Money Grab

"You're a great girl, Calley," he told her. "I'm the luckiest man alive."

Malina danced with Greg and he asked her if she knew Tim Lane. "He's been pestering me to introduce you," he told her. "I think he wants to dance with you."

"I do not know him," she said. "Is he interesting?"

"Not as interesting as me," he told her. "But I promised him I'd introduce him. Is that okay, Malina?"

"Yes, I suppose. If he bores me I will wink at you and you must rescue me," she said.

"I'll be watching," he promised.

He led her across the barn to where a thin, blonde-haired young man was sitting on a bale of hay.

"Hey, Tim, this is Malina Nebrija. Malina, this is Tim Lane."

"I am pleased to meet you. Thank you for inviting us to this dance."

He stood up and asked her to dance. "I wanted to meet you. Greg told me about you. You're just as beautiful as he said."

Malina blushed a little. "Thank you, Tim. I will dance one dance with you but then I wish to dance with Davis again."

When the song ended, Tim asked Malina if she wanted to see the new kittens. She really wanted to dance with Davis but she did love kittens. She walked outside with him and around to a shed behind the barn. The kittens were delightful and she played with them for a few minutes. It was cold and she became uncomfortably cool. Her dress had no back and her arms were bare.

"I am growing cold," she told Tim. "We must return so that I can dance again with Davis."

She preceded him to the door and as she stepped outside three men standing outside the shed seized her. Two held her arms and the third slipped a bag over her head and drew it tight. She fought like a tiger. Her screams were muffled by the hood and she couldn't see but she sank her teeth into the arm of one of the men holding her and kicked wildly at the other. Startled by her ferocity, they lost their hold on her and she ran forward swiftly. She struck a car and fell to the ground, hands scrabbling at the hood over her face.

The three men recovered and jumped on her, pinning her to the ground. They pulled her arms behind her and wrapped them with duct tape. She continued to struggle, kicking with her feet until they held her legs and wrapped her ankles and knees. She bucked and struggled but they quickly carried her to a car. They threw her into the trunk and she was bounced and bruised as the car sped away.

She struggled to free herself. She found a piece of what felt like metal and managed to cut the tape around her wrists. She hurt herself on the metal and felt blood trickling down her wrists. She was searching for the knot holding the bag over her head when the car stopped. She struggled frantically, trying to get the bag off. She heard the trunk open and someone grabbed her wrists and bound her again. Hands lifted her from the trunk and she heard her dress tear as it caught on something. Cold air flowed over her legs and someone tore the dress again as they tripped on the hanging material.

She was carried into a warm place and they freed her hands for a moment. She managed to scratch someone and they cursed and grabbed her wrists. She was thrust into something that felt like a wooden chair and her wrists were taped to the sides. They taped her midsection and legs to the chair and cut off the tape she had been restrained with. Hands fumbled with the drawstring around her neck and the hood was removed. Her heart sank when she saw that the two men in the room with her were the Reverend King and Tom Clanton.

The Reverend was smiling. "Welcome to your temporary home," he told her. There were bloody scratches down the side of Clanton's face. "You might as well relax," he told her. "You may be here a while. You see, God has chosen you as the instrument of his will. You are going to be the key to God's destruction of that Minion of Satan, Davis Rade. I'm going to tell him where you are and he's going to try to rescue you. He never goes anywhere without you whores, and he's going to bring Calista De la Vega here with him and the wrath of God will be unleashed on you."

He leaned down and sneered in her face. "Rade won't ever leave you here. He is bound to try to rescue his whore."

Malina spat in his face. "I do not like being called a whore. It is you who are a fat pig of a person. You are a great coward, attacking girls. The last time you faced Davis you urinated on your leg. I believe you will do so again when Davis comes. I will kill you for this."

He slapped her brutally across the face. Her head jerked to one side and she was nearly knocked unconscious. She felt blood in her mouth and she spat it in his face again. "I am not afraid of a coward such as you. Go ahead, hit me again."

He slapped her again and darkness claimed her. When she woke her cheek throbbed and she felt that two of her teeth were loose. Clanton was gone and the Reverend was sitting in a chair across the room. Her head was hanging and she saw that the lower part of her dress had been entirely torn away, leaving her legs bare and her boxers exposed. She glared at the Reverend and he rose and crossed the room to stand in front of her.

