“Tell him what you told me about the robberies and the break-ins,” Kenny stated over his shoulder.
“It was Gutry who broke into your woman’s cottage. He’s been watching her for weeks. He’s been planning this since that day he saw her at the hardware store. It was all he’s been talking about,” Smith stated.
“Where is he staying? No one’s seen Gutry for a while,” Max asked.
“He has a few spots he hides out in. Hey, that hurts!” Smith yelled as Eric dug his knee deeper and gripped his neck tighter.
“Start fucking telling us the locations now. She’s been missing for an hour.” Eric growled, and Smith started naming a few places.
“You bring him to the jail and lock him up. We’ll deal with him later,” Wyatt told Kenny as he, Charlie, Ben, Max, and Eric jumped on the ATVs. They decided to look at one of the places while the others split up to look at the other places.
“Call us on the radio as soon as you check out the locations,” Wyatt said. Then the sound of motors roaring and the ATVs taking off into the night echoed through the air.
* * * *
Stacy struggled with the ropes around her wrists as she smelt a fire burning. Gutry kept the burlap sack around her head, and she had no idea where she was. The smell of the burlap and dirt filled her nostrils, and now the smoke from the fire was impeding her ability to take regular breaths. The moron was going to suffocate her to death. She was scared, but she was also pretty angry. Initially she thought her captor was Barry. He had been the one harassing her and threatening her, but now that Gutry revealed himself, things made sense. Barry hadn’t been in Texas and couldn’t have broken into her cottage or taken her garments. It was Gutry, and she was certain that he was responsible for the other robberies around town as well. She felt his hand on her ankle, and she jerked away from him.
“Get off of me,” she yelled at him. Immediately he pulled the sack from around her head with such force, causing her to bang it against the rock she leaned against. She cried out in pain and felt the stinging sensation next to her temple. Damn, that hurt.
He locked gazes with her, and she could see the anger and craziness in his dark eyes. He was out of control. He pulled her by her shoulders and shook her hard.
“You belong to me now! Don
’t fight me, Stacy, or I swear I will hurt you,” he yelled at her.
“Why are you doing this? What do you want from me?” she cried out, feeling terrified.
He didn’t respond. Instead he looked down at her thighs, which were now bare from the abrupt movement earlier. Her skirt lifted, and the upper part of her blouse hung lower, revealing some of her breast to his eyes.
He licked his lips then began to straddle her. He was heavy and reeked of smoke and sweat. “Please get off of me. Please don’t do this to me,” she cried. Then he began to pull her blouse from her shoulder, making her breast pop out. She struggled with the ropes that bound her hands together. She leaned back and shook her body, trying to get him off of her, but instead he grabbed her breast and groped the skin.
“Oh God, please stop! Stop it!” she screamed in terror, never seeing his forearm shoot up until it was too late and made contact with her face. Her head flung to the side, and she could have sworn that she saw darkness for a second. The move had her sliding lower as Gutry unzipped his pants. He lifted up and kneeled over her then reached into his underwear. “No!” she screamed then lifted her knee hard, nailing him in the balls.
He hollered, and she pulled herself up, her knees scratching against the dirt and pebbles around her. He tried to get up, and she threw all of her weight into him, using her elbow to nail him again in the balls.
“Fucking bitch!” he roared as he swung his arms at her with less strength than full force but enough to hurt her. She rolled across the ground, her cheekbone slamming against more rocks and dirt stinging her, but she continued to fight. She saw the moonlight coming from the cave entrance as she used her stomach muscles to try and get to her knees. With her wrists tied together tight behind her back, it was difficult to move around without losing her balance. She got to her knees, her vision blurred, her cheek and head hurt like hell, but she had to get out of there. She wouldn’t give up. She began to rise when she felt the blow to her back and Gutry grab her ankle, pulling her back toward him. She screamed then kicked him hard, not sure what she made contact with because she couldn’t turn to look with her hands tied. He yelled again, and she continued to kick until she heard his grunts and felt him release her ankles. She was hysterical now as she struggled to make her wobbly legs work. She shook so badly as she collided with the wall before running free from the cave.
The sound of some kind of engine roared just yards from where she stood.
“Help!” she screamed as the headlights of multiple vehicles illuminated the woods.
“You stupid bitch!” Gutry yelled then tackled her to the ground, knocking the breath from her. She gasped for air as he ripped her dress and pressed his forearm over her throat. She was never so scared in her entire life. Then suddenly lights and the sound of an engine passed by her head just as a body flew through the air, rolling Gutry off of her. Her chest heaved forward as she attempted to breathe while choking for air.
* * * *
Max was stunned as he drove the ATV over the hill and saw Stacy stumbling then Gutry tackle her. His arm lay across her throat as he hit her and ripped her dress. Max saw red and didn’t think twice as he revved the engine and dove off the ATV while it was still in motion. He tackled Gutry to the ground and beat him until someone grabbed his hands to stop him.
“That’s enough, Max, or you’re going to kill him!” Wyatt yelled, and Max was so upset and so enraged he felt himself gasping for air and practically drooling. He never wanted to kill anyone in his life, but when he saw Gutry on top of Stacy, he lost all self-control.
He swung his head around to see Eric, Charlie, and Ben surrounding Stacy.
“Lay still, honey. Let Charlie check your injuries over,” Eric told her, his voice sounding as if it rattled. Max approached and fell to his knees between Charlie and Ben on her other side.
“Is she okay?” Max asked as he saw her ripped dress, her bloody and bruised cheeks and body. She was a mess. Plus, she was having difficulty breathing as she cried hysterically.
“Is she okay?” Max asked again.
“I can’t tell with it being this dark. Let’s take it slowly and get her out of here,” Charlie stated. Both Max and Eric reached for her.