“How is you killing someone my fault?” she asked, trying to stall and give Ryan time to come back. “How did you even know where I was? No one was supposed to know where I am.”
“I have ears and eyes everywhere,” he yelled. “Let’s go before lover boy comes back. I have a lot of plans for you and me, and they don’t include your boyfriend.”
Lacy didn’t want to die, not when all her dreams were finally coming true. He had his arm around her throat, so she bent down and bit his arm as hard as she could, drawing blood. He let go and yelled loudly.
She ran out into the living room and grabbed a lamp and threw it at him, but he ducked and it missed him. The door was wide open so she ran outside and down the stairs screaming, hoping Ryan or someone would hear her. The bank was right around the corner. Chico grabbed her by the shirt when she got to the bottom of the stairs and put his hand over her mouth to stop her from screaming. She tried kicking him but she was barefoot and it did no good.
“So you wanna play rough?” he said in her ear. “I like it rough, chica. Turns me on.”
She kept struggling but he was too strong for her. He turned her toward him and kissed her roughly, bruising her lips. She kept her mouth shut tight, refusing to allow his tongue inside. She kept pushing at him but he wouldn’t budge. He was a lot bigger and stronger than she was. He put a piece of duct tape over her mouth and threw her over his shoulders like a sack of potatoes and headed toward the woods. She tried hitting him on his back, but he ignored her struggles and kept on walking.
* * * *
Ryan and Logan looked at the broken window at the bank. A rock lay inside among the shattered glass but no one was around. It couldn’t be a robbery. The alarm was so loud it was hurting their ears. Finally, Logan figured out how to shut it off. “Damn, that was loud,” he said, his ears still ringing.
“Who would do this? Kids?” he asked, puzzled, looking around the dark, empty streets.
Ryan shrugged. “Nah for what?” Then he thought for a moment and groaned. “Oh no, Lacy!”
They ran toward Lacy’s apartment and saw the broken door and his heart fell. He was too late! He yelled out her name and stepped on broken glass. She was nowhere around. How could he have been so stupid as to fall for that distraction like a rookie and leave Lacy alone? He had promised to protect her and now he had failed her. He wanted to fall to his knees with grief but he had to be strong and find Lacy before Chico killed her. Why had he been so stubborn about giving her lessons to defend herself? He wanted to shelter her from bad things but maybe that had been wrong. He hadn’t even told her he loved her!
“Don’t worry, we’ll save her, Ryan,” Logan said in a steady voice. He called Gabe and Ethan on the walkie-talkie to let them know that Lacy had been taken. They were already in the woods tracking down clues they had found earlier in the day.
“He’s a dead bastard if he harms one hair on her head,” Ryan promised angrily and got in his Jeep with Logan. He had never felt so scared before but he needed to stay strong and think logically for Lacy’s sake.
“Gabe and Ethan are checking the woods by the old Reynolds Farm,” Logan said and started the Jeep. “Let’s go meet them there. That’s where Mr. Harris said he saw someone wandering around.”
Chapter Twelve
Chico took her to a heavily wooded area not too far from town. He had a little camp set up inside the barn. Two small camping lamps gave a little light to the dark, cold, and empty barn. He has been here for days, Lacy thought as she looked around for anything that would help her get out of this. She saw a sleeping bag and some food and water bottles lying on the ground but not much else.
He set Lacy down on his sleeping bag and straddled her so she wouldn’t get away. He was heavy and his knees were hurting her stomach. She shrieked with pain when he tore the duct tape off her mouth. “Oww!” she yelled, rubbing her mouth with her hand. “That hurt!”
“We are alone out here and I wanna hear you scream for me to stop.” He laughed with an evil grin on his face.
She wouldn’t give him the satisfaction, she vowed to herself. She would not make it easy for him.
She tried to buck him off of her using her body to try and throw him, but he was too heavy. He grabbed a fistful of her hair to stop her from moving around. “Why try? You can’t get away from me, Lacy. You might as well save your energy for your last night on this earth.” He growled and sat her up. He tied her hands behind her back with rope and laid her back down. It hurt to have him lie on top of her arms that way, but she doubted Chico cared.
He pulled a big butcher knife out from under the sleeping bag. He waved it around her face, laughing and trying to scare her, but she just stared coldly at him. He took the blade and tore her shirt open with it, the buttons popping off and flying around. “Oh yeah, we are gonna have us some fun, little girl.” Lacy cringed as Chico touched her neck with the knife, nicking her. Chico watched the blood trickle down her neck and laughed. Then he dragged it down to her bra and cut it open. She could feel blood trickli
ng down her neck as he stared at her breasts.
He squeezed her breast hard with one hand and twisted the nipple. She cried out with pain and felt the tears coming out of her eyes. She screamed loudly. There was a chance Gabe or Ethan was in the woods searching for Chico. Maybe they’d hear her. It was her only hope.
“I’ve been waiting for days to grab you. Fantasizing about all the things I’m gonna do to you to make you pay for all the suffering I’ve done,” he said with a grin, still sitting on her stomach. She struggled uselessly and screamed, but Chico figured they were alone in the woods with no one but cows to hear them, so he didn’t try to stop her.
“Let’s get this party started.” He looked at her body with lust in his eyes, ready to enjoy this night. “Nice and convenient of you to wear shorts for me.” He set the knife down and got off her stomach and onto his knees, bending down to pull her shorts off.
This could be her only chance to escape. No way was she going to make it easy for him to rape her. She’d fight till her last breath.
She brought her legs up and with all her might she kicked him in the face. He fell back, groaning with his nose bleeding. She clumsily stood up with her hands still tied and ran while he lay groaning on the ground, cursing at her.
She started running out the barn even though she was barefoot. It was so cold and all she had on was a torn blouse and shorts. She had never been in the woods before and didn’t know which way was town, so she just ran toward the trees, praying she was headed in the right direction. She could feel every stick and rock cutting into her feet, but she didn’t let that stop her. Fear and adrenaline gave her the strength to keep going. She knew Ryan would rescue her if she gave him time. She had faith in him and trusted him. He loved her. She felt that with all her heart. She didn’t need the words to know it and Chico wasn’t going to ruin her chance of happiness.
She could hear Chico cursing and yelling behind her, trying to catch up with her. “You can’t get away from me, Lacy! You broke my nose, bitch, and you will suffer before I kill you!”
He was being so loud. Surely someone would hear them. There were lots of farms out here, Stella had told her once. She was terrified but she kept on going. She wasn’t giving up no matter what. She stumbled over some tree roots and fell but she got right back up. The bottom of her feet stung but she ignored the pain. A branch hit her cheek but she ignored the sting she felt. She had no idea if she was headed deeper into the woods or not. It was so dark and she couldn’t see anything. She had never been in the woods before and she was terrified. Were there animals out here, animals that eat people? Why hadn’t she paid more attention to learning about the woods?