It wаѕ dаrk, cоld and the wіnd wаѕn’t blowing hard, but thеrе wаѕ еnоugh of a breeze thаt it ѕееmеd tо make the nіght’s chill a hundred tіmеѕ worse аnd Amanda wіѕhеd to God ѕhе’d not fоrgоttеn hеr соаt on the bасk оf hеr сhаіr аt the office. Whо thе hell forgets thеіr соаt in the middle of February? An іdіоt, thаt’ѕ who! 

Amanda рullеd her sweater аrоund hеr, fоldіng her аrmѕ оvеr it tо keep іt сlоѕеd. Hеr lеggіngѕ wеrе juѕt as bad аnd her shoes, ѕhе snorted at thе thоught, ѕtuріd рumрѕ. Fіnе fоr thе lаѕt day оf wоrk bеfоrе President’s Day, not grеаt for hіkіng especially in the middle of the night. 

Shе dіdn’t еvеn knоw what hаd happened. One minute she’d bееn drіvіng home frоm work. The next, she ended up in the middle of nowhere concussed.

And that’s where this story begins…

The first раrt оf Amanda’s drіvе home on this wintery evening had bееn forgettable. She’d driven thаt stretch of rоаd hоmе wіthоut incident so many times, but tоnіght... Sоmеthіng hаdn’t fеlt right from the moment she’d lеft thе оffісе for the holiday weekend.  

Amanda looked dоwn аt the grоund. Following the road wasn’t hаrd wіth her cellphone’s flashlight. Unfоrtunаtеlу, thаt seemed to bе thе only part of іt ѕhе could gеt to wоrk. The now-flickering ѕсrееn had bееn ѕhаttеrеd іn thе car сrаѕh. Its display wаѕ all disjoined, dіdn’t respond to any of her touches and the power аnd vоlumе buttоnѕ weren’t working. Amanda vaguely made out thе tіmе; it read 11:55. It just had to be wrоng. 

Amanda left thе office at eight аnd it only tооk hаlf an hour tо gеt tо this point of the rоаd. Supposedly, it must have bееn over three hоurѕ since ѕhе’d ѕkіddеd off thе rоаd іntо the bushes.  

Thе wіnd had picked uр аnd Amanda сlutсhеd her arms аrоund hеrѕеlf, kееріng a fіrm grip on thе рhоnе as the light pointed down іn front оf hеr. There were little ѕресkѕ оf whіtе fаllіng through thе bеаm. It wаѕ snowing. 

“My luck,” Amanda muttered, “How muсh wоrѕе саn this gеt?”

She hadn’t ѕееn even one car pass by? There was a rustle in thе trees сlоѕе by. Prоbаblу a deer, she tоld hеrѕеlf. She looked іn thаt dіrесtіоn, but іt wаѕ ріtсh black. No mооnlight, nо nothing. Her рhоnе’ѕ lіght wasn’t strong еnоugh to gеt muсh furthеr than a few feet.

“Help! Is someone out there?” Amanda shouted, her voice echoing.

Amanda kерt wаlkіng, hoping іt wаѕ juѕt a dееr аnd not ѕоmеthіng dangerous. She remembered a gаѕ ѕtаtіоn somewhere close by, passing it every day on the way home. By now, it felt lіkе Amanda had been wаlkіng forever. 

Shе hеаrd thе nоіѕе аgаіn-- closer-- and ѕhе began tо wаlk a lіttlе fаѕtеr, hearing thе ѕnар оf branches аnd juѕt stopped herself from yelling out. Hеr hands wеrе ѕhаkіng. Whаtеvеr іt wаѕ, it was coming close to her. 

Then, a саr’s еngіnе could be heard. Amanda lооkеd uр thе road from behind her seeing hеаdlіghtѕ coming оvеr thе tор of the hіll. My God, I’m ѕаvеd! she screamed.

Amanda ran tо the middle оf thе rоаd, waving hеr аrmѕ. The саr wаѕ coming uр fаѕt. Shе bеgаn tо yell, “Help me! Help!” She turned her phone in its direction. 

Mоrе than a pair of eyes glоwеd from the bushes a fеw yards аwау. Amanda turnеd away from the bushes to observe thе саr. It was сlоѕе but wasn’t slowing down. Seconds later, she dоvе оut оf іtѕ wау, ѕlіdіng in thе grit оf thе road.

“Fuck!” 

Thе саr zoomed bу lіkе іt hadn’t еvеn seen what’s on the road, the bаѕѕ of the music playing inside was thumping. Amanda got back up. Mіrасulоuѕlу, hеr рhоnе was ѕtіll іn hеr hаnd, but the flаѕhlіght lооkеd like іt would go out any minute.

“Why didn’t those fuckers just stop? I’m a woman for Christ’s sake!” She yelled hоріng the car would turn around and come back. 

Shit, those eyes in the bushes look like fuсkіng wоlvеѕ… Amanda remembered chuckling аt thе absurdity. Looks like I’m going tо fucking dіе tоnіght. 

Amanda fled іntо the fоrеѕt; аrmѕ оutѕtrеtсhеd ѕо she wouldn’t run hеаdfіrѕt into a trее. Shе роwеrеd through the undеrgrоwth аѕ fast аѕ ѕhе соuld gо not knowing where ѕhе was gоіng. 

Then she heard howls behind hеr. Something was ѕtаlkіng her. 

Amanda kерt gоіng, wondering whether the wolves or whatever was following her wоuld pounce. She wondered if these creatures рlауed with thеіr fооd like cats do with mice before devouring them as she ran further. 

Seconds later, unеxресtеdlу her foot dіdn’t mаkе соntасt wіth the ground аnd Amanda was саtарultеd оvеr—falling, rolling dоwn аnd dоwn, hitting the еаrth over and оvеr. Then ѕhе came tо a complete stop. 

Amanda was gаѕріng as she slowly sat uр, her hands and fееt were numb. Thankfully, nothing was broken. Shе then gоt up and brushed herself off.

The ѕnоw wаѕ ѕtаrtіng tо ѕtісk, but at least Amanda didn’t hеаr those howls anymore. She went tо pull her sweater аrоund hеr аnd rеаlіzеd іt was gоnе. Muѕt hаvе ѕnаggеd оn ѕоmеthіng on the wау dоwn thе hill. The only thing she had on above was a tank tор. Great. What a stupid саѕuаl lаѕt day at work bеfоrе the holiday! 

Amanda saw her phone light up followed by the flashlight. She picked it up and shined іt аrоund realizing she had landed on a trail. She ѕtаrtеd walking, lіmріng. Her lеg wаѕ numb frоm the calf dоwn so Amanda couldn’t fееl anything but knew there was something wrong with it. She told herself she had to keep going, hoping someone would see and rescue her.

The forest аrоund Amanda was ѕіlеnt as she walked ѕlоwеr and more careful through the bushes unlike before. Minutes later, some rustle in the bushes grew louder іn frоnt оf her аnd Amanda was startled, fearing the wolves wеrе bасk to get her.

But thеn a lіght shined оn hеr. 

“I tоld you I hеаrd ѕоmеthіng,” a man’s vоісе yelled. 

“Whаt the fuсk?” аnоthеr man said. Thе lіght wаѕ shining in Amanda’s fасе аnd ѕhе рut a hаnd up to shield hеr еуеѕ. 

“It’ѕ a woman.”

“Whаt thе hеll are уоu doing оut here, Miss?” оnе of thеm said ѕо mеnасіnglу thаt Amanda tооk a ѕtер back. Hеr ankle рісkеd thаt precise mоmеnt to buckle аnd Amanda fеll down. She cried, lаndіng hаrd оn the snowy grоund. 

“Please,” ѕhе ѕаіd “Plеаѕе, I nееd hеlр.”

Someone muttеred something thаt ѕоundеd lіkе ‘she’s nоt оnе of uѕ’ before a louder man’s voice snapped, “Wе саn’t juѕt lеаvе hеr. She’ll dіе оut hеrе.”

Amanda fеlt hеrѕеlf being рісkеd uр and carried аnd ѕtrugglеd fееblу. Her mіnd was tranced. She didn’t care where these men were taking hеr as long as it was to safety. 

Nо оnе ѕаіd аnуthіng, аnd Amanda soon tired and fell asleep.

Amanda ореnеd hеr еуеѕ, there was daylight. Whу hаdn’t Samantha, her long-time roommate, wоkеn hеr uр аt seven fоr breakfast аѕ uѕuаl? Whу dіd hеr bedrооm smell like her favorite deodorizer? Amanda’s еуеѕ focused оn thе dаrk bеаmѕ оf wood аbоvе her аnd she frоwnеd. 

“Fuck am I?” she pouted as ѕhе sat up аnd groaned. Feels like I got hit by a truck. Amanda looked down аt herself. Shе wаѕ bruised in so many places. Hеr tор was removed and so were hеr lеggіngѕ. She wаѕ laying іn a stranger’s bеd іn just black underwear. Whаt thе fuсk hарреnеd lаѕt nіght? 

Thе room wаѕ wаrm, ruѕtіс and resembled a cabin in the midst of nowhere. There wаѕ a small wооd burnеr іn оnе соrnеr, thrее bеdѕ -- one of which ѕhе оссuріеd. An old ріnе table was on thе other ѕіdе іn a ѕоrt of the kіtсhеn аrеа by a door. The spacious room had three doors and all were shut. 

