After the phone call to Gianni, Rooster separated the girls. Despite their crying, screaming, and pleading, he grabbed the women both by the hair and threw them into different bedrooms. Now, Valentina sat with her legs pulled up to her chest and her chin rested on her knees. She wondered if she would ever see her father or her uncles or Hal again.

Hal

She really hoped that the short beginning they had shared would not be the end of them. Valentina knew Hal would be out of his mind with worry about her. She also knew that he had his own things to deal with—dangerous things to deal with— and she knew that he needed his mind clear to do those things. Valentina had agreed readily to the safe house because she had not wanted Hal to have the extra worry of her safety on his mind.

Best laid plans…

Valentina wondered if her father had understood everything she had said to him. She hoped he had heard her…she had had to speak so low and quickly.  What if, in his shock and surprise, he hadn’t quite been able to register everything she said? Had she remembered to tell him about crossing state lines? Did he understand that Gia was with her? On and on like that Valentina fretted and worried. She kept her eyes pinned to the door as if it she was waiting for it to perform some sort of hat trick. When the door opened again, Valentina jumped to her feet and thought about rushing at it, but she knew she was no match for him.

As if he could read her mind, Rooster gave Valentina a slow, knowing smile. He looked at her as if he was a large, hungry hawk, and she was a tasty little rabbit.

“Good call. You never would have made it. Although, it would have been fun as hell for me if you tried.”

“Why are you doing this?” Valentina’s voice shook and she hated how weak it made her sound.

“Why does anyone do the messed-up shit they do?” Rooster shrugged. “Money, power, and everything that comes with it. The man who fucks with both Gianni Abruzzi and Sebastian Abiatti and wins?  That man can write his own ticket with the Colombians. A million bucks can buy a lot of poppy seed fields. Set my mother up for the rest of her life.” 

“Your mother?” Valentina looked at him in surprise.

“Yeah. My mother.” Rooster confirmed. Then he frowned at her. “Even assholes like me have moms, Valentina. Nobody is all good or bad, and I would think coming from where you do, you’d know that.  Lupus is a horrible fucking disease, and my mom don’t deserve it.  Came out here to earn with the best, so I could set her up.  Prosper is the best. But they didn’t want me. Shoved me off on Brute’s crew. That would have been okay too— I got nothing against Brute. But then they gave me that extra damn probate time and that delayed my right to earn. Knew Abiatti from my time on the west coast.  Honestly, he’s a cocksucker so I have no problem screwing him over and 100 K for murdering two women? Nah. That’s bullshit. Just hope your father comes up with the green.” Rooster shrugged.

“A million dollars? That’s a lot to ask.”

“Yeah well, you’re worth it. He can get it and what’s the point of dicking around?”  Figure we’ll all probably end up dead after this anyway, so why not go for broke?”

“So, you’re going to kill us either way?” Valentina forced herself to ask.

Rooster gave her a long, slow, appraising look that made her blood run cold.

“I guess that depends on you. Or more precisely, what you are willing to do to keep yourself and your cousin alive.”

Valentina could read the lust and anticipation written all over his face. When she cast her eyes downward, the bulge outlining Rooster’s rock-hard length was hard to miss.

This whole kidnapping thing was getting him off

Of course, it was. Valentina let out a resigned sigh.

Because her life hadn’t been enough of a shit show so far, why not throw in a little rape action from a rogue biker? Valentina would rather hang from the highest tree than let Rooster touch her, but it wasn’t only her life that was at stake. She was tired and hurt and pretty much at the end of her rope.  She would almost welcome a PTSD episode right now to take her away from this horrible predicament. But it seemed that irony had come to bite her in the ass because Valentina remained painfully rooted in the present. 

Wonderful time for healthy mindfulness to kick in.

“Hey look, I saw what happened to you at the club house with that shrieking and shaking and blackout shit.” Rooster’s eyes darkened as they met hers. “Honestly, I don’t have the energy to control that kind of freak out from you right now. So I’m gonna make this easy for both of us. We’ll save the blow jobs and other more intimate shit for after we get to know each other a little better.”

Rooster grinned that terrible grin again. “This time, I’m just gonna fuck you plain and simple. I like my women willing so if you play along I won’t have to go rough on you.”

“Well that’s good news.” Her voice dripped sarcasm. “Because my cheek still hurts from when you didn’t go rough on me earlier.”

“Yeah, well, I don’t make a habit out of hitting women, but you had to know I wasn’t gonna let you get away with that foreign language shit. Now get on the bed like a good girl.”

Rooster pulled his shirt over his head. He was lean, sinewy, and strong. The hard muscles of his abdomen were covered with a large tattoo of a warrior shield. The words Fear Me I am the Storm were written from nipple to nipple in big, bold script.  

