“And, you don’t think the cartel will come after me for cutting them out of the profit?” Dillon asked.
“No.
They do not need the problems with us.”
Dillon was not sure he wanted to get involved with men who had the ability to make the cartel nervous, but he could see no way out of at least meeting with the Russian.
He
sure as hell did not want problems with them if the Mexicans were leaving them alone.
“I prefer to leave the rest of your inquiries to Viktor,” the Russian informed him, in a tone that let Dillon know that their conversation about the matter had ended.
Dillon let the guard buy him dinner, and they traded stories about their homelands.
By dessert, Dillon had promised the man a cowboy hat and boots if he saw him again.
Mikhail was solidly built, and although Dillon had no doubt his cold eyes held the promise of disposing of his boss man’s enemies, Dillon felt a comfortable kinship with the man.
Not that Dillon would kill… that did not excite him… but he had no qualms in stealing girls’ lives from them.
It was two hours later that Mikhail rose and excused himself, and he asked Dillon to wait.
When he escorted Viktor back to the bar, Mikhail’s hand was behind the open flap of his jacket and gripping the gun that Dillon was sure he kept hidden there.
“Dillon, thank you for waiting.”
The man’s grip was firm, and Dillon had a fleeting thought that he would not like to put money down on a contest between Viktor and his bodyguard.
“Even those Mexican rebels need to revel in celebration after the sale,” he chuckled.
Viktor pulled out the chair across from Dillon, and Mikhail sat between them with his eyes constantly searching the bar for potential threats.
“First time I’ve ever been to one,” Dillon drawled.
“After the girl went, I didn’t see any sense in stickin’ around.”
At first, the nervous habit of sliding back to the Texas slur bothered him.
The more Dillon thought about it, the more he decided that it might be better if this man thought he was not too sharp, and to let him believe Dillon was merely the truck driving cowboy that he presented himself to be.
“The redhead… she was yours, as well.”
This was spoken more as a statement rather than a question.
Dillon thought back, feeling his cock twitch when he remembered training the feisty girl.
“Yes.
She was a bit more challenging than your recent purchase.”
“Still, compared to the shit they offer, she was quite a coup for me.
You can get more like those?” Viktor asked.
Dillon understood the man appreciated the time he put into the girls’ training… not that it was a burden to him.
Next to the abduction, training them was the part he enjoyed.
The sale, though the money was necessary, was more of a chance for him to turn over his inventory and allow him the opportunity to capture another unsuspecting young woman.
This, in turn, gave him the opportunity to fine-tune his training methods.
“I’m kinda’ stuck with where my loads need to be run, but yes.
I’ve managed to scoop up three or four a year,” Dillon replied, deliberately cutting his actual numbers of abductions short.
He would rather promise less and deliver more.
The Russian stared into Dillon’s eyes, and he could almost sense Viktor’s wheels turning, weighing out options.
“If you are not limited by your… vocation… you could get more?”
His intense gaze met Dillon’s, and the trucker felt the queasy shrinking sensation of his sack tightening.
This was not a man to fuck with, but Dillon also sensed that the Russian would be a man of his word… as long as it benefited him.
“Viktor, I already have pretty good facilities to hold and train them, but I still have to pay the bills,” Dillon replied.
All of the money he had received from the sale of the girls, which was basically ten thousand a head from the brothels, had gone into adding equipment to the training facilities in the garage and towards the upkeep of the truck.
Though the fifteen thousand he had received for the blonde was promising, Dillon was far from really turning a profit.
He was curious to learn what the Russian intended to propose.
When Viktor told him what he had paid for the girl, the cowboy’s mouth dropped open and the fat man laughed.
“Yes, though I would work out a percentage with you of my final proceeds when I resell them, so it should bring you even more than I paid the cartel for your little blonde,” he assured him.
“I see no sense for you to go through the Mexicans.”
Viktor tented his fingers, a sign Mikhail understood to mean that the deal was set.
“It was fortunate you arrived today instead of leaving her with them for a week before the sale.
They use trained slaves like this, and do not offer them to us until they are barely worth our time.
It would benefit us both to arrange a direct source.
Though I could see that the redhead had training, it still took some time to get her mind and physical appearance improved for resale.”
The thought of becoming a full-time slaver excited Dillon, as it was something he had been planning to do eventually anyway.