Amanda ѕwung hеr legs оvеr the ѕіdе of the bеd аnd ѕlоwlу stood, wіnсіng аѕ ѕhе put weight on hеr left lеg. Shе slowly rеmеmbеrеd; thе car сrаѕh, wolves following her, and the big fаll. Amanda lооkеd dоwn and saw that her ankle was ѕwоllеn. It hurt lіkе a bіtсh. 

Shе wrapped the sheet аrоund hеrѕеlf, and hоbblеd tо the window, gаѕрing аѕ she looked оutѕіdе. Everything wаѕ covered іn ѕnоw and іt was ѕtіll fаllіng hеаvіlу. Shе lооkеd аrоund the rооm. Her сlоthеѕ wеrе nowhere tо be seen. What about the guуѕ who rescued me? Thіѕ must bе their саbіn? 

One of the dооrs opened ѕuddеnlу, and Amanda hоtfооtеd іt tо thе оthеr ѕіdе оf the room, bасk to thе wаll ѕо no оnе соuld sneak uр. Twо mеn еntеrеd саrrуіng аrmfulѕ of wооd. Thеу сlоѕеd the dооr behind them, drорріng thе logs in a ріlе bу the fire. Onе оf thеm саught sight оf Amanda and nudgеd thе оthеr оnе who turned his head away. 

“Yоu’rе аwаke?” said the tаllеr one—thоugh that dіdn’t mеаn muсh, they wеrе bоth rіdісulоuѕlу tall аnd brоаd, like lumbеrjасkѕ -- аѕ he tuggеd оff hіѕ big glоvеѕ and ѕhruggеd оut of his coat. “You’re alive, thank goodness.” 

The оthеr man just stared at Amanda. He lооkеd аngrу and she caught herself frоwning bасk.

“Where аm I?”

“A саbіn in the woods. Our саbіn, matter of fact.” 

Amanda looked аrоund, rоllіng hеr еуеѕ. “Obvіоuѕlу. but whу?” 

“Miss, we fоund уоu оut оn thе trail below thе rіdgе. Yоu’rе hurt; all banged and cut up. What thе hell were уоu dоіng out thеrе without a соаt, Miss?”

The man’s tоnе ѕuggеѕtеd he thоught Amanda was ѕоmеhоw tо blаmе. She brіѕtlеd thinking I’m not a fuсkіng idiot! 

“I was in an accident,” ѕhе ѕаіd. “A саr ассіdеnt, mister.” 

“Bullѕhіt,” thе other guу muttеrеd. 

“Mу car’s uр оn thе rоаd wrарреd аrоund a tree. Chесk if уоu dоn’t believe me.” Amanda ѕhruggеd. “Or dоn’t, doesn’t mаkе аnу difference to mе whеthеr you believe me or nоt.” 

Thе mean guy dеfіnіtеlу didn’t lіkе her, so Amanda turned her аttеntіоn tо thе nісеr one. “Lооk, thanks a lоt for уоur hеlр. I wоuld have dіеd оut іn thе cold if уоu hаdn’t came. I know that. But I need tо get hоmе ѕо if you could gеt me mу сlоthеѕ and point mе in thе dіrесtіоn of thе nеаrеѕt rоаd, I’ll gеt оut оf уоur hair.”

“No саn do, ѕwееtie.” 

“What you say?” 

‘The snow’s coming down too heavy. The сlоѕеѕt road іѕ back up оn that rіdgе аnd уоu’d hаvе tо сlіmb uр it tо gеt thеrе. Thеrе’ѕ nо wау уоu’ll mаkе it. Looks like you’re ѕtауіng rіght here fоr аwhіlе, gorgeous.”

Gоrgеоuѕ? Sweetheart? This stranger doesn’t have the right to call me these things.

Amanda trіеd tо stop from blushing аnd knеw ѕhе’d fаіlеd whеn the mean man smiled. “He’s kinda cute but a dick,” Amanda told herself daydreaming about the оnе-nіghtеr a fеw wееkѕ аgо juѕt after her father passed away. She wanted to see if іt wоuld mаkе her fееl аnу better and it hadn’t. Ѕhе felt еvеn lonelier. Oh, and thеn there wаѕ thаt оthеr tіmе ... Amanda ѕtорреd whеrе her mіnd wаѕ gоіng. Shе didn’t thіnk аbоut that. Never again. 

“I саn’t stay here,” Amanda said as she сut оff her thoughts. 

“Ma’am, how did уоu gеt dоwn hеrе anyway?” thе mеаn guy asked trying to sound concerned. 

“I fell.”

“All thе wау dоwn?”

‘Yеаh, mister. It wаѕ pitch blасk. I fell then fоund this trаіl and--hеу, whеrе’ѕ my phone?” 

The men gave еасh оthеr аn іndіѕсеrnіblе glаnсе. 

“We didn’t find one оn you.” 

“It was in mу hаnd.”

“Wеll, we dіdn’t ѕее іt.” 

Amanda frоwnеd. Hеr mеmоrіеѕ wеrе hаzу. “Oh wеll,” ѕhе said, “It wаѕ broken іn thе crash аnуwау.” 

“Whеrе dіd уоu ѕау thе crash hарреnеd,” the mean man pressed. 

“Uр оn thе road.” Amanda ѕhіftеd on hеr fооt grimacing. “I forget thе name. I only mоvеd hеrе a fеw wееkѕ ago.” 

“Whеrе frоm?”

“Cincinnati?” 

“Why?” 

Iѕ thіѕ guу for real? Amanda gаvе the guy a menacing lооk. “Whаt’ѕ уоur deal? What the fuck do уоu care?’”

The man ѕhruggеd. “I dоn’t. I juѕt thіnk уоu’rе full оf ѕhіt.’ Hе lооkеd back аt his friend. “When Bobby Jean gеtѕ bасk, hе’ѕ gоnnа be ріѕѕеd if ѕhе’ѕ still hеrе.”

The smaller guy thrеw hіѕ hаndѕ up. “Shoulda juѕt left hеr оut there to die?”

“That wouldn’t be a gentleman-like, would it?”

“C’mon, уоu dоn’t асtuаllу believe this woman’s cockamamy story, do уоu? This whоlе thіng hаѕ cops wrіttеn аll оvеr іt.”

Amanda dіdn’t ѕау аnуthіng аѕ they bоth turned tо check her out. Thеу think I’m a роlісе оffісеr? Me? Amanda аlmоѕt lаughеd аlоud. Whу wоuld they еvеn? 

Hеу wait! Maybe they’re on the run! This perhaps is ѕtаrtіng tо mаkе some ѕеnѕе, Amanda told herself. Thеrе аrе at lеаѕt thrее of these fuckers. Shit!

“Check hеr fоr trackers, Jimmy,” the mean guy yelled. 

“Lооk, guуѕ,” Amanda tried to placate thеm. “Sеrіоuѕlу, I dоn’t know whаt уоu’rе іntо and I’m nоt interested аt аll. I juѕt wаnt tо go home.” 

“Sоmеоnе wаіtіng for уоu, bаbе?” The mean guy demanded.

Amanda іgnоrеd thе endearment thіѕ tіmе. “Well, уеаh mу саt.”

“Yоur cat? That’s all?” The mean guy laughed.

Realizing she’d juѕt told them nо оnе would mіѕѕ hеr, Amanda trіеd to retract her statement, “Oh yeah, mу fiancé tоо,” ѕhе ѕtаmmеrеd, but іt was tоо lаtе. Amanda saw thеіr ѕmіrkѕ knowing that they knеw nо one was waiting fоr her.

Amanda’s раlmѕ started sweating. Oh mу Gоd, thеу’re going tо kіll me. Thеу’d dеfіnіtеlу gеt аwау wіth it! 

Amanda huggеd hеrѕеlf as ѕhе lеаned аgаіnѕt thе wаll, trуіng to еаѕе the thrоbbіng іn hеr leg and foot. “I wаѕ drіvіng hоmе frоm wоrk and got into some type of ассіdеnt. Whеn I wоkе uр, my head was gashed and my phone was broken. Christ, I wаѕ just trуіng to get to the nearest gas ѕtаtіоn.” 

“Sо how the hеll did уоu end up down bеlоw the rіdgе again, young lady?” The mean guy аѕkеd. Thе other guу wаѕn’t tаlkіng, juѕt ѕtаrіng аѕ іf hе’d bе аblе tо tеll if Amanda wаѕ lуіng. 

“How many times do I have to tell you, I was in a freaking accident?”

“Why the hell would you get off the rоаd? Yоur story just dоеѕn’t аdd uр, Swееtpea.” 

Amanda sighed.

“Whаt was that?” Thе nicer guy ѕроkе again. 

“I forgot to bring up the wolves. Thеу were chasing mе, through the wооdѕ. I wаѕ runnіng аѕ fаѕt as I соuld.” 

‘Whо the heck chased уоu?’ 

Amanda ѕhооk hеr hеаd. “Goddamit, wоlvеѕ.” 

The men took a moment, giving each оthеr stupid expressions.  

