Page 24 of Bait
“I don’t know how.” This was mostly true. The key was still in the ignition. I’d seen Torch leave it there when he jumped out.
“Don’t fucking lie to me.” She reached up and fisted my hair hard and tugged. My eyes watered from the pain as she moved us further inside. The deeper into the rig we were, the harder it would be to let Torch and Candela know what was happening. I tried to make sense of the situation even as I looked around for something I could use to defend myself. I didn’t think this had all been a trap to get the rig. The other women in their group seemed so grateful for our help. So far, they’d shown very little interest in the rig. All they seemed to want was a ride to the settlement, unless it was all a ruse.
“They won’t let you get away.” I had no idea if that was true. I could still see Torch working on the tire and Candela distracted, talking to the other women. I could hear the kids laughing with Bianca. The truth was that she would probably kill me before they could get up here. “We tried to help you.” She scoffed at that and yanked on my hair again. I was certain she ripped some off that time, but I had bigger problems.
“You rich bunker assholes,” she spat the words out, with such venom. Not even Becker had looked at me with such loathing. “You were hiding in the ground while everyone else suffered.” I realized then that I could not talk myself out of this. She hated me, and if I’d lived through what she had, I would hate me too. “Some fucking help, you were going to leave us here on this deserted road and drive off with a truck full of supplies. I don’t even know those other bitches and their brats. I just started walking with them because they had some food and water.”
She pressed the muzzle of the gun to my chest, making me stumble forward. Even as I scrambled for an idea of how to raise the alarm, I knew whatever I tried would likely result in me getting shot, but at least I warn the others before she could take off with their rig. We were in the sleeper cabin now. Candela had made the bed that morning, so there was not much mess there. The driving cab, as always, was tight and there were buttons and levers everywhere.
I remembered Torch’s stash behind his seat. He’d taken the rifle, but his knife should still be there. I knew I couldn’t make any sudden movement with a gun on me, but there had to be a way to get her off me for a second. That was all I needed. She had me backed against the chair, and I knew I could get to the knife, but then I’d actually have to stab her. I didn’t want to hurt this woman. I didn’t want her to lose her life or me to lose mine because men had hurt her so badly, they’d worn away her humanity. I searched her eyes, hoping I could see something in there I could appeal to, but all I could find was devastation.
“I’m sorry they hurt you.” She slapped me across the face so fast with such intensity I had no time to react. The blow left me dazed.
“You don’t know shit, now move it before I punch your teeth out.” And now I was pissed. I’d tried to be understanding, but I wasn’t a fucking punching bag. If I got a chance, I’d do what I had to, in order to get away. Because I didn’t want to hurt anyone, but I wasn’t going to let her kill me or hurt any of the others. She had the gun to my head as we moved around the tight space of the driving cabin. “If you try anything, I’ll kill you,” she warned as I slid into the driver’s seat. I considered pulling on the horn, but that would likely end up with me getting a bullet between my eyes.
“Turn it on.” She tapped me on the head with the gun as I desperately tried to figure out how to do what she asked.
“We can give you the supplies.” At this point I was just trying to distract in the hope someone came to the truck.
“No, fuck the supplies, I want this rig. Why do you get to have everything?” This was how we fucked ourselves over. By thinking like the men who despised anyone who had something they felt entitled to. If she couldn’t have it, no one should be able to.
Damn it, how did Torch not have something accessible I could use as a weapon? I was pulling levers and pushing buttons in the hope something would turn on. Then I saw that little button he’d used to turn on the outside lights for dinner. I held my breath and pushed in the SOS signal a couple of times while I made a show of pressing some other buttons. It was one more of those things Torch had forced me to learn that I’d thought was pointless. But now as I tapped them, I hoped he recognized my message.
After turning the key and pushing the right lever, the rig finally rumbled to life. I thought she’d push me out of the seat, but she just hit me on the head again and barked at me to drive.
“I don’t know how.” I really didn’t and my feet barely reached the pedal. I had fake-driven many times, but never a moving vehicle, and had no idea what to do, but she didn’t know either. I tapped on the gas, and it seemed to lock like a brake. “I think I figured it out,” I told her, without looking up. I didn’t need to look at the barrel of that gun while I cooked up a plan that would most likely end poorly.
“Go! Now.” I nodded frantically and held onto the steering wheel while I prayed this worked. I hit the gas at full speed for a few seconds and then stepped on the brake so hard I was practically standing on it. The woman went flying and so did her gun. I lunged for it. I hit the ground hard and was pretty sure I cut my leg, but I got the gun and pointed it right at her face.
“What the fuck is happening?” I didn’t turn around when Torch pulled open the driver’s door and climbed into the cabin.
“She’s not with those women, they don’t have anything to do with it,” I told him, so he didn’t go and attack the group.
Candela rushed in through the sleeper cabin with two guns in hand.
“Did she put her hands on you, Brains?” Candela looked homicidal as she looked at me. The skin on my face was tight, and I knew I had to look a mess. I already had a bruise on my cheek from where Becker hit me. And I was pretty sure I was bleeding. The woman’s eyes widened, and she scrambled back. Quite suddenly she’d lost all her bluster and despite everything, I felt sorry for her.
“Don’t kill her, Valeria,” I shouted when Candela stalked forward.
“I’m not going to let her ruin those women and take all their shit.”
“She won’t,” Bianca said, appearing out of nowhere, her elfin face fearsome. “I’m going to take them back to the settlement.” She sent the woman a pitying look and shook her head. “You’ll have to walk wherever you’re going.” The woman spat on the ground and told Bianca to fuck herself. She only shook her head and went back to check on the others. In the end, we left her with some food and water, and she headed off in the direction where they’d come from, without looking back.
I was surprisingly okay. At least considering the circumstances. I might even be a bit proud of myself. I didn’t panic—well, I panicked a little, but I figured it out on my own. I took care of myself even if the cavalry was not very far off. Torch had looked at me. Running his hands over me in that urgent, flustered way of his, before I slapped his hands away. Candela kissed me on the mouth in front of everyone. Maybe all right was an exaggeration because my head was a complete mess over them.
“You tell those two what you want from them,” Bianca whispered to me as she helped one of the children into the bed of the truck. My face heated at the suggestive tone, especially when the events of the last hour were not exactly conducive to anything sexual. But she just winked and pointed at Torch and Candela, who were talking with their heads together, sneaking peeks at me. “They are the stress relievers you need.” I barked out a laugh then covered my mouth.
“I don’t know about that,” I deflected, but I kept my eyes on them. Considering, wondering what would happen if I asked for what I really wanted.
Once we saw Bianca and her crew off, the three of us went back to the rig. The moment I walked in, the adrenaline from the incident seemed to catch up with me and suddenly, I was not feeling so hot.
“Are you okay, Sass?” Torch asked as I stumbled into the rig. I nodded, then smiled weakly. I was not okay at all. I was dizzy and nauseous, and my legs felt like jello.
“Yeah, why do you ask?” I pressed a hand to my forehead, and it felt warm.
“You’re like a ghost,” he told me, holding me up before I fell to the ground. All of a sudden, I was pretty unwell. I barely made it to the toilet before I was retching my breakfast. Shit, I was not meant for this life.
“Maybe it was just the fright from the gun and everything.” Torch was looking at me like he couldn’t understand a word I was saying, but when I tried to say it again, nothing came out of my mouth.
