Pleasing Her Racy Doms [Racy Nights 6] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (18 page)

They texted back that they weren’t sure what he looked like, but they’d ask Sean and Chad and get back to her. After two more texts, each one asking if she was all right, she assured them that she was.

“Cherilyn, what’s going on?” asked Gina.

“They miss me.” She gave the two her sweetest smile. When she glanced toward the table again, the man was gone. That was somehow more disturbing than when he’d been sitting there watching them, although Cherilyn couldn’t say why. She finally decided that she’d allowed Thayer and Evan’s earlier disquiet to affect her too much. Everything was fine.

When they got ready to leave the bar an hour later, the thunder was louder in the distance, but it wasn’t raining. Gina pulled up The Weather Channel on her phone. “Ah, we’d better get back and quickly. Severe thunderstorms moving in.” She showed them the radar map.

Cherilyn got in her car, texted Evan and Thayer to let them know she was leaving, and followed the two out of the parking lot and onto US Route 231. Since Olivia and Gina had both come straight from work, they’d driven together. It started to rain by the time they were about five minutes out of Lafayette, and within seconds the storm was right overhead.

Cherilyn had driven in bad storms before, and she wasn’t afraid of them. She slowed down, got into the right lane, and put her wipers on high. A driver slipped in front of her, and she was no longer following Gina’s car, but it didn’t matter. They were only twenty minutes from Racy, and it’s not like Cherilyn didn’t know the way home.

Evan texted her to let her know about the storm, but she didn’t want to try and text him back. Instead she called him and told him where she was. He said it was coming from the southwest and looked like it would pass just east of Racy. She was heading northwest, so that explained why she was right in the middle of it.

After she disconnected the call, the rain let up, and soon it was only sprinkling. She exhaled the breath she’d been holding. How long would it take before everyone in Racy was no longer apprehensive about even the mildest thunderstorms?

She could no longer see Gina’s car, but then Gina drove like a madwoman, so she was probably already back in Racy by now. Cherilyn increased her speed, anxious now just to get home. She turned on her iPod and was singing along to J. Lo’s latest tune when she spotted a car coming up behind her at breakneck speed. The outline of the driver, illuminated for just a second as a car passed from the opposite direction, reminded her of the man sitting in the bar, but she shook away that thought. She’d been imagining things all evening.

When he put on his high beams, she swore under her breath. What an asshat. Cherilyn slowed down so hopefully he’d get the hint and just go around her, but he still didn’t. What the fuck was his problem? She was already in the right lane. What did he expect her to do? Move out of his way simply so he wouldn’t have to change lanes? What a moron.

When something bumped her car from behind, she yelped and her pulse began to race. What the fuck? Had she hit an animal? She glanced in the rearview mirror and what she saw caused her palms to become damp. The guy behind her was so close that she couldn’t see his headlights. It had been his car that had struck her. She was certain of it now.

What should she do? There was no one else around. She picked up her cell phone with trembling fingers and tried to call Evan, but her fingers were shaking too much. The second hit was harder than the first, and she had to drop the cell phone and hang onto the wheel with both hands to keep from veering off the road. She needed help.

Cherilyn pulled over, hoping it wasn’t the wrong thing to do, but also knowing she couldn’t keep driving like this. She was shaking too badly. And she couldn’t imagine trying to simply outrun him. Maybe if she pulled off the road he’d just go away?

She picked up her phone and punched in Evan’s number. He answered on the first ring. “Some guy bumped me. I don’t know what to do.”

“What? Cherilyn, where are you?”

The panic in Evan’s voice made her start to cry, and her voice shook. “I don’t know. About twenty minutes away. He just keeps hitting me. I don’t know what to do…”

The man hit her car again. It bounced to the left, closer now to the woods at the side of the road. No way. This wasn’t an accident. This was deliberate. She had to get out of here.

“Evan, I’m so scared…”

“Cherilyn, please… try to tell me where you are.”

“Okay. I’m still on 231.”

“Did you pass 18 yet?”

“I think so. I don’t know.” She tried to steer the car back onto the road but she wasn’t even sure what the hell she’d just said to Evan. Her heart was racing like crazy and she could barely see through her tears. Her car was stuck on the gravel and she couldn’t seem to get it back onto the road.