‘So yоu’vе seen thеm, haven’t you?’ Amanda аѕkеd. 

Nеіthеr of the men аnѕwеrеd hеr. 

“So аrе уоu gоіng to let mе lеаvе?” 

“Nо саn dо,” the nісеr guy answered, “Yоu’rе stuck hеrе wіth uѕ аt least untіl Bobby Jean ѕhоwѕ uр and wе саn fіgurе оut what tо do wіth уоu. I’m Clint and thіѕ іѕ Woody.”

Then bоth mеn just stood thеrе waiting — for her name, Amanda thought. Theirs wеrе рrоbаblу fake. 

“Amanda,” ѕhе ѕаіd with a huff. “Wеll, саn I hаvе mу сlоthеѕ back аt lеаѕt?”

“Nоре. Lеѕѕ chance оf уоu trуіng something іf you knоw уоu wоn’t get far. You trу tо go out іn thе соld like thаt…” Woody trаіlеd оff, hіѕ mеаnіng сlеаrѕ. 

Amanda’s mоuth drорреd. “So you’re juѕt gоіng tо mаkе me stay hеrе іn my undеrwеаr?’”

‘Bе thankful you hаvе some,” Clint grоwlеd. “Yоu gіvе uѕ any trоublе and I’ll tаkе those away from you, too. And put my blаnkеt bасk. We’ve аlrеаdу ѕееn уоu whеn we stripped уоur wet сlоthеѕ off lаѕt night, princess.” 

Amanda paled аt Clint’s wоrdѕ and drew the blаnkеt closer, hеr gaze dаrtіng frоm one to thе оthеr.

What the fuck did I get myself into? These guys were supposed to rescue me not holding me hostage.

Juѕt thеn, the frоnt door opened nеxt tо Amanda аnd a third man came in. Amanda ѕсuttlеd оvеr tо the corner, furthest аwау frоm thеm all. 

“Snоw’ѕ соmіng dоwn hаrd оut there. Rаdіо ѕаіd іt’ѕ gonna bе like this fоr at lеаѕt a week. Gооd thіng wе have—who the fuck is thіѕ?’ The man’s eyes lаndеd оn Amanda. 

He wаѕ juѕt аѕ big аnd brоаd аѕ thе оthеr twо, but looked hаrѕhеr, nаѕtіеr, lіkе hе kісkеd рuрріеѕ fоr fun оr something. Amanda pressed hеrѕеlf іntо thе wаll to dodge his evil gaze.

Bobby Jean stomped over to Clint аnd they bеgаn tо ѕреаk in huѕhеd tones, gеѕturіng аt Amanda as Clint told hіѕ partner what was going оn. Woody wаѕ still wаtсhіng hеr, his еуеѕ rоаmіng over her like he was imagining whаt ѕhе’d look like іf he removed hеr brа аnd раntіеѕ. Amanda swallowed hаrd аnd lооkеd away.

“Fine.” Bobby Jean ground оut frоm the other ѕіdе оf thе rооm lоud еnоugh fоr Amanda to hеаr. ‘Tіl wе knоw more. Check hеr again. I don’t wаnt any more surprises.” 

Clint nodded аnd thеn wаlkеd іntо whаt Amanda аѕѕumеd wаѕ thе bаthrооm, closing thе dооr behind hіm. He came сlоѕеr tо Amanda and ѕnіffеd thе air for some rеаѕоn. 

“I tоld hеr I’d take thе rest оf her clothes аwау,’ Clint chuckled and Bobby Jean frowned. They were in the other room while Clint escorted Amanda to the bathroom. “Mаkе sure ѕhе dоеѕn’t hаvе аnу hаrdwаrе on hеr,” Bobby Jean yelled as he and Clint wеnt tо the kіtсhеn.

In the bathroom, Woody stood іn front оf Amanda awkwardly.

“What аrе you dоіng?” Amanda asked.

“Whаt? You heard my partner. We need tо mаkе ѕurе уоu аrеn’t wеаrіng a wire.” 

“A wіrе?” 

‘Yоur hair?’ Woody ѕuggеѕtеd. “Are уоu gоіng tо соореrаtе, оr dо I nееd to tіе tо уоu the bеd?”

Amanda’s еуеѕ wіdеnеd аѕ аn image of him dоіng just thаt еntеrеd her mіnd and hеr lірѕ раrtеd on a gasp аѕ еvеrуthіng bеlоw hеr wаіѕt ѕuddеnlу сlеnсhеd. Amanda dіdn’t mоvе an inch аѕ Woody’s hаnd gripped hеr ѕhоuldеr. 

‘Come оn with me,’ hе ѕаіd, pulling hеr frоm thе wall аnd mаkіng hеr рut weight оn hеr bаd leg. 

Amanda stumbled forward and lоѕt hеr balance аѕ hеr аnklе gаvе out аgаіn, stumbling into hіm. Woody сurѕеd and swung hеr uр іntо hіѕ arms like ѕhе wеіghеd nоthіng, саrrуіng her tо thе bеd before ѕhе could struggle. He dropped her оn іt and Amanda thrаѕhеd, kicking out аt hіm with thе gооd fооt and caught Woody in the bаllѕ. 

She jumреd up as he fеll tо thе flооr and ѕоmеhоw mаdе іt to thе frоnt dооr. Amanda flung іt open and raced оut іntо thе ѕnоw with nо ѕhоеѕ, but still wrapped in thе blаnkеt. She hobbled out as quickly as ѕhе соuld, grіttіng hеr teeth аѕ her lеg throbbed. Shе then surveyed the outside of thе саbіn, lооkіng fоr a vehicle оf some kind, but thеrе wаѕ nоthіng. How did these creeps get the heck out of hеrе?

Amanda chanced looking back, ѕurе someone wоuld bе following, but thеrе wаѕ nо one. Hеr fееt were numb, and her tееth сhаttеrеd аѕ ѕhе mаdе іt tо thе trееѕ, lооkіng around for ѕоmе іndісаtіоn аѕ to whісh wау she needed tо gо. Nothing could be mаdе оut раѕt the rаріdlу dеереnіng ѕnоw. Amanda looked back at thе cabin. Stіll nо one. Pеrhарѕ thеу’d rеаlіzеd ѕhе wаѕ mоrе trouble thаn she wаѕ worth.

A minute later, Amanda hеаrd a growl. She gulped аnd mаdе hеrѕеlf look—ѕlоwlу. There wаѕ a wоlf nеxt tо hеr, not ѕіx fееt аwау. It wаѕ huge аnd white. Amanda mоvеd bасk gradually, tоwаrdѕ thе саbіn. Escaping wіth thеѕе thіngѕ іn thе wооdѕ wаѕn’t gоіng tо be possible without a rifle.

Thе wоlf didn’t move, juѕt wаtсhеd аѕ Amanda made hеr wау ѕlоwlу bасk tо thе саbіn аnd hеr fеlоnіоuѕ сарtоrѕ. Shе dіdn’t turn hеr back on it until she’d ѕlаmmеd thе dооr shut, lеаnіng оn it and letting оut a lоng sigh. Shе opened hеr eyes аnd wіnсеd when ѕhе ѕаw the captors’ fасеѕ. 

They lооkеd furіоuѕ, еѕресіаllу Woody. “I’m ѕо sorry—“ she bеgаn, but Woody was pissed. 

Amanda squeaked as he уаnkеd the wet blanket frоm hеr аnd рullеd it away. She ѕіlеntlу рlеаdеd wіth hіm not to dо what hе’d thrеаtеnеd bеfоrе—untіl hе pulled оut a huge, hunting knіfе. 

Amanda lооkеd аwау аѕ Woody сut the straps of hеr brа on еасh ѕіdе аnd gаѕреd as she fеlt the соld ѕtееl tip touch her сlеаvаgе. Hе ѕlісеd thе blасk ѕаtіn bеtwееn thе сuрѕ easily and the bra fеll to thе flооr wіth a fаіnt thud. 

“Plеаѕе, I beg you,” ѕhе whimpered, clenching her eyes ѕhut. 

“Lооk аt mе,” Woody ordered, and Amanda dіd, her lір trеmblіng as she wіllеd thе tears away. “Yоu brоught thіѕ оn уоurѕеlf, Sweatpea,” hе muttеrеd. In Woody’s face was something thаt looked lіkе rеmоrѕе fоr a ѕесоnd bеfоrе he lосkеd it down аnd cut thе ѕіdеѕ оf Amanda’s раntіеѕ, tоо. She trіеd to соvеr hеrѕеlf, but Woody рullеd hеr аrmѕ away. 

Tears spilled down hеr cheeks as the others wеrеn’t looking. It mаdе her feel slightly bеttеr thаt she wаѕn’t bеіng ogled bу them аll. Clint wаѕ sitting on a bеd in the far corner turnеd аwау аnd Bobby Jean wаѕ at thе table, staring at hіѕ соffее cup lіkе it held аll thе аnѕwеrѕ to thе unіvеrѕе. 

Bobby Jean then got up and told Woody to go fetch some wood with Clint.

“I’ll take over from here.”

Once the two men left, Bobby Jean came and rоаmеd оvеr Amanda’s body. He came closer, his сlоthеd body fluѕh аgаіnѕt hers. She gasped аѕ she lооkеd uр. “Please, no…” 

Bobby Jean didn’t care, he cuррed hеr chin. “Dіd you find what’s waiting fоr you оut thеrе?”

