Cloud Riders(2)

‘What the hell were you doing walking in the middle of the damned road?’ she heard one of the men say as he checked her body to see if she had broken a limb.

Cassie shaded her eyes and saw another man leaning up against the truck with a smug look on his face. ‘Just leave her, Kayden. How many times have spies tricked us like this? Get us to feel sorry for one of the enemies very own so we take them in, using them to expose us? Christ knows where this one’s been. She’s so filthy she’d probably give you a disease just touching her or maybe that’s the plan. If we don’t get sick they’ll be sure they’re on to something.’

‘Shut up, Jason, she could be hurt. Just give me a sec.’

‘You’re a bloody vet! What can you do anyway? Let’s get out of here and leave her to her own luck. Someone will be along shortly and they can deal with the scrubber.’

‘And if you’re right, we need to know what enemy camp she’s come from.’ He straightened her out, slid his arms under her and picked her up as if she weighed nothing.

‘She’s not getting in my bloody car,’ Jason grumbled.

Cassie caught her breath and coughed but the dryness stopped her from talking. She wanted to tell them to leave her alone. Instead she just stared helplessly at the one called Kayden.

‘Help me get her in the car, Jason, and stop being a jerk.’

Jason moved to the back of the utility truck, unclipping the canvas cover and dropping down the tailgate, helped Kayden pick her up. ‘Put the dirty bitch in the back of the truck then. There’s no way I’m putting up with that smell all the way home.’

The two men were rough when they put Cassie down. Her head ached as Kayden shoved a rolled-up towel under it.

‘You know, she might be just one of the whores from out of town trying to run away. One took off only a few weeks ago, remember. Something to do with being under new management.’

‘Maybe we can put her to good use.’ Jason slapped his side with renewed vigour. ‘Hot damn, it’s been a while! Could I really be that lucky?’

‘Whatever, stud! We at least need to try to find out what we’re dealing with here first. It’s one of our hottest days and she won’t last long out here in the condition she’s in.’

Cassie passed out.

When she came to, she was in a horse stable in a barn. She was lying on hay and she was itchy everywhere it touched. It was dark and she was freezing but at least the moon was full and giving her some light. Next to her she could see a bottle of water and three biscuits on a plate. The thought crossed her mind that they might be laced with drugs but she was far too hungry to care. Nervously anticipating her fate and yet unable to stay awake long enough to do anything about it, she fell back to sleep.

When she woke again, she had a horse blanket on her that smelled worse than she did. The plate had gone but the bottle had been refilled. Giving thanks, she drank the water in gulps. Cassie jumped and put the bottle down when she heard steps. She scurried into the corner and tried to hide: her meeting of the two men had not made her comfortable about being around them at all. Her body froze as the man called Kayden moved towards her and dragged her out, his fingers digging into her arm.

He threw her out of the stables and turned a freezing-cold hose on her. She rolled into a foetal position out of instinct to stop it stinging the cuts. He kept asking ridiculous questions that made no sense and even though he was a bully and hurting her, she made no sound. Cassie had watched movies about mistreatment. The abuser always felt more of a thrill if the victim screamed and begged, so she choked it back. He kept it up until he realised she wasn’t going to participate in his line of questioning, then grabbed her arm and threw her back in the stable. He tossed a clean pair of jeans and a shirt at her and said impatiently, ‘Get dressed, whore. I’m taking you home or wherever the hell you want to go. But you’re not staying here.’

Where does he think my home is? It’s at least three days travel from this place! Cassie was cold and confused but didn’t want him hurting her anymore so she did as she was told. He watched as she removed her wet clothes. She could feel his eyes burning into her, enjoying her embarrassment. She turned her back on him. God, so humiliating.

‘What are you hiding from, whore? If you aren’t who I think you are then you have to be the other and I’m sure you’ve stripped off for many a man! Could this just be another part of your act to get me to think you’re actually a lady?’ he scoffed. ‘A lady would not have been wandering around in the middle of the road trying to get anyone to stop and take pity on her.’