“Evan, I can’t get back on the road. What should I do?” She heard Thayer’s voice in the background, yelling at someone to call Sean. Tears still blurred her vision. She’d never been this afraid in her life. What if she never saw them again? Why hadn’t she just stayed home?

The third time her car was hit, it rolled onto its side. Cherilyn screamed as pain shot down her left arm and left leg. She managed to hold onto her cell phone, and when something struck her driver’s side door, shattering the glass, she stuffed it into her jeans pocket. She had no idea why. She only knew she wasn’t going to let it go. It was her only link to Evan and Thayer.

Evan screamed Cherilyn’s name into the phone over and over, but the call was gone. Thayer was pulling his arm. Why?

“Come on! Let’s go!”

“Where?”

“To find her. Sean and Chad were already on the southeast end of town and are heading toward 231. Troopers on the way.”

“What?” He couldn’t even think straight. She’d said something about a car hitting hers, and then the horrible sound of breaking glass had echoed in the phone. And her screaming…Cherilyn screaming…and he was fucking powerless here to help her.

“Come on!” Thayer tugged on his arm again and this time Evan followed him.

They got into the Porsche, and Thayer turned on his Bluetooth as they peeled out of the rain-soaked parking lot, fishtailing slightly. Thayer let out a string of curse words as he sped through town.

“I’m going to try calling her again.” Evan punched in her number, but there was no answer. The hollow sound of the phone ringing on the other end reminded him of a death knell. Why had they let her go out tonight? Both men had been edgy, and it had nothing to do with the weather. He knew that now. They’d told her that they would protect her and keep her safe, but they hadn’t done that.

They were almost out of town when Thayer’s phone rang. “Yeah. What?”

“We found her car.” It was Chad’s voice.

Evan suddenly felt sick to his stomach. The tone of Chad’s voice didn’t indicate all was well.

“And?” Thayer looked ready to jump out of his skin, but if he didn’t slow down he was going to hit someone.

“It’s on US 231, just north of 18.”

“Chad, is she in it?”

“No.”

“Where is she then?”

“We don’t know, but there are woods here. She could be in them, or not. It’s fucking dark and raining out here, Thayer. We can’t see anything. I’ve alerted the staties. The crime team will go over the car. That’s all I can do right now.”

“Her phone,” said Evan. “Chad, is her phone in the car?”

“I don’t know yet. Why?”

“Because I just tried calling it and it’s still on.”

“Call it now.”

Evan did, and then he waited.

“I don’t hear it ringing,” said Chad. “Give me her number.” Evan did, and then they heard Chad’s voice calling to someone, telling them to put a track on the number.

“I can’t promise anything,” said Chad. “If she turns it off, we can’t find her. And it could be in the woods or anywhere around here. The car is a mess, Thayer.”

Thayer stopped the car and pulled over. He was visibly shaking now. “Chad, what should we do?”

“Go home.”

“I can’t! I have to do
something
. I have to find her.”

“Thayer, go home. I’ll call you when I know something.” Chad disconnected the call.

“Do you want to go find her car?” asked Evan.

“What’s the point? She’s not in it. We fucked up, Evan. We didn’t keep her safe.”

Thayer was right. They had failed her.
He
had failed her. He was in love with her, and he’d sworn to keep her safe, but he’d failed her. And now she might never know that he loved her. He should have told her. He almost had when she’d jokingly asked if he intended to move in with Thayer. The words had been right there, on the tip of his tongue, but he hadn’t said them. His fucking fear and his asinine pride had kept him from saying them, and now it might be too late.

* * * *

Cherilyn’s phone vibrated in her pocket, but she didn’t dare answer it. The man driving the car didn’t notice. He was too busy singing along to “O Soave Fanciulla” from
La bohème
. She tried to reach the phone, thinking she could at least text Thayer or Evan, but she couldn’t. He’d bound her hands with something, and even though they were in front of her body, she couldn’t reach into her jeans pocket. It didn’t matter. When he found the phone, he’d take it from her.

