"Stay," Bill commanded, not taking his eyes off the man. When he was satisfied that the German Shepherd was going to obey, he asked, "Why shouldn't I kill that little son of a bitch? Give me one reason. He let the girl escape. He's the one who almost got us picked up even before we left the prison. Why shouldn't I put a bullet in his fucking brain?"
"Because you need him. He's a good mechanic and you'll need him if anything goes wrong with the boat when you're en route to the island."
"He's trouble," Billy said.
"He's a mechanic, and you might need him," the man repeated.
Ellen stared at the showdown between the two men and then saw Billy's shoulders slump in defeat. Gradually he lowered his gun. The other man's expression remained unchanged; he waited until Billy's gun was back in his waistband and then put his own weapon away.
Once assured that he was safe, Vito got quickly to his feet again. He stumbled as he stood, falling against Sylvia. "Get yer cruddy hands off me, you fucking little creep," she said in disgust, shoving him away.
Pop and Cash both guffawed loudly and Billy nodded as if he finally agreed with something the tall brunette said. Vito's mouth tightened and his wiry figure stiffened dangerously.
Sylvia stood her ground, smirking at him. "Don't ruffle up your feathers at me, pigshit. You ain't got no knife to back you up now… or had you forgotten you threw it away when you were crapping in your britches a couple of seconds ago. It's too bad Billy didn't shoot you."
"Shut up, both of you," Billy said with ominous softness.
Vito stood, trembling with barely suppressed violence. His glance of hatred raked over the tall brunette's body, then flickered – snake like – toward Ellen seated at the table. If anything the murderous look intensified.
Ellen shuddered in spite of herself. Vito was really the only one that truly frightened her. Pop was evil, but she had discovered last night with her mouth full of his hotly throbbing penis that she could handle his particular brand of evilness. Vito, though, was something else than human… and she was eternally grateful that he had not been given a chance to use her as the others had last night. Now she could feel his eyes course viciously down the length of her young body, and she felt vulnerable as she sensed his lust mounting anew as he made an obscene appraisal of her still partly exposed breasts and the line of naked flesh showing openly through her ripped jeans.
The young blonde hostage instinctively drew nearer to the gang leader who kept a watchful eye on Vito and her. She had already forgiven him for using her body as a wager in a crap game the night before. He had lost her in a game of chance that had as much value to the four desperate criminals as any judgment from a high court of justice. She sensed that Billy had resolved to hold his gang off from her and would do all in his power to keep them from using her as they had during the long and horrible night. He wouldn't reprimand them, but they wouldn't get the chance to abuse her again… not while he was alive!
Ellen felt relatively secure now that Billy was still here close by her side to protect her. He wasn't angry at her escape attempt; it seemed as if he liked her even more as a result. Her thoughts automatically turned to ways she might please him if she really had to, and she knew that if called upon to give herself to him she would do it in gratitude, but she would never permit herself to be handled by the others again. Yes, Billy was strong and she was going to humble herself, no matter how distasteful it might be, to the more powerful of her abductors. Only then – as the chief's woman – would she be protected. It was as simple as that, and yet the young girl still was deeply shaken at how the comparatively serene course of her life had been dramatically altered within a period of only a few hours.
Now she would do anything to please Billy, and she was aware that he needed her silent encouragement if he were to remain gang leader. It was strange how most of life's choices were made by outside circumstances alone. She wondered how much her choice of Bob as her fiance had to do with their first accidental meeting at a dance, and the fact that his mother and father were close friends of her parents. Now she had a choice between four escaped convicts, all of whom, except Vito, had ravished her against her will, but she still had to make a choice between them for her protector.
She knew it wouldn't take much to get any one of these men to act as a shield against the others, but the question was whether her own choice would hold in good stead. Despite her own deep-seated feelings of revulsion and fear of Billy, she knew through a second sense that he had a soft spot in his heart for her. She could tell by the way he had acted, almost tenderly, after he had raped her in the back of the truck, and she had become aware of his feelings again after he had lost the crap game. The look of sad relinquishment of her beautiful young body to Cash and Pop last night had sent a shock of momentary understanding through her tortured mind – but that had been quickly blotted out by the brutal ravishment of her tender young body that had followed.
Whatever warmth and compassion Billy might show toward her would, of course, be bestowed at no expense to the gang leader's pride and sovereignty over the others. She knew that in the final analysis she was still an object to be used and disposed of like a cheap rag doll that is thrown into the trash after its novelty has worn off and the child has lost interest. No, she could not hope for more than a passing interest in him for her safety, but meanwhile she must play this momentary tenderness he felt for her for all that it was worth. She would be his whore; somehow or the other, if she hadn't already replaced Sylvia in his affections, she would have to get rid of the other girl. But how?
She looked up dully as a sudden splatter of rain hit the windows and a gust of wind rattled sections of the tin roof.
"All right," Billy said, assuming command again. "Let's get this meeting started. Come on Cash… Pop." He looked at the ferret-like Vito, and his face twisted in disgust. "You, too."
CHAPTER TWO
The gang leader pulled his chair over to the table, and the others noisily followed him. The distinguished-looking man waited until the four convicts were seated, and then he carefully inspected each of their faces, obviously passing judgment. Ellen noticed that there was something distinctively different about the man that made him contrast starkly with her abductors; and yet – in spite of his sophistication, there was also a sameness – a certain criminality. She watched as he set his brief case on the top of the table and began to shuffle through some papers. The man's gestures were those of an accomplished businessman who was accustomed to dealing at the highest levels of authority. He was no common criminal, and yet there was a slickness to his movements that somehow reminded Ellen of the suave gestures of the card shark or the professional gambler. No, these men were worlds apart in appearance and in thought; but something had drawn them together today that would change the course of the lives of all who were present in the warehouse… and perhaps would alter the direction of world events outside the narrow confines of the criminal mentality of her kidnappers.
Ellen noted a change in the way Billy had been acting, as the gang chief leaned toward the unidentified man sitting at the head of the table. He was no longer the snarling pack leader who asserted himself through violence and animal cunning, but he seemed as though he had consciously decided to keep his more aggressive stance in reserve until he had the new situation under his control. Yes, he definitely had changed, and there was a disturbing quality to the transformation, Ellen thought, as she watched Billy light a cigarette and lean back somewhat nervously in his chair. She sensed a slight strain between the two men that was quite different from the animal conflict between Billy and the three other escaped convicts over the possession of her body.