“No.” I shook my head. He wasn’t strangling me, only holding tight enough for me to know he meant it.
“You.” He looked at Gigi. “You wanna see me snap her neck?”
“No!” She wept.
“It’s okay, honey.” He had my arms pinned between our bodies. If only they were free, I could hit him, claw him, get us out of there. His weight made it impossible for me to pull them out.
Then I felt something even more menacing than his hand at my throat. His dick started getting hard, pressing against my thigh. I turned my head in disgust, my stomach roiling. He snickered. “What, you like that? You want it? Huh?
I opened my eyes to find Gigi staring at us in complete terror, tears streaming down her face. The thought of getting raped while she watched was a very real threat for a split second. I couldn’t let that happen. I owed it to her to stay calm, to protect her as I protected myself.
I made eye contact with her and smiled. “It’s okay,” I said.
“What?” He pulled back.
“I said, it’s okay.” I sat up, disentangling myself from him. “Thanks for the offer, but no thanks.” I held out my arms and Gigi tumbled into them. I focused on calming her, ignoring him. I could tell it made him crazy that I wouldn’t crumble in front of him. I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of looking shaken up, even as my insides quaked.
***
Headlights outside the window. I froze, staring at them. In my heart, I prayed it was Lance coming to save us. Something told me my prayers weren’t going to be answered so easily.
Gigi had drifted off again, and my arms tightened around her. Like hell would I let anybody take her from me. They’d have to kill me first. I would protect her to my last breath.
I looked down at her, kissing her head, holding her as tight as I could without scaring her. I gathered her in my arms until I was nearly on top of her, my back to the door. That woke her up.
“What’s happening?” she whispered, her voice thick with sleep.
“It’s okay, sweetheart. It’s okay.” I didn’t know who I was trying to convince, her or me. “I’m gonna hold you really tight, okay? Don’t let go of me no matter what. I’m gonna try as hard as I can to keep you with me.”
“Okay.” Her voice was strangely calm. She trusted me. Poor thing. I didn’t even trust myself anymore.
“But listen to me. If they get you away from me, I want you to fight as hard as you can. Got it? Kick, scream, punch, do whatever you have to do. Hurt them. Kick them between the legs if you can. I mean it. Hard, baby.”
“Okay.” She looked up at me. “Are they going to take me?”
“Not if I can help it.” The door opened, and I flinched at the sound. Gigi gasped. I pressed her head to my chest. It was only The Scarecrow going outside to greet his guest. I heard their voices.
Lance, Lance, where are you? The two men came in, The Scarecrow and the buyer. Gigi started to shake. I reminded myself to be strong for her.
“Let’s go,” the other man said. His voice was deep, resonant. I had hope, though. If it was only one person, Gigi might be able to claw at him. Or me. One of us.
“Remember,” I whispered. “Do whatever you have to.” I felt her head nodding against my chest, and kissed it. “I love you.”
“Come on!” The Scarecrow pulled at my arms, but I wouldn’t let go so easily. He rolled me over onto my back, Gigi in my arms. I screamed, kicked out, but kept my arms locked around her.
“No! No! You won’t! Get off me!” I did whatever I could, while Gigi screamed in my arms. I felt like a wild animal, adrenaline pumping through me. The other man, a short, squat little person, pulled at my feet until I fell off the bed, landing on my tailbone. I had the brief flash of knowledge that it would hurt like hell once all was said and done, but I didn’t feel it in the moment. Nothing mattered but fighting.
I kicked at him, losing a shoe but making contact with his arm, then his head. He reeled back, cursing and sputtering. I saw murder in his eyes when he came for me again.
“Let her go,” The Scarecrow growled, working at my arms again. He took one, the buyer took the other. Gigi clung to me, still screaming.
“No! No!” I screamed, twisting, kicking still, trying to bite their arms, their hands. I didn’t think about what I was doing—it was all instinct. I tried to roll away, on top of Gigi, but they held me down.
“Let go!” The buyer finally pulled back and punched me across the jaw. I saw stars. It was just enough to stun me, just enough to get me to loosen my grip for a split second. It was all they needed to pull my arms away from Gigi.