Page 18 of Sanctuary

It wasn’t.

Chapter 12

Gemma was heading back to the sanctuary when blue lights flashed behind her. “Dammit!”

Clicking on her blinker, she pulled to the side of the road. With one last glare in her rearview mirror, she reached over for her registration papers and then her license because she knew that was exactly what Sheriff Brennan would ask for, like he did every single time he pulled her over. She knew she hadn’t been speeding, but that didn’t matter to Brennan. He got joy out of making her life miserable. Lance must pay him well, the asshole.

Before she leaned back up to roll her window down, the door was ripped open.

“Get out of the car!” a man’s voice ordered.

Gemma was so surprised to hear someone else’s voice other than the sheriff’s she dropped her registration and license as she was literally pulled out of the car.

“Get off me.” She struggled, trying to see who the hell was pulling her, but she was slammed against her truck.

“If you want to live, bitch, you will listen and do what you’re told.” The man hissed in her ear, “Now move!”

Confused and frightened, Gemma did as she was told, staring at the police car. “Where’s Sheriff Brennan?” She tried to glance behind her to see who was pushing her, but he pushed her head back around. One thing she did notice was he was in civilian clothing. He was not one of the deputies.

As she got closer to the police car, the memory of her grandfather telling her to never allow herself to be forced into a car by anyone popped into her head.“Fight with everything you have because chances are it will end badly if you don’t,”he would say. On one of the back roads that maybe saw a car or two an hour, her survival mode kicked into high gear.

Fear so strong overtook her that she jerked and began to fight her way free. To her surprise, the man lost his grip, and she tried to head toward the woods, but her freedom was short-lived. She was tackled to the road, her face skidding along the rough terrain.

Undeterred, she fought hard, but he was too strong. He flipped her over so fast the sun blinded her, and all she could see was a large silhouette looming above her. It wasn’t until his head moved, blocking out the sun, that she saw who sat on top of her. She may have only seen the picture Eric showed her for a brief moment, but she knew exactly who this man was. She also knew her shock was apparent when he laughed.

“I see Eric has been talking about me.” The man chuckled, but it wasn’t a pleasant sound. “When I heard Lance bitching about a new man at the wolf sanctuary, I took the time of snoop around because I had a hunch it was that bastard Eric.”

“Lance?” Gemma asked. Then things became clear. She should have known. She should have told Eric that Lance hired a lot of men to run his place. He had such a high turnaround of employees so was always hiring new people. It never occurred to her that he may have hired the man Eric sought.

“Yeah, my boss.” The man snickered, but she didn’t get the joke. “I was right under his nose, and he never even knew it because he was too busy fucking you.”

Gemma wasn’t going down without a fight. This was the man Eric had been looking for, and she’d be damned if she was used for bait so this man could get to Eric.

He stood, grabbing her by the hair and pulling her up. Blood trickled down her cheek and the sting of the road rash on her face spurred her into action. She kicked out, but he was quick and moved just in time.

The man tugged her to him so hard it knocked the breath out of her. “I might just say fuck Eric and keep you for myself.” He leaned close and nuzzled her neck. “I like fighters.”

Vomit wedged in the back of her throat as tears burned the edges of her eyes when he licked her neck. Disgust filled her soul almost to the point her body wanted to shut down so she could crawl inside herself, away from this nightmare. It wasn’t until he started pushing her toward the car that she began to fight again. She screamed, hoping someone would hear her, but once he opened the back door and shoved her inside she knew no one would be coming to her rescue.

Her feet hit something as she fell onto the back seat. Her eyes quickly went to what it was, and another scream escaped her throat. Sheriff Brennan stared up at her from the floorboard with wide lifeless eyes.

******

Eric had never experienced such intense rage before, but knowing that bastard had Gemma almost pushed him over the edge. He stood with his pack waiting for the motherfucker to text him back. His first text was a selfie of the bastard and Gemma. Her face was a bloodied mess, while the fucker wore a large, proud smile.

He paced, holding his phone, feeling more helpless than he had ever felt in his life. No one said a word, the silence deafening. Even the wolves stood at attention in their enclosures, watching him as if knowing something was amiss.

He glanced down at the phone again, his eyes narrowing on Gemma’s battered image.

“We’ll find her, Eric,” Kile said, the pack mumbling their agreement.

Eric stopped pacing as he noticed something in the picture. With a tap of his fingers, he enlarged it. “Fuck!” He looked around, spotting Larry. “Do you know this building?”

Larry leaned in and squinted before recognition opened his eyes wide. “That’s one of Lance’s barns.”

“Are you sure?” Eric glared at him, keeping his hope at bay.

“Yes, I’m sure.” Larry eyes went to Gemma’s image and welled up with tears.

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