Fourteen

Lainie tried moving her head, but the pain that screamed throughout her skull forced her to hold still. She bit the inside of her cheek to keep from groaning out loud, needing a moment to think things through from what she remembered last. Johnson had called, saying he had the video for Rance, and she was on her way to check it out. No, she had arrived at the sheriff’s department. She made it there, at least, and then…

She took slow, shallow breaths, trying her best to slow her breathing as well as settle her nerves. Voices could be heard nearby, and Lainie felt wind caressing her cheeks and tugging her hair. She was outside. That was a plus at least. She made it to the sheriff’s department earlier but barely made it out of her car before someone had knocked her out from behind. Who did it wasn’t hard to figure out. Having never left town, the Serpents must have grown tired of waiting and made their move. That they had the balls to attack her outside of the sheriff’s department amazed her. They must have thought they were safe in such a backwoods town. She took another, deeper breath. They really are idiots.

Something scratched against her wrists when she tried to move. Rope, she assumed, since she couldn’t move her arms apart. A futile attempt to bind her, she knew, but she would allow them to think her secure for now. The deception would allow time for her head to stop thumping an Army march behind her eyes and give her time to think about her next move.

“What if it doesn’t work?” she heard one of the gang members say. If she remembered the scene at the rundown Lincoln in the woods the other day, the voice belonged to the skittish kid, younger, greener, than the other one. Definitely a follower.

“Then we kill her and find someone else,” the other guy, tougher, more hardened against life, snarled. “You know as well as me that we ain’t going back until we have that fucking phone, so stop acting like some chicken-shit schoolboy. God, how did you ever get into the Serpents? Snake must’ve been stoned that day.”

“Dude, killing some scared old man is one thing. Hell, even killing a single cop isn’t that big of a deal, but a whole damn department? The odds don’t feel right, you know.”

“Bullshit. The odds are what we make them, and that bitch is going to make our odds real good. Now, get some rest because tonight we’re going in to get Snake his video.”

Lainie heard the nervous kid pacing, his footfalls breaking and snapping twigs and small branches. She was worried that the kid would snap and make things even more difficult for her when she decided to escape. With her panther’s strength, she could easily shift, snapping the ropes that held her and get the hell out of there. The two thugs would be scared shit-less once they faced a panther. Hell, she remembered how they responded to Rance’s wolf.

She took a deep breath at the thought of Rance. She had no idea how long she had been out. Did he worry about her? Would he wait for her to reach out or get tired of her silence and try to find out where she was? He was a detective, so he’d investigate, she was sure, impatience a trait of the job. She didn’t doubt his abilities. Hell, he was smart enough to follow her to Roger’s cabin after all.

Forcing herself not to smile, giving herself away, she risked opening her eyes just a tad, the daylight stinging them, making her vision blurry. She took slow breaths, giving herself time to adjust before opening her eyes further. The man in charge said that whatever they had planned would happen later tonight, so Lainie assumed she had time to figure out how she wanted to play this.

The nervous kid could still be heard rustling around, his nerves making him too anxious to settle down. Lainie knew he would be the one to slip up if either of the gang members did. Why the Serpents sent someone out too green to do what needed to be done, she could only guess. The other one seemed to possess more years on the streets in the way he handled himself. That made him the dangerous one. He’ll be the one I take out first.

Footsteps crunched their way toward her, and Lainie slowed her breathing. “Hey, TC, she hasn’t moved since we dumped her here,” the younger of the two said. “What if you hit her too hard?”

More footsteps headed toward her. “Chris, you’re a paranoid idiot. I didn’t hit her too hard. What? You think this is the first time I’ve done something like this? How the hell did you get into the Serpents?”

Lainie wondered the same thing. At least I have names now. Footsteps drew closer to her, the snapping of twigs sounding real close to her ears. She heard the tightening of material as the footsteps stopped and felt the presence of one of them near her face, his breathing heavy with the stench of cigarette smoke.

