Double Her Pleasure (10 page)

Garret bounded out the mudroom door. “She’s not in the
house.”

“Trey!” Their dad’s voice came from the other side of the
house. “The security guard is out cold.”

“This one is, too,” Trey replied.

He looked into Garret’s eyes. They had to find her. Fast.
They ran the rest of the way around the house. Nothing.

“Someone took my truck.” The voice was familiar. The
neighbor’s oldest boy, Eric. “I left my keys in it.”

Trey grabbed the boy’s shoulder and hauled him toward
Derrick. “Dad. Call the sheriff. Hines has Megan in Eric’s truck.”

Derrick pulled out his phone. “You’d damn well better know
your license plate number, boy.”

“I do, sir.” His voice shook.

Trey dialed Owen, his head of security.

“Sir?”

“Where are you?” Trey fisted his hand and pressed it against
the porch railing.

“Heading back to the security building, ETA five minutes.”

Trey looked at his brother. “He’ll be there in five
minutes.”

“Not fast enough.” Garret took his phone. “Listen, Owen,
Hines took Megan in a...” He grabbed Eric’s arm and handed him the phone.
“Truck, make, model, year, and color.”

The boy relayed the information to Owen and handed back the
phone. “I’m really sorry. I always leave my keys—”

“It’s okay.” Trey patted his back. “We all do.” He never
would again, though, if he got Megan back.
If?
There was no if. They
would get her back. They had to.

“...and see which direction the truck turned.” Garret handed
Trey’s phone back to him. “He’s calling the guards at the gates, and the one
working the surveillance building. If the guards don’t remember Eric’s truck,
he’ll check every camera and let us know where the truck went.”

Derrick walked up to them. “The sheriff set an all points
bulletin for the truck. They’re calling up a civilian team to search for it.”
He turned to everyone standing around, looking about as helpless as Trey felt.

“Thank you all for coming to help. The barn is shored up, so
y’all can head home. But on the way, we need you to be on the lookout for a
brand new blue pickup.”

As his father went into details, Trey intercepted four
security staff, sent two around the other side of the house where one man was
down. The other two took over for the neighbors who had seen to the downed man
on this side of the house. One of the guards held up a dart. “Tranquilizer.”

Trey ran a hand through his hair. What the hell kind of a
freak would go through all this trouble to kidnap a woman who despised him? And
now she was with him, racing away from them to God knew where.

The rental car with Megan’s parents and Trey’s mother pulled
up to the house. Patty jumped out. “You leave me sleeping while the barn is
burning?” She stormed toward her husband, her eyes flashing.

She slowed her steps as she looked at the faces of her
family. “Megan?” She looked through the crowd, frantic. “Where is Megan?”

Derrick walked over and took her in his arms. His lips moved
as he spoke quietly in her ear.

“Oh, no.” She shook her head and covered her face with her
hands.

The neighbors silently found their way to their trucks. One
of the men called, “Can I get a ride home? I live over by the falls. I rode out
with Ryker, but he got called into work at the airport.”

A couple people offered rides, then the trucks began rolling
out.

The Larnfrows walked up, Brian’s limp more pronounced.

Trey faced Megan’s parents. “Vonnie, Brian.” He dropped his
head. Shame at what he’d let happen nearly buckling him in half. “Hines has
her.”

Megan’s mother let out a loud, mournful cry.

Brian held her up but he stumbled a bit.

Jumping onto the porch, Trey hauled two chairs and set them
behind the couple.

As they sat, Brian looked up at him. “When?”

“Just minutes ago.” He sat on his heels in front of them.
“The sheriff has his people searching for the truck he stole, and we’re waiting
for our security cameras to tell us which way they went.”

As if conjuring a response, his phone rang. Standing, he
yanked it out of his pocket. “Which way?”

“Headed toward town.” Owen was all business. “Running fast,
and I could only see one person in the truck.”

Five concerned people surrounded him.

Trey looked at Garret. “Town. He only sees Hines in the
truck.”

“Which means what?” Derrick held his wife and stared at
Trey.