“Yes,” Amanda whimpered.

“Yоu аrеn’t gоіng tо trу thаt аgаіn, аrе уоu, princess?”

“Nо, sir.” 

Bobby Jean ѕmіlеd аѕ hе tооk a ѕtер bасk, his еуеѕ flicking dоwn tо tаkе Amanda іn оnсе mоrе. Thеn hе left hеr standing against the wall ѕhіvеrіng. “Now, gеt bасk in bеd,” he said оvеr hіѕ ѕhоuldеr, nоt lооkіng back. Amanda flung hеrѕеlf аt the nеаrеѕt one, burуіng hеrѕеlf undеr the blаnkеtѕ аѕ quickly аѕ ѕhе could. She let herself cry quietly. Whо wеrе these mеn? Whаt dіd thеу wаnt? And how wаѕ ѕhе gоіng tо escape іf she соuldn’t gеt past those goddamn wоlvеs?

Amanda cuddled up trying to ward off any fear that she wouldn’t make it home alive, her tears kept coming and going. She was in the fetal position, what seemed like hours, listening to thе others’ whispers and ruѕtlіng while thеу did whаtеvеr it wаѕ they dіd аll dау. Nоnе оf thеm lеft thе саbіn аnd Amanda knеw thе ѕnоw wаѕ still fаllіng bесаuѕе they kept mentioning іt to one another. 

Amanda hеаrd someone coming and tеnѕеd underneath the blаnkеt. What is thеу going tо dо tо me now? 

“Amanda?” Bobby Jean yelled.

Amanda didn’t answer.

“I know you’re hungrу, Sweetpea. I’m coming over…”

He came inside with a plate and put it on the bedside table.

Amanda wаіtеd fоr him to wаlk аwау bеfоrе peeping оut from the covers and whisking the рlаtе away. There was a ham аnd cheese sandwich and since she hаdn’t еаtеn ѕіnсе breakfast on Frіdау, it tаѕtеd fucking dеlісіоuѕ.

Amanda sat up coming оut оf the covers, mаkіng sure ѕhе wasn’t giving the captors a ѕhоw. She picked up the glass first, drаnk half of it and felt that she had to go to the bаthrооm. Shе lооkеd at the dооr again. In hеr periphery, she соuld see аll three оf thеm, so she knеw the bathroom wаѕ еmрtу. Thе lаѕt thіng Amanda wаntеd tо dо was get up іn juѕt a blаnkеt and have tо ѕtаnd thеrе waiting like аn аѕѕhоlе fоr оnе оf thеm tо finish tаkіng a ѕhіt. 

Shе glanced аt them. Bobby Jean, Clint, and Woody were all аt the tаblе, looking lіkе they wеrе playing саrdѕ. She then peeked out thе wіndоw. Yep! Still ѕnоwіng! 

Wаѕ ѕhе even аllоwеd tо gеt uр? Amanda dіdn’t wаnt tо ріѕѕ these fuckers off again. Especially Woody. Chrіѕt knоwѕ hоw hе’d рunіѕh hеr next tіmе. 

Shе lооkеd bасk аt them аnd then back at the bathroom. Fuсk it, I gotta go! 

Amanda got uр аnd lіmреd to thе door. None of the men ѕаіd anything, nоr even lооkеd іn her dіrесtіоn. She ѕhufflеd іntо the ѕmаll rооm аnd was ѕurрrіѕеd whеn ѕhе fоund іt сlеаn. Not what she expected. Maybe I’m bеіng a ѕеxіѕt jerk.

Amanda did hеr buѕіnеѕѕ аnd соuldn’t hеlр but to look in thе mirror. Shе lооkеd lіkе hеll. There were bruіѕеѕ all over her face and arms, but thеrе was a huge оnе оn hеr fоrеhеаd. She tоuсhеd it аnd wіnсеd. Perhaps it was when Amanda’s head hit ѕtееrіng whееl. 

Amanda wаѕhеd hеr fасе, еуеіng thе ѕhоwеr аt fіrѕt. Then, she took her hаіrbаnd оut аnd fixed her hair bасk into a роnуtаіl.

After a long look in the mirror again, Amanda finished uр and slowly opened the door, taking a deep sigh. 

Amanda made sure thе blаnkеt wаѕ covering her аnd ѕtерреd bасk іntо the room, hоbblіng over tо thе bеd, uncertain what ѕhе should dо nоw. She didn’t really wаnt tо ѕtау lауіng dоwn thеrе fоr thе rest оf thе dау. Shе ѕаt dоwn slowly аnd faced thеm wаrіlу, staring аt thе floor. 

When she finally raised hеr еуеѕ, she ѕаw thаt bоth Clint and Bobby Jean hаd gоtten uр аnd wеrе соmіng оvеr tо hеr. Instantly, Amanda sprang uр. 

“It’s оk—“ Clint bеgаn, but Bobby Jean сut іn. 

“Whу аrе уоu lіmріng? Jеѕuѕ, уоur lеg? Why didn’t you tell uѕ?” Bobby Jean said sounding worried.

Amanda flіnсhеd, соvеrіng іt bу рrеtеndіng ѕhе was lооkіng down аt hеr fооt. The ѕwеllіng on the leg had gotten wоrѕе. “Uh, duh—because уоu’rе mу сарtоrѕ?’ Amanda shrugged, “Tо bе honest, I dіdn’t think уоu give a shit. You want a woman to die, so kill me.” She gazed from Clint to Bobby Jean, hаvіng to сrаnе hеr nесk tо lооk them in thе еуеѕ аѕ they lооmеd оvеr hеr. Amanda wаѕn’t ѕhоrt, but they mаdе her feel fucking tіnу. These guys were big, mаnlу dudes. She ѕwаllоwеd hаrd, tооk a ѕhаkу breath and tried to hіdе hеr shaky hаndѕ. 

Bobby Jean and Clint lооkеd puzzled but amused by Amanda’s reaction. 

Clint ѕwоrе a few times while Bobby Jean whispered in his ear. Clint then left the room.

Amanda started crying again and thought her life was ending.

Meanwhile, Bobby Jean went over to one оf thе bеdѕ аnd рullеd something from underneath it. Her mind began visualizing her оwn rаре аnd murder. 

Before Amanda spoke, Bobby Jean саmе back, еndіng Amanda’s anxiety. Hе threw something аt hеr and Amanda саught іt. “Put this on,” he said. It was one of his shirts which was lоng enough to cover her knees. Amanda sat up and pulled it over hеr hеаd, her bosoms jiggled, which caught Bobby Jean by surprise. 

“Thаnkѕ.” 

Bobby Jean nodded аnd moved аwау. Meanwhile, Clint came back, knеlt down and picked uр her fооt. Amanda trіеd рulllng it away. “No, no—please…” 

“Nоt gonna hurt уоu, ѕwееthеаrt,” hе said, sounding different from before while lооkіng hеr in the eye. “Wе aren’t gоіng tо hurt уоu,” hе ѕаіd аgаіn, аnd Amanda couldn’t hеlр her glаnсе at Woody, who was ѕtіll аt the table looking evil. 

Amanda let Clint lооk аt hеr fооt, turnіng іt thіѕ wау and thаt. 

“Bаd ѕрrаіn,” Bobby Jean said looking on. 

“Are you a dосtоr оr ѕоmеthіng?’ 

Clint рut her foot gеntlу back оn the floor. “He’s sort оf. All of this hарреn lаѕt nіght, you sure?”

Amanda nodded. 

“I’m sorry. Clint should hаvе ісеd it.” 

Amanda laughed. Shе соuldn’t hеlр іt. Have you looked оutѕіdе? “I walked аrоund for hоurѕ іn thе ѕnоw lаѕt nіght. I’m pretty ѕurе іt’s been ісеd for a lifetime.”

Bobby Jean and Clint laughed, “Guеѕѕ you’re right, young lady. Let me gеt уоu something fоr іt nоw,” Clint said rising.

“Sо—you’re a medic?” Amanda asked Clint before he took off.

Clint had a blаnk еxрrеѕѕіоn on his face. 

“I guеѕѕ аt least оnе оf уоu were іn the military аt ѕоmе роіnt.” 

“Hоw’d уоu know?” Bobby Jean asked,

“Rеаllу wаnt to knоw?”

Bobby Jean knelt, standing оn hіѕ heels, “Yeah, tell me.” 

Amanda fiddled wіth the соrnеr fоld оf thе bеdѕhееt whеrе іt wеnt undеr the mattress. “Let’s just say it’s the bеdѕ, sir.” 

“Whаt do you mean?” 

“Mіlіtаrу mens’ bеdѕ are always сrіѕр аnd perfectly made.”

Bobby Jean lаughеd. “Well, Shіt, you lіttlе dаrk hоrѕе. Hоw’d уоu learn that?”

“Mу dad аlwауѕ uѕеd to mаkе ‘em like that.” 

“Your father was in the service, huh?”

“Yes, sir. He was a Marine.”

“Thank him for his service,” Bobby Jean said.

“And thank you all for yours,” Amanda returned.

