“What the heck is
going on?” Rylee whispered to her mom.
“I have no idea.
Maybe they think it’s strange for women to want to take a trip like this,”
Marcy suggested.
Rylee was becoming
very uncomfortable. “Mom, I think I’d really like to go back home tomorrow.
This is just too weird.”
Marcy was equally
agitated by the men, who seemed to be almost leering at this point. “I’ll tell
Richard to talk to the guide. I’m not comfortable with this either.”
After dinner, the
group was led back to the large living room. Marcy walked up to Carlton and
forced a smile as she said, “Thank you for dinner, Mr. Prescott. I think we’ll
be heading back to our cabin. It’s been a long day, and none of us are used to
riding.”
Rylee wanted to hug
her. The creepy feeling and stares were getting even more obvious, and she just
wanted to get the heck out of there.
“Nonsense, it’s
still early.” The big man turned to the others, dismissing her mother. Marcy’s
mouth dropped open at his rudeness, and Rylee got angry.
“Mr. Prescott, we’re
tired. Come on, mom. I’m sure we can find our cabin.” Rylee began to walk
towards the front door, and one of the cowboys stepped in front of her. She
glared up at him. “Excuse me.” She tried to move around him.
“I think I want you
over here, Rylee,” Carlton said. The cowboy gripped her arm and pulled her over
to Carlton.
“Get your hands off
of me,” Rylee demanded. She pulled her arm away, only to have the other one
gripped by Mr. Prescott.
Marcy turned to
Richard, who was leaning calmly against the sofa. “Richard, what the hell is
going on?”
Richard relished the
moment. “You shouldn’t have threatened me with that damn agreement you were
going to have me sign. Did you really think I wasted five years sleeping with
your saggy ass just to have you cut me out of the money?”
Marcy’s whispered,
“You bastard.” She looked around the room, still not understanding what he had
planned for her, but knowing whatever it was, was going to be real bad. Oh god,
Rylee. “Richard, let me get my daughter out of here, and we’ll discuss this.”
Marcy’s voice was trembling.
Rylee was still
trying to understand what was going on, and trying unsuccessfully to free her
arm from Carlton’s grip. Richard was almost grinning in triumph, and her mom
looked scared.
“Rylee’s part of the
deal, Marcy. Do you think I could afford something like this with only your old
pussy to trade?” Richard smirked.
Marcy lunged at him
and screamed, “What the hell have you done, Richard? Who are these people?”
Richard had expected
someone to step in and grab her before she attacked. Instead, all the men stood
around and watched as she clawed at his face and kicked at him. “Hey,” he
yelled. “Shouldn’t one of you grab her, or something?”
The men ignored him,
letting the woman tire herself out with him. Some of the cowboys were laughing,
when it seemed she was actually getting the upper hand.
Rylee was struggling
and yelling, “Let me go. Dammit, let go of me.” She reached her free hand
around to hit Carlton, and he caught her wrist.
“Hank,” Carlton
called. One of the cowboys, who were standing by the fireplace, came over with
some strange leather belts.
Rylee began to
scream when he grabbed her arms and secured the cuffs onto her wrists. He
yanked her arms behind her and she heard them click together. When she cursed
and kicked out at Carlton, he slapped her and she fell to the floor.
Marcy turned at the
sound of the crack and saw her daughter falling. She tried to rush to her side,
and was intercepted by one of the big cowboys. He grabbed her arm and her hair,
holding her with her back against his chest.
Richard saw his wife
finally secured, and he walked calmly up to her. When he raised his hand to
slap her, he found his wrist grabbed tightly in Hank’s grip. “Let go of me,
asshole. The bitch deserves this.” Richard tried to pull his hand away and drew
his other hand back and curled it into a fist. Before he could land the blow,
Hank punched him solidly in the stomach. His air let out in a whoosh, and he
found himself hanging by the wrist still clenched in Hank’s other fist. If not
for that, he would have slumped to the floor.
Carlton’s deep
steady voice crossed the room. “I’m afraid I can’t have you hitting her,
Richard. I don’t like my property marked by anyone other than who I choose. You
will be free of her soon, though. I’ve traded you to the north clan, because
you don’t have the muscle tone I had hoped for when my contact discussed you,
so you’re a bit of a disappointment.”
Richard wheezed,
“What the fuck are you talking about? I’m not part of the deal.”
Several of the
ranchers chuckled, and Carlton informed him, “You’ve always been part of the
deal, Richard. How were we to get hold of all that money with you running
around? The funds have already been forwarded to our offshore account, and
Donnie tells me he’ll have no problem getting a good price for the house once
he’s stripped the furnishings. I told him he could keep that little sport car
of yours, but I think he’s giving it to his sister. I believe you know Cass?”
Carlton watched the man’s expression change from the arrogance he had displayed
earlier, to horror as the trap closed in on him. “Oh, and it was most
accommodating of you to provide all of your wife’s accounts and passwords.
Usually, we have to ‘encourage’ that sort of information from our guests.”
Richard shook his
head. “No, look, you’ve got this all wrong. Donnie is handling all the
paperwork for me. Give him a call and he’ll tell you he’s made reservations for
me in Vegas. You’ve made a mistake.”
Richard was swearing
as Hank and another cowboy strapped some cuffs onto his wrists and placed a
collar around his throat. They lashed his wrists behind him and pushed him onto
his knees next to one of the older ranchers. The man sneered down at his new labor
slave, noting his soft muscle tone. “Hank, hogtie and gag him for me, will you?
I don’t want to miss the rest of the evening’s activities.”
Hank and the guide
wrapped a rope around Richard’s ankles and secured them to his wrists. Grabbing
his scalp, Hank pulled Richard’s head back and crammed a hard rubber ring into
his mouth.
Rylee was still on
the floor crying, rubbing her stung cheek and looking up at her mother. Marcy
was in shock, standing pinned against the cowboy’s chest while her mind tried
to wrap around what was going on. Carlton reached down and grabbed Rylee’s long
ponytail, and she screamed while he dragged her towards a chair. He sat down
and pulled her into his lap and said, “Now. Marcy, Mr. Tyler was the only one
interested in your husband, so you don’t need to waste anymore time worrying
about him, because he’s headed to the labor camps to the north. I’ve decided I
might keep you and Rylee together, but naturally, I need to see the
merchandise.”