The Russian told him that he had access to properties all over the country with private airstrips, so as soon as Dillon had finished with a girl, he could transfer her for payment within a few days notice.
Viktor said he could manage to justify Dillon’s trips by issuing bogus invoices of transport of goods from a manufacturing plant he owned, and he had distribution points in practically any area Dillon decided to travel.
Viktor’s company had a web of destinations to hide illegal activities behind legal enterprises.
The deal was set, and the Russian fronted him with enough cash to pay off his debts and make the alterations to the truck to convert it to a mobile training facility.
The cost was outrageous, but Viktor did not flinch at the expense.
Dillon dismantled most of his original facility at his house, because using the box trailer of the rig would enable him to continue training while he picked up a new woman.
This would increase the amount of inventory he could provide to his sponsor.
It went unspoken what they would do to him if he did not hold up his end of the deal.
He sat in the house with his feet propped up on the low wooden table jotting down plans for the new association, when his eyes rose to the television at the mention of his name.
Not his name, really, but what the news reporters and police had tagged him with… ‘The Highway Slasher’.
Slasher made it sound like Dillon killed the girls, and they had not found any bodies, of course.
They were referring to the tires, and he supposed that ‘Highway Slasher Abductor’ was too much of a mouthful.
The newscast offered no new information, other than that they were losing confidence that a black rig was involved because someone said they saw an old red truck pulling out of one of the stops where one of the abandoned cars was found.
Ironically, the black rig one of the witnesses had seen was not even his.
The witness was positive that the semi did not have a sleeper cab, and they described it pulling a silver refrigerated trailer.
This meant that they still had no idea of his vehicle description, and people were letting stories run wild about the victims kept frozen in the truck.
Dillon knew this information would tend to freeze potential witnesses’ minds from considering alternatives.
By the time the association with the Russians had been in place for a year, the police were no closer to catching him.
His abductions followed no decipherable plan, as they happened in almost any state, any road, and any time.
The closest continuity and pattern they could formulate was that a girl would disappear every month… and, that she would never be heard from again.
CHAPTER I
Sweat trickled down between Tiana’s breasts while Adam squeezed them, his hands slipping on the slick surface.
Even with the big fan blowing a windy stream of slightly cooler air across them, the heat in the bedroom seemed to hold onto the musky smell of sex permeating from the damp sheets, and the breeze offered very little relief to the hot night.
“We gotta’ get the AC fixed,” Tiana gritted out as she bounced on Adam’s cock.
It was only the beginning of summer, and she knew that the stifling air and humidity would only get worse.
“Shit, it’s hot in here,” Adam agreed.
Tiana noted he did not make mention that his check would be coming soon and that they could use it for the repair.
She found the sweltering heat was interrupting any chance of her achieving an orgasm, so she reached behind her bottom to fondle her boyfriend’s sack.
There was no way that he would let her climb down until he was finished, and her knees were beginning to ache from being folded back for so long.
Tiana enjoyed sex as much as the next girl… but not in a damn furnace… and not with
her
supplying all the effort again.
While her hand reached back to stroke him, her fingers slipped up and she pinched her bottom… hard.
It was the first true response she had managed from her pussy, but it was just too damn hot to bother to arouse herself further.
When the AC had worked and she could concentrate on her own passion, she would close her eyes and pretend that Adam was forcing her to ride him.
Sometimes, she fantasized that she was bound in place and that he was… well shit, not even that was working this time.
She never had to pretend before she got with Adam, and she had no idea why her thoughts had begun to turn to a darker form of sex.
Tiana figured that if she got with a regular boyfriend again, one who liked to find ways to excite her in bed, her fantasies would return to normal.
She had been sleeping with Adam since they had met in Lit Class a year ago and began dating.
At first, it seemed that they shared a lot of interests, but Tiana had gradually come to the conclusion that Adam’s main preoccupation seemed to concern what pleased
Adam
at any given time.
His upbringing in a wealthy home had made him expect to be pampered and spoiled, though Tiana was fairly certain that he was unaware of this.
Tiana was one of the few students who were actually in college to receive a degree, and she had little interest in student parties or searching for a man to complete her life.
A fuck-buddy-escort through college would be fine, and then they could go their separate ways.
But shit, I at least need someone who moves when we’re screwing around.