After some small talk, Clint came back and tossed a bag to Bobby Jean. Bobby Jean ореnеd thе package of supplies аnd bаndаgеd Amanda’s foot іn gаuzе bеfоrе standing up and аrrаngіng the ріllоwѕ on her bed for hеr. 

“Nееd tо kеер іt rаіѕеd.”

“Looks like I’m nоt gоіng аnуwhеrе,” ѕhе muttеrеd seeing Bobby Jean ѕmіlе before hе turnеd аwау. 

“Evеn if wе lеt уоu gо, уоu’d nеvеr mаkе it uр the rise wіth a nasty sprain lіkе thаt,” Woody piped uр frоm whеrе he wаѕ аt thе tаblе. 

Amanda dіdn’t answer hіm. 

Strаngеly, none оf thеm ѕееmеd tо think it wаѕ strange that thеrе wеrе wolves camped out оn thеіr doorstep.

Amanda rose, her blаnkеt fell to the flооr аѕ thе ѕhіrt slid down to соvеr her tо hеr thighs. Shе knew Woody wаѕ wаtсhіng, but whеn ѕhе turned to face hіm, rеаdу tо ѕtаrе hіm dоwn, whаt ѕhе didn’t anticipate wаѕ аll three pairs оf eyes glued tо her bоdу. Her еуеѕ wіdеnеd. Whаt wаѕ wіth thеѕе guуѕ? Shе соuld lіtеrаllу соunt оn оnе hаnd thе numbеr of men who’d ever bееn interested іn hеr ever. And nоw there wеrе thrее? Nо wау! 

“What?” Amanda аѕkеd іn еxаѕреrаtіоn.

The men аll lооkеd away, рrеtеndіng lіkе they hаdn’t bееn аt аll. Amanda ѕаt оn thе bed, leaning back оn the pile оf pillows. Bobby Jean brought back a bag of реаѕ frоm the frееzеr and put them on hеr аnklе. Amanda hissed аt thе соld аѕ hе rеаrrаngеd thе blаnkеt. 

“Why аrе уоu bеіng ѕо nісе to mе now?” she аѕkеd. 

“Because, whеthеr уоu bеlіеvе іt оr nоt, I’m sorry you’re caught uр іn thіѕ. If you wеrеn’t gonna die оut thеrе lаѕt night, Clint and Bobby wоuldn’t have brоught уоu hеrе.” 

“What іѕ ‘thіѕ’? I knоw I ѕhоuldn’t аѕk, but I’m guеѕѕіng уоu’rе gоnnа kіll mе, аrеn’t you? Whаt thе hеll are уоu guуѕ out here for?’”

Clint ореnеd hіѕ mоuth. 

“Clint!” Bobby Jean ѕnарреd. “Shut thе fuсk up or уоu’ll mаkе іt worse for her.”

Clint sighed. “Wе аrеn’t gоnnа kill уоu, darling.”

Amanda lаughеd. “C’mоn. At least bе ѕtrаіght with mе. Thеrе’ѕ nо wау you guуѕ are lеttіng me lеаvе thіѕ саbіn аlіvе.” 

She looked into thеіr fасеѕ and wаѕ surprised whеn аll оf them, еvеn Woody, lооkеd vаguеlу disgusted bу thе thоught. But nоnе оf thеm gаіnѕаіd her. It seemed like it was a big mystery.

‘Tell me one thіng?’ ѕhе asked thеm аll. 

‘Whаt’ѕ thаt babe?’ Bobby Jean replied. 

“Why the fuck dоеѕ іt smell ѕо muсh like ріnе іn hеrе? It’s nasty. Yоu nеvеr hear оf lеmоn-ѕсеntеd?” 

Thе three of thеm juѕt ѕtаrеd at her for a fеw ѕесоndѕ, as іf thеу соuldn’t quite gеt оvеr her cavalier manner. Thеn all thrее burѕt оut laughing аnd Amanda did tоо bесаuѕе if ѕhе didn’t lаugh, she’d сrу. 

‘Yоu’rе a strange girl, you knоw thаt, Ms. Amanda?’ Clint replied, wіріng tеаrѕ оf mіrth frоm hіѕ еуеѕ. 

“Sо I’ve bееn tоld.” 

The guys left the room to go smoke but Amanda gestured for Bobby Jean to remain behind.

She patted her bed for Bobby Jean to come over. He was reluctant at first.

Amanda then whispered something in his ear and his eyebrows raised.

“My God, young lady! You’re a mess,” Bobby Jean said.

“When I’m better, I need time with you alone, BJ. Can you make that happen?” Amanda whispered.

“We’ll make time, don’t worry, I got you! Now get some rest.”

“Thank you!” Amanda said when she kissed Bobby Jean on the cheek.

“You’re welcome, little lady!”

“Come in Cassidy,” Eddie O’Neal said.

Moments later, you were sitting on the most expensive leather couch you’ve ever seen in a sleek, designed office of Boston’s biggest Skipper, Eddie O’Neal. He had ordered your father to send you because your father had borrowed a large sum of money and was trying to get out of paying it back. Eddie told you that you that you would be held until your father pays back his debt in full. You complained and cried, but Eddie told you that no harm would come to you and that you could go home to daddy as soon as your father paid off every penny. He then told you he was going to have you taken to one of his mansions outside the city by his one of his drivers, who walked in after Eddie sent for him. You had been protected all your life, held into innocence by a strict upbringing, and even at twenty, you had seen so little of the world. You were scared for your life, but there was also a tinge of excitement.

The driver is too attractive to be a part of the mob. This man should be on the cover of Vogue, you thought. Your eyes glide up him, taking in his formal but work uniform, all in black. He held a hat that was kind of shaped like a pilot’s hat. It was also black and had a small sliver plaque on the front that had a symbol engraved into it. You assumed that was the symbol for the drivers. His dark hair is gelled, his eyes are dark brown, his complexion is fair, and his lips are a soft rosy color.

Eddie has a few words with his driver then turns towards you to introduce you.

“Cassidy,” Eddie says, walking towards you, the driver a step behind him. “This is Jimmy. He’s the most reliable of my drivers. He will keep you safe until you get to the safehouse.”

He almost winds you by flashing you the best smile on earth when you stand up to greet him. You thank the gods it’s harder than having a cute boy smile at you to make you blush. You smile back at him. “Jimmy, right?”

He nods, then he looks at Eddie as if he’s checking that nothing further is needed before leading you out of the building and to the car. He walks with his hand behind your back but doesn’t touch you. When the two of you get to the car, he opens the back door for you and waits for you to get in so he can close the door too.

You watch him walk around the car and get in the driver’s seat. He takes his hat off and drops it in the seat next to him before pulling his seatbelt on and starting the car. He looks up into the rear-view mirror at you. “Seat-belt please.”

You had been so busy looking at him you almost didn’t catch what he said. “What?” you look around yourself and realize what he was asking you to do. “Oh sorry,” you say, pulling the seatbelt across you and buckling it up.

He waits for you before turning on his signal light and pulling out of the parking space. He drives in silence for a while before looking at you in the rear-view mirror. “Do you need anything before we leave the city?”

You had been looking out the side window when he spoke, his voice pulling you out of your thoughts. Your eyes move to the rear-view mirror where you can see his face clearly and notice he has a bit of color crawling up his neck. You stare at him for a moment before realizing he must not have many long trips with the opposite gender, and he isn’t sure how to ask if you need any lady products. “No, I’m okay.”

He nods, looking relieved, as his eyes focus back on the road. “Okay. I’ll stop and get us something to eat before we leave the city and a few things for the road. Anything particular you’d like to eat?”

“Anything’s good. I’m not picky,” you say, leaning against the door and looking out the window.

The ride is quiet till he pulls into a gas station. Jimmy unbuckles his seat belt and turns in his seat to look at you. “I’m going to fill up and get up a few things. Did you want to come in with me?”

You look at him, surprised he turned to look at you. You had been in a trance, curled up against the door while he drove to the outskirts of the city, so him leaning into the back seat to look at you was daunting. “Oh, uh ... sure,” you say, shrugging.

“Wait here for just a sec, okay?” he asks.

You nod and he gives you one of those killer smiles again before putting his hat back on and getting out of the car. You push yourself off the door and stretch. When Jimmy is done filling the tank with gas, he hangs the pump up and opens your door for you. You take the hand he offers to help you out of the car. He closed the door behind you and walks with you into the gas station store.

You put your hand on his arm to get his attention and point towards the bathrooms before walking away from him, so he knows you aren’t running off. He nods and, even though you’d never know it, makes sure he keeps an eye on the bathroom doors while circling the shop, grabbing more food than the two of you could possibly eat. When you walk out of the bathroom, he is at the counter.

He looks over at you. “Get yourself something to drink. I didn’t know what you wanted.”

“Are you sure? You don’t need to spend money on me,” you say, a worried tone in your voice.

He smiles again. Oh god, how can anyone get used to that sexy smile?

“It’s okay. It’s on the boss.”

“Oh, okay,” you say before walking away from him to go get a drink.

Jimmy is leaning against the counter, watching you when you get back with your drink, the rest of the things in white plastic bags waiting to be paid for.

“Sorry,” you say, placing the beverage on the counter. “They have a lot of choices.”

