Page 11 of Protective Tiger's Curvy Girl Crush

But instead of getting afraid, I get really, really pissed off. I’m not trying to tell you that I’m being wise or anything like that. In fact, I’m quite certain that this is unwise of me but I grab something and swing it at his head. What I end up grabbing is a three-pound orange glass half-sphere paperweight. It connects with his cheek and he screams.

Just in case my stupidity isn’t quite clear enough, I want to hit him again. So, instead of running, I swing it again.

His hand comes up and he grabs my wrists. He says with a terrible smile, “Now, nine or ten of us will have you one right after the other in front of all the other women who don’t know their place.” As he says the words, blood flows from a gash on his cheek from the paperweight.

And my anger is gone.

And you sure as hell better believe there’s a whole lot of fear.

“Let go of her and step back right now, motherfucker!”

“Barry!” I breathe out. He’s the security guard who stays here after hours. I turn and look and the man has his gun trained on Maxwell. “Oh, Barry!”

Max lets go of me and Barry says, “Get on your fucking knees, you asshole.”

Maxwell doesn’t respond but simply turns and runs to the window. He leaps through it, shattering the glass. I rush to it and see him disappear down the street. Barry asks from right behind me, “Are you all right Miss Toni?”

I turn and throw my arms around him. I can’t respond. I start weeping. He holds me and then finally leads me to a desk and sits me down. A few seconds later, the police arrive. He called them plus the security system sent out an alert when the window was broken. I feel strange and weak.

The police take my statement and Barry’s. The company maintenance director arrives to board up the window until it can be fixed. The CEO of the company calls me to make sure I’m okay. I break down crying again while I’m on the phone with him. He assures me that Maxwell could pull a stunt like this a thousand times and it wouldn’t change the company’s opinion of me.

Everyone is so sweet and so kind. Barry offers to drive me home and so do two of the police officers. I can see Barry has his hands full so I ask one of the officers. I do give Barry a big hug and a kiss on the cheek. He chuckles and makes me promise not to tell his wife I did that. I give him another kiss for the joke and the lightheartedness.

Finally, I’m in the back of the police car and on my way. Everything feels surreal. I’ve left a message for Vance but when he’s on his four day shifts at Company 417, he only gets messages sporadically. It doesn’t matter, though. The danger is gone now.

We pull up to the hotel, and the police officer hands me his card. “Now if there’s an emergency, you call 911 right away,” he says, “but I’ll be doing the legwork for the detective investigating so if you remember something or think of something, you can call. If you can’t get ahold of the detective, you can call. If it’s not an emergency but you’re just afraid he might be around, you can call me.”

I’m touched by the man. He’s probably Vance’s age but he doesn’t have Vance’s vitality or physique. I guess it’s strange because I think of this officer as sort of a father figure, a kindly man who’s looking out for me. I think of someone his same age as a sexy fuck toy.

Okay, okay. Vance is far more than that to me but you get the point.

Anyway, I thank the man and make my way into the hotel. I feel a little sheepish because I sent my driver/bodyguard away at seven o’clock because I felt bad about making him wait around. I know Vance is going to be upset about that. Well, I’m upset about it, too.

I hear firecrackers, I think. In the parking lot. That’s weird because it’s almost ten o’clock. I look at the man behind the counter. He shrugs and says, “Probably kids who aren’t happy about school starting up again.”

“I better make sure they’re not in trouble,” I say.

“Really, they’ll be fine,” he says, “I’m sure. Besides, you should just be safe in your room.”

I wave his concerns away and walk back out of the lobby to the parking lot. I don’t see anyone but then I feel a sting on my neck. It burns and I recognize the sensation as an injection. Maxwell says, “You’re going to give me strong sons,” and my world goes dark.

Chapter Nine

Toni

I force myself not to give up hope as I fall to the forest floor.

Hope.

How can I avoid giving it up? I see all of the women around me, and their faces show minds that have long, long ago given up hope. They look at me with tired eyes, too. They can’t even manage sympathy. I’m just another girl who’s been brought here to give the wolf lunatics babies. I’m just one more girl who blusters now but is certain to become just as they are.

They all look desolate.

There are five or six of them. They range in age from younger than me to one who looks like she’s in her mid-thirties. I wonder how long she’s been here. I wonder how many babies they’ve forced her to have. The sight of her is good for me because my hopelessness transforms into rage.

I stand up. The two men on the other side of the chain link fence look at me in amusement. I say to Maxwell, “You’re going to die, Maxwell. You don’t know it now and you don’t believe it now but I’m going to make sure that you die and so does everyone involved in kidnapping me and these women.

They laugh loudly and a number of others come closer to stare in amusement at me. Maxwell says, “Oh really? Now I’m sure I’ll be passing you along to my brothers. You definitely need the lesson.”

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