He raised his hand and she flinched. He laughed. "Looks like you're learning who's in charge. We're making arrangements for Rade and the other whore. Very soon you'll all be in the same trap."

She writhed and struggled but the tape held her securely. The Reverend stood looking down at her. He reached down and ran one pudgy hand over her bare shoulder. She shrugged it away fiercely and he slapped her again. He went around behind her and stroked her back and shoulders while she struggled furiously. He ran his hands up over her shoulders and circled her neck. He squeezed and she began to choke. As the blackness threatened to take her again he released her and slid his hands down over her chest and into the bodice of her dress. He cupped his hands around her breasts and pinched her nipples. She shifted as best she could to dislodge his hands and he pinched harder. She moaned in pain as his fingernails cut into one nipple, drawing blood.

"You're a pretty little whore," he told her as he squeezed her breasts painfully. "This is really all you're good for. You like this, don't you? That's what all whores like."

She turned her head quickly and sank her teeth into his forearm. With all her might she bit down on his flesh and tore a bloody chunk from his arm. He screamed and struck her on the side of her head and she knew no more.

When she came to again his forearm was bandaged and he had a knife in his hand. Tape now covered her mouth and she could hardly breathe. He advanced slowly and cut the tape around her midsection and thighs. He grasped her hips and pulled her forward, forcing her to sit on the edge of the chair. He taped her in place there with her thighs parted. He grasped her boxers and jerked them down to the tape. He cut them off with the knife and slit the remains of her dress and opened it. She sat helplessly, exposed to his gaze. He held his knife at her throat with his injured arm and reached down, running his fingers through the golden curls between her legs.

She began to scream into the tape covering her mouth and the Reverend laughed.

"Not so high and mighty now, are you whore? One more won't matter to a whore like you."

He opened his pants and let them fall to the floor. His fat white belly disgusted her and she continued to scream and shake her head. He stroked himself and lifted the tape off her mouth. "Did you want to say something whore?"

"Please, not like this," she gasped. "I will help you. I have never seen a penis so large," she lied. It was pathetic. "Let me help. I am a whore, like you said. Let me touch it. I will make it very good for you if you will not hurt me again. Just let me touch it."

The Reverend smiled. "I knew you were a whore. You'll be begging for it soon."

"Yes, I will beg. You are making me very excited. Let me show you."

He used the knife and freed one hand. She reached out and began to fondle his limp penis, panting as though she were excited. He grew in her hand and she continued to stroke him. She pulled on him and he stepped closer. As he did she seized his testicles in her hand and squeezed with all her might. The Reverend screamed and she pulled him close enough that she could reach him with her teeth. Again, she bit down with all her might and tore with her teeth. He managed to pull himself free but his mangled member was spurting blood and he sank to the floor unconscious.

She began to rock her chair back and forth. She braced her feet against the floor and managed to topple the chair over. Her head smacked the floor and she fought to retain consciousness. The chair broke when she hit the floor and she managed to scoot around to the Reverends knife and cut the tape holding her arms to the chair. She cut her thighs and feet loose and stood up. She felt needles of pain as her blood flowed to her constricted limbs and she collapsed, unable to stand the pain. She was determined and she scooted across the floor to the comatose Reverend. She worked his jacket off and put it on. She buttoned it, covering her nakedness. She was finally able to sit up. She found the duct tape and bound the Reverend's hands behind him. She taped his ankles together and began to slap him. His eyes opened and he stared at her for a moment as comprehension dawned.

"Now, fat pig; remember that I promised to kill you? I am keeping that promise."

"You can't, I'm a man of God," he gasped.

"I do not think so," she told him. "I believe you are a fat pig. Let us see if God will save you."

She raised the knife and plunged it into his right eye. He stiffened and spasmed, his body twitched and he was still.

"Perhaps God does not look with favor upon rapists," she said.

The door burst open and Clanton stumbled into the room. He looked at the Reverend with the knife sticking out of his eye. He raised his pistol and pointed it at Malina. She prepared to launch her small body at him and a shotgun blast nearly blew him in two. Gunfire erupted in the yard outside and Malina fell to the floor and fainted.