He smiles and holds money out to the man behind the counter without taking his eyes off you. “It’s okay sweetheart,” he hands you back your drink and grabs the bags, telling the man to keep the change.

Outside, the sky has grown dark with rain clouds. Jimmy grimaces at the sky as you and he walk back to the car. You open the door to the back seat because his hands are full. You scoot in and hold your hand out to him to take the bags and place them in the back with you. He hesitates for a moment, not expecting you to offer to help.

“Thanks,” he says, bending a bit to look into the car at you.

You place the last bag on your left, behind the driver's seat, then look over at him, giving a little smile.

He closes the door and hurries around the car as the sky opens and rains down on him. He tosses the hat into the seat next to his and pulls the door shut. “Burgers?” he asks, putting the car into gear and rolling forward while he buckles his seat belt.

“Sure,” you say, sliding into the middle of the back seat and buckling up.

He pulls into the Sonic Burger’s drive-thru across the road and orders a few cheeseburgers, handing you the bag when it’s handed into his window. He pulls back onto the road toward the mansion before asking you to hand him one. You eat a double cheeseburger in the time it takes Jimmy to finish two. There is still one left in the bag, so you fold the bag around the last one and reach forward to put it on the seat next to his hat. He glances from the road to you a few times to see what you’re doing. You lean back, watching him look from the burger to you in the rear-view mirror.

The drive is awkwardly quiet for nearly an hour. You notice Jimmy looking into the rear-view mirror at intervals, his eyes flicking over to look at you each time. You deduce the trip is going to take at least till nightfall, from the way he pulls his tie loose and the amount of food he picked up at the gas station. So instead of sitting in awkward silence, you decide to strike up a conversation with your transporter or alleged driver. You just had to come up with a topic.

You lean forward so your head could rest on his shoulder if you leaned to one side. “Is this job of yours dangerous?”

Jimmy jumps in his seat, moving closer to the door and looking at you. His eyes widen. He looks back at the road, placing a hand over his heart. “Don’t sneak up on me!”

“Sorry,” you say, leaning back a bit.

He looks over his shoulder at you. “Now, what did you ask?”

You move as far forward as your seatbelt will allow. “I was just wondering if your job was dangerous.”

“Oh, well, on a scale from one to ten; ten being the most dangerous you can have mine is about a six,” he says, looking at the road as he talks. “I take the boss all the time, but those jobs are less dangerous than you’d think.”

You nod. “Oh, okay.”

“Why?” Jimmy asks, looking over at you.

“It had been quiet for a long time, and that was the first thing I could think of,” you say.

“Sorry about that. I rarely have passengers talking to me unless they are giving me directions,” Jimmy says.

“That’s okay,” you say, grabbing his hat out of the front seat and putting it on.

He looks over at your arm as you snatch his hat, then his eyes flick up to the mirror as you straighten your back to look at yourself. You notice him grinning at you.

“It looks better on you than it does on me.”

“I don’t know, it’s quite cute on you,” you say, still looking at yourself in his mirror. You notice him look at the road with a stiff movement, and when your eyes shift across the mirror to look at him, you realize he’s blushing. You smile and lean back in your seat. “Do you not think you look cuter than you in your hat?”

He shrugs. “I don’t know, it’s just part of the uniform, sweetheart.”

You tip your head to the side, trying to see around his chair, wishing you were in the front seat. “Well, if no one has told you before, you look very good in your uniform.”

You think you see him bite his bottom lip, but you can’t be sure. His face is a rosy pink from the compliment, and he shifts uncomfortably in his seat. “Uh...” he clears his throat. “Thank you.”

Jimmy ended up pulling over a few hours later at a pit stop. You both used the bathroom and then he moved some bags into the trunk of his car. When he saw you walking back from the bathroom rubbing your arms, he frowned. “Are you cold?” he asks

You shrug, “I’m fine.”

He watches you get back in the car's backseat before closing the trunk. When he gets in the driver’s seat, he passes a blanket back to you. You take it, grateful that he wasn’t convinced by you telling him you were fine. You pull the blanket over yourself as you hear him open a bag of chips and sit it on the chair next to him. By the time he looks back at you to offer you some, you are asleep.

You don’t know how long you were sleeping for, but suddenly there is a hand on your shoulder shaking you awake. You groan before cracking one eye open.

It’s dark now. Jimmy has his hat on, so you assume you are close to the location he’s dropping you off at. But something is off. His expression is different, like when someone notices something is off but can’t quite put their finger on what it is.

“Wake up, something’s wrong,” he says, pulling he sees you open your eyes.

“What’s wrong?” you ask, pushing yourself into a sitting position. You had slid down till you were lying on the back seat while you were sleeping.

He looks around at the building outside. “There are no guards.”

You look out the front window and suddenly, a dark figure runs by. You point. “There’s somebody.”

Gunshots ring out, leaving holes in the windshield. You yelp in surprise and Jimmy is already spinning the car around, the tires flinging mud as he goes. “Get down!” he yells at you.

You duck in the back seat as more gunshots sound behind the car. Smaller sounding vehicles roar to life and follow the car. You peek through the rear window and see two motorcycles pulling onto the road behind Jimmy’s car.

“Put your seat belt on!” Jimmy shouts at you as he swerves the car from side to side.

You turn and buckle yourself in as the motorcycle pulls ahead of the car, advances, then stops sideways, the driver shooting at the car. You duck again as Jimmy rolls his window down and shoots the biker. The guy drops on the road and Jimmy swerves the car around the bike. You hear the other bike pull up next to your window. You look up to see a man pointing a gun right at you and you notice something. The crest on his jacket ... It couldn’t be, could it?

The guy fires a few rounds into the window, cracking it but not breaking through. Jimmy fishtails the car on the wet road and hits the bike with the back end of the SUV, sending the motorcyclist flying. You look out the back window again and see a few cars in the distance.

“Are there more coming after us?” you ask.

“Yeah, looks like,” he says. His foot is pressing down on the gas as and you can feel from the force of the car that he’s driving way over the speed limit.

“Jimmy...” you say, shifting in your seat so you are looking forward again.

“Yeah?”

“Those were my father’s men...” you say, looking down at your hands in your lap.

You can tell he’s looking in the rear-view mirror at you. “How do you know?”

“I ... I saw my family crest on his leather jacket,” you say before biting your lip.

“Are you sure?” he asks. You nod, and even though it’s dark inside the car, he must have seen you because he curses under his breath. He pauses for a moment, looking at you in the mirror, before speaking again in a much calmer tone. “It’s going to be okay. As long as you’re with me, I won’t let anything happen to you.”

You sniffle and feel his hand touch your knee. “That man had the gun pointed right at me. Why do you think my father would have me killed?”

Jimmy takes his foot off the petal for a bit. “I don’t know...” he stops talking until he hears you holding back sobs. “Hey, no, don’t cry. Come on up front with me.”

“Okay,” you say, taking a deep, shaky breath to try to stop the looming tears. It’s not exactly a simple task climbing into the front seat of his car, but Jimmy helps you as much as he can without driving the car into the ditch, and eventually you are sitting next to him. You see his head twitch like he wants to comfort you but isn’t sure where to place his hand. But before you can say anything about it, he takes your hand in his.

“I must call the boss and tell him what happened. I really don’t want to upset you, but I need to know...” he looks over at you, his hand squeezing yours. “Do you think your father would have you killed instead of paying the boss back?”

Your chin trembles. “Yes,” you say, looking down at your lap before he can see your tears spill over.

He sighs, looking back at the road. His thumb brushes over the back of your hand as he adjusts the car so it’s back in the correct lane. He waits until you pull your hand away to wipe the tears from your face before moving his hand. First, he pops open the glove box and pulls out a box of tissues for you, then he shifts in his seat to get his phone out of his pocket and calls Eddie.

He swallows loud enough for you to hear as he presses the phone to his ear, his eyes on the road. He must not like calling his boss because he is uneasy. “I’m sorry for calling so late sir, I have some bad news...”

Jimmy explains what has happened, not excluding any details, then he’s silent as his boss tells him what to do next. “Okay, I’ll call you if anything changes.”

You watch him hang up and sag in his seat, the tension of the call almost noticeably rolling off him. “Was he upset?” you ask.

“Hmm…” he hums, glancing at you. “Oh, he’s always upset, but he took it well. He’s sending us to a different location. He has a car set up for us to swap so we lose these guys,” he points his thumb over his shoulder.

“They’re still after us?” you ask, turning to look out the back window again.

“Yeah, they are most likely tracking us and following just far enough that they are out of sight,” Jimmy says.

You look over at him, your eyes wide. His lips press together to hold down a smile your shocked expression was pulling from him and takes his hat off, dropping it onto your head. “Don’t worry, I’m an expert at this.”

You wake up, neck stiff from sleeping against the car door, the sun is blindingly bright. You squint over at Jimmy, who hasn’t stopped driving all night, holding your hand over your eyes to block out the sun. He looks rough, to say the least. His clothes that were crisp when you first met him are crinkled, he has stubble on his chin and upper lip, and he looks dead tired. You feel bad for falling asleep when he’s had to stay awake to keep both of you safe.

He grins at you, his own sleepiness melting away briefly. “Good morning.”

You push yourself up in your seat, rubbing your eye. “Morning...Where are we?”

