His voice lowered. “Come on, Mom. Not in front of everyone.”
Zandy’s eyes widened in astonishment. The older man got involved. “Son, it will turn your followers against you if you abuse that woman. Listen to your parents.”
Holy shit. Her gaze darted between the three of them, seeing a resemblance. They were obviously a really screwed-up family.
“Fine.” Adam nodded at the men. “Put her down but make sure she can’t run away.”
The bench was eased to the ground and the two large men unfastened her restraints. She’d been flat for so long that she felt a little dizzy when she sat up. The older woman approached, looking fearful.
“Now, don’t you spin your head at me or anything.”
Zandy’s smart mouth kicked in. “I think you watched way too many horror movies. I’m not possessed.”
The woman frowned. “Do you need to go pee-pee?”
Pee-pee? Really? Just bitchin’. I’ve been kidnapped by idiots who use a two-year-old’s vocabulary. “Yes.”
They didn’t remove the handcuffs which held her wrists locked in front of her. The woman gripped them in the middle and led Zandy over to one of the campers, tugging on the chain as if she were leading a dog.
“Don’t try anything evil,” Deanie warned. “I’m watching you.”
Zandy’s gaze swept the interior, looking for a weapon but the place was pretty bare. Dishes had all been put away and the woman refused to release the chain on the restraints. The bathroom was a tiny one.
“Go ahead. You hurry up.” Her voice lowered. “Stop giving my son grief, young lady. You’re trying to make him look bad in front of his followers. Do you know how hard it was for him to gather so many of them?”
It was a struggle to get her pants undone and use the bathroom with her hands locked together. “No. Not really. I haven’t read much about cults.”
Deanie gasped. “Shame on you for even saying that. We’re—” The woman glanced down and gasped a second time. “Sinner! I see that whore’s underwear instead of what should be decent covering for your private area. Tsk, tsk! No wonder you were lured to the dark side.”
Zandy blinked a few times. “They had really good cookies and they approved of thong underwear. What can I say? I didn’t stand a chance.”
Her sarcasm was totally lost on her captor as Deanie frowned. “What does that mean? What kind of cookies?”
“Oh geez. You people are seriously screwed up. No wonder your kid is so messed up.”
“You’re an evil sinner with a potty mouth. Shame on you.” She turned around and jerked open a drawer built into the wall. She turned, holding out bright blue shorts. “Remove that whore garment and put this on.”
“Are those swimming trunks?”
“Yes.”
“No.”
“You will. You can’t cleanse your soul when you’re wearing that bright-red sin tempter. We’re trying to save you, not send you to hell.”
“I’m already there, lady.”
Deanie’s face reddened. “Change or I’ll have the men come in here to do it for you. These are clean and pure.”
The thought of Adam or those other creeps taking her pants off made Zandy decide to comply. The men’s swimming trunks were a bit big but it seemed to have soothed the upset woman when she almost smiled.
“Much better.”
The irony wasn’t lost on her. They were going to burn her to death wearing swimming trunks. Fire and water. It just keeps getting better and better. She was led outside and shoved back down on the bench. Zandy tried to struggle but couldn’t get away from four men. They tied her down tightly.
“Now how do we get her up there?” It was the young kid with the holey clothes.
Zandy realized they were talking about the top of the motor home. She had no clue why they wanted her put on top of the motor home but she didn’t like it. “Oh hell no.”
Brother Adam glared at her. “We’ll turn her on her side. Two of us will grip the sides and climb the ladder while two will hold the bottom and push. We’ll get her up there. She doesn’t weigh that much.”
“It hurts when you do that,” Zandy informed him.
Brother Adam smiled and a gleeful look crossed his features. “I know.”
“You bastard,” Zandy hissed. “Do you know why I think you’re so mean? I bet you have a tiny little dick and have to behave like a huge one, trying to compensate.”
The man gritted his teeth and rage turned his face splotchy red. His lips opened but no words came out.
