Page 52 of Taken By the Convicts
Lucas grabbed her hands and yanked them above her head as he leaned into her ear, his foul breath making her gag as Finch pulled off her boots and pants and then kicked her legs apart. “Be real good and we’ll give you a blanket when we’re done.”
“Please don’t do this,” she begged.
“You gotta earn your keep, bitch,” Finch said as he got on top of her.
Melina sought that place she often went when Namir used her. Home. She could almost smell the wildflowers in the wind. Maybe she should pick some on their way home, so she’d having something better to smell than the stinky fish Alexander would catch.Ifhe caught any, that is. She wasn’t convinced about this new bait he was sure would work.
“I’ll catch the biggest fish in the river, Mellie,” Alexander said.
Why her brother thought day-old bread wrapped in rotting parsi root would attract the larger fish was beyond her, but stranger things had happened in that river. Like Evan finding a gold coin. No one used hard currency anymore, which made the find all the rarer. They’d received two hundred credits from the dealer in the capital for that coin later that month. Ever since then, Alexander tried to outdo his brother. It was a friendly competition for the most part, but now and then she’d have to step in before it turned into a true fight.
What Melina wanted to know was why it was so damn cold, in the middle of summer yet! Maybe she was coming down with a fever. Her entire body felt stiff, weighed down, and that rocking motion was making her nauseous. She couldn’t move her hands, both were trapped above her head, but that smell, that glorious smell had to be the sun-daisies nearby.
No, this scent wasn’t as delicate as the flowers, but she knew it so well. It made her smile, maybe because of its earthiness and how it reminded her of rich and fertile soil, full of promise and possibility. Not dirt, not like when Evan and Alexander tracked in mud, but more like when she planted seeds on the side of the house. A nice, healthy soil.
Something soft pressed against her head, and then she felt the sun warm her face as the rocking stopped. A hand moved through her hair, petting her. Evan and Alexander were starting to fight over the fishing net. Damn, if they continued pulling on it like that, they’d rip it in two and she still had to catch fish for dinner. Goddess knows, Alexander’s bait wasn’t going to do the trick.
“Stop that!” she shouted.
“Een.”
What was that? It was almost a growl. A tortured growl like the sound a wounded animal would make.
Melina spotted the fire to her right. Evan and Alexander were gone, as was her meadow. The light from a fire bounced off the rough cave walls.
All the memories rushed back at once.
Melina struggled to get up. She pushed at the fabrics weighing her down, but then meaty hands pulled her back. Arms locked her in.
“Een,” someone whispered in her ear while petting her hair.
“Reece!” She burst into tears as his strong arms lifted her and pulled her into his lap. Melina curled into his chest, and he petted her hair, kissing the top of her head as she calmed down.
Flashes of being restrained as Bearded Guy climbed on top of her made her cry out again. She pushed against Reece’s arms until he released her.
“Where are they? Are they coming back? How did you find me? They’re coming back, aren’t they?”
Reese stood there, both hands outstretched with his palms open and empty, trying to calm her, but her heart was racing so fast and she couldn’t just stand there. They’d get her.
Melina raced to the cave entrance, clutching a blanket around her, and stopped at the edge. She couldn’t see anything outside the cave. Pitch black. The sun had set.
Reece moved in front of her, signing letters she didn’t know. And then he drew his finger across his throat from ear-to-ear.
“They’re d-dead? B-both?”
Reece pointed to the distance and then to the interior of the cave. The cave curved, with the fire around a bend, away from the wind.
“A different cave?”
He nodded and then took her hand, leading her back to the fire.
“Then they can’t find us?”
He motioned the sign for dead again before he dipped a rag in a metal tin sitting in the fire heating up. Gently, he tugged at her blanket. She was naked underneath, but he probably already knew that. Tears began to flow again as he eased the blanket away and started to wash her. The warm wet rag ran down her skin, removing dirt and blood.
The sight of the blood made her shake. Had they cut her? With the utmost care, Reece washed her shoulders and chest, moving over her breasts and down her belly but skipping over her sex and thighs as he washed her legs. That’s when she realized he wasn’t washing the evidence of the men off of her, at least not any cum, and her thighs and pussy weren’t sore.
“I don’t understand,” she said as he finished washing her.