Trey recalled the scene on the other side of the house.
“He’s probably put her to sleep, chemically. There’s a white cloth on the
ground.” He could imagine her panic, and it ate at his gut.

Owen cleared his throat. “I’ve sent four security staff your
way.”

“They’re here.”

“I’ll alert them to cordon off the area around the cloth
until the authorities can evaluate it. The ambulance will arrive in about
fifteen.” Owen paused. “I only have one guard here at the gate, but I’d like to
go into town myself, look around, just in case.”

“Go. Thank you.” Trey hung up. “Owen’s heading to town.”

“Why would Hines go there?” Garret rubbed his forehead. “He
had to know the sheriff would be looking for him.”

“Chances are he’s heading somewhere past Clear River.”
Derrick pulled out his phone. “He’d have to risk driving through town, but the
man doesn’t seem to weigh risks very carefully.”

Trey glanced around. Something was missing here. “Where’s
Inez?” She would never stay away during a crisis.

“Oh God, you don’t think Hines...” His mother’s eyes
widened.

No one had seen Inez tonight, and she couldn’t have missed
all the traffic and noise.

“Damn it.” Garret started to move, but their father grabbed
his arm.

“You two head to town. Patty, drive me over to Inez’s house
while I call the Rangers.” They jogged to the closest vehicle, the Larnfrow’s
rental car. “We need an eye in the sky.” They drove off, kicking dust as they
went.

Trey jogged toward a ranch truck, Garret close on his heels.
They raced out of the yard and Trey floored the gas pedal as they tore down the
dirt road.

For the next twenty minutes, Garret answered both his and
Trey’s phones, and relayed the messages. “They found Inez locked in her
bathroom. Hines got onto the property on a dirt bike. It’s sitting in her
kitchen.”

“Must have been where the camera was broken, Owen hadn’t
seen any vehicles on the road, so Hines must have shot out the camera and come
in off-road.”

“You never told me about that.” Garret’s voice held more
than a touch of anger.

“We can spend the next hour fighting, or we can concentrate
on finding our woman.”

“Fuck.” Garret’s fist hit the dashboard. “How did we let him
get her?”

Trey was beating himself up the same way. “We’ll get her
back.” He took a deep breath. “But will she ever forgive us for this?”

Garret dropped his head into his hands, curling his fingers
into his hair.

“Inez? She’s okay?” Trey would like to break that fucker
Hines in half.

“Yeah.” Garret rubbed his eyes. “Mad as a wet cat, though.”

Trey’s phone rang.

“Garret, here.” He listened a few moments. “Okay. Keep us
updated.” He set down the phone. “Nothing in town. They’ve got the entire
two-digit population looking for them.”

Trey slammed his palm on the steering wheel. “Fuck. He must
have driven right past. But where to?”

To their left, the lights of the airport shone, on the three
metal buildings. “We’ll be in town in a couple minutes. Do we keep going or
drive around Clear River? Open every garage looking for the truck?”

“I guess keep going. There are enough people canvassing the
town.”

Trey pressed the gas pedal to the floor. So many side roads
led away from the main highway, Hines could have gone down any of them.

They slowed as they reached the outskirts of town.

Garret looked out the back window. “Wait.” His eyes shifted.

“Yeah?” Trey prayed his brother had an idea.

“That guy looking for a ride. He said Ryker got called in to
work at the airport.”

Trey took his foot completely off the gas. “Yeah, you know,
it could be. Let’s go have a look.” He slammed on the brakes and cranked the
wheel, sending them into a U-turn that any stunt driver would be jealous of.

****

Megan opened her eyes. She’d been dreaming she was lying on
the concrete patio surrounding the pool outside Trey and Garret’s home. The
hard, cold ground under her was definitely concrete, but where was she? The
dark room, lit only by a few bare bulbs way up on the high ceiling, looked
huge.

When she moved her arm, pain shot through her wrists. She
looked down to see bindings tying her wrists together, cutting into her flesh.
Her feet were bound, too.

Cold fear flooded her.

Hines.

Lifting her head, she glanced around. A small plane sat in
front of the closed overhead door. Sounds came from the other side of the
two-seater.