She closed her eyes and tried to keep breathing. The sound of breaking glass still echoed in her ears. And then there had been searing pain in her left side as he’d wrenched the seat belt off her and dragged her out onto the highway. She’d tried to roll away, but he’d flung her over his shoulder like a sack of flour and dumped her into the back seat of this car, trying her hands before she could catch her breath. He’d never said a word. The smell of cigarette smoke and beer hung about him, and she hadn’t even had time to try and get a look at his face.

Beer…was he the man from the bar? Was he Jay Nichols? Cherilyn tried not to cry, but she’d never been so afraid in her life. She wanted to be back in her car, driving home to Racy. Home to Thayer and Evan. She wanted to hear their voices whisper to her in the dark, and she wanted to feel their mouths on her. She wanted their arms around her, holding her. Would she ever feel those things again? Was she going to die without them knowing how much she loved them both?

The tears wouldn’t stop. Her entire body was trembling now, and she was in pain. Something warm and sticky was all over her face. Was it blood? Had the glass from her driver’s side door cut her?

She tried to picture Evan’s face and Thayer’s eyes, willing them to somehow know where she was and who she was with. They would find her. They had to. She couldn’t die without having one more chance to look at them and tell them that she loved them. She shouted the words in her mind, over and over. Somehow they would hear them and find her. They had to.

* * * *

Thayer paced the floor of his living room, running his hands through his hair and punching the air with his fists. What the fuck was taking so long? Shouldn’t they just be able to trace her cell phone? “Let’s go to the station.”

“Thayer, sit down. You’ll have a fucking stroke or something.”

“How can you be so calm? She’s out there somewhere, probably with Jay Nichols. Why did she ask us what he looks like? Don’t you think it’s connected?”

“I’m not calm. I’m as fucking scared as you are.”

Evan’s face was too pale, and Thayer knew he’d been right. Evan had been thinking the exact same thing he had. “You knew. You knew it, too. She thought she saw him tonight. That’s why she asked us.”

“Fuck…Thayer, we have to tell Sean and Chad. We should have told them what she asked. Fuck.”

As Thayer drove them to the police station, it started to rain again and loud thunder echoed across the sky. They’d told Cherilyn they would ask Sean and Chad if they knew what Nichols looked like, but they hadn’t. Right after she’d texted them that question, someone at the gym had needed help. She’d said she was all right and that she was only asking because his name had come up in conversation, otherwise they wouldn’t have forgotten about it. Was that true? Had his name come up, or had she thought she spotted him?

He punched the steering wheel as they got caught at a stoplight. Why the fuck hadn’t he realized why she was asking? She’d kept assuring them that everything was all right, but why hadn’t he read between the lines and realized that something else was going on? How could he have been so fucking blind?

If she died, it would be his fault. His fault entirely. And she’d never know how much he loved her. She’d die without knowing that. He should have told her. He’d had countless chances to do so but hadn’t. Why? He was the biggest fucking idiot on the planet. Now, he might never have the chance.

They finally made it to the station as frequent lightning lit the sky. Was she out in this storm somewhere, cold and afraid? Was she in the woods they’d mentioned next to where they’d found her car? Why the hell had he let Chad talk him into going home? What the fuck good could he do her at home?

“She asked us if we knew what Jay Nichols looked like.” Sean, Chad, Dean, and a man Thayer didn’t recognize looked up as he and Evan burst in. “She asked us earlier, when she was at The Black Sparrow.”

“Slow down,” said Sean. “Want some coffee?”

Thayer ran his hand through his hair. “No, I don’t want any fucking coffee, Sean. Jay Nichols has her. I’m certain of that.”

The man Thayer didn’t recognize narrowed his eyes. “And how exactly do you know that?”

“Thayer, Evan, this is Pete Warring from the JAG office in Indy,” said Sean. “Thayer Denning and Evan Rydell.”

“She texted us,” said Evan, holding out his phone to Sean. Sean took it and read the texts, while Pete looked over his shoulder. “We didn’t think anything of it at the time since she kept telling us everything was fine.”

“Then why did she ask?” Pete’s gaze was nothing short of suspicious, and Thayer didn’t deck him only because he knew Sean would throw his ass in jail overnight if he did.

“We think she saw someone she suspected was him.”