A cold chill gripped Tess’s spine.
The leader reached for a leather sheath clipped to his belt. An instant later, he was holding a long sharp knife. Its shiny surface glinted in the moonlight.
He pressed the sharp tip of the knife against her side, just below her outstretched arm. He brought the knife slowly downward, tracing a line across her breast, her abdomen.
Tess was terrified. She wanted to scream, to cry out. She wanted to dissolve into tears, like a helpless child. But she knew that wouldn’t help. She had to remain strong, had to try to keep her wits about her.
The leader moved the knife to the base of her neck, then began bringing it upward, fondling her with the cold steel blade. The knife pricked her in places; traces of blood rose to the surface of her skin, outlining the blade’s path.
“What do you think now?” he said as the knife rested against her right cheek. “Do you suppose you could be a bit friendlier to me?”
Tess took a deep breath and tried to muster every ounce of strength left to her. “I want you to let me go,” she said firmly. “I want you to let us all go. You have no right to do this.”
His teeth clenched together with anger. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
He picked up the whip he had dropped by the side of the tree.
Oh my God, Tess thought. This can’t be real. This can’t be happening.
“I’ll just get started,” the leader said. His voice had recovered some of the buoyant good humor it had before. “And you let me know when you’re feeling friendlier toward me. ‘Cause that’s when I’ll stop.”
“Please no,” Tess whispered, tears streaming down her face. “Please. This can’t be happening. This can’t be real.”
The leader’s arm snapped back. She heard the crack behind her, and an instant later, she felt an intense pain, like nothing she had ever felt in her entire life, lacerating her back.
And then she knew that it was real.
It was Vincenzo. Loving was certain of it. He’d been knocking himself out trying to find the pusher man-and the pusher man had found him. Problem was, now that Loving had what he wanted, he was beginning to wish he didn’t.
Loving braced himself, waiting for the first blow, the first swing of that baseball bat Vincenzo had tucked under his arm. He was pinned down on the bench, with Vincenzo’s hands holding him firmly in place. If Vincenzo went after him now, in this position, there wasn’t much Loving could do about it.
“What the hell is it you want?” Vincenzo barked.
Loving tried to choose his words carefully. “What makes you think I want anything?”
Loving felt a sharp blow against the side of his head. “Don’t fuck with me, asshole. You think I’m a fool?”
“No,” Loving said, trying to keep his voice level. “I don’t think you’re a fool.”
“You think I haven’t seen you? Skulkin’ about? Tryin’ to follow me? I got eyes everywhere, asshole.” Loving felt another cuff on the side of the head. “Now stop screwin’ with me and tell me what I want to know!”
“I work for Ben Kincaid,” Loving explained. “He’s the lawyer representing George Zakin, the man who’s been accused of killing Dwayne Gardiner. Except Ben doesn’t think he did it. And neither do I.”
“So?” Vincenzo growled. “Why have you been watchin’ me?”
“I wanted to ask you a few questions,” Loving answered. He was trying to twist around subtly, to improve his defensive position, but Vincenzo had him pinned down like a fly.
“Like what, asshole?”
“Like whether you knew Gardiner.”
“And what if I did?”
“Was he a customer of yours?”
“What the hell is it to you?”
“I think he was. I think he was hooked on your designer drug big-time.”
“You’re full of shit. You don’t have nothin’ on me.”
“Maybe not now. But I’ve worked with Ben before, and I know that he won’t stop looking. If you were involved in Gardiner’s death, he’ll find out. Doesn’t matter what you do to me. He’ll keep pounding away till he uncovers the truth.”
“I can’t allow that,” Vincenzo growled, and all at once, Loving felt those viselike hands leave his chest.
Loving turned and saw Vincenzo had the baseball bat reared back, ready to swing. Loving lurched off the bench, but Vincenzo knocked him over. Loving tumbled down to the pavement.
Vincenzo sprang up like a jaguar; a second later, he was on the bench, hovering directly above Loving. He raised the bat over his head, then began the swift downward blow. Loving saw the bat coming, but there was nothing he could possibly do in time.
Chapter 30
Tess felt utterly used, drained, and helpless. Three times the whip had cracked, and three times she had felt the searing pain on her back. She heard Maureen crying somewhere behind her, begging the man to stop. But her own voice was silent. She didn’t have the strength. Not even enough to beg.
“How ya feeling there, sweetheart?” the leader asked. “Think you’re ready to dance the hokey-pokey with me yet?” A brief pause. “No? Well, here we go again.”
Tess heard the crack of the whip. Reflexively, her eyes clenched shut.
Wait a minute. That was something different. That wasn’t a whip. That was a gunshot. Somewhere behind her.
“All right, freeze!” The voice sounded mechanical, like it was coming through an electric bullhorn. “This is the sheriff. Nobody move.”
All at once, the seven masked men scrambled for cover. They moved in every which direction at once, diving into the nearest available brush.
“I said freeze!” The gun fired again, somewhere over their heads. An instant later, there was not a masked man in sight.
“Damn.” She heard the sound of movement. A few seconds later, Sheriff Allen came into view.
“They’re getting away,” Tess murmured.
“I know that, damn it,” he said. “But I think it’s more important that I get you folks some medical attention.” He glanced at her exposed back, then winced.
“Rick,” Tess whispered. It was still hard to muster the energy to speak. “He’s in bad shape.”
“Worse than you? Hell.” He jogged over to Rick, then saw the damage. “Damn. Damn!” He jiggled the cuffs pinning Rick to the tree. “I don’t suppose those boys gave you the keys?”
Rick didn’t respond. He didn’t appear to be conscious.
“Didn’t think so. I’ll be right back.” Allen darted off into the darkness.
About a minute later he returned, this time carrying a small hand axe. “Good thing I had this in my truck. Brace yourself.” He swung the axe around hard, severing the chain between the two handcuffs. Released, Rick tumbled to the ground.
“Thought that’d work,” Allen mumbled. “Cheap plastic cuffs, anyway.”
Out of the corner of her eye, Tess saw the sheriff heading in her direction. Thank God, she thought. Her arms ached with the thought of being released, of being free again. The nightmare had been real, but now, at last, it looked as if she was about to wake up.
Loving thought he was a goner; there was no way he could survive another blow from a baseball bat direct to his head. But just before the bat cracked his skull, Vincenzo hesitated.
Loving didn’t know why, and he wasn’t going to stop to ask, either. He rolled away, out from under Vincenzo, then pushed himself to his feet and ran. He felt embarrassed-like a damn chicken, but Vincenzo would’ve been a challenge for him even when circumstances were equal. When Vincenzo had a baseball bat and Loving was still recovering from a bad blow the night before, circumstances were hardly equal. The smartest thing he could do was run, so he did.
He raced down McKinley, hearing Vincenzo close behind him. He didn’t dare look; even a momentary decrease in his speed might be fatal. He rounded the corner, spiraling out onto Main, where he saw a patrol car heading his way. Thank heaven-who said you can’t find a policeman when you want one? Loving began flailing his arms, desperately trying to get the man’s attention.