Chapter 14

Davis was getting Calley a glass of punch. Greg Wilson came to the table and Davis shook his hand. "Aren't you dancing with Malina?" he asked.

"No, I introduced her to Tim Lane and he wanted to dance with her."

Davis glanced around the barn. Tim was sitting on a bale of hay in a corner talking to his father. "I see Tim, but I don't see Malina," he told Greg.

"I heard Tim tell her something about going to look at some kittens," Greg said. "Maybe she isn't back yet."

Davis walked over to where the Lane's were sitting. "Where's Malina?" he asked Greg.

"She's looking at the new kittens," the boy told him.

"Where is she looking at the kittens?" Davis asked.

"They're in the shed behind the barn."

Davis took Calley's arm and they walked out of the barn. "Where are we going?" she asked.

"I just wanted to get you alone and ravish you," he told her.

"Don't you think it's a little cold for ravishing?" she laughed.

"Not when you're with a smoking hot woman," he said. "But actually, we're looking for Malina. Something doesn't feel right. Why would the Lane boy leave her alone? He said they were looking at kittens. I know Malina loves kittens, but why would he leave her?"

As they approached the door of the shed, Calley noticed something lying on the ground. She bent to pick it up and recognized one of Malina's slippers.

"Davis, hurry," she said. "Something is wrong. This is Malina's."

They rushed to the door and the shed was empty. They called her name and ran around the building looking for her. Davis ran to the Suburban, got a flashlight and they searched the ground near where they had found the slipper. Calley found a few drops of blood on the grass and screamed.

"Davis, something has happened to Malina. Oh God, no. Not that sweet little girl. Please Davis, don't let anything happen to her. I'll die if something happens to her." She began crying hysterically while Davis tried to comfort her.

People began pouring from the barn and running in the direction of Calley's screams. They came running up and Angus put his arms around Calley.

"Oh, Angus, help us. Please help us," she wept.

"I will, Calley. I promise I'll help, but you have to tell me what's going on. Stop screaming now. This isn't doing any good."

"Malina's disappeared and Calley found blood in the grass." Davis told him.

"Who was the last one to see her?" Angus asked the crowd.

"Tim brought her out here to see the kittens," Greg Wilson told him.

"Lane, what do you know about this?" Angus demanded.

"I don't know anything," the boy protested. "I left her here and she was playing with the kittens."

"Bullshit," Davis said. "She wouldn't have stayed out here by herself."

His knife was in his hand and he was holding it to the boy's throat in a blur of movement. "Where is she, boy?"

He started to shake his head and Davis pressed the knife. A line of blood appeared on the boys throat and he gagged.

"Dad?" he pleaded with his father.

Mrs. Lane rushed forward. "Don't hurt my baby," she begged. "Please don't hurt my baby. I'll tell you where she is."

"Elisabeth," her husband shouted. "You keep your mouth shut. We don't know anything."

The sound of a hammer being cocked beside his head drew him up short.

"It's all starting to fall in place now," Angus said. "I thought it was a little strange you holding a dance here. You've been awful chummy with Reverend King lately. This his idea Lane? You kidnap the little girl and then Davis goes rushing off to rescue her and walks into a trap?"

"No, the Reverend is a man of God. He wouldn't do anything like that," Lane licked his dry lips.

"Mrs. Lane, you married an idiot," Angus told her. "You better tell me where Malina is or I'm going to splash his brains all over the side of this shed and Davis is going to cut the boy's throat."

"No, please," she wept. "Don't hurt them. I'll tell you everything."

"You shut your mouth, woman," Lane shouted. "You shut your mouth before you cost us a place in the kingdom."

Angus slashed him across the face with his pistol and he fell to the ground. Mrs. Lane ran to him and shielded his body with hers. "Please don't hit him again," she begged. "The Reverend promised us a place in the millennial reign if we'd help him. He took the girl over to Coats and they're holding her in the house with the rock garden over there. They're planning to kill Davis and Calley when they go to rescue her. Don't you see, Angus? They've been deceiving us. They're the three unclean spirits keeping Christ from coming back. He won't come until they've been punished. They attacked the Reverend and they've been keeping God's wrath from falling on the children of the false prophet at Sawyer. Kill him, Angus, and God will keep a place for you in his kingdom."

