Page 103 of Close Quarters

“Yeah, imagine that. Raping people to torture them, how weird that that’s effective,” I spat at him. “Jesus, you’re all disgusting.”

“I’d be less worried about what I allow and more worried that we still haven’t heard from Keith,” Edgar told me with annoyance and spite. “He should have been back, even with your friend stumbling all the way to our camp. Something tells me he’s made a ‘detour’ along the way. I’ve seen Keith’s different toys, and your friend certainly fits the bill.”

All I could do was hope that whatever had happened out there hadn’t involved Elliot getting raped before he’d got free. I didn’t know how the hell Elliot had managed to get free without the alarm going up, but I would remember not to underestimate him again. It didn’t matter if the guy had been genuinely terrified or not when he’d been here, he was obviously able to get his shit together when it counted.

“Maybe you should be worried about what’s going to happen if that fucker decides to do something stupid,” I snapped at him, fingers flexing behind me. “If he doesn’t follow your fucking orders.”

“Don’t threaten me,” Edgar warned in a calm voice. “It won’t work out the way you want it to.”

“My whole night hasn’t worked out the way I want it to, Eddy.”

A knife flashed into view, poking me in the nose. “And show respect, or I’ll remove something you’ll miss.”

I was still trusting Elliot’s plan, something I had always said was a bad idea, and so I kept talking. “Fine, Edgar. You’re the one who needs to start worrying if you can’t even keep your guy under control.”

I could feel his glare in the dark before I saw him grab something, the screen of his radio lighting his face briefly as he pushed a button. “Keith. Where are?—”

He stopped when his words were met with a high-pitched and muffled shrieking noise from the direction Keith had marched Elliot off in. It was impossible to tell what kind of animal had made that sound, but it could have been a coyote. On the other hand, I had to admit it didn’t sound like anything an animal could have possibly made.

Edgar turned, then jerked his hand. “Julio. Go check that. Now.”

“Got it,” the quiet man said, hopping down to begin walking along the flat rocks that made up the base of the range of huge boulders.

“That…was weird,” I said, noticing movement again, skirting along the edge of the ‘cliff’ only ten feet above us.

“That’s one way of putting it,” Edgar said calmly with a slight edge. “Suspicious also works.”

“Why? Do you find all animal sounds weird?” I asked him.

Edgar remained quiet, and the seconds ticked away into minutes. “That didn’t sound like an animal to me. Did it to you?”

“I don’t know what half the shit out here sounds like. I live on the ranch with farm animals.”

“Then consider how strange it is that it happened when I tried using the radio.”

“I don’t know shit about that either.”

Another couple of minutes passed before I saw movement above us again. It took me a moment to realize what I was seeing. Elliot was hanging partially over the edge, holding a rock. It didn’t take much to guess that he was trying to gauge where Edgar was in the dark and, hopefully, trying to avoid hitting me.

“Fucking hell,” I growled, making a point to shift my body as if fighting with the zip ties. “These fucking things are…fuck!”

It wasn’t my best acting, but I flung myself to the ground on the other side of the rock, making plenty of noise. At least it was effective enough for me to see Edgar turn in the dark and find myself blinded by a light.

“What are you…” Edgar began in annoyance, but the light was enough for Elliot to position himself overhead. The rock came down and slammed into him, getting the base of his skull just at the neck and making him stumble. The flashlight in his hand fell to the ground, clattering as its spotlight hit the rock wall behind us.

“Here!” Elliot called out, and I watched something heavy clatter noisily to the ground a couple of feet from me. I hadn’t been expecting it so soon, but I rolled quickly, inching my way over as I tried to get to the knife. The problem was Elliot had either lost his grip or was too excited, and with a yelp, he slid forward.

“Fucking hell!” Elliot yelped, grabbing the edge of the large rock and swinging around so his body dangled rather than plummeting headfirst into the ground.

Edgar swore profusely, swinging his rifle around and taking aim. My heart skipped a beat, and I forgot entirely about the knife as I saw the rifle’s tip come to rest where Elliot was dangling. Heart in my throat, all I could do was painfully use my bound arms beneath me, shoving against the ground with all my might toward Edgar.

Three things happened at once. One of my feet slammed into Edgar’s knee, and the other hit his groin as my shove worked perfectly. I felt a stinging burn along my arms as they suddenly burst out from beneath me, and I flopped on my back while Edgar buckled. His gun went off with a furious blast, lighting the area around us, and it was followed by another cry from Elliot, who dropped.

“Elliot!” I cried out, not sure how my arms were free but not caring as I rolled over to see him slump against the wall of the tall boulder he’d fallen from.

“I’m…Reno!”

I whipped around in time to find the rifle swiveling to aim at me. Without thinking, I smacked it away, flinching when it went off again, blinding me for a moment, and I felt hot sparks dig into my neck and cheek. Still unable to see, I lashed out blindly, my foot connecting with another piece of Edgar, this time with more force than before.

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