Page 6 of Soul Of A Villain

Londyn

Londyn’s heartbeat like a wild thing.

She took a deep breath and expelled the air in a measured release. The key was to focus on not gulping in another panicked breath. That would only lead to an episode of hyperventilation. Andthatmust be avoided if she had any chance of getting as far away from this place as possible. With a determination born of desperation, she went through the calming technique a second time, gratified when her persistence paid off.

Her heartrate leveled out, a sense of calmness seeping through her body. Now that her initial burst of frantic reaction was subsiding, she could think with a bit more clarity, although her brain still felt addled from the drugs they’d injected her with. She had enough of her wits to assess the situation. And, more importantly, figure out a way to escape. Convulsively, she swallowed as she touched the collar still around her neck. It was tight enough that she could not get a finger between it and the skin of her throat. It felt like she was choking, even though she knew she wasn’t.

I must get away from here…

But how? They have my driver’s license. I have no money, no transportation, no cell phone, and, for God’s sake, no shoes.

She glanced down at her feet. They were already scratched and bleeding, but it wasn’t as bad as it could have been. Thank God she’d spent her childhood traipsing barefoot around the Georgia countryside. Hopefully, it had toughened her up enough to survive.

She’d taken refuge beneath a small ridge of stone not too far from the clearing where she’d been set loose earlier. If the men chasing her shared anything in common with the parade of Neanderthal boyfriends her mother had accumulated while she was alive, they would not expect her to circle back to the source of danger. It was a maneuver she and her sister employed many times in those dark years of escaping hard, grippy hands and cruel fingers. How many times had they both slept in the woods on the outskirts of the trailer park? Waiting in the darkness for the clumsy, unkempt animal chasing them to give up and head back so he could settle on her momma’s sagging couch, cold beer in hand.

Outwitting those monsters and staying just beyond their reach as she grew from child to young woman was an accomplishment. More than that, it was a testament to her resiliency and will to live. And to Paris, too. Without her older sister, Londyn knew she would not have made it out of her nightmare childhood in one piece and physically unscathed.

I will outsmart them all. I must… There’s no other option. I have to get back to Georgia somehow. For Paris’s sake…

Her best hope lay in finding a vehicle, which meant doubling back to the ranch house or one of the outlying buildings. At the very least, she could follow the ranch’s entrance road until it connected with a highway. Hitchhiking out of the area was not ideal, but it would be the only option available if she could not find a car with the keys left inside.

Taking another deep breath and slowly letting it out, Londyn listened to the silence of the night surrounding her. A pale half-moon provided her with very little light, but it was enough that she could make out the trail just below her hiding spot. If anyone ventured close, she’d see them first.

Her fingers found and closed around a rock small enough to fit within the palm of her hand. She squeezed it until the rough edges bit into her skin while considering her options. What kind of damage could such a meager weapon inflict? Was it enough to knock a man out? Enough to buy a few precious seconds to escape?

A gun would be better… like the one she used to kill her escort during the journey to this damned ranch.

A shudder raced through Londyn. The details of the incident were fuzzy, but she’d never forget the look of surprise on the man’s face when his hand clamped over the hole in his side. The blood that dripped from the wound onto her bare stomach began as a hot liquid, only to cool quickly into a sticky mess that left her chilled.

She hadn’t meant to murder him; it just… happened. He had attacked her with the finesse of an experienced rapist, and she reacted blindly. Protecting the only thing of value she owned was paramount. If she arrived at the ranch in a condition less than promised, it would have affected the amount of money she was supposed to receive.

She did what was necessary to keep it from being stolen, but the people in charge did not seem to care about any of that. In fact, this turn of events seemed to suit them just fine. They would double the anticipated amount and not have to pay her the previously agreed-upon price. They would keep itall, and she would eventually lose her life.

“Girl.”

A man’s voice boomed in the night, the single word bouncing off the trees and the boulders. Londyn stifled a gasp and crouched lower, squeezing herself into the crevice under the ledge. She could not see who called out, but he sounded very close.

Peering through the darkness, she focused on the part of the trail she could see from her elevated advantage point. It was still empty, with no sign of movement or sound. Even the wind had died down, leaving everything motionless, silent, and limp.

How she wanted to scream at him. Rage and cry and hurt him as she’d been hurt.Londyn!She ached to tell them all.My name is Londyn.

It took all her willpower to hold her breath, fighting to keep the terror inside her. Twigs crunched on the forest floor, and the rustle of bushes as someone pushed through them signaled the man was coming closer. The sounds echoed in the vast space, making it difficult to tell which direction he came from.

“Girl… if you can hear me, I want you to listen very closely to what I’m about to say,” the man explained.

His voice sounded calm. Smooth. Londyn wondered if he could hear her heart pounding. It was beating so hard that she was becoming dizzy. Was it a side effect of the drugs they’d pumped into her to make her more compliant during the auction? Was it from the injection they’d given her just before the hunt began? The guard chuckled when telling her she would be slower and clumsier.

“Of the two of us, I promise you’ll be better off if I am the one to catch you. I’ll treat you like a queen,” the man crooned. “Cater to your whims. Fuck you until you are certain you will die from the pleasure. My opponent, well—he is another story. Take my word on it. He’s a monster whoenjoyshurting women. Loves making them cry and beg for mercy. I’m the better choice of the two. Come on out, honey. Let me take you back to the main house. We’ll get you cleaned up. Feed you. Get you some warm clothes…”

There was still no movement on the trail, but through the thick underbrush, there was a sweep of illumination that could only come from a flashlight. Whoever it was, they were nearer than she liked. Panic galloped through Londyn. She clutched her inadequate protection harder, taking comfort in the unforgiving hardness of the stone in the palm of her hand. She decided she would wait until he moved past before continuing toward the main house. Hopefully, both men out there, hunting her as if she were a prized game animal, would continue trekking deeper into the forest in their effort to find her. She crept out from under the safety of the ledge, her eyes trained on the distant illumination of the flashlight.

God, please don’t let them catch me. Please help me get away from this awful place and these awful men. These monsters.

There was silence. Thick. Encompassing. Scary. Then, the world came crashing down on Londyn. At least it felt like it, anyway.

“Caught ya.”

Londyn screamedin terror as the man gripped a handful of her hair, using it to drag her out of her hiding spot. Once she was on level ground, he dropped the flashlight and wrapped his arms around her, squeezing until she could not breathe. His laughter was cruel as she struggled to free herself. When she managed to knock the devil mask slightly askew, he grunted and wrangled her into a position where her arms were tightly pinned against her sides.

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