“You're better?” This time Sharae laughed. “He doesn't beat Angel uncon-scious."
“Stop!” he screamed, covering his ears with his hands. “Shut your fucking mouth!"
Sharae snapped her mouth shut and just stared. She had never seen Joe lose it like this before and it scared her.
“All you women are lying bitches!” He grabbed her by the throat and squeezed.
Sharae's eyes widened as her air was cut off in Joe's relentless grip. Tied as she was, she was powerless to resist.
“You deserve everything I'm going to give to you!” Joe screamed.
Sharae's vision began to blur as her lungs screamed for oxygen. This was it. He was going to strangle her to death.
“Joe! Stop it!” a high-pitched voice cried. “You're killing her!"
He released his grip on her throat. Sharae gratefully gulped air into her oxygen-starved lungs. She looked at Megan, who had saved her from Joe's death grip, and tried to smile.
Joe punched the wall with a savage cry and collapsed on his knees next to Sharae. He lay his head on her bound thighs and began sobbing.
Sharae was confused. She looked from Joe to Megan, whose perplexed expression mirrored her own. Had Joe always been this disturbed? How could she not have known?
He raised his head and looked at her. He grinned sadistically. “Wanna know something?"
Sharae stared down at him but didn't say anything.
“I enjoyed killing that prick, Preston."
Sharae felt nauseous at the self-satisfaction in his voice. She looked away and closed her eyes, not wanting to see the crazed maniac before her.
“But let's get down to business, shall we?"
She kept her eyes tightly closed, but she heard him get up and move around the cabin.
“Joe, no! Please dommmmpffff!” She heard Megan's plea turn into a muffled moan as Joe gagged her.
“The gag suits you, Meg. Sharae won't be using it for awhile,” he said with a chuckle. “I want to hear her screams.” Soon, Sharae felt his presence in front of her, but refused to open her eyes.
Sharae clamped her jaw tight, willing herself not to give Joe the satisfaction of hearing her scream. She steeled herself against the inevitable brutal attack she was sure would come.
For a few minutes, nothing happened. She began to wonder what was going on. Was he having second thoughts? Maybe she could use his doubt to her advantage. Just then, she screamed. Her resolve vanished the instant she felt the tiny but horrific pain in her left breast.
Her eyes flew open to see Joe's hand hovering near her breast, holding a long needle. Another one just like it was already stuck in her tender boob flesh.
“Pin cushion time, Sharae dear,” he taunted as he jabbed the second needle in.
CHAPTER 32
Daylight streamed in through Preston's bedroom window. He was only half conscious of it as he groggily willed himself awake. He didn't know what time it was, or even what day it was, But he knew he had to start moving if he ever wanted to get his girls back.
“Shit!” he muttered to himself when he finally found his watch. He'd been out for an entire day. Before he could think about somehow tracing Angel, Sharae, and Megan, he'd have to take care of Suzy. Her buyer was due to arrive in a little over an hour.
He quickly splashed water on his face, ran his electric razor over his stubble and threw on some clean clothes. It wasn't until he was on his way down the hall, that he realized he could breathe in relative comfort. “Good,” he thought, “no cracked ribs."
He winced, though, as he opened the door to the room were he'd left Suzy. It was immediately apparent that she hadn't been able to “hold it” since he left her. He hurried into the room, finding the pretty nurse scooched around the pole as far from the puddle as she could get. She looked up as soon as he entered, complaining loudly from behind the large white ball-gag.
“Let's get you cleaned up,” he said as he removed the handcuffs holding her to the pole. As he helped her to her feet, she lashed out at him, her screams sounding loud even through the gag. Despite his own weakness, he instinctively fended off her blows, grabbed her by the hair and slammed her against the wall.
“Don't fight me, bitch! I don't have time for this shit.” He wrestled her arms be-hind her and locked the cuffs back on, this time at the elbows. She sobbed hysteri-cally as the hard metal bit into her flesh.
Stooping down, he removed the leather strap at her ankles, then stood, grabbed a handful of hair and began half-dragging her toward the bathroom. With her knees still strapped tight, she barely managed to keep up, hobbling along, stooped over, crying and squealing the whole way.
He flipped on the light and started the shower. After removing her gag, he offered the fettered girl a glass of water. She took a break from whining to accept the drink, then started up again.
“Please, don't do this to me!” she pleaded. “Just let me go. I swear I won't tell anyone. God! I don't want to be sold. I'm not a slave. Please!” On and on she droned. Preston ignored her as he methodically tore off what little she still wore and removed his own clothing as well.
Soon he was scrubbing the still-complaining girl in the steamy shower. Although the stall was equipped with eyebolts, he didn't bother hitching her up. Just a quick scrub was all he had time for. He let her babble the whole time. Her jaws needed a rest from the gag, but she sure wasn't helping matters by flapping them so much.
When he was done washing her, he toweled himself off first and got dressed again. Suzy stood, dripping and shivering, pleading her case. “Please, please, please don't sell me. Maybe I could just stay here with you. I treated your wound, remember? I can be useful. I've seen how nice you are with your slaves. Make me your slave, too. I'm not even asking you let me go, anymore. I just don't want to be sold to some stranger…"
Preston could only shake his head as he grabbed the gag and strode over to her.
“No!” she screamed. “Please. Not the gag again. Oh God! I-Ohh… Mmm! Hmmmph!” As she continued her muffled protests, he dried her off and brushed her hair.
Soon, Suzy sat in the living room. She was naked except for the soft leather cuffs that joined her wrists, elbows, and ankles. A harness ball-gag/blindfold was buckled tightly about her head. She sniffed back her sobs as Preston hurried about trying to clean up the mess left from the disaster of the last couple days.
The sound of the gate alarm brought a curse from him. He glanced around as he strode to the door. The room looked pretty normal. You couldn't see the blood stain on the wall unless you knew where to look, but there wasn't much he could do about the chipped plaster.
He opened the door just as the bell rang. The woman standing there met his surprised expression with an amused look.
“Yes?” he asked.
“This place is well hidden,” said the woman. “I drove past the entrance twice without seeing it."
Preston ignored her small talk. “Who are you and what do you want?"
“I'm here for the merchandise. I'm the buyer."
“There must be some mistake. I made arrangements with a man."
The woman chuckled. “Yes, of course. That was my boy, Philip. I'm sorry to say that, even in these enlightened times, I frequently get disrespected in business transactions. Hence the ruse."
Preston frowned. There was no way she could have known to come here on this date, at this time, unless she was in on the deal, but he still didn't like it.
She laughed again. “I understand your hesitation, Mr., what was the name you used? Smith? Very original. I understand, but I assure you that I am the actual buyer and I've come to inspect the merchandise myself. You can shake me down, if you think I'm wired or anything."