CHAPTER 29: Piper
My emotions were totally shot. I didn’t think I could handle much more stress at this level. When Vinnie’s car appeared and he started smashing it into the bike, I was more terrified than I’d ever been. We were under attack, helpless, and I was sure I was going to die. Worse than that, I was terrified because we were both going to die. Vinnie was here to kill Theo and I, and that was all. I didn’t want Theo to die. I really didn’t want Theo to die because of me.
I held on for dear life and when Theo shot out Vinnie’s tires and sent him spinning of the road, I felt nothing but elation. I watched his expensive sports car hit the tree and I was just willing it to burst into flames. But this wasn’t a movie, so we had to stop and go make sure he was dead.
We dismounted and headed over to the wreck. Theo drew his gun and I went for mine, before I remembered I’d emptied it and then flung it at the ranch house in a fit of agonizing frustration. Theo opened the door of the crashed car and we saw Vinnie, slumped, unmoving, and I dared to dream that he might actually be gone. He was bleeding. I couldn’t tell if he was breathing. I hoped he wasn’t.
I held my breath, though, as Theo went to check if he was alive. I can’t explain it but, a second before Theo touched him, I knew he was alive. Worse, I knew he was waiting for us. I don’t know how, but I knew. I tried to yell a warning to Theo but my voice gave out. With unbelievable speed, Vinnie grabbed Theo’s gun and knocked him backward onto the ground. I turned to Vinnie. I wasn’t sure what I was going to do, I’d never tried to physically stand up to him before, but I figured kicking him in the balls would be a good place to start.
I thought Vinnie might shoot us, now he had Theo’s gun, but he just tossed it aside. I guessed he decided he’d enjoy beating us to death much more, instead.
“Well, hello, beautiful,” he said in a low, mocking tone. His voice just tapped into my fear, freezing me in place. I wanted to attack him but I couldn’t move. My eyes flicked to Theo, laying bleeding on the ground, and when they returned to Vinnie, I caught a blur of movement before something crashed into my face, knocking me down.
The back of my head hit the hard-packed dirt and my eyes closed for a little while. I could still hear the sickening sounds of bone and flesh smacking into each other, and I in my mind I could see Theo happily kicking Vinnie’s ass. But, when I could open my eyes again, I saw Vinnie holding Theo from behind, shoving him around like some giant puppet, then beating him to a pulp against the side of the car.
I hauled myself up. My face didn’t hurt but I could taste blood. I figured I was in shock. Vinnie slammed Theo into the metal a couple more times, then stopped to take a look. Examining his work, he saw that Theo seemed to be unconscious. At least, I prayed he was only unconscious. Vinnie turned back to face me. He smiled widely and dumped Theo’s body on the ground, just where he was standing.
I swallowed nervously and looked desperately around for a weapon as Vinnie started advancing towards me. My heart was racing until I spotted Theo’s gun laying on the ground by the open driver’s door. I lunged for it as Vinnie picked up speed. I landed hard but was able to grab it.
I fumbled, trying to get a grip on it as I turned. I was shaking. I looked up, though, and there was Vinnie, not two feet from me. I raised the gun but he just grabbed it out of my hands.
“You don’t need that,” he hissed, still smiling, and tucked it into the back of his pants.
My legs turned to jelly. I still wasn’t afraid to die, but I was just scared that he would keep me alive, torture me and force me to watch him kill Theo. I just wanted him to spare the man I loved.
“Vinnie, baby,” I pleaded. I didn’t have anything left. Just please, I wanted to save Theo, more than anything. “Baby? Let me stay with you? I’ll do anything you want.” I reached up to caress his cheek. “Please, just take me away from here. Leave Theo, let’s you and me just go. We can forget all about these bikers.”
Vinnie kept smiling. He seemed to be enjoying hearing me beg, which was no surprise.
“I’ll make you a deal,” he grinned, his big hand coming up to cup mine against his face. “How about we stay, just long enough for your boyfriend to wake up, you watch me open his head with the tire iron I have back there, and then we go.”
I didn’t know what to say. “Baby, please,” was all I could manage. Tears were running freely down my cheeks and I couldn’t help sobbing.
Vinnie leaned in, putting his mouth right by my ear. “I love it when you cry,” he whispered, then shoved me, hard.
I must have flown six feet, the hard earth jarring my back as I hit it. Vinnie strode purposefully towards me. I couldn’t get up, I could only try and crawl away. I half flipped over, trying to crawl through the sharp scrub, knowing he was going to be on me any minute. “Where do you think you’re going?” Vinnie taunted me from close behind. “A moment ago you were begging me to take you away.” I just kept crawling back towards the interstate, hopping there would be someone there to help me.
Finally, he put his foot on my back, stopping me completely. He bent down to turn me over. “I still love you, beautiful,” he said, he almost sounded sad and his mad smile looked pained for just an instant. He brought my hand up to touch his cheek again. “We could still be together, just as soon as I kill that biker, okay?”
I don’t know what came over me. I stopped being scared for a second and got angry. Maybe I just needed some small revenge for everything he’d done to us. Maybe there was just no point holding back anymore. My hand was on his cheek, right near his ear. I hooked my finger through the large gold hoop he wore there and yanked it.
Vinnie screamed. Blood jetted out of his ear, dousing his linen jacket even redder and splashing me in the face. I spat the toxic fluid straight out just in time to receive another fist to the face. The blow stunned me and, before I knew it, Vinnie had me flipped onto my front again.
“You shouldn’t have done that,” he spat, forcing my face into the dirt. I felt him standing over me and pulling at my jeans. I tried to wriggle free but he jabbed something really hard and metal into the back of my head. I heard the hammer of Theo’s gun pull back. “Stay fucking still,” he growled. He stripped my jeans down to my ankles and with almost no effort, ripped my panties right off me.
“Fuck you, Vinnie!” I snarled. I had nothing left he could take from me. All I could think of was that maybe, if I tried hard enough, I might just be able to snap his dick off when he stuck it in me.
“I’ve never fucked a corpse before,” he hissed, stabbing the barrel into the back of my head again. “I thought it would be fun to keep you around, to make you please me after I’d made you watch me kill you boyfriend. But I’m going to try a little experiment. I’m going to fuck your ass and shoot you in the head. I want to see if, dead, you can make up for the lousy lay you were when you were alive.”
“Really, Vinnie?” said Theo. “You really need to learn how to talk to women better.”
I felt the pressure of the gun against my head relax a little as Vinnie and I both turned our heads to the side. I saw Theo, bloodied and battered, but standing over us, the tire iron in his hand.
“What the fuck…?” manage Vinnie, before I kicked my legs back hard, catching his balls with the heel of my boot. He gasped, suddenly breathless, helpless for a second, giving Theo the chance to smack him with the iron.