Page 58 of Sinning for Santa

I know there are armed men at the gates, but maybe I can convince them to let me go. Surely they can’t be alright with Devon keeping all these women here for himself.

Does he ever share with these men or do they just stand guard and watch?

That thought makes me feel just as sick as the thought of Devon trapping all the women here does, which is why I have to escape. I have to get to a phone and call the police and save these women.

Rounding a bend, the gates up ahead also seem bigger than they did when we drove through them in the car last night. The men haven’t noticed me yet, their stances relaxed as they laugh about something, their deep chuckles meeting my ears as I approach.

“Oh shit.” I hear one say as he stiffens, kicks the other guard's foot before standing tall and rolling his shoulders back which makes him appear three times bigger than he did moments ago when he was relaxed.

The other guard looks over his shoulder spotting me, and lurches up, his hand on his gun at his hip, watching me approach.

Plastering on a fake smile, I give them both a friendly wave.

“Hi,” I say cheerfully. “You must be hot out here.”

They glance at each other before returning their intense gazes back to me, their height becoming more prominent the closer I get.

“Can we help you, Miss Summers?”

Shit, they know my name. I bet they know all the names of the women Devon kidnaps.

“Oh no. I was just going for a walk in this beautiful weather and must have taken a wrong turn.”

They nod, and I notice the guy at the back relaxes a little with the way his shoulders drop a fraction.

He doesn’t see me as a threat. Which I’m not. I’m no match for them. I’ve done stupid stuff in my life, but me thinking I can out muscle these men isn’t one of them.

“If you turn around and head back up this road, you’ll find your way back into town,” the first guard offers, shooting me a wink.

Oh. He’s a bit flirty.

I can work with that.

“Would you like to join me for a walk?” I ask him, smiling as sweetly as I can muster. “I could use some company.”

“Is that so?” He grins, while the guy behind him curses under his breath.

“Yeah. I’m just feeling a little lonely, you know?” I let my smile drop and give him puppy dog eyes. “What with being new here and everything. I’d really like to make some friends.”

The guard smirks, taking a step closer. “And you want to be my friend?”

I nod. “Yeah. I’d love to be your friend.”

Ugh. Why is he eating this up? I sound fake to my own ears, clearly not used to being flirty, but his eyes drop to my boobs, and I know he notices the outline of my nipples. Maybe I should bend to pick something up and show him what’s not covering my butt underneath my dress.

“I can always use new friends.” He gestures behind me, but I bite on my lip and glance over his shoulder beyond the gates.

“We could always go that way. You know, just to be safe so no one sees us.” His brows hitch at my suggestion, and he glances over his shoulder to the closed gates.

“Outside the boundary?” he asks and I nod, but his eyes narrow a little.

Shit.

I’m losing him.

Panicking, I start fanning myself and gesture my head past the gates again. “There’s a big old tree over there. I bet it’s nice and cool under it. On the ground.” I reach back andscoop up my long hair, holding the blonde locks above my head to fan the back of my neck with my other hand, and his eyes dart to my clavicle where Iknow a bead of sweat is running down my flesh before disappearing under the fabric of my dress.

The crunching of gravel sounds beside me, right before the barrel of a gun presses against the guard’s temple.

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