She grinned savagely when she saw the fear enter their eyes. She wasn’t Carol or Vana to meekly submit, she’d take these fuckers down with her or die trying. Then her eyes found Connor, who was wiping the acidic vomit from his face. She thought of the movie Aliens and their spewing acid and laughed low, causing Connor’s head to shoot up and look at her.
“You fucking come near me again Connor, I’ll make sure I fuck you up in a bad way. You piece of dogshit.” She sneered, pulling on her panties and then her shorts. She still sat on the ground, she knew she was too unsteady to stand, and she didn’t want them to see her weakness. She could feel the noisome fluid leaking from her and knew that this wasn’t their first go around with her.
She could only pray that none of them had anything communicable. She hissed low again, looking at the men, all except Connor looked ashamed, he simply looked angry but she could also see fear in his eyes. She had a good ten pounds on him now, the weight had peeled from his body. She also had an expansive rage bubbling within her and the overwhelming urge to kill him.
He would still be stronger than her, but her rage and outrage would help. She would use her teeth and see how he liked being chewed on, low bastard. But she needed to keep him away, her head was still killing her and if he hit her in the head again, she was pretty sure it would kill her. She covertly sifted her hand around her body, slowly, making sure Connor, nor the others noticed.
She needed some kind of weapon. The knife that had been in her shorts was no longer there. Her hand came across a rock, it wasn’t huge, but it would put a hurt’in on anyone within striking distance. She looked around her, the sky was getting dark. She didn’t know how long she’d been unconscious and that worried her. She remembered then that Gabe had been bashed on the head as well and Sam had been stabbed with a spear. She hoped both men had survived.
Because it was getting dark, she didn’t expect a rescue. She’d have to take care of herself. And if both Gabe and Sam had been killed, then she might not make it out of this place. But by Christ, she’d take them out with her. She would not go quietly into that night, she would raise some hell and cause some pain.
She thought of her girlfriend, Alison, and knew she’d never see her again. She pushed the thought away, she didn’t need to show weakness by crying. Once she got her shorts secured, she drew her legs in and watched the men around her, her body tense and ready to kill. She watched as the shadows began to lengthen in the forest and she watched as Connor added more wood to the fire. It was like he was afraid of the dark and she laughed low and he looked over at her again. He should be afraid of the dark.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Aiden and Sarah walked side by side, they spoke little, each in their own thoughts. Sarah couldn’t get her mind around all that was happening. The absolute brutality of what Connor was doing. He’d seemed so nice when she’d first met him, very charming. He’d even flirted with her as did some of the other guys. Aiden, she smiled softly had not.
When Christian had stood before them at the airport in Beijing, pulling each of their names out randomly, a small part of her hoped she’d be paired with Connor. She wasn’t disappointed when she had gotten Aiden, as by then she’d known he had experience with survival training. Now she nearly shuddered at the thought of Connor. What a wretched man.
Diana was an incredibly strong woman, they’d talked a great deal and Diana had talked about Alison. Her heart broke for Diana, because she knew that Diana would never see her again. She felt lucky in that aspect, she’d not left anyone behind except her parents. She missed them, but it had been years between visits. She hoped that they would be okay and safe in Maine, she was sure they would, since they were hardy people.
She wondered if Vana was still alive but she suspected that she wasn’t. There was no reason to take Diana and the men knew that Diana was gay, but it didn’t matter to them, they were selfish and barbaric in their treatment of the women. She’d feel a lot better and a lot safer once they were dead. She wished that Leo had agreed with Aiden the first go around, to go and kill them. But Leo’s hesitation had put Diana, Gabe and Sam in jeopardy.
She’d never say anything to him, but she was glad she and Aiden had stayed apart from their group. She trusted Aiden implicitly with her life. She could feel the heat of the day, her body heating up, as they approached the large rhododendron, their pace slowing. There was little wind and she could smell something, but could not identify it.
She could hear no sounds, only the birds in the trees, the insects buzzing. She watched as Aiden gave hand signals for them to spread out. It would be a couple hours yet until dusk. She wedged herself into the branches of a cluster of the heavily leaved plant and sat still. She watched Aiden slip away silently into the trees, his face nearly black with ash that he’d rubbed into it. Hers was covered as well, but she knew hers was streaking because she was sweating, from the heat and nerves.
She settled herself for the agonizing