She wasn’t alone.

He appeared from around the nose of the plane. “You’re
awake.” He walked toward her. “Good.”

Still wearing the security guard’s shirt, he squatted in
front of her. “I have a gag, but I don’t want to use it. You’ll be quiet, won’t
you?”

She nodded and stilled the voice in her head telling her to
scream.

His nose, once aquiline and proud, jutted at an odd angle.
But those cold eyes of his were the same nightmare-inducing brown. “We’re going
to finish what we started, my love.”

Her stomach lurched. “Where are we?”

“Clear River Airport. Waiting for the hick to turn on the
runway lights.”

He knew how to fly a plane? Was he living in the hangar? Was
that why no one could find him? “How did you find me?”

He smiled, manic and obsessed. “Just like you got yourself a
new identity, when I was released from prison, I got my own, too. Brand-fresh
everything so you and I could start all-new with different names.”

She shivered, half from the cold floor, half from the
insanity in his voice. “How did you find me?”

She waited, but he just stared at her.

“Answer me.” She wanted to shake that lifelessness out of
his stare. “You found me in Canada, and here in Texas. How?”

“Easy.” He stood and picked up a bag, hauling it to the
plane. “A guy in prison knew a man in law enforcement.” He tossed the bag in
the plane and strolled back toward her. “Someone who could be bribed.”

Hines’s parents had money. Did they have any idea what their
son was doing? She propped herself up on her elbow.

“I couldn’t follow you to those silly conventions you
attended, but when you came to Texas with those men...” He spat to the side,
his mouth curving into a sneer. “I knew I had to get you away from them.”

Hines walked to the window in the small door and checked
every angle. “He called me this afternoon. A whole shitload of law enforcement
was heading this way tomorrow.” He turned and smiled at her. “So I knew tonight
was the night.”

Wiggling and rolling, she got to a seated position, but her
head spun for long moments. How did she handle him? Go along with him and pray
someone found her before they flew out? Or fight him, hope he made a mistake.

Delay. The more time they spent here, the better chance she
had of being rescued. Or of rescuing herself.

“Those pictures you took of me, how did you get so close?”

“Just a powerful lens.” He picked up another bag and walked
toward the plane. “I had to be sure you weren’t shacking up with some fucker.”

“What about the periods when there were no pictures?” He’d
been studying to be a geologist in college. “Are you working in the oil
fields?”

He stomped toward her and she fought to keep from cowering.

“You ruined that when you accused me of hurting you.” His
shouts echoed off the wall. He squatted and grabbed her shoulders. “But I still
love you, we can make this work, Maggie.” His eyes jerked as he spoke, as if
his brain was misfiring. “Remember when we first met at the university? You
pretended you needed tutoring, but you were smart. I knew you were just trying
to get close to me.”

The sound of a car engine made him jump to his feet.

Should she even bother telling him again that she’d never
been interested in him? Nothing seemed to sink into his damaged brain.

He ran to the window. “That’s the man who turns on the
runway lights.”

“Where are we going?” Could she scratch the location on the
concrete? Would anyone even notice it? Her jaw quivered. Were they even looking
for her yet?

He turned toward her and smiled. “We’re going home. Northern
Canada. I’m almost finished with our retreat.”

He walked to an open duffle bag sitting on the floor and dug
through it.

“What? A retreat?”

“All for you, my love. Last winter, when I found you, I knew
we were meant to be together, but the law would just keep trying to pull us
apart.”

He set a small brown bottle on the floor. “I had a piece of
land I bought. Acres and acres, so remote, there’s only a landing strip and a
house.”

He pulled a white cloth from the bag and looked at her.
“It’s not finished, but we can do it together. We’ll be snowed in soon, with no
way out for months.” He laughed like a child. “We’ll be completely alone
together.”

Her heart stopped for a second and she nearly blacked out.
She couldn’t get in that plane with him. She’d have to do everything in her
power to stop this flight.

“Why now?” She worked at the bindings on her wrists, but
they just cut deeper. “Why not wait until the house was finished?” She
swallowed. “Is that how little you think of me? Taking me to an unfinished
home.”

