still huddled on the floor in the corner. She was staring up at him trembling.
He moved around the table.
Her eyes followed him as he walked over to the door, and closed it, sliding the bolt into place. He turned back, and looked at her a long moment, his palm resting on the door. She watched as his hand slid from the door, and he walked slowly to her. She tried to pull her shirt together with her cuffed hands.
Cole squatted down in front of her, and brushed her shaking fingers aside. He began to fasten up the few remaining buttons.
She stared up at him, getting a closer look at him. She noticed how his blonde hair was shot through with highlights, bleached by the sun she imagined. She took the opportunity to study his face while he was looking down at what he was doing. He had golden blonde facial hair that covered his jaw line and mouth. His face was sunburned, and she noticed he had some of the longest lashes she’d ever seen. When he was done with the task he looked up, and she was caught by the startling blue brilliance of his eyes. She stared, mesmerized like a deer caught in the headlights.
He spoke. “You okay, darlin’?”
She understood she’d just been given to this guy as payment for a gambling debt. She’d heard what had taken place, knew he didn’t want to take her, had to be talked into it, actually. And what was he going to use her for? There was only one reason he’d want her. She knew that. How many others would she be traded to? They all made her sick, and she let him know it the only way she could think of.
She spit in his face.
His eyes flashed for a moment as his head jerked back slightly. She realized her mistake immediately. Oh, God. Why had she done that?
Cole reached up, and wiped his face with his sleeve, his eyes never leaving hers. Goddamn. He sure as hell hadn’t expected that. He grinned. She had spirit; he’d give her that.
She stared back at him waiting for the retaliation she was sure was coming. Maybe he’d beat her to death, and this nightmare would finally be over.
“You’re either really brave or really stupid,” he said in a deadly whisper. “Don’t do that again.”
Suddenly, it was as if something inside her had snapped. She swung her fists at him like she was swinging a baseball bat, and clocked him on the left side of his face, the metal cuffs connecting with his jaw. She wondered even as she did so, what possessed her to incite him like this.
Swearing, he grabbed her upper arms, and jerked her up to within inches of his face. “Goddamn, it! Quit!” He shook her. “Don’t try to fight me. There’s nothing you can do.”
They stared at each other.
She trembled at the fury she saw in his eyes. And suddenly he was pulling her to her feet. As he did, she caught a glimpse of a gun in a shoulder holster under his black leather vest. She remembered that Chuck had carried one like it.
She was breathing fast. Cole glanced down at her heaving chest. “You’re a little wildcat, aren’t you?”
It was the distraction she was looking for. She pretended to faint, and fell against him. As she did, she made a grab for him, and managed to get her hands on the butt of the handgun pulling it free.
She could feel his body stiffen as his hands fell away from her, and he moved backwards. She watched his eyes narrow when he found himself looking down the barrel of his own gun.
He was careful not to move, seeing the resolve in her eyes. He studied her. Finally, he asked, “You gonna pull the trigger, darlin’?”
“I’m thinking about it.” She looked for any signs of fear in his eyes, but saw none. They measured her carefully, almost contemplatively.
“Well, while you’re thinking about it, you may want to think about something else, too. Like how you’re gonna get out of here.”
“We can’t be too far from a town or-”
“You’re in the Dead Souls clubhouse, sweetheart,” he broke in.
He smiled suddenly, and she thought, almost wickedly, showing a flash of white teeth. The grooves deepened on either side of his mouth.
“Now I ain’t bulletproof, darlin’, so maybe you kill me, but they’ll hear the shot.” He nodded toward the closed door. “Have you thought about what’ll happen then? What they’ll do