She wanted security, and to her that meant the independence accreditation from school would give her.
Usually, Tiana could allow her vivid imagination to carry her through Adam’s mediocre performance in bed, so she had agreed to a trial period of moving in with him after her lease had run out.
The two of them still had three years of college left, and she had hoped the arrangement would save her some money.
With an absent father and a mother who had sunk back into life in the trailer park with her last drunken partner, Tiana was swamped in student loans and government aid.
Her only work experience growing up had been watching the kids in the trailer park… mostly in exchange for food.
When she had arrived at college last year, she had managed to land a job at the daycare.
It provided her with a little spending money, after she covered the cost of insurance on her small ten year old car.
There was a distressingly meager amount that she could use for rent, and the thought of having someone to share living expenses was welcome.
It was not until after she moved in that she had discovered Adam’s former roommate had moved out because Adam never seemed to have his share of the bill money.
Tiana was strapped for cash after catching things up, and fixing the AC would not be an option for at least another two weeks.
That was when Adam said that his check from his folks would arrive.
Tiana finally felt him stiffen, and his hands grabbed her waist.
Thank, god,
she thought as he quickly pushed into her and emptied.
She climbed off and walked towards the shower, noting that Adam had not asked if she was finished.
Fifteen minutes later, Tiana was wrapping a towel around herself and feeling much more comfortable.
She searched the counter for the toothpaste, and then began digging through drawers when she saw the empty tube in the trash.
On Adam’s side, she shuffled through a collection of old razor blades, combs, and clippers.
She was just about to close the drawer when her eyes caught the edge of an envelope sticking out from under the shelf liner.
Tiana glanced once at the closed door, and then she slipped the letter out.
The envelope was from Adam’s parents.
Tiana noticed last week’s date on the postmark, and she began to fume.
If that bastard already got his check in without telling me, I’ll kill him.
It had cost her almost fifteen hundred dollars to bring all of the bills current, and when she had approached Adam’s former roommate to reimburse her, the young man had laughed at her.
He told her that after footing most of the bills for the past year, there was no way in hell that he was sinking any more money into the ‘Adam Charity’ fund.
Tiana was shaking with anger when she pulled the single sheet out.
It was from Adam’s mother, and she apologized for not sending money.
They were arriving on Thursday with a truck to load Adam up with his belongings, and they were moving him back home to work in his dad’s business.
Stunned, Tiana dropped onto the lid of the toilet and she stared at the letter.
She had no idea that Adam was flunking three of his classes.
Apparently, the only class that he was barely passing was the one Tiana lent him her notes on.
Friday was the beginning of summer break, and their classes would not resume for a week.
They had planned to go to the lake and camp, and Tiana had already reserved the campsite with her credit card.
They were leaving Friday, after Thursday’s finals.
Tiana realized that Adam was not even planning on taking them, and he was going to sneak off while she was busy with tests all day.
At first, she thought about screaming at him, but she knew that a fight would not change the facts.
Obviously she was not going to get her money back, and it was also just as obvious that Adam had no choice but to follow his parents’ orders.
Tiana felt a little numb, due mainly to the surprise.
After a few minutes, her thoughts adjusted to the news.
She realized that she probably would not even miss him and his selfish bedside manner.
Tiana decided that the summer would be a little tough, but when the new school year began, she should be able to pick up a roommate.
“This could work,” she whispered to herself.
Tiana even decided that she was not going to let Adam ruin her plans, and she was sure that she could enjoy a week at the lake without him.
Who knows?
Maybe she might find a handsome park ranger to keep her occupied.
If not, a week in the woods to clear her mind of Adam and his snoring would be nice, anyway.
In the end, Tiana decided to say nothing.
She made up some bogus excuses not to have sex with him again for the last two nights, and that seemed to irritate Adam quite a bit.
She guessed that it would be hard for him to get lucky once he was living at home again.
Tiana maintained her resolve not to bring up his impending move, but by Thursday morning, the financial expenses that she had covered for him began to make her angry.
In the back of her mind she had been expecting Adam to mention his plans of deserting her, but he never said a word.
Tiana decided that she could not go off to school for finals without at least acknowledging that she knew he would be gone when she got home.
She made one comment, as she grabbed her coffee to head towards campus.
“Don’t take the Ryker CD, okay?