“That’s what I thought, tiny dick. Or should I just start calling you prick?”
“You bitch!” he yelled.
“Dickless,” she taunted.
“Enough!” Deanie snapped. “She’s baiting you, Brother Adam.”
“Baiting him?” Zandy snorted. “He’s too small. I’d have to toss him back if I caught him.”
Brother Adam screamed and lunged for her but two of his followers grabbed him to hold him back. She smiled grimly. He might set her on fire later but he looked ready to have a stroke. She could only hope something killed him before he ended her life.
* * * * *
Tiger was glad to be out of the casts. His leg still ached a little and his ribs hurt but he wasn’t really in pain. He’d had to swear to Dr. Allison to take it easy. The normal speed of bones healing for a Species was two weeks. The enhanced drugs had mended him in days.
Slade North pointed to one of the chairs in his office. “Sit down, Tiger. Stop pacing. You need your strength when we find her and your bones aren’t completely healed yet. They will hold your weight but don’t press your luck. I know Dr. Allison didn’t want to release you for another twenty-four hours but you refused to stay in the hospital.”
“Zandy is out there somewhere and I need to find her.”
Slade grimly nodded. “I know this but the good news is they didn’t kill her right off the bat. They took her for a reason and they will hopefully keep her alive until they make whatever they want known to us.”
“Mercile employees could have her.” Tiger was miserable as he took a seat.
“I doubt it. They wouldn’t have vandalized her home. They would have just taken her. This isn’t their way.”
“They held us captive for most of our lives,” Tiger snarled. “They could be hurting her if that’s who has stolen her from me.”
“It’s not them,” Bestial agreed. “Slade is right. This has to be one of those hate groups or someone who wishes to ransom her for money if they learned she is an NSO employee.”
Richard shifted in his seat. “I’ve given all the information to the FBI and local law officials about the groups that have been the most vocal about female employees and about women who hook up with New Species. Hopefully they can track them down and find Zandy soon. I’m hoping that’s the case or we have no leads if it was the criminals’ intent on using her to blackmail the NSO out of money.”
Justice North and Tim Oberto were on speakerphone conference call in Slade’s office. “They have to know she’s not Jessie. We held a news conference here an hour ago to make sure of that. My mate addressed the press and it was on every channel. Whoever has Zandy Gordon would have heard about it or seen it.”
“No one has contacted us for a reward?” Tiger sounded hopeful.
“No one who panned out. One male called to say she was being held prisoner by aliens from another planet.” Justice sighed. “He is in need of medical care but we are checking out every call that comes in, Tiger.”
“I’m never letting her leave Reservation again if I get her back,” Tiger growled. “Ever. I don’t even want her out of my sight.”
“Was there any connection to the males who shot down the helicopter?” Bestial glanced at Slade.
“No,” Justice answered instead. “We thought of that already. Those humans just wanted to kill some of us. They have no interest in our females. They came at us like hunters.”
Tiger growled. “Zan
dy wouldn’t have left Reservation if it wasn’t for them.”
Smiley bit his lip. “I’m sorry, Tiger. I should have restrained her and forced her to wait for an escort to and from the hospital.”
“My female is strong willed and unstoppable when she’s made up her mind to do something she feels passionate about. She wanted to reach my side as quickly as possible. This is my fault. She was safe there until I drove her away.”
“It was the drugs,” Bestial reminded him. “Stop beating yourself up over this, Tiger. We should have stopped her and made her calm before leaving the hospital if you want to assign blame.”
“It doesn’t matter who wants to feel the blame,” Justice stated. “She was taken and we need to get her back.”
“We have teams of your men and mine going around the area asking questions,” Tim Oberto said. “Some of these hate groups have been known to camp out in the woods since no motel wants to put them up. They might still be close if they are the ones responsible for this kidnapping. There’s a hell of a lot of ground and we don’t have enough air support with one helicopter down.” He paused. “Thank you for lending us your helicopter from Homeland, Justice. It has helped, having two birds in the air.”
