women, too. The more the women fight him, the more he likes it, ‘cause that means he can hurt them that much more.” Unknowingly, the young girl had pegged Hartline as accurately as anyone ever had. “You follow all that, Lilli?”
Lilli nodded her head glumly. But still the tears fell.
Ann said, “Now I still ain’t got no plans for gettin” us out of here, but I’m thinkin’ hard on it. But I got to have both of you helpin’ me. I can’t do it by myself.”
“You got something on your mind, though,” Peg said.
“Yeah, for a fact. Listen. Lennie likes you, Peg. So I want you to try to get him in that bedroom in yonder and give him some.”
“No!” Peg hissed.
Ann slapped her, the force of the blow leaving finger-marks on the girl’s face. “Listen to me, damn
you. I got to get that knife outta his pants pocket. And I can’t get to it with him in them britches. So that means his pants has got to come off. You follow me?”
“y-yes,” the girl stuttered.
“Look, Peg,” Ann softened her words. “I ain’t sayin’ you gotta like it when he puts it in, but you gotta do it. And all of it’s gotta be done before Tony gets back. I’m the one’s gonna get picked by Hartline, girls; I’m the one’s gonna get hurt no tellin’ how bad outta this deal. You heard what Lennie said. So’s the least you two can do is help me out just a little bit. OK?”
Peg and Lilli nodded their agreement.
“OK,” Ann said. “Now then. All of us get naked. Then you, Peg, go tap on that door and get Lennie’s attention.” She turned to Lilli. “You go wash your face and get them tears outta your eyes. “Cause if this don’t work, girls, I don’t know what in the hell we’re gonna do. Ya’ll heard them guys talkin” the other night. Pussy’s gettin’ old. They gonna roll us over next; and you all know what that means, don’t you?”
The fear of being sodomized wiped out all other fears. The girls moved quickly. They washed their face and combed their hair and stripped. Peg tapped softly on the motel room door.
“Lennie?” she called. “You still out there, Lennie?”
A moment’s silence, then footsteps moving closer to the locked door. “Yeah, pretty, I’m here. What’d you want?”
“I… we’ve got a surprise for you, Lennie. Come on, open the door.”
Another pause. The silence deepened. “What kind of surprise you talkin’ about?” There was open suspicion in his voice.
Ann thought very quickly. She leaned close to Peg and whispered, “Tell him we’re sorry for being so mean and want to make it up to him.”
Peg relayed the message.
“Stand away from the door,” Lennie growled.
The girls stepped back into the center of the motel room. Ann called, “OK, Lennie, we’re away from the door.”
A key ground into the lock. The door swung open, and Lennie stood grinning at them. He licked his lips at the sight of the young, just-budding, naked bodies.
“Well, now,” Lennie said, his voice no more than a whisper. “Well now. Just what do we have here, pray tell?”
“We decided to give you a present,” Ann said, her eyes flirting with him. “You know, for bein’ so mean to you and all. I mean, if you want it, that is, Mr. Lennie.”
“You birds are finally gettin’ some smarts, ain’t you?” Lennie asked. His eyes touched them all, but as Ann had guessed, they settled on the slimness of Peg. Her little breasts were just beginning to bud. Lennie scratched his crotch and carefully closed the door, after taking a quick look up and down the deserted corridor. He walked to Peg and ran his hands over her slim body. “You and me, little bird. You and me.”
Peg shyly touched his swelling crotch and Lennie groaned. “Yeah. That’s the ticket, kid.” He took her
slim arm and led her into a bedroom, his other hand working at the buttons of his dirty shirt. Muted, murmuring sounds drifted out the bedroom door. The sounds of boots dropping onto the old carpet, followed by the soft jangle of belt buckle hitting the floor.
“Gimme some head first, baby,” Lennie said, his voice more a pant.
A few moments of silence, then Lennie said, “That’s good, baby. Come on up here and spread them pretty legs.”
Peg groaned as the man’s weight covered her young body.
“Goddamn, baby,” Lennie said. “You so tight I can’t hardly get it in. Come on, baby, help me. Ah! That’s it. Goddamn, that feels good.”
Peg cried out softly as Lennie penetrated her.
“Ain’t that good to you, baby? Sure it is. Come on, kid, move your ass.”
Then there came the sounds of hard breathing, and the slap of naked flesh onto naked flesh. Lennie muttered filth into the girl’s ear, and Peg cried out as he fully penetrated her.
Lennie began making animal, grunting sounds as he rutted on the young girl.
Ann slipped into the semi-darkened bedroom on her hands and knees, crawling low. But there was no need for that much caution. Peg had positioned herself on the bed so the man’s back would be toward the door. Lennie’s naked, hairy, pumping buttocks faced Ann as she crawled into the room.
Quickly, Ann felt for Lennie’s dirty, stinking jeans. Her fingers found the heavy clasp knife in one
pocket. She removed it and edged her way back toward the door.
“Oh, baby,” Lennie groaned. “That’s the tightest little box I ever had. Ain’t that good to you, baby? Sure it is.”
Ann showed Lilli the knife and together they grinned.
Step one toward freedom was complete.
CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
Sister Voleta knew she should pull what remained of her forces out. Just get out and regroup and then, when she had rebuilt to full strength, when she had once again inflamed her people with her twisted interpretation of the gospel, then attack Ben Raines and wipe the bastard from the face of the earth.
But her hatred for Ben Raines was so intense, so mottled and hairy and scaly from years of smoldering within her, she could not do that. Never. She was prepared to risk all in one final attempt to see Ben Raines dead.
She thought of her son and wondered if he was still alive. She felt certain he was-somewhere. She hoped he was well and happy. He had been such a beautiful child. So full of life. She pushed those thoughts from her. It was unhealthy to dwell too much in and on the past.
She thought of the warlords around her area, and of her pleas for them to join forces with her. It had been a good plan, but they were so shortsighted, men of such little minds, they had, to a person, rejected her plans. Fools!
And then she allowed her hatred of Ben Raines to wash over her in waves of furious and dark acrimony. She allowed this even though she knew in her heart the man was not really to blame. Even though the boy had looked something like Raines. Still she wondered about it.
Calming herself with a visible effort, Sister Voleta began to think in a more rational manner. All that day she had attempted to make contact with Tony Silver. No reply from his base down south. She wondered if he was dead, or had turned traitorous?
Probably the latter.
She walked out of her house and motioned for her commanders to come to her. They had been squatting in the street in front of her home, smoking and talking in low tones.
She faced the men. “You are certain-all of you-that Ben Raines has only a hundred or so troops with him at Lake Chatuge?”
“Positive, Sister. And our scouts report there has been no unusual movement from the camp of the Rebels down in Georgia.”
Ben’s Rebels had all moved out the night before, silently, rolling without lights on their vehicles. Juan and Mark were almost in position, as were Colonel Gray’s people. Cecil was personally leading the assault from the