Rooster had two large-caliber bullet hole scars on his right shoulder. On the left side of his body a series of long purple keloids extended from just below his armpit to the top of his hip.

This man has survived some monstrous things, and now he has turned into a monster because of them.

The thought of having Rooster pushed up inside of her made Valentina sick. Her eyes searched the room frantically for something that would help her.

“Do you mind if I …uhm…wash up first?”

“No need, princess. I like my women a little dirty.”  

Yuck. Ick. Yuck. Valentina’s stomach turned.

“I’m hot and sticky and I can smell gas fumes on me. I think we’d both enjoy it more if I felt human again. I have some bath gel in my backpack. It’s strawberry scented. It’ll only take a second.” Valentina made her voice a soft plea and her eyes wide with promise of what was to come “Please, Rooster?”

He gave Valentina a cool appraising look. Then he stepped towards her and ran a long, strong finger down the length of Valentina’s arm and murmured, “I do dig strawberries. I can suck on one of those fat, juicy berries and make it last all day. I’d love to taste that sweet juice on that soft skin. Grab the gel, and let’s go wash you up, darlin’.”

When Valentina reached into the backpack, Rooster’s soft words of sick seduction turned to screams of pain and outrage. Valentina pulled out a can of extra-hold hairspray, and blasted a quick series of long bursts straight into his unsuspecting eyes.

“I’m gonna kill you, you fucking bitch!”

Rooster started swinging and stepping blindly towards her, knocking over chairs and a table in his way. Even blinded, he was quick and strong and she knew if he got a hold of her she was done for. But Valentina also knew that she had the element of surprise—not to mention clear vision—on her side. With a few sidesteps and one vicious kick to the sensitive bundle of nerves that dangled between Rooster’s legs, Valentina was able to drop her captor like a house of cards.  

“What’s happening out there?!” Gia screamed and pounded from the other side of the door.

Valentina ran to it and twisted the lock open.

“Oh my god! Oh my god! Oh my god!” Gia stumbled forward and gave Valentina a hard hug. She looked at Rooster who was still writhing on the floor.

“You low-life sonofabitch!” Gia screamed at him. Then Gia grabbed the can from Valentina and gave Rooster another long stinging burst of spray and another hard kick to his balls just to make sure he stayed down.

“Fucking cunt!” Rooster managed to sputter out. “I’m gonna use you for target practice!”

Valentina and Gia looked frantically around the room for the gun and the cell phone. To their dismay, both items were out of reach. One of the girls was going to have to jump over Rooster to retrieve them.

“You make a lot of noise to distract him, and I’ll go for it,” Valentina whispered. “I’ll throw you the phone, and you run like hell till you get service. I’ll hold the gun on him.”

“I’m not leaving you,” Gia whispered back.

“You have to, Gia. My ribs hurt horribly, and I’m not sure how hard or far I can run.  You have a much better chance without me.” 

“I am not leaving you, Valentina.” Gia repeated and stayed exactly where she was. “Grab the gun and the phone, and let’s get the hell out of here.”

“Gia…”

“No, Valentina. I won’t do it. Together we go or together we stay.”

“I’m gonna kill you bitches either way.” Rooster moaned out.

Valentina went for it. With a high jump she cleared Rooster’s prone body easily, but then she crashed into the table and landed just short of safety. Rooster reached out his hand blindly and hit pay dirt. His strong hand clamped down like a bear trap around Valentina’s ankle. Valentina was still able to keep her grip on the cell phone, but the heavier weapon flew right out of her hand.

“Let her go!” Gia gave Rooster another vicious kick to his balls. He immediately released his hold on Valentina’s leg, gagged with the pain and vomited on the floor.

The girls ran out the door, across the yard and into the woods as thunder sounded out in the distance. Patches of deep gray rain clouds moved quickly across the sky and hung heavy over the canopy of thick, tall fir trees. Gnarled roots sprang up between shifting beds of soft green moss and gave way underneath their feet sinking them into inches of mud and slowing their progress.

When the girls came to a fork in the path, Valentina looked at Gia and shook her head sadly.  “Separating is probably the smart thing to do, he can’t come after both of us. It’s not going to be long before that sting wears off his eyes, and he can stand upright again. Then he’s gonna come looking for us. I’m only going to slow you down.” 

“For the last time, we are sticking this out together.” Gia put her hands on her hips and looked at their options. Then she pointed to a break in the trees some yards ahead. “Do you see that in the space between those two huge pines?  I think it might be the highway.”

