She peered down again through the foliage. There was no indication she’d been heard. The fat man was just below her now, Cassie stumbling miserably behind him, yanked forward by the rope around her neck. Though Mara was horribly sorry for the girl, at the same time she couldn’t help the small exhilaration of triumph—she hadn’t been caught first. Alex would be proud of her.
She remained utterly still for a long time after they’d disappeared. She needed to pee, but not bad enough to do anything about it. She peered through the foliage, straining to hear anything beyond the usual sounds of forest life. Again she debated whether it was time to find a new hiding place or stay put. The old adage, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, popped into her mind, and she decided to stay where she was a while longer.
Though she wanted to, Mara didn’t dare retreat to the secret, quiet place over the ocean where she could fly in peace and tranquility. She had to remain fully conscious of her surroundings. Instead, she focused on her breathing; on remaining calm.
The sudden cracking of twigs beneath her yanked a small gasp from Mara’s open mouth, and she clamped it shut, praying she hadn’t been heard. The blond man appeared. He was younger than the first guy by a few decades, maybe in his late twenties or early thirties, with long legs and broad shoulders. He’s better looking than Alex, she thought disloyally, as Alex’s handsome face and icy green eyes appeared in her mind.
You belong to me.
I belong to myself.
She shook away Alex’s image and refocused on the man now only a few yards from her tree. Her heart skittered painfully in her chest and she panted softly to keep from yelping with fear. If he looked up, would he see her? She remained still as stone, willing him to continue past her without lifting his head. To her intense relief, he did.
After he was gone, Mara realized her crotch and the backs of her legs were wet. She’d peed on herself without realizing it. Reaching back into her pack, she managed to extract the roll of toilet paper. She cleaned herself up as best she could, replaced the roll in the pack and slipped the used toilet paper into an outer pocket.
She remained where she was another half hour or so, before finally making the decision to move. Carefully, slowly, she inched her way down the tree, using the bumps and hollows along the trunk for toeholds and gripping tightly to the branches as she descended.
When her sneakers finally touched solid ground, she remained immobile as a deer for several seconds, only her eyes moving as she scanned the area. She saw nothing and heard nothing. Cautiously, she took a step away from the tree, and then another. Moving carefully through the tangled vines and spiky scrub, she worked her way slowly into the center of the woods, aiming for the high grasses near the bog with a vague idea of slipping into the water in the event someone appeared.
The distant but unmistakable cracking sound of a whip brought Mara up short and she froze where she was. After a moment, she heard men’s voices, another crack of the whip and a woman’s cry. Mara ducked quickly into a clump of bushes and peered out cautiously, her eyes fixed in the direction of the noise.
She drew in a sharp breath at what she saw through the trees. About twenty yards away, DJ stood beside Raeanne. He was holding her wrists together in one hand, her arms raised high over her head. The man DJ had called Jed was standing behind them, a long single-tail whip in his hand. He snapped the tail without much aim or expertise against Raeanne’s bare ass. Each time the whip made contact with her skin, Raeanne yelped and flinched, but DJ held her fast.
Mara didn’t dare move from her admittedly poor hiding place, afraid she might make a sound and draw their attention. Her heart ached for Raeanne. How dare you, you sadistic, fucking bastards! You bullies, you pigs, you monsters! Mara’s body quivered with the suppressed desire to race toward the men and hurl them to the ground with superhuman strength.
She didn’t have superhuman strength, though, and all the odds were stacked heavily against Raeanne and her. They were captive slaves on an island controlled by evil men who thought nothing of using and destroying others for their own wicked, dark pleasure. There was no way out, and no way to fight them.
Stop it. Stop your disobedient thoughts. Don’t make me punish you, Mara. You’ve done so well with your rehabilitation. Don’t reduce yourself to a zero again. Zeroes exist only to be beaten, starved and caged. You are my darling girl, remember? You exist to serve and please me. Stay with me. Make me proud.