"Are you insane, woman?" Angus shouted. "What kind of people do we have around here? Somebody shut her up. Cline, you stay here and keep these three under guard. Be careful, man; I think they're insane. The rest of you, mount up. We're going to Coats."

Davis and Calley rode with Angus and Anthony and planned how they were going to rescue Malina. "How you want to do this Davis?" Angus asked.

"Drop us half a mile outside town," Davis said. "We'll run in from there. They shouldn't be expecting us yet. I imagine King had some kind of plan to let me know where she was, but it shouldn't have happened yet. Give us ten minutes to get in place and then come in with your lights off. If we don't get Malina quick I'm afraid they might hurt her to make us do what they want. If they've hurt her I'm going to burn Coats to the ground, Angus."

"I'll help you do it boy, but don't think like that. You two go in and get her, Davis. You're the best I know at fighting. Don't let them hurt her." He choked back a sob. "That little girl is precious to me, Davis. Do you know that she's making deer jerky for me? I told her I liked it a while back and that's all she needed to hear. She likes to make me happy; that's what she told me. Good God, I'm going to start crying like a baby."

Calley hugged the old man. "We all love her, Angus. We'll get her out. You just come running when you're supposed to."

They turned off the lights of their vehicles two miles outside Coats and stopped when they saw a few lights ahead. Calley took her riot gun and Davis checked his 9MM's. Calley tore the bottom off her dress, ripping it off so that her legs were bare to the thigh. She left the road with Davis and they ran through the grass. They ran together every morning and she set a quick pace. In three minutes, they were concealed outside the rock house in the grass.

They heard a man scream inside the house and Tom Clanton came running down the street and up to the door. They rose behind him and as he opened the door Calley fired her 12 gauge into the small of his back. Davis was firing at a group of men that came out of a building up the street and Calley ran to the door. Malina was inside, lying on the floor, dressed in a man's suit-jacket. The ruins of her dress stuck out of the jacket and her face was cut and bruised and she had a black eye. The Reverend King lay on his back with a knife protruding from his eye.

Calley stepped over Clanton's body and ran to Malina. She gathered her into her arms and carried her out the door to where Davis was waiting. He had driven the men back into the house and had them pinned down. Lights were beginning to come on in houses as people lit candles or lanterns. Those with generators turned them on and a few electric lights came on. The vehicles of the dance guests roared up and the reinforcements jumped out. Calley carried Malina to Angus' SUV and got in with her, holding her head to her chest and caressing her hair. She kissed her lips gently and Malina opened her eyes.

"Calley?" she whimpered. "I hurt so bad. I think my face is broken."

"No, baby," Calley whispered. "You're just as beautiful as ever. What happened to your clothes, honey?"

"That fat pig cut them off. He was going to rape me, Calley, but I bit off his penis. He hurt my face. He was going to kill you. He was going to kill Davis, too. I couldn't let him do that, Calley. I had to kill him." Sobs shook her small body and she clung desperately to Calley.

Calley opened the door. "Davis," she called, "we've got to get Malina out of here. We need to take her home. She's hurt, Davis; not badly but we need to get her home."

"We've got this," Angus told him. "Take care of that little sweetheart. I swear, Davis, by this time tomorrow there won't be a town called Coats. It's going to vanish off the map. Take my car and get her home."

"Thanks, Angus. I owe you again."

"Bullshit, boy. You pay me by making sure that little girl is okay. Now git."

Calley held Malina in the back seat and Davis drove them home. He parked Angus' car in front of the house and jumped out. He carried Malina into the house and sat on the sofa holding her. Calley ran the big tub in his bathroom full of hot water and bubble bath. She undressed Malina while Davis got first aid supplies, and when he got back he carried Malina to the bathroom and lowered her into the tub. She had been crying the whole time and when the hot soapy water touched her bruises and abrasions she winced in pain.

Calley washed and caressed her small body and Davis cleaned the cuts on her cheek and ear. He placed a clean, warm washcloth on her face and let it rest there a few minutes while he washed her hair.

He took off the washcloth and gently kissed her lips. "You're going to be fine, gorgeous," he told her. "There won't be any scars. You're going to be bruised and sore for a while, but you're okay."