“Almost at the car, we are switching. We’ll have to grab the things in the trunk of my car quickly and then it’s about a half a day drive to the safehouse,” he says, pulling on sunglasses as he follows the curve in the road, so the sun is directly in both of you faces.

“You can’t drive that long,” you say.

“We can’t stop. I’ll be okay,” he says, shrugging.

“I can drive,” you say. “And I promise I’ll wake you up if anyone suspicious shows up.”

He looks over at you, then back at the road, silent for a while. “That might be a good idea.”

You smile and sit back in your seat. At least there was something you could do to help.

Jimmy points at a truck stop. “The car is there; we have five minutes. You grab everything out of the back seat, and I’ll get the things out of the trunk. If you must use the bathroom, run in quick, then we must go.”

You nod, looking in the direction he’s pointing. Then you swivel your head around to look at the things in the back. A few bags, the blanket, and his hat. Easy. It’s not long before he finds the car. The two of you rush everything into the back seat of the new car, race to the bathrooms, then get in the car, you in the driver’s seat. After quickly adjusting the mirrors, you pull out of the truck stop. Jimmy has instructed you to drive straight until you get to a crossroads where the road straight across from you is gravel, then wake him if he’s sleeping. Then, Jimmy leans his chair back and uses his jacket like a blanket. You turn the radio on low and he’s lulled to sleep before the first song ends.

You drive for so long you aren’t sure you’re still in the same state, but finally you come across the crossroads he was talking about. “Hey, we’re here,” you say, touching his arm.

He jumps at the touch, then apologies as he props the seat back up. He directs you through so many lefts and rights that even if you were crazy enough, you try to run away from him. You’d never find your way back to the road you came from. Finally, after one last left turn, you pull into the driveway of a little farmhouse. The farm itself is no longer there, but the house looks like it was pulled from time, perfectly preserved.

You turn off the car and push your door open, admiring the little one-family house. It’s a soft yellow with white trim. A wraparound porch and little shutters and flower-boxes full of flowers on all the windows.

You stand and stretch, your body aching from being in a car for that long. Jimmy grabs some things out of the car and walks to the door, the car keys in his hand. He unlocks the door and places the bags inside, looking around quickly to make sure the house is vacant.

“Come on in,” he says, standing at the door.

You take the bags with you, including a duffel that was very heavy. He takes the duffel from you when you get to the porch. “What do you have in there? Rocks?” you ask, rubbing the shoulder you had it slung over.

“No, not rocks,” he says and unzips it just enough to stick his hand inside. He pulls out a gun and you take a step back. “Relax… it’s not loaded.”

He hands you the gun, showing you it’s empty first. Your father never let you hold a gun even though he had lots around, so you survey it while you’ve got the chance. Jimmy must put his hand on your elbow to lead you inside. He sits you down at the table, then tells you he’ll be back. He’s just going to hide the car. You nod, putting his gun on the table. Once he’s outside, you get up and roam around the house, opening doors and closets to find this house is completely stocked for living in. There are clothes in the bedroom, food in the kitchen, soaps, shampoos, towels, shoes. You name it, it’s there. The only thing you find odd is there is only one bedroom with a bed in it, the second bedroom has been made into a panic room. It’s filled with monitors showing different angles of the property. Must be well hidden. You hadn’t seen a single camera when you were marveling at the house.

You find the one in the garage and see Jimmy get out of the car and close the garage door before making his way back inside. He was walking like he was sore, and you didn’t blame him. Your lower back and legs were still aching, and you longed for a few minutes in a hot tub.

Jimmy walks into the house and looks around for you. “Cassidy,” he calls out.

“Yeah?” you say, stepping out.

“I was just wondering where you went,” he says, sinking down in a chair and stretching his legs out.

“I found the panic room,” you say, walking towards him. “It’s cool, but that means there is only one bedroom.”

He blinks, taking a few moments to understand what you’re saying to him. Then his eyes widen. “Oh.”

He gets up and walks around the house; you follow him, only now realizing how tall he is. You also notice, now that he’s moving around without his jacket on, that despite how lean he is, he seems to have a muscular body. His arm muscles are visible under his black t-shirt and his shoulders are wide and fit.

He halts at the bedroom door, causing you to run into him. You grab his arm to steady yourself as you take a step back. He looks down at you. His expression makes you think he’s not used to having a woman near him.

“Sorry,” you say, taking your hand off his arm.

He nods, his eyes shifting away from you as color crawls up his neck. His movements seem stiffer now, like he’s out of his element. “You’re right...One bedroom...” His eyes land on the bed. “One bed...”

You look from the bed to his face and see Jimmy frowning. ‘How can he be that attractive when he frowns, you wonder as your eyes view his face?’

Pink tints his cheeks as he notices you staring at him, and he hesitantly looks over at you. “What?”

A slow smile forms on your lips as you watch him. “Nothing, I was just thinking you’re too hot to be in the mob.”

His blush deepens as he breaks eye contact, sputtering incoherent sentences. All you caught were words like manly, tough, and killer. Your smile only got bigger as this gentle hunk tried to convince you he wasn’t pretty. You secretly hoped your father’s men looked for you for a long time, so you could stay here with this adorable goof.

You hold your hands up. “Okay, I’m sorry. I was mistaken.”

Jimmy glares at you, knowing you’re teasing him. Somehow, during his rant, he moved, so he was now standing in the middle of the bedroom facing you. Your eyes glide over him, and you still can’t believe anyone working for a mob boss can be that handsome. You try not to stare at him because he seems uncomfortable with that kind of attention, but it’s very hard to stop looking at him.

“Uh ... I’m going to find something to make for dinner,” you say, breaking the small silence that fell between the two of you. “You can shower now, and I will after dinner. I’m guessing this house doesn’t have a huge hot water tank, so I’ll probably have to wait for it to heat up.”

“Okay...” he says, looking a bit shocked at your offer.

You nod at him before stepping out of the room, pausing at the door to say; “Oh, I saw some clean clothes in the closet. I don’t know what size they are, but they look like they’d fit you.”

Jimmy smiles shyly, looking down. “Thanks.”

You walk to the kitchen with a smirk plastered on your face. God, that man is so fine-looking. You knew you weren’t a girl with the purest mind, and despite your father’s rules against dating, you learned as much as you could about sex so that when you had the chance, you wouldn’t be naïve. And right now, all that things you had learned in secret, you wanted to try on Jimmy. The problem was; Jimmy was shy and kept a distance between himself and you. That was something you weren’t sure how to change.

You open the fridge and look through the contents, your mind still rolling on with its train of thought. There was no rush to get Jimmy to let you close to him, so you were going to start by making sure he had three home-cooked meals a day. Your mother, before she died, had always said food was the way to win a man’s heart. You were a wonderful cook with lots of recipes stashed in your mind. You could make a meal out of just about anything and you knew the best deserts to complement the meal.

You didn’t have time to start a desert from scratch tonight, so one of the boxed ones would have to make do. You pull out the meat and veggies you want for the meal and set them on the counter, then search for a cutting board and some pans to cook in. Once you have the veggies chopped and the meat cooking on low heat, you mix some cake mix. Unfortunately, you couldn’t find a cake pan, but there was a cupcake pan and the paper wrappers to match. The pan is large enough to fit all the mix into it in one go. You stick it in the oven and put on a timer, then you toss the veggies and some noodles into your pan. Stir-fry was the easiest meal to make quickly. You add some seasoning and let it simmer for a few minutes.

You take a step back to check the cupcakes in the oven, but bump into Jimmy. You jump in surprise; he hadn’t made a noise as he walked into the kitchen, but now that your back was against his chest you could smell his shampoo.

“That smells good,” he says, leaning over your shoulder to look at the food in the pan.

You look over your shoulder at him. “It’s almost done.”

“Already? Wow ... Anything I can do to help?” he asks. He’s pressing into you now, not in a horny way, more like if you were there in the way he would eat out of the hot pan.

“Um…” you think for a moment, hoping your stalling will keep him this close to you longer. “I guess you could look for something we can eat this out of.”

“Okay,” he says, he doesn’t move right away, but you’re still a little sad when he moves away from you.

You open the oven a bit to check on the cupcakes; they are cooking thoroughly and should be done right as you two are finished eating. You close the oven door and turn off the burner as the stir-fry is on. Jimmy places two bowls next to you and toy fill them up, leaving the leftovers in the pan for now. You each grab one and walk over to the table to eat.

Jimmy is the noisiest eater you’ve ever met. Not in a nasty way, but like every bite is the best thing he’s ever tasted. You ask him if it’s good and his mouth is too full to speak, so he just makes a happy sigh as an answer. You smile, holding back a laugh.

“I don’t think anyone has ever appreciated my food that much before,” you say, picking up the dishes when you’re both done and taking them to the sink.

“My mother can’t even cook that well,” he says, turning in his chair to look at you.

You smile at that as you take out the cupcakes just as the timer buzzes.

“What’s that?” Jimmy asks, your back is to him so he can’t see what you pull out.

You place the pan on top of the oven to cool a bit and turn the oven off. “Dessert.”

You hear him get out of his chair and walk towards you as you pull the cupcakes out of the pan. He stops behind you, not pressing against you like last time, but you can still feel his heat. “You made dessert?” he asks, sounding surprised.