“Oh, she’s fine all right,” the one called TC said. “I would wager she’s wide awake and listening to every word we’ve said, which is why I say you talk too much. Thanks to you, she knows our names.”

“Hey, you said my name as well.”

Lainie opened her eyes and would have shook her head, except it was against the ground. “That’s because TC here doesn’t want to be the only one to go down if I get loose.” She turned her gaze until she could see Chris, his hands stuffed into his pockets, his shoulders slumped in that look of defeat that came with someone who was afraid. “I agree with your friend here. What the hell are you doing in a gang if you don’t have the balls for it?”

TC laughed as he slapped his knee and stood up. “Lady, I like you.” He bobbed his head up and down, still laughing. “Yup, I really like you. So, don’t make me kill you and just do what we need.” His laughter died as he narrowed his eyes at her. Turning to Chris, he motioned to her. “Help her sit up and dust her off. We don’t need her looking like shit when we send her back into the sheriff’s department.”

Lainie tried to ignore the rough way Chris handled her as he dragged her into a sitting position. Luckily, she was close enough to a giant pine that she could lean back on something for support, the rough bark digging into her back through her shirt. “You really don’t think I’m going to help you, do you? I mean, why would I want to do that? As far as I’m concerned, you can rot in jail with the man who yanks your collar.”

TC shrugged. “It’s simple. You don’t help us, then you die, and I find someone else. Either way, lady, I’m getting that video. It’s up to you as to whether you live or not.”

“Pretty sure of yourself, aren’t you?” Lainie felt the bonds around her wrists. They were snugger than she would have given the gang members credit for, seeing as how she doubted either one of them were ever in the Boy Scouts.

He smirked as he gave a sarcastic shrug. “I’ve yet to fail or not be able to predict what people will do. You strike me as someone who prefers living rather than dying.”

“How much longer, TC?” Chris asked. “I want this over with so we can get out of here.”

“Who gives a flying fuck what you want, you moron?” TC moved away, turning back around toward the car. “We’ll go when I say we go. It’s still too early. I’ve been watching the place. They have less people there at night. We’ll go then. Now, you watch her while I get some sleep and try not to screw it up.”

“Screw it..? Gee, thanks, TC. You sure gotta lot of confidence in me.” Chris yanked his hands out of his pockets and stretched his arms out. “I’m not a total idiot, you know?”

TC slid up on the back of the Lincoln, his hands clasped over his belly. “Oh, sure, I know. I know you’re a buffoon, that’s what I know. Now keep an eye on her and don’t let her use any of that detective bullshit and try to get in your hollow mind.”

Lainie watched as the skinny man closed his eyes, laying his head back on the glass. She doubted he would sleep for a while, choosing instead to listen to see if she said anything to Chris to give her hand away. She would not count on him being as stupid as his partner.

Laying her head back along the pine tree, she closed her eyes and thought of Rance and the way his arms felt around her naked form. He planned on moving to Bull Creek just to be with her, changing his entire life around and starting over. That was a far cry from what her parents wanted to stick her with back in Draven Falls. Lainie had to admit; she liked the way Rance made her feel. She wondered if he noticed how long she had been gone and started to wonder again. Would he keep waiting or would he reach out to someone to find out where she was? She smiled. He was too impatient to wait. He would definitely go looking for her, especially if she didn’t answer her cell phone.

“Holy shit!” Chris’s voice snapped her out of her reverie. He stood with his back to her, but his head swiveled all around. “TC! TC, we got problems.”

“What the hell are you babbling about?” TC sounded about as put out as Lainie would expect. Maybe he had fallen asleep after all.

Turning her head in all directions, she tried to figure out what had Chris’s underwear in a knot. Her smile only grew with everything she saw. Standing among the trees were a couple of panthers, two wolves, a bear, and two tigers, each focused on the two men, their mouths twisted in angry snarls. The place was surrounded. I knew he’d be too impatient to wait.