“I could hire out local helicopters and pilots if it will help,” Justice offered.
“Let’s do that,” Tim agreed. “The more land we search around here, the better. Just tell them to report any signs of life they find. Our teams will check out anything they spot.”
“I’m on it,” Justice stated before he broke the connection of the conference call.
Tiger closed his eyes, his thoughts on Zandy. Where is she? Is she still alive? The rage inside him built. She needed him but he didn’t know where to find her. He hated feeling helpless and he’d experienced that emotion often since he’d grown to care so deeply about the human female.
* * * * *
Pure terror gripped Zandy as they strapped her to their crazy contraption. She fought back a scream for a second but then let it loose. They’d kept her strapped to the bench but had tied that to a large cross that had been flat on top of the motor home roof. They used a winch from the front of the vehicle to raise it upright. The cross was connected to some welded-on hinge system.
She hung a good fifty or so feet from the ground and knew that at any second the ropes attached to the bench or even the belts holding her body could break. She’d plummet to the roof of the motor home or worse, fall farther to the ground. She frantically searched the area, seeking help from her high perch but didn’t see anyone in the surrounding woods. Miles of trees seemed to stretch around her and the only signs of life came from the group who had kidnapped her.
“Do you feel closer to God?” Brother Adam grinned at her from below, his hands on his waist, looking smug.
“Fuck you.” She really wanted to kill him.
“We’re going to pile wood and pour gasoline all over the roof up there with you. A tarp will hide you and cover the smell until it’s too late for anyone to help you.” He looked totally pleased with his insane plan. “We’re going to drive right up to the gates of hell, hoist you up for all to see and show the world what happens when someone submits to sin.”
“I’ve marked the cable line,” one of his men called out. “We’ll be able to get the cross raised quickly without fear of snapping the line.”
“Great.” Brother Adam beamed. “How many seconds will it take to get her up there? I need to prepare my speech accordingly.”
“We’ll test it.”
Zandy squeezed her eyes closed as the cross shook violently as it lowered. Her stomach rolled from the sick feeling of fear that the wood would just snap at the base where it had been connected to the top of the roof by the hinge they’d created. The entire thing finally rested on the roof and she breathed a sigh of relief when she lay flat again.
“You count, Brother,” someone shouted. “Ready?”
“Oh shit,” she muttered, afraid of what would happen next, not wanting to find out.
“Here we go!”
Her eyes flew open as the motor from the winch increased in sound. The entire cross and bench shook and another scream tore from her throat as it rose quickly, flinging her upward until she was suspended once again high in the air. Wood creaked and groaned, she could have sworn that the ropes holding the bench made a sound of protest but it stopped as suddenly as it had started.
“Six seconds,” a new voice announced. “Is that enough time?”
“Sure,” Adam nodded, no longer looking at her but digging into his pants to remove a pen and a palm-sized notepad. “Any longer and it might give them time to react. I’ll get to say my lines before the show begins.”
Show? They were talking about killing her as if it were a Broadway production. Hot tears filled her eyes and she blinked them back as some of the people below her started a line to pass kindling and chopped wood to the top of the motor home. They lined the edges first until someone suggested they lower the cross.
The ride down made her clench her teeth to avoid giving them the satisfaction of hearing her scream again. Once flat, she watched them stack wood closer to her sides, covering the entire roof surface with at least two layers. The smell of cut wood usually appealed to her but not under those circumstances.
The five people silently working avoided making eye contact with her. She decided to try though. “Please help me. You know this is wrong. My name is Zandy. I have a family and a life. I’m not evil.”
They kept working, refusing to look her way or speak. Frustration rose and she closed her eyes. The warm sun beat down on her but she felt cold inside. None of Brother Adam’s followers were going to grow a brain. They had a cult mentality and thought the idiot could do no wrong.