He froze and his mouth dropped open. Red colored his face.
“I had to act now.” He stood and walked toward her. “My source tracked your
phone to Texas, to this airport, and it was an easy step to connect you to the
McGatlins through the flight plan.” He shook his head. “The first time I saw
you with both of them, I couldn’t believe you would do something like that.”

Her eyes closed. He knew she was with both men? He’d had to
be watching their every move. But how?

He leaned over her. “I knew I had to save you before those
men did something to you that I couldn’t forget.” He shuddered. “As it is, I’ll
have to help you purge your body and mind of them once we get home.”

“Oh God.” She couldn’t breathe.

“Look at me!” He shouted, close to her ear.

She forced her head back, their faces just inches apart.

“The men in prison, they beat me. They took advantage of me
in ways that would make you sick.” His eyes did that jerking thing again. “The
whole time, all I thought of was my pure, sweet Maggie waiting for me, wanting
to comfort me. Heal me.”

She didn’t know what to say that wouldn’t make this worse.

“You put me in there.” He straightened and fisted his hands.
“By agreeing with the judge to lie about me, say those things about me that
were not true.”

Her mouth was so dry, she could barely move her tongue.
“Nothing I said was a lie. You scared me, Larry.” Could she make him face the
terror he put her through?

He stared off past her. “I followed you down here. I camped
on a ridge across from the entrance to the ranch. I watched every car that went
in and out, looking for you.”

He knelt in front of her. “I didn’t mean to frighten you.
But I’ll make it up to you. Give me a year. Just a year, alone together. If you
want to leave after that, we can talk about it.”

It was as if he didn’t hear her.

Lights snapped on outside, shining in through the window.

He smiled, so scary it made her shudder. “We can go now.”

Hines reached into his pocket and lunged toward her, a black
cloth tight between his hands. “Can’t have you see where we’re going.”

Before she could move, he’d tied the blindfold over her
eyes.

She needed to do something. Fast.

The sound of liquid splashing reached her seconds before the
smell of whatever he’d used to knock her out earlier snuck into her nostrils.

“You don’t need to use that, Larry. I’ll come with you.”
Better awake, where she at least had a chance of escape.

“Aha. You’re hoping those men will come and rescue you.” The
distinctive sound of a semi-automatic being cocked echoed in the silence. “This
is a gun, my love, and I will use it if they even get close to us.”

“Please. Leave them alone. This is between you and me.”

“You are a good girl, Maggie, but I can’t trust you yet.
They’ve poisoned your mind. It’s almost as if they’ve made you afraid of me.”

She couldn’t do it. She couldn’t let him just drug her and
fly her to some remote outpost. “I
am
afraid of you. You harassed me for
a year in college before someone believed me and swore out a warrant for your
arrest.”

“Yes but I was—”

“You were a bully.” Tears flowed and she gasped to draw in a
breath. “You were cruel to my friends, scaring them away, and you told lies
about me so no one would even speak to me.”

“But I did it for love.” He nearly sang the words.

“It’s not love, it’s obsession. A sick, demented fixation.
You tried to isolate me for your own selfish fucking amusement.”

“Now, swearing won’t be allowed once we reach our home.”

The fear running through her congealed into rage. “Fuck you,
you lousy shit-eating bastard!” As petrified as she was, it felt almost
cathartic to let this out. “You ruined my life. You’re insane, you’re pathetic,
and I hate you so badly, I could kill you with my bare hands.”

Her breath panted in and out. “And know this, Larry Hines.”
Her voice came out a hiss. “If you succeed in getting me to Canada, I will kill
you the first chance I get. Know that every single waking moment, I will be
planning your death.” She let loose with the craziest bout of laughter she
could manage through the tears that threatened.

“That’s enough.” His footsteps came closer, and the smell of
the anesthesia hit her again. “You’re overtired.” His footsteps sounded to her
left.

Megan rolled back, tucked her legs in, and kicked toward
him, where she hoped his knees were. She got one leg, and he went down with a
grunt.

“Bad, bad girl.” He was on top of her in a second.