It’s one of my favorites.”
Adam looked up with a stunned expression, and he murmured, “Okay… I’ll leave it.”
That was it.
That was all the selfish bastard had said to her after a year of dating him and draining her savings to bail him out.
Tiana had to calm herself down, and for once she was grateful that she had finals to keep her mind off him.
The apartment was pretty much the same when she got home.
Most of the stuff was hers anyway, and it had replaced the things the old roommate had moved out.
Tiana was surprised that there was not a bigger empty pocket where Adam had been.
She considered calling Brigit to ask her to keep an eye on the apartment while she was camping.
Tiana was fairly certain that her neighbor had watched Adam’s departure, and the thought of having to explain the situation surrounding his desertion made her stomach roll.
Tiana decided not to embroil herself in Brigit’s attempts to cheer her up and she went to bed early, intending to leave to the lake in time to watch the sunrise.
Tiana packed the car with the things by the door.
She would buy ice for the cooler when she stopped for gas on the way out of town.
With one last look around the apartment, Tiana made sure that her cell phone was charged, slipped it into her purse, and grabbed her keys.
The clerk looked up from her book and she smiled.
She recognized the coed by her blue eyes and long brown ponytail.
The young woman was only about five-two, and Maggie had to reach something off a top shelf for her a few months back.
After twenty years as a sorority housemother she had retired three years ago, but Maggie still considered the young women at the college as ‘her’ girls.
The clock on the register read just after three in the morning, and Maggie said, “You’re out kinda’ late, missy.”
She glanced towards the pump, expecting to see her boyfriend with her.
When the couple had first started coming into the store together, Maggie had decided that the preppie looking young man was a moocher.
Her sharp eyes had noticed how he always managed to slide a few extra things onto the counter, right before the girl handed over her credit card.
“I’m going camping out at the lake for a week,” Tiana replied.
“Alone?”
“Alone...
it’s more affordable that way,” Tiana winked.
“I need a bag of ice,” she said, as she put a case of water and a large Styrofoam cup of coffee onto the counter.
“Oh, and the gas.
I’ll be filling up.”
“Why don’t you go do that while I get the ice for you?” Maggie offered.
“Thanks.”
Tiana looked over her shoulder, and she added, “He’s gone for good, by the way.”
“It’s about time,” Maggie chuckled.
If Maggie Bender had known that she would be the last person to see the girl, she would have tried to convince her not to go alone.
She cried when she saw Tiana’s picture in the paper, and she asked to be taken off night shift.
Maggie could not bare the thought of losing one of ‘her’ girls, again.
Tiana waved as she pulled out of the gas station, and she turned left at the light to pull onto the highway ramp heading north.
This late, in the middle of the night, there was no traffic, and Tiana cranked up the CD player and sang with Ryker at the top of her lungs.
The drive would only take a couple of hours, but after forty-five minutes she had finished her coffee and she was wiggling in her seat.
There was an exit ahead, but Tiana knew that it was almost a ten mile detour to get to the amenities.
Then, she remembered that there was a small rest stop a few miles ahead.
Dang, she had to go bad.
She cruised in front of the pavilion, and without even considering that there were no other cars around, she ran to the women’s bathroom.
When Tiana came out, a man was walking towards her, and she looked across the lot to his semi.
The shining black rig was parked in the shadows, but she could see the blue and white sign on the door.
She remembered passing him a few miles back, because no one else was on the road.
“Hi,” she smiled.
“Evening,” the man’s deep voice replied.
He tipped his cowboy hat, and continued to walk to the restrooms.
Just before climbing back into her car, Tiana noticed the back tire.
Okay, this sucks.
At least Adam could have helped her change a flat.
She thought about calling road service, but even if she could get a signal out here, it would cost more money that she did not have, and by the time they found the rest stop she would have missed the sunrise on the lake.
Tiana looked back at the pavilion, and then squinted her eyes at the sign on the truck.
“Anderson’s Tools,” she murmured.
Tiana shrugged, “Never heard of them.”
There was a phone number and even a website address, so she knew that they had to be a legitimate company.
The rig looked new, and although she had only glanced at the driver, his clothes seemed clean and he had been polite enough.
Tiana leaned against her car and she waited for the man to come out.
“Hey… look, I hate to bother you, but could you help me change a tire?”