Valentina looked to where Gia pointed, “I think we’re too far out for it to be a highway, although there does look like there might be some sort of paved road over there.”

Both girls let out a small scream when they heard the distant rumble of an engine turning over.

“He’s coming!” Gia looked at Valentina in horror.

They dove back into the shadows of the trees and watched from behind a fallen log as Rooster rode past them on a tricked-out dirt bike. They barely had time to catch their breath when he stopped the bike and turned off the motor about a quarter a mile up the dirt path. Then Rooster lifted a pack of smokes out of his tee shirt pocket, pulled out a cigarette, and casually lit it.

He stared straight at the fallen log that Valentina and Gia were hiding behind.

Minutes passed, and the girls barely dared to breathe as Rooster took his time and drew deep on the tobacco. Then he leaned back on the bike and pulled something else out of his pocket. He held it in one hand while the other tapped it repeatedly.

When the cell that Gia was holding rang out loud and clear in the deep stillness, they watched on in horror as Rooster cocked his head towards the sound and smiled. Then the ringing stopped and Gia looked down at the one-word text that came flashing on the screen.

Gotcha.

“That bastard is tracking us with the phone. We need to separate, Gia. It’s the only way,” Valentina whispered urgently to a petrified Gia. Then she took the phone and threw it deep into the woods. “I’m gonna go out first and lead him away from you. Wait until he starts coming after me then head towards that road.”

“Valentina...” Gia started to protest.

“Do it, Gia. Get to that road. It’s the only chance we have.” Valentina closed her eyes and counted to ten then took a painfully deep breath and began to run noisily through the woods. When she heard the roar of the engine kick over she knew Rooster had taken the bait. Valentina ran as fast as she could while her heart pounded loudly in her ears.  It didn’t help that just as she cleared the first tree line, a dark, heavy raincloud threatened overhead. Valentina’s limbs ached, the pain in her chest stabbed at her, and her lungs wanted to explode as the agony of running fast and hard overwhelmed her.

Keep going. Keep going, she told herself. Every instinct warned Valentina that if she stopped she would die.

 

 

Each step was agony, every breathe was torture, and each moment saw Valentina running frantically deeper and deeper into the woods.  Valentina would run several yards, then pause to listen for sounds of a highway—the honk of a horn or the squeal of tires— anything to indicate that she was heading in the right direction. But to Valentina’s deep despair, the only thing she heard was the occasional screech of birds taking flight or the wind through the trees. She had hoped and prayed that somehow her frantic trek would eventually lead her to the road, but it seemed unlikely now. Not even the sound of Rooster’s dirt bike broke the eerie quiet; thank god Valentina had somehow managed to throw him off her scent.

Now, if only her cousin had made it—Gia making it to that road and to safety was the only hope that Valentina had. Gia was smart and brave and had strong survival instincts. Her cousin would find a way to save them, Valentina knew she would. She just had to be given the time to do that. Valentina hoped with all her heart that their plan to separate and run in different directions had given Gia that opportunity.

“Boo!”

Like a nightmare that just wouldn’t stop, Rooster jumped from out of nowhere like some demonic jack-in-the-box and landed right in front of Valentina. His eyes were bloodshot and red-rimmed, and he had a bizarre grin on his face. Valentina galvanized her exhausted body into action and ran like hell back in the opposite direction —but on her best day, Valentina was no match for his speed or his strength.

Rooster caught Valentina easily. In a punishing embrace, he wrapped his arms around her sore ribs with a boa constrictor-like grip until she almost passed out from the pain. Then Rooster whispered close and low into Valentina’s ear, “Bitch, if I had known you had such a bad sense of direction, I would have saved us both a whole lot of trouble and just waited for you on the front porch.”

Rooster dragged a kicking and screaming Valentina a few yards through a thick row of scrub pine trees. The moment they broke through the living fence, Valentina let out howl of frustration and despair. She had spent all that time and energy and courage navigating herself through the very dense and scary forest only to end up right back where she started from. The only difference was that now she had somehow landed in the back of the cabin instead of the front of it.  Valentina and her great escape plan.

Well, at least the plan had given Gia a head start. She really hoped that her cousin had made it, because Valentina was pretty certain that without intervention, she would be dead within the next twenty-four hours.

But that dream of rescue was short lived; when Rooster dragged Valentina around the corner, she realized all hope was lost. Because there knelt Valentina’s only chance on the front porch with her head bowed as if in prayer. A set of rosary beads were entwined between Gia’s clasped hands, and a semi-automatic was pointed to the back of her head.

Sebastian Abbiati looked up from where he was preparing to shoot Gia execution style. Then he leveled the gun at Rooster’s chest.  “You told me these bitches were dead.”