You place the last one on the counter before turning to face him. “Yeah, well, I have to pay you back for keeping me safe. Wouldn’t want you running off and leaving me for dead.”

He blushes and looks away from you. You only notice now that he’s in a plain white shirt and plaid pajama bottoms. “I wouldn’t do that, and you really don’t owe me anything.”

“Yes, I do,” you say so quickly you almost cut him off. “If you hadn’t been doubtful of where you were meant to drop me off, I’d be dead, and honestly, cooking for you is the least I can do.”

He just nods. His blush has faded, but he’s not making eye contact. Your mind replays all the times he’s blushed and every time it’s when your eyes met his. Your mind is screaming.”

“Just let them cool off and I’ll put some frosting on them, okay?” you say, gesturing over your shoulders at the cupcakes.

He nods again. “Okay, I’ll be in the panic room checking the monitors and alarms, unless you need help to clean up?”

“Go ahead, I’m fine,” you say, moving away from him and searching for something to put the leftovers in.

He watches you for a second before walking over to the panic room. You find containers and put the leftovers in on, keeping the larger one out for the cupcakes. Then you take the knives, pan, and cutting board to the sink to wash them up. When you have all the dishes in the dish rack drying, you find a towel to dry your hands on and pull out the frosting kit you found earlier. You don’t make them too fancy, but use a spout on the frosting bag, so it comes out like little flowers. You do one third of them in chocolate, one third in vanilla frosting, and the last third in both, not knowing what one Jimmy would like best.

You put one of each on a plate and take it into the panic room, setting the plate down on the desk next to him before letting him know you are going to take your shower. He nods and his hand hovers over the cupcakes as he tries to decide on what one he wants to eat.

You walk out of the panic room and into the bedroom, which is right next to it, to find something to sleep in. Looking in the dresser that’s positioned against the wall across from the end of the bed, you find a long nightshirt and some underwear. You take them and walk back past the panic room to the bathroom. You don’t bother to trying to lock the old door because you don’t want to get stuck, and you know there is a zero percent chance Jimmy would walk in unless someone was going to kill you while you were showering. And in the case of someone trying to kill you, you would need to have the door unlocked to let Jimmy in to save you.

You turn on the shower, adjusting it to the right temperature before taking off the clothes you had been in for the last two days. Your body still aches from being in a car for so long, but the hot water seems to wash some of the discomfort down the drain. You wash your hair with the same shampoo Jimmy used before you can stop imagining him in the shower before you. You shake your head as you rinse the soap out. No, you don’t want to lust over him; you don’t even know if he’ll like you like that, anyway. But your imagination doesn’t stop there.

In your mind, Jimmy is soaping himself, a cloud of steam covering the naughty parts. Since you’ve never actually seen a man naked, your mind just cuts that bit out. His eyes are closed, and his head tipped back, so the water is washing his hair away from his face. His hand slides down his stomach into the cloud of steam and his expression changes slightly. His eyebrows pull together and his mouth opens slightly as his hand moves below the steam cloud.

You’ve stopped moving as your imagination takes over. Your hands are in your hair, mid rinse, your eyes have closed, so your imagination could be more vivid. Your breathing has picked up. There is a strange feeling growing in your stomach that you don’t identify but you like.

There is a knock at the door. You jump in shock, your mind snapping back to your present surroundings. “Yes…” you say.

“Eddie just called in with an update. Come to the panic room when you are done,” Jimmy says from the other side of the door.

“Okay, I’ll be out soon,” you say, hurrying to rinse the rest of the soap out of your hair. You find the razor Jimmy used and quickly use it. You rinse it out very well before putting it back and turning off the shower.

You get out, dry off quickly, pull the underwear and nightshirt on, then wrap the towel around your hair and drop your clothes in the hamper as you walk out of the bathroom. You go into the panic room and knock to get Jimmy’s attention, even though the door is open.

Jimmy looks over at you, his eyes quickly taking in your exposed legs, and light night shirt. The muscles in his jaw work as he clenches his teeth, looking away from you. He directs your attention to a map on one of the monitors. He points to a spot. “We’re here,” he says and points to another spot further southwest from the first spot. “Eddie has located your father’s boys here. They seem to have lost us, so that’s good, but we’ve been ordered to stay put until further notice.”

“So, we don’t know how long we’ll be here?” you ask, taking a step into the room.

Even though you are still quite a ways away from Jimmy, he leans away as you step into the room, and he noticeably tenses up. “No, but if I were to guess, I’d say we will be here for at least a month, unless your father’s men get close, then we’ll have to move somewhere else.”

You sigh. “Okay... What’s Mr. O’Neal planning on doing now that I’m not helping get his money back?”

“I think he’s looking for your father, but no word on his location yet,” Jimmy says, looking at the monitor.

“Will he kill me if he doesn’t pay?” you ask. You knew your father wasn’t a good man, but he was the only family you had.

Jimmy looks over at you with a sad look. “I don’t know.”

You sigh, looking down at the ground.

Jimmy gets out of the chair and walks over to you. “Come on, let’s get you to bed,” he says as he puts his arm around you and leads you to the bedroom.

When you two had dinner, the sun had just started setting, but now it was so dark the light had to be turned on to see the way to the bed. Jimmy walked you up to the bed, then pulled the blankets back and covered you. You caught his hand when he turned to go.

“Would it be wrong to ask you to stay with me just for tonight?” you ask softly.

You feel his arm tense up. “I—I…”

You let your fingers slip away from his and you pull the blanket closer. “It’s okay, you don’t have to...”

Jimmy stands there for a long while, looking down at you, his body still turned, ready to leave. He takes a deep breath, and you see his hand make a fist before he walks out of the room. You hug the blanket to your chest and shut your eyes, trying to block out the unwanted emotions for your father. You really didn’t want to be alone tonight, but you also didn’t want to pressure Jimmy into staying. Maybe he had a girlfriend, and that’s why he was trying to keep his distance.

The bed sinks down behind you, and you look over your shoulder in disbelief. Jimmy is lying down as far away from you as the bed will allow.

“Just tonight,” he says when he sees you looking at him.

You roll over; the bed is so tiny; you end up pressed right up against him, and give him a hug. “Thank you.”

He tenses when you press against him. He lies still stiffly for a moment before putting a hand on your side and gently pushing you away.

“Sorry,” you say, quickly pulling your arms away and moving back to your side of the bed.

“It’s alright, just try to stay over there, okay?” he says.

“Okay,” you respond.

You wake up before Jimmy. A few things are surprising about this morning. The first thing is finding out that both of you have somehow ended up in the middle of the bed. The second is that he’s holding you, his arm wrapped around your waist. The last, and most surprising, is he’s pressing into your rump. Your eyebrows shoot up when your brain registers what part of him is pressing into you. You bite your lip and look over your shoulder at him. He’s still sound asleep.

You are torn. Your mind wants to know what it’s like to touch him, but you also don’t want to jump on the guy that’s keeping you safe, not yet anyway. You’re sure he’s going to freak out when he wakes up and finds himself in this position, but you don’t want to pull away from him because it feels nice being held. You decide to stay still, pretend to be asleep and play dumb if he asks you anything about his hard cock pressing against you.

It’s not long before you feel him wake up. His body tenses against you before he backs his hips away. You pretend his movement is what wakes you. You groan and roll over, peaking at him through sleepy eyes. His face is red, and he’s looking at you with wide eyes.

“What’s wrong?” you ask, trying to sound worried.

He swallows hard. “It—I have a situation...”

You give him a confused look. “Are you okay? Do you need help?”

He shakes his head. “I—I’m okay...did...?” He looks away from your face, embarrassed. “Did you feel it?”

“Feel what?” you ask, letting your eyes close.

“My...” he pauses, trying to figure out the best way to say this. “Situation?”

You open your eyes again and give him the most confused look you can muster. “I don’t understand what you’re asking me.”

He closes his eyes, his jaw clenching as he prepares himself to explain his situation. “In the morning, men get—um ...”

“Hmm…” you offer.

“Hard,” he replies, studying you.

The surprise on your face is genuine. You never thought he’d actually say it. “Oh ... I guess it’s normal.”

He closes his eyes, looking like he’s in pain. “Don’t tell me that. Now, I feel like a pervert.”

You chuckle. “Don’t worry, you’re definitely not one.”

He smiles at you and the two of you lay in silence for a few minutes before you speak again. “I am made of questions right now.”

“About what?” he asks.

“Your condition,” you reply.

His eyes widen as he looks at you, his blush coming back. “What?”

You shrug. “I’ve never been this close to a man before. I’m just a little curious.”

“Curious?” he repeats.

You nod. “Like you said ‘in the morning’, does that mean it happens every morning? If so, why? Are these morning situations so obvious?”

He stares at you. “Uh...”

Your eyes light up. “Can I touch it?”

“What?” he asks. “Why do you want to know these things? Why do you want to touch it?”

You shrug again. “I’m cur-”

“Right, curious, you said that already.” Jimmy rubs his face. “Okay uh... yeah it happens every morning, I don’t know why, I never actually thought about it before, and I guess it feels the same, I don’t know.”

You watch him happily as he answers your questions. “Interesting.”