“Should we soak the wood with gasoline now?”
The voice belonged to the teenager with the holey clothes. He had climbed on top of the roof and held a dull red gas can in both hands. The sight of it made Zandy hyperventilate, each breath a fight for her to control.
They were really planning on setting her on fire. It was barbaric, horrific, and worse—idiotic.
“No. Brother Adam thinks those evil spawns might smell it despite having the entire top covered with the tarp. He wants to make a more dramatic approach for the cameras. He envisions it will really reach out to viewers and draw out the suspense if they see the gasoline being poured.”
“I get it.” The kid nodded vigorously, smiling. “That’s a really cool idea. It’s going to be epic.”
“I’m glad you think so,” Zandy commented dryly. “Want to trade places with me if it’s so cool? What the hell is wrong with you?”
He glanced at her and met her glare. “You’re a whore and sinner tainted by Satan. Don’t speak to me.”
She took a deep, calming breath. “You’re so young. Don’t you understand that you’re throwing your life away over this? None of you are going to get away with killing me, especially if it’s in front of a bunch of reporters with cameras. You’ll grow old in prison. Is Brother Adam worth that? Don’t you want to meet someone and have a family one day? Don’t you have dreams you want to fulfill? It’s not too late. Just untie me and we’ll both get out of here. I won’t tell anyone I saw you. You can walk away from this mess.”
He walked closer and shook the gas can to make certain she could hear it slosh and took the time to slowly secure it somewhere by her feet. He winked when he straightened without it. “This is my dream and we are going to be heroes. We’re saving souls.”
“You’re going to go to prison for murder. That’s how this is going to end unless you let me go and we both escape.”
“Shut up. I refuse to listen to you.”
She glanced at the other two people with him, both avoided her gaze, and she tried to talk some sense into them. “Did you hear me? You will all go to prison. It doesn’t have to be this way. Just untie me. Please?”
“I said shut up,” the kid muttered. “We’re not listenin
g. Brother Adam knows what he’s talking about and we are on a mission.”
Zandy said nothing as the kid left, climbing down the ladder at the side of the motor home and out of her sight. The two other people followed him, leaving her alone. The wind blew and she stared at the blue sky above. There wasn’t a hint of rain, something that would have been really great to wet all the kindling piled around her. It just wasn’t her day.
She concentrated on thoughts of Tiger. He was going to survive his injuries but they were over. It was probably best. It hurt that he’d ordered her to leave his hospital room as though everything they’d shared had meant nothing. It broke her heart but at least her death wouldn’t devastate him. That was the last thing she wanted.
Tears spilled down the sides of her face and she couldn’t even wipe them away. She loved Tiger. She’d fallen for him hard and wondered if he’d feel guilty when he found out what became of her. Time passed as she tried to come to terms with what would happen to her soon.
She struggled but couldn’t break free. The sound of someone climbing the ladder drew her attention and she twisted her head to watch Brother Adam join her. He had to step carefully over the wood but made it to her side without falling. Two more men climbed up on the roof, both geared up with hammers and boards.
“What are you going to do now?”
Adam refused to answer her. “Do it.”
Zandy opened her mouth to ask what they planned but the two big men with him suddenly unstrapped the belts securing her body to the bench. They grabbed her before she could struggle, yanked her to her feet, and one of them kicked the bench away. Her body was lifted and slammed hard down on the thick wooden cross. It knocked the air from her lungs as pain shot along her spine and the back of her head where she’d hit the hardest.
The two men jerked both of her arms outright along the beams that made the wood a cross. She recovered and tried to twist away, kicking wildly at them, but it didn’t faze them. They secured her from her wrists to her upper arms by wrapping ropes around them, tying her tightly to the cross.
“Don’t do this,” she pleaded. “This is insane. You can’t get away with murder. You’ll rot in prison or get the death penalty.”