
“I’ll do anything for you.”
“Anything?”
“Anything.”
22
HERE COMES TROUBLE
“Okay,” I said. But was she serious? She sure sounded serious, all right. Not only about doing “anything” for me, but about her memories of what had happened to her.
Her lack of memories.
But what if she was lying?
What if she remembered everything?
“What’s wrong?” Judy whispered.
“Huh?”
“You’re suddenly…all tense. I can feel it.”
“It’s the knot,” I said. “It’s too tight.” Shaking my head, I let go of the rope. I put my arms around her.
“Are you quitting?” she asked. She sounded scared like a little kid in the dark.
“No. No way. I’ll never quit on you. I just have to figure out another way.”
“What about the other end of the rope?” she asked. “He tied it to a tree behind me.” She went rigid. I suddenly knew exactly what she’d meant about me going all tense. She felt as if a live current had zipped through her body. But hardly missing a beat, she said, “Maybe it’ll be easier. Why don’t you go over and give it a try?”
“You did see him,” I said, letting go of her and taking a step backward.
She shook her head. “I didn’t see anyone. All I know is that it’s tied to a tree back there. I didn’t see who did it, or when, or anything. I turned around and saw it there, that’s all.”
“What are you so nervous about?”
“What do you think? Jeez, Alice. If we don’t get out of here, that guy’s gonna come out of his tent and kill both of us.”
“Is he?”
“Yes! What do you think is going on?”
I put my hands on her sides and said, “Why don’t you tell me?”
She stared into my eyes. She was breathing hard again, her ribs rising and falling under my open hands. I could feel tremors running through her.
“Do you think I did this to myself?” she whispered.