Page 3 of In Love With the Leshy

I groan as I rub my forehead.

“She’s slowing down.”

Damn it! The voice is close. Too close.

He’s wrong. I’m not slowing down. I’m stopped. Sharp pain splits my head in two, and the world goes black around me.

Chapter 2

“Did you hit her with something?” I don’t recognize the voice, but I know the man speaking has been drinking by the scent of alcohol wafting from his mouth.

“No, dumb-ass.” A second man answers. His voice, I know. Nikolai. The grandson. “What could I throw that would cause her to drop like that?”

The voices and warm breath come from right above, like they’re bent over me. They’re too close for me to open my eyes, get to my feet, and take off again. They’re too close for me to move at all. If I lie still on the ground, I have the element of surprise to fight back when they touch me. In other words, a hope and a prayer, and that’s about it.

“I don’t know. A rock?”

“Did you see me stop and pick up a rock? She’s faking.”

“Shit! Is that a bear?” A third man asks.

FUCK! If I can’t outrun men and hold my own against them, what chance do I have against a bear? I tamp down the panic short-circuiting my brain and fight the urge to open my eyes and look for myself. Where did looking when I knew better get me? Right here, helpless on the ground.

My heart thunders so hard I’m sure the bear, or whatever animal these men see, will hear it. Or smell the fear oozing out of me. Maybe that’s my best chance. Draw the animal near, so they’ll run or try to fight it and piss it off. I can escape once they’re distracted or getting eaten alive.

“Seriously,” the first voice starts, “Forget her. We don’t get anything if we’re dead.”

“I’m not going to forget her, Igor!” Nikolai snaps in a stern voice that makes my hands jerk. Please don’t let him notice! “Help me undress her.”

“Nik, This isn’t the time for a midday hump.” The panicked man tries to reason.

“I’m not looking to fuck her,” Nikolai says, as if the thought of having sex with me repulses him. “But she doesn’t need to know that. If she’s naked, when she comes to, she’ll be scared. Ready to shit herself and willing to tell us what she knows.”

“What if she’s telling the truth and really doesn’t know anything?” Igor challenges him.

Nikolai laughs, and the sound sends a chill of fear down my spine. “Then we fuck her. Over and over again. Until she remembers something, because the little bitch is lying.”

“Did you hear that?” Igor sounds frantic. “It’s close, Nik. Real fucking close. We need to climb a tree.”

“Climb a tree?” The third man asks in a high-pitched voice. “Bears climb trees, ass-wipe. We need to figure something else out.” A branch snaps. “Shit! Nik, what do we do?”

I’m not sure if I hear another snap or if the sound is the ripping of my shirt, but I’m jostled as someone pulls on it, and the kiss of cold air against my skin makes me think it was the latter.

“You couldn’t wear a button-down shirt that’s easy to rip open?” Nik mutters, moving down to the waistband of my pants.

Enough of this bullshit. I need to fight, and I need to fight now, or I won’t be playing dead; I’ll actually be dead.

Nikolai doesn’t notice the trembling of my body, and I wonder if fear floods his veins the way it races through mine. I’m shaking so much I swear it feels like a damn earthquake is rattling the ground beneath me. Maybe he’s so preoccupied and frightened by the potential bear thing out there that his own hands are unsteady.

My primary focus, as Nikolai unbuttons and unzips my jeans, is figuring out how to get far enough away from him and his cronies that he won’t be able to rape me. The words of my high school physical education teacher rush through my mind.

“Pee on your attacker, or make yourself throw up. Make a big enough mess, and no one is going to want to have sex with you. And If you have the opportunity, squeeze his balls as hard as you can until they’re the size of a marble, and don’t let go no matter what.”

I’m about to make my move, go for the nutcracker, when Igor speaks again. This time, he’s not leaning over me. “C’mon, hurry up.”

Branches snap all around us.

“I’m . . . I’m out of here